Dan Gets Lifted

Dan Floyd, ReadyLIFT’s Marketing Service Director, recently purchased a 2015 Ram 1500 Quad Cab HEMI 4X4. Shortly after this purchase, he decided to join the “Life Lifted” crew by installing a ReadyLIFT 4″ SST lift kit (69-1040). “I chose this kit for multiple reasons: it’s easy to install, it has a more aggressive stance than a leveling kit, and it doesn’t involve major vehicle modifications yet can easily clear 35″ tires,” explains Dan.

Dan works in the same building as our R&D team so he had access to a vehicle lift, alignment rack, and shop tools. While this made his installation a bit easier, there were still some roadblocks he encountered. It turned out that this Ram spent the first two years of its life in rural Northern California and—judging by the 1/4″ of dust caked on the backside of the rear fender liners—it probably spent a lot of time in the almond orchards for which that region is famous. This added an extra 30 minutes of cleaning.

Installation Begins

“The actual installation of the rear components was easy and straight forward; bump stop extensions, sway bar extensions, and coil spacers,” explains Dan. “All in all, the installation took about an hour, including the surprise cleaning I had to do.” After this, he moved on to the front…

“The front of this kit required more technical work because it involved removing the each strut assembly, compressing the spring, and installing a preload spacer,” said Dan. He considered replacing the struts given the 50,000 miles of country living they had endured but decided against it until attempting to separate the top hat to allow installation of the coil preload spacer.  That plan changed shortly after strut removal.

Finishing Touches

The orchard life and time had strengthened the resolve of the nut that holds the strut together and he soon decided that new struts were in order.  This decision called for a 45 minute trip to the dealer.  With nice new parts, the preload spacer, reassembly and strut top spacer installation was a breeze.  The struts and new control arms were installed, sway bar spacers added and it was off to the alignment rack.

“The total time spent, front and rear, including the cleaning and an unplanned trip to the dealer, was about 4 hours with some help from a pro,” explains Dan. “The truck’s new stance (not only does the 69-1040 lift, it also levels) is awesome and it handles better than before.  It is far from stock but just high enough that my wife can’t get in without rolling her eyes.”

For now, Dan is still running the stock wheels and tires but he plans to install Gear Alloy Armor 20X9 wheels on fresh 35×12.50 rubber as soon he gets the chance.

Enjoy the Lifted Life, Dan!