Tonkatruck Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Hey there guys and gals, I'm looking to lift an MJ project a lil while down the road and exploring some options. Wondering if anyone has any experience with RockyRoad lifts. Uses a slick SOA design in the rear but not sure if i really trust that and OldManEmu coils in the front with a spacer. Looks good to me on paper and the price is right. BUT, i would like to got control arms as well or make my own. http://www.rocky-road.com/comanche.html I've had experience with OME and its quality stuff. How bout Rusty's as I've heard VERY mixed opinion on them. Let me know your thoughts or other suggestions. I'm looking for good ride quality on a budget, but need a few inches of lift to be able to fit in a tall motor and some beefier tires. Won't be offroaded as much as it will be used to Tow and DD. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 my only problem with that kit is the lack of control arms. at 5" or they even offer a 6" you DEFINITELY have to have new CA's or you will have crazy problems. any of the other offroad manufacturers make them based on lift so just buy some adj ones to go with this kit and you're set my other thing is... if you want a 6" lift... why not go with a 6" coil? or like a 4.5-5" with a 1.5-1" spacer. 3" spacer 3" coil just seems odd to me unless its an ACOS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Yeah, the rockyroad kit is really only half a kit, that's why it's so cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroader461 Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Yeah, the rockyroad kit is really only half a kit, that's why it's so cheap. :agree: ...at that height you need to definatly address control arms either with longer ones or Drop brackets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twisty Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 I've read MANY bad things about their customer service. I would steer far away from there. Best thing to do is to keep your eyes open for front lift parts. Many people are going with long arms in the front, and you can pick up a set of adjustable control arms for cheap. I got my front lift (springs, adjustable upper and lower control arms, and tracbar) for $250, used from a guy I know. Deals are out there...just keep your eyes open ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Ok for the rear lift. Then Buy the front else where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Ok for the rear lift. Then Buy the front else where. Sorta. If I'm going that high I'm probably going with a big tire and then I sure as heck don't want a Dana 35 under my truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Ok for the rear lift. Then Buy the front else where. Sorta. If I'm going that high I'm probably going with a big tire and then I sure as heck don't want a Dana 35 under my truck. True that, being I swapped in a 8.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twisty Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 How well does the bolt on SOA work? I prefer to have the perches welded to the axle tube. But thats just me :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 How well does the bolt on SOA work? I prefer to have the perches welded to the axle tube. But thats just me :dunno: Well pretty much the same. The bolts aren't ubolts, they are stright and clamp down the springs, so wouldn't see much of a difference in strength. Just a loss in ground clearance. And I welded my pearches too, it was way cheaper and can add a block if wanted too later on. This set up is really for someone that isnt to mechinacal and wants some height for little bigger tires mearly for looks and maybe some occasinal offroading. I know some one will argue this, cause they run this or know someone who does, I've seen this setup and she works. But it's my opionion on this. When I first got my MJ I was considering this same lift but after some reshearch found that this was not a good option overall for the long term on this truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Pete M wrote: Yeah, the rockyroad kit is really only half a kit, that's why it's so cheap. ...at that height you need to definatly address control arms either with longer ones or Drop brackets As an owner of one of these kits I'll say the advice offered is pretty good. I'll add that I experienced very good customer service though. It all depends on what you want to do and what the long term plans for your truck are. At 5" inches the control arms must be addressed and it's a matter of several hundred more dollars, whether you get them in the box with the rest of your new goodies or you put them on later when your wallet has recovered. We did an overhaul on most of the steering parts, had a good alignment done, and had no scary things happening with the stock CA's. Not every one turns out this way though. In looking at your planned use, a RR kit plus control arms might work real well for you. If I do another MJ for the same mild trail use and DD duty I would buy another RR kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarence Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 i have a comanche that I'm currently building. I ran across that rocky roads kit the other day i could tell right off that the front set up was worth a darn. But i was wondering is the rear bolt on soa any good? with that amount of lift do you nead a sye or can you just use a t-case