10 inch lift and 37 inch tires on 88 suburban

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shiftpro

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Thanks for the input guys- I’m not sure but I think mine may have a small lift and 33inch tires currently (I’m picking it up from out of state next week).

@shiftpro :
I have a 350sbc motor and standard 350 transmission I’m pretty sure.

If I do 37 inch tires I’d do ones exactly like the red suburban I posted the photos of.
I do quite a bit of highway driving so I would really like to go the extra mile to stabilize the suspension if I go that big. I know the lift on the red truck looks pretty extra but since this will be for a company vehicle I really want it to stand out and be a showstopper.

Do you guys think a 2 inch body lift would be too much? I am wondering if I can save a little bit of money doing it this way and then maybe just do an 8 inch suspension lift and get a little extra clearance by doing shackles on the leaf springs.

One thing I am wondering on this is at what point with the lift kit size do I need to get longer drive shafts? Also wondering what implications this has on the steering arm or Pitman arm. I haven’t seen the steering box set up but I would imagine I would need to extend it in someway and want to make sure I am getting everything in the rough country kit.

Do you guys have any opinions on the skyjacker lift kits? I’m not sure rough country goes up to 8 inches but I could be wrong. It seems like skyjacker is the only one with a lift above 6 inches for this vehicle. Like I said having a stable smooth ride on the highway is my primary concern. The most off-road and I am going to be doing is muddy back roads and some light trails but no rock crawling or anything.

I have also seen a lot of guys on the forum talking about braking ability when you run a big tire. Do you guys think doing a larger master cylinder would be a fix for this so I don’t have to do a rear disc brake conversion?

be careful don't get Rough Country mixed up with Tuff Country. Rough is way oversprung, they do not flex. This is old school lift spring ideology. If a leaf pack with generous arc (for lift, long springs with deeper arch) were to actually flex the rear hanger would bottom out on the frame. You don't know what frame bottoming feels like until you get it and maybe lose some teeth. So they made these 'lift' spring with only 'lift' in mind. However they work on smooth highways... until you hit pot holes or frost heave ridges.

 

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I believe trucks should be high in the sky, not belly flopping on the ground, so I say go for it! I ran my truck for years with an 8" Superlift suspension kit, 2" body lift, and 39.5" Swampers. I believe if stability was a big issue, I wouldn't be here talking to you today. I did some really dumb things with my truck when I was young. Make sure to do the lift by the book. Don't cut any corners and do it exactly as the manufacturer recommends. Also, make sure to retorque your U-bolts after you drive it a few miles. From my experience, 3/4 ton axles are just fine up to 38" tall tires. Do not run 1/2 ton axles with big tires. It's not a fun feeling having your tire pass you going down the highway because the 7/16 lug nuts broke off. And yes, you can drive on 3 wheels, I know this for a fact. If you decide to go with a body lift, there are a few issues I've had you should know. First problem is the steering column rag joint. When you lift the body it puts this rubber joint at a bad angle and they tend to wear out and rip apart. You can drill out the plastic pins and extend the column shaft to help with this angle. Other small issues, the fan shroud will need to be modified, you have to extend ground straps, extend shifter linkage, cut out the floor for transfer case shifter clearance, and you may have to extend your fuel tank filler hose. Possibly other items I'm forgetting. The ease of getting to your spark plugs make it worth it
 

Turbo4whl

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You want a big truck, buy a big truck and wrap it!

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Currently BAT has this and one other for sale:
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3208 turbo Cat engine. Less than the money you will have in that Suburban.

https://bigasstrux.com/batforsale.html
 

78C10BigTen

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You want a big truck, buy a big truck and wrap it!

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3208 turbo Cat engine. Less than the money you will have in that Suburban.

https://bigasstrux.com/batforsale.html
I like that first one!
 

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wouldn't worry about the stability thing either. it's 'bout as accurate as saying don't sit too close to the tv or you will wreck your eyes, or self loving will make hair grow on your palms...
i laugh at "stability"...
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bft305

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I am not going to say don’t go for a 10” lift, but a 6” lift will fit 37”. That is what I run on my truck. If you go off-road you might have to do some slight trimming. I have a BDS lift and it is a bit stiff. Skyjacker soft ride would probably be best for one road. My friend has a skyjacker soft ride lift and definitely more comfortable on road. You should start looking at high steer/ cross over steering kits as well. Oh and a steering box brace with that size of tires. Check out the truck by the steering box for cracks in the frame, if it has had larger tires on it for a while. I hope you realize that it is not going to be fun to drive on the highway. I have 4:10 gears in my 14 bolt rear and a 350 with a th350 tranny, and at around 70 mph your at 3200 rpm’s. With true duals out the back she is singing at 3200! I know it is a company truck, but I hope they know how much they are going to spend on gas for that thing! I would say I get 10 mpg going downhill with a tailwind at 40 mph. In the end it is only money, so why not do what you want! Good luck with the build!
 

