2” front 1.5” rear installed today

[Jbp19classic]

Well, I don’t do well with leaving things stock for long, so with all of 700 miles on the truck I put in a 2” front level with 1.5” rear spacers. I use my truck to tow and haul on a pretty regular basis, so I went with spacers in the rear instead of just the front level to preserve some rake and keep it from being nose high.
I went with the RC 2” level kit and am very happy with how it went on and the fit and finish is great. I chose this kit over open top spacers due to recent threads regarding strut top failure with the open top style spacers. I also like that this kit comes with bump stops to keep the upper control arms from dropping too far.
To add a little more aggressiveness to the stance I also added 1.5” hub centric wheel spacers. Tires will have to wait a while so I’m still running the stock Goodyear’s for now.

 

[Jbp19classic]

Some after pics

 

[Jbp19classic]

The rear spacers are poly, and go on top of the spring in place of the stock spring isolators. I still need to get it aligned, which I have an appointment for Saturday.

 

[co-pilot]

Looks goood.....turned out nice

 

[Blue2500CC]

Looks great!!!

I may have missed it, but what model (brand) are the rear spacers?

TY!!!

 

[Jbp19classic]

Looks great!!!

I may have missed it, but what model (brand) are the rear spacers?

TY!!!

I don’t think I said, lol. They are Performance Accessories 1.5” rear coil spacers ordered off Amazon.

 

[Blue2500CC]

I don’t think I said, lol. They are Performance Accessories 1.5” rear coil spacers ordered off Amazon.

TY!!!

What were the before and after fender measurements?

TY again!!!

 

[Jbp19classic]

TY!!!

What were the before and after fender measurements?

TY again!!!

Unfortunately I got going on it and forgot to take before measurements. I had meant to...but by the time I remembered I already had one of the struts our so it was too late to go back. I can take some after measurements at least.

 

[Blue2500CC]

Unfortunately I got going on it and forgot to take before measurements. I had meant to...but by the time I remembered I already had one of the struts our so it was too late to go back. I can take some after measurements at least.

After will work.

TY!!!

 

[Jbp19classic]

Front

 

[Jbp19classic]

Rear

 

[Jbp19classic]

Also forgot to mention I put a couple tack welds on the upper ball joint as insurance against popping out with the level kit. I’m sure it’s overkill, but it’ll make me sleep better. I hit it with some self etching primer and rattle can black paint to clean it up after welding.

 

[Jbp19classic]

Painted

 

[Jbp19classic]

I got it aligned this afternoon so it’s all buttoned up now! Funny story, as I walked in the door to NTB, the service writer who had obviously been watching me drive up says “hey do you have a lift or something on your truck, because your camber is all out of whack”. I’m like, yeah that’s exactly why I’m here, I just put a level on it the other day and need it aligned. He seemed cool with that, but then as he was typing stuff up he tried telling me he had to charge an extra $50 for a “specialty alignment” since it is leveled. I asked what was “specialty” about it and he told me there was a lot more work involved since it’s leveled, especially to get the camber back. I told him it should be really easy because the Ram has stock adjustable camber bolts on the lower control arm so there should be plenty of adjustment to get the camber back in spec, and since the truck has less than 1000 miles it’s not like anything will be broken or seized up so none of the bolts or fasteners should give them any trouble. He wasn’t prepared to argue with that, so he said he’d leave it up to the tech to decide. I made sure to hang around the observation window so they knew I was there and couldn’t pretend it was taking longer than it did, and they had it back to me with perfect camber in like 20 minutes....and no extra charges. The guys were all nice enough, but that kind of stuff always bugs me knowing that someone who didn’t know enough to argue back would have been ripped off an extra $50 for nothing.

 

[buddy guy]

yeah, all kinds of tricks possible. when i had my leveling done and the alignment after, it was called a "4 wheel alignment". well, given the specs were exactly the same on the rear as they were before the alignment i'm sure nothing was done on the rear. but i paid for a 4 wheel alignment. lol. which then made me wonder if there actually is a 4 wheel alignment that can be done on these trucks or is that only on some vehicles but it sounds better to call them all 4 wheel alignments? i didn't bother complaining as i had talked them down on the parts price for my bilsteins to match the best price i found in canada otherwise.

 

[Truck Fun]

How did you decide on the Rough Country leveling kit with the spacers over the Rough Country leveling struts?
Also, what size tires will you go with?

 

[FXDBGABE]

Hey man those look good. I have spacers on the front and the rake has been bugging me since day one. Does this level it out or does it take to the front like stock?

 

[Jbp19classic]

Hey man those look good. I have spacers on the front and the rake has been bugging me since day one. Does this level it out or does it take to the front like stock?

It’s a little closer to level than stock, but it’s still about 1.5” higher in the back than front, which is exactly what I wanted so it will sit level with some weight in the back. I put 500-600 lbs in the back at least twice a week for work.

 

[Jbp19classic]

How did you decide on the Rough Country leveling kit with the spacers over the Rough Country leveling struts?
Also, what size tires will you go with?

Well in general I decided to go with a spacer lift over struts for cost, and I specifically chose the RC kit because it isn’t an open top design so it still supports the top of the strut. I also like that it came with bump stops to limit the down travel on the control arm to protect the ball joints from over extending with the spacers. As far as spacer kits go, I think this is one of the better engineered kits. I still have the stock 275/60/20 Goodyear’s for now. They’re still brand new so I can’t justify the cost for new tires just yet so I’ll run them for a while. When it does come time for tires I’ll likely stick with the same size tire. I like the overall look of the truck as it sits now, and since mine has the pentastar I don’t want to screw up the power with bigger heavier tires. I’m really impressed with how the pentastar drives as is, and I want to keep it that way. I will switch to an AT style tire but that’s it. I’ve done the heavy MT tire thing already on other trucks, and while it looks awesome I decided I don’t like how they ride 90% of the time on the road. Maybe I’m just getting old, lol!

 

[Jbp19classic]

One other word of advice to anyone who uses this kit, follow the instructions carefully for how to press the studs into the spacers. They don’t come pressed in. You have to press them in by tightening down the nuts to pull the studs into the spacer and seat them in place before installing on the truck. Easy enough, but I jumped into it at first without really reading (bad habit!), and the first stud seemed like it was seating just fine until the last few turns instead of pulling tight into the hole it started spinning in the hole and stripped out the hole so it wasn’t a tight fit. What happens is the last few millimeters as the stud is almost pulled all the way in, the splines at the base of the stud are now starting to pull through the other side of the spacer, and as you crank on the nut it’s now hitting those splines and binding up. And if your using an impact like me, it only takes a second to strip out before you realize what happened. The RC kit comes with a larger diameter nut that needs to go over the stud first before the nut that tightens it down. That acts as a spacer and allows the top not to pull the stud all the way through without binding up. It works fine, as long as you read! I tack welded the one stud I screwed up in place, and followed the directions for the rest and had no more trouble. I’ve read complaints of people trying to remove the RC spacers from the truck and having trouble with the studs spinning in place when trying to take the nuts off. Seeing how it goes together, I can 100% say that goes back to improperly seating the studs on the original install.