lowering kit. i would love to know a little more about this rear if anybody knows. I also have a dana 44 rear and was wondering if it would still work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 You would have to grind out part of the SOA brackets to fit the larger tubes of the 44. You might call them and ask if they could do one for you. The tech assist guy 's name is Jared. That's his white MJ in the ad. My son drove his RR equipped MJ to take us riding today. After we loaded up to go home we couldn't resist razzing the extreme CJ stuck in the rocks. This hill is a lot steeper than it looks in the photo. The bolt-on SOA kit we have sees DD and pretty regular trail (but not extreme) action, usually with a couple motorcycles in the back. We re-torqued the bolts one time when it was new and it hasn't needed it since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdesigns Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 You would have to grind out part of the SOA brackets to fit the larger tubes of the 44. You might call them and ask if they could do one for you. The tech assist guy 's name is Jared. That's his white MJ in the ad. My son drove his RR equipped MJ to take us riding today. After we loaded up to go home we couldn't resist razzing the extreme CJ stuck in the rocks. This hill is a lot steeper than it looks in the photo. The bolt-on SOA kit we have sees DD and pretty regular trail (but not extreme) action, usually with a couple motorcycles in the back. We re-torqued the bolts one time when it was new and it hasn't needed it since. Looks like a great place to wheel and ride. How far are you from Ft. Irwin and Death Vally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 i have a comanche that I'm currently building. I ran across that rocky roads kit the other day i could tell right off that the front set up was worth a darn. But i was wondering is the rear bolt on soa any good?with that amount of lift do you nead a sye or can you just use a t-case lowering kit. i would love to know a little more about this rear if anybody knows. I also have a dana 44 rear and was wondering if it would still work? The bolt-on soa idea is one of the most clever concepts I've seen that doesn't have any real-world value. Burning on new perches is easy and new perches cost $15. I've even seen guys that assembled their rear suspension and then drove slowly down the street to get the perches welded to the tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Looks like a great place to wheel and ride. How far are you from Ft. Irwin and Death Vally? This pic was from Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation area. It is a nice place to wheel or ride, and it's only about 45 minutes from the house. We like to park at the 4WD obstacle course and watch. If you read 4WD magazines I can guarantee you've seen tests done on this course. We're about 3 hours from Death Valley. You can't do much in the park except eat bean sprouts but there is a lot to do around the area in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarence Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 well it sounds like this kit would work alright for me. I can do a little welding with my tiny arc welder but can't even amagine weldinging on spring perches not for the type of wheeling i do i would be scrued if one of them broke on me out in the woods. infact i thought about buying 2 kits just incase i ever broke one out there. you see i live in russellville arkansas. And the closest place to wheel is about 30 minutes away. in the ozark national forest. up in the mountains. Its really good trail driving. But you see i don't know many people that wheel and so I'm usually on my own out there and if something breaks i have to be able to get my truck to the mane road so i can call and get my dad to come tow me home. Right now my truck is pretty simple. Its an 1988 Jeep Comanche. The fenders are shaved. I have a 3 inch lift from rough country that I'm very pleased with. i have the stock 4.0 with the ba/10 and a np231 id say my only power increase would have to be my plug and wires and my flowmaster muffler set up with a cut off cat. I'm running 31 inch cheep o tires but they do great off road. I'm more than sure i could run 33 now that i shaved the fenders with a little bit of rubbing. But the problem I'm having right now is that i keep high centering my rig. So i want and need something more out of my truck. I have it all designed in my head just looking for helpful people with my same obbession to descuss it with. So if anybody just likes to discuss jeeps id really like to talk to yall. And thanks for the insight on the rr kit. all I'm intrested in is the rear i already got my front picked out. It could be a little while lol. All these parts cost so much. I literaly spend my whole pay check each week on my truck gas and insurance. I thought my friend was joking when he said JEEP stands for Just Empty Every Pocket. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Tack-weld the perches on with your welder and seek out a friend or business to burn them on with a more powerful unit. It's about as easy a weld as anything and really, really hard to screw it up. :D And this is just my opinion, but an extra inch or two of ground clearance probably won't keep you from high-centering. At least that's been my experience. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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