Vbb199

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How about a little input from someone who actually wheels lifted rigs, has had lifted rigs, and has put together and built lifted rigs , hm?

Much over 6" of lift and 38" tires, you aren't Wheeling that thru trails, mud holes, or climbing rocks with leaf springs.

Don't ******** us, or the other members who's tried it, and don't post a pic of your square "wheeling" thru a mud puddle. That's not Wheeling.
It's a conversation piece at that point. You aren't going to be driving 12" lifted trucks with 44" tires in any sort of mountainous terrain and thru rocks or anything else much more than 15° slopes before it flips. Ask me how I know.

Smaller than that criteria? Oh hell yea, all day long in a squarebody!

If you like big lifts, big tires, and big axles, make sure you got big brakes , big steering and a big wallet to go with those big dreams, or you're gonna end up with a big lawsuit on your hands

Axles= there's always the one guy who ran a 53" tire on a 10 bolt axle, and he's the standard for what you can and cannot do, but the details we leave out was it wasn't a powered axle, it had no locker, and the tired old 350 itself was low on compression and probably made 120hp.
There is nobody, AND I MEAN NOBODY with any sort of substantial power, locker, and driveline running half ton axles on anything more than a 36 or 37" tire.

Show me a man who ran 40's on a 10 bolt and beat on it, and ill show you someone who lied about what their motor can do.

Sorry, but not sorry.

Much more than that 6-8" of lift and 36-38" tire, and it's either going in a Straight line thru a mud bog, or it's a pavement princess. Already been there, and done it

Definitely wanna upgrade those axles as your dreams get bigger. Don't skimp there, or on the appropriate braking for that much rolling mass, ESPECIALLY on a paved road.

1/2 ton brakes are gonna just fade out trying to stop that much.

It's not even just solely about the fact that 1/2 tons will break with a larger tire as it is

(x6) 1/2" diameter lug studs vs
(x8) 7/16" diameter lug studs


Or brake sizing, bearing sizing, hub and spindle sizing, or what have you.

Just like steering, 1 ton steering is alot beefier than half ton steering.

Some knucklehead argued the steering doesn't matter in proportion to bigger tires.
Not true.
Poorly assembled Lifted trucks that fall apart, crash into innocent people, over correct, don't stop in time and rear end people and whatever else is the reason that type of thing is banned in some states

A stupidity gate/filter. Someone did some poor engineering, and took that "he said, she said" chit too seriously on the internet and thought they could run 30" skyjacker springs with stock brakes and steering and go seriously injured

Go put together some wild ride with small brakes, big tires, massive lift, and no front shaft, then crash into a school bus with it... I'm sure the judge will give you a break, since the guy on GMSB said it was fine and has been doing it for years

We aren't talking about what size tires you fit on your truck, or what offset works, like things that are fixed, hard data.

we're talking about completely re-engineering something

I'm all for *properly done* Lifts, even the type that's made for clearing a 28L26 tire... or whatever, or just the guy who did a modest 2" lift so he could run a 33" lift

As I said, I currently have lifted, have had lifted, have wheeled lifted, have street driven lifted, and have built lifted.
I've learned alot of what you can and can't do, and put My chit to the max limits to see what its weak points are.


But please, please exercise caution, good judgement, and bare in mind basic physics for your build

Will this stop in 25 feet?
Will this get out of the way from a stop?
Will this flip easily?


Etc
 
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Rumbledawg

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How about a little input from someone who actually wheels lifted rigs, has had lifted rigs, and has put together and built lifted rigs , hm?

Much over 6" of lift and 38" tires, you aren't Wheeling that thru trails, mud holes, or climbing rocks with leaf springs.

