Hi my name is Doug and im new hear i have a 94 Pickup with the solid rear axle and a IFS front and it is STOCK i bought it from a first owner and i put some Mickey Thompson rims on it with Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 31x10.5 's and did a little bit of trail ridin (muddin as we call it in NH). i have been wanting to put a suspension lift it since i bought it but have just finally got enough money. Now i have herd there r 3 ways to lift them - Switching the front to a Solid axle and putting leafs all around - Long travel control arm setup like Downey offers - or the cheap drop down bracket style like skyjacker or trailmaster offers. I would be using the truck basically for fun nothing serious and the terrain would mostly be mud with not alot of rock crawling. I just dont know which would be best.<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED I HAVE SORTA HIT A DEAD END WITH THIS. Thank You -Doug
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there's alot of different ways to go about this. and i'm sure you'll get tons of good input from the guys here on the board. first...what kind of budget are you working with? that always helps because i'm sure someone wiil throw out a full blown axle swap with dynatrac prorock 60's idea <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

One can only dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

O yes great point <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> i am working with a budget of around $2,000 - $3,000 and i have priced out some of the lifts and i know the skyjacker or trailmaster drop down bracket lifts r cheap but i dont know if they r the right way to go or not. thanks -Doug <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

My Trailmaster 4" lift has served me well over the last 13yrs, nothing has bent or broke on it. Some here have had bad luck with the lift as with the others, but a lot has to do with the speed some like to wheel at. I am very light on the throttle, and don't try to hammer my way up something, which may be why my lift hasn't had the problems as others have.

Another question that needs answering is how big of tire do you want to run. You can fit 32x11.50's on x15's with no lift, just some modification of the pinch seem at the lower corner of the firewall. With a 2" body lift and the same mod's you can run 33's. You can also run ball joint spacers with a 1" body lift and clear 33's. Both of these lifts will run you under $200(self install), the body lift is basic bolt on procedure, the ball joint lift requires a little more work and doing a basic driveway alignment to get it to an alignment shop.

A straight axle swap is probably nothing you shouldn't be concerned with at this time, just the install itself will eat up most of your budget.

Though since you are relatively new to the sport, you should really spend more time out on the trail, and develop an idea of what you really need/want. This is how you should spend your money first, protection for the truck, i.e., rock sliders and good front and rear bumpers, add recovery points front and rear, get a hi-lift jack, tow strap, shovel, and an onboard air set-up, and a winch if you want to wheel alone(though something you should really never do). You will need these things anyways, best to get them now.

If done right you could build yourself a mild yet capable trail rig with extra goodies for the budget you are currently working with.

I'm with Snow on this. Don't worry about the SAS, you can do that in the future if you think it's warranted.

A 2" body lift and the ball joint spacers, Chevy rear springs, sliders, bumpers, and a rear locker. Boom, done. If you go 33's you might want to re-gear, but that's a good chunk of your budget.

The Downey stuff seems to be high speed suspension. You'll find opinions of Downey differ here, pro and con.

As far as the other IFS lifts go, just realize they will only raise you, you will need to tweak them and mod them to get signifigant performance enhancement....

Sounds like a E.D. add.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

pics of the BJ lift w/OME torsions

I have some low-cost recipes for fitting 33" tires on the IFS trucks on my web page.

Heres my truck 94 yota with 4" suspension and 3" body and 33" Bf. Its an trail master lift but to be honest all lifts for this yr truck are the same. theres only 1 way to lift. lol enjoy WOODY

like every body has said, it really depends on how serious you are about wheelin the truck. if you dont need o whole lot of suspension travel (stock travel of the ifs is 5") than i would go with a body lift if you dont mind a shorter shifter and to be able to see the frame. you can clear 33's with a minor trim of the front vallence(if you dont and you bottom out the front under a turn you will rip it off, the vallence is the black sheet metal under your bumper by the way).

my 92 had the trailmaster drop bracket ifs lift, which with 33's was very capable on the logging roads and in mud until the rear diff high-centerd.

I did the SAS because i hit a stump at idle in 1st 4lo ( so like .5 mph) and it bent the brackets like 2 inches backwards. i re-aligned it back to speck but it was bent non the less. Also i wheel alot of rocks and deep rut crossings along with dunes so i needed the greater travel of the solid axle.

i have heard pretty good things of the long travel IFS lifts from downey, other than price. decent flex and strength.

so basically the question's are:
1) does the whole budget go to lift or do you want goodies too?
2) how serious is the wheeling, lots of deep long travel rocks and ruts or spinning broodies in the mud and driving up logging roads?
3) how much time playing to driving on the road?
4) what kind of shop accesability and fabrication skills do you have?

in your situation i would go with the trailmaster or 3"body lift, and look in to the body protection and highley recommend gears and a rear locker. The road manners and handling are still pretty good. For 33's i would go 4.88 gears and an aussi locker.