Don't ******** us, or the other members who's tried it, and don't post a pic of your square "wheeling" thru a mud puddle. That's not Wheeling.
It's a conversation piece at that point. You aren't going to be driving 12" lifted trucks with 44" tires in any sort of mountainous terrain and thru rocks or anything else much more than 15° slopes before it flips. Ask me how I know.
well, i have been wheeling lifted rigs since the late '70's when there was not nearly the selection of equipment there is now...and i do live in the mountains
if your having stability probs, it ain't built right.
almost 12 ft high wit the camper and it gets us out to where "there is no people around for miles aroma", you know, well past the headers and 4 barrel crowd with the 33's and 40 aux lights plastered all over their truck, with no tip over issues. and i have laid it over further than that, well past 15 degrees, enough to cause my wife to bail out once. when i have my quad trailer hooked up, it's like a 4500lb anchor holding ya down. go wider as you go higher, besides, a good chunk of your weight is still down low (axles, t-case, motor, trans, frame, big heavy tires.......)
ps, i don't take pics of my truck in mud holes either. around here we call them guys puddle jumpers, guys who go find a 2" deep puddle, blast thru it 50 times to get their truck all dirty, then drive around for a week with it on like their some kind of hardcore off roader.
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some people say lifted trucks are sh!t on the freeway...um...ok, whatever
16000lbs of squarebody, camper, quad trailer and boat on 3 miles of 10% downhill
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lifted trucks are sh!t around town?.....ummmmm, ok
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can't 4x4 either? only 16000lbs heading up a 20%'er
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lifted trucks steer worth sh!t?....hmmm, if people say so, guess they do.....
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Vbb199

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if your having stability probs, it ain't built right.
almost 12 ft high wit the camper
This is all pretty cool, I dig it....
But I think your numbers are a bit optimistic

I had put together a k5 on 24" of lift, 5 ton axles, and roughly 53" tires and didn't come up anywhere near 10 feet tall.

Was under 10 feet tall. An actual camper would've still made it less than 12 feet tall


Cool, nonetheless,

But I still maintain, you won't be doing any serious offroading with that

Like, ya know, suspension flexing ?

I'm sure you can drive on 15° slopes if you're big and heavy enough and your COG is right.

But that wasn't really the focal point,

I said, anything over 6-8" suspension lift, and bigger than a 36-38" tire, you won't be offloading seriously, like rock crawling in a square, etc.


This gets back into what I said originally, straight lines like a mud bog.


But your rig is cool af.

I like it.

Looks like it's well done, and that was my point also, if its properly done, it'll drive on the road and handle just fine at normal operating speeds
 
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Frankenchevy

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I don’t do serious off roading in my square, just getting from point a to point b on my property or to a camping/hunting/fishing spot, much like the logging trails pictured above. I’ve also never had anything larger than a 37” tire that cleared with a 3” lift.

I do have buddies that do KOH, rock racing type stuff. Their formula seems to be a big tire with the least lift possible; focusing more on droop wheel travel than compression wheel travel.

I know the OP wasn’t asking about rock crawling performance, but low COG is better everywhere. I did a 3” ORD build on my K30 that’s currently on 33s, but I have 35s going on it soon.

It’s constantly catching people’s attention. Not due to it’s height, but because it’s a square. You’ll get that attention either way.

Another aspect of this, if I saw a business with a super form over function show piece; I would not be impressed with the business. I’d question their approach 100%. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate aesthetic; but with conservative execution. Then again, if you’re advertising the newest energy drink for 24 year olds, maybe the advertisement fits the demographic.
 

Vbb199

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No doubt about that part ^

My current wheeler is my s10 blazer I built on 1 tons, 4" lift with 39.5x18x16.5 boggers


Low cog, plenty of flex and big tires to conquer everything

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Rumbledawg

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But I think your numbers are a bit optimistic

I had put together a k5 on 24" of lift, 5 ton axles, and roughly 53" tires and didn't come up anywhere near 10 feet tall.

Was under 10 feet tall. An actual camper would've still made it less than 12 feet tall




Like, ya know, suspension flexing ?

I'm sure you can drive on 15° slopes if you're big and heavy enough and your COG is right.
actually my truck is a little over 7' to the drip rails and the camper overhang is 4' 4", just under 12 ft tall. prob right at 12 if ya count the fridge vent. you do have to watch out for low bridges, low power lines, low flying airplanes......
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and with a wheelbase bigger than a 2 dr JK, flex isn't really that much of an issue for me. other than river running (mud city), most of my hard core off road is with my stepper, just by virtue of length. it takes about 862 feet to do a u'ey with the crew. but i can't haul my camper, quads and boat with my stepper. although if we run across rocks, creeks or anything in our way when going camping, i don't hesitate to put 'er in 4 lo and go at it with the crewy.
a nice little spot that the jeepers use. they were sure surprised to see a full size down there, let alone a full size with a camper and trailer. i did shake my camper loose going down there, you can see how cockeyed it's sitting on the truck
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worth the shaking though
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Rumbledawg

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nice s-10!
cut boggers?
 

Vbb199

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