goin up...

[BIG CHEVY]

i need a taller truck. if i get a 10 to 12 inch lift kit what would be involved extra that im not thinking of?
what will lengthening driveshafts consist of? buying new ones? at what height will i need to drop trans case? any and all input will be helpful. throw you input at me. i need to know drawbacks.....catches....problems...all before i go up. and i will do what i have to do but it has to drive like a normal truck. im sure that includes more stuff i havent thought about. i appreciate ya guys!!!!!!!!!

[Irish_Alley]

10-12" wont be anything close to the drive of a normal truck even with only 6" you see big differences.

[1979C20]

Extended brake lines, pinion wedges to get the angle, lengthened drive shafts, longer shocks, might need to clock the tcase for the front shaft angle, idk about dropping the tcase. But like irish said, the ride of a lifted truck will be very different. You may want to look into sway bars front and rear, anti wrap bars, steering stabilizers, and high streering.

[Irish_Alley]

also traction bars or what ever they call them for lifted trucks. why 12". Will it be functional (mudding) or a pretty boys truck (just cause i have the money/show truck)?

[bake74]

     My brother in law had an 84 with 12" in high school, you will need custom cross over steering for sure, as 79c20 said, brake lines will have to be addressed, pinion angles, way longer driveshafts, if I remember right there is a kit for the trans/transfer case to drop, upgraded axles for sure (your k10 axles if that is what you have will not last long), and as irish said, if you plan to drive on road, it will not feel nothing like your truck now, but on the other side of things, you will always be looking down on other people in cars and looking straight across at the semi's.

[BIG CHEVY]

I mud at bogs like the dickens.but i also clean it up every time and its my every use truck.
I have 4 inches. And need to buy tires. My logic is...to mud i would like bigger tires. So lets do it now.
I need more than 4 to clear  any tire big enough to earn georgia muds respect. So for lifting i dont see that much difference in each 2 inch increase per lift. Why not go for a good gain than just get 6 or 8 and turn right around and be limited again. Only really got one shot at this. Im goin for it.

[bake74]

     Keep us informed, I am sure everyone would love pics to see what and how it turned out.

[ehjorten]

You don't need giant tires for mud bogging.  what you need is wheel speed!!  With a 10-12" lift you are going to be challenged to get the front driveshaft to work.  You will need a custom high-angle front driveshaft.  A transfer-case drop is usually used on 6" and above, but it makes theangle on the front driveshaft worse.  I wouldn't use one unless I absolutely had to.  You need cross-over steering and longer shocks and brake lines like already mentioned.  Not sure what rig this is going on, but you will also want beefier king-pin bushings and springs or you are going to get the death wobble.  Mud-bogging is going to be hard on your axles so you will want to upgrade those if you don't already have a 14BFF and D60.  Lengthening the driveshafts consists of re-tubing the shaft (cutting off the tube and welding a new one to the yokes).  This can get expensive all by itself.  If I was doing it I would probably trim the wheel-wells for more tire before going up that high, but that depends on what you will use the truck for.  I wouldn't hack-up a nice rig that isn't going to be relegated only to the trail (IMHO).

[joesgarage71]

To be competive at the boggs the guys have purpose built trucks. Dana 60's and 2.5 ton axles with 5.13-up gears. Big motors, Big tires and divorsed transfurs. Just look and talk to the competion. If you ain't got close to what they are running your pissing in the wind!
Go Big or Stay Home!!

[BIG CHEVY]

the kind of bogs we have are free rides with a bounty hole type competition at the end. the free riding part is for anyone/everyone. its not competetive at all. i know all the big guys. grew up with most of em. (you tube dirt pro......mud pro.....and air mundy if interested).   something will come up. we are all fans of each other and plenty of encouragement goes on friendly and liquid.....you are dead on about what they run. but i dont want a monster....i want the baddest truck i can build that i still use every day. i have the respect of others from motor alone. just wont enter the bounty holes. i think ive settled on 8" susp and possibly body. any higher and it seems like im beginning to take away from the every day use of the truck. longer d-shafts......driveline issues.....steering. what a headache. it shouldnt be that serious. this truck is my friend. it aint gettin rockwells. ill do that on some other project.

[thirsty]

I used to go to unsanctioned mud bogs years ago. There were about 20 of us with all different kinds of trucks. We never went to same mud holes every week so you never used to know what to expect. We didn't do it for speed or anything...they were always deep and nasty enough that if you got thru you did good. I can tell you from experience that the bigger the lift and tires the more you will break it. If this is your daily driver I would go with a 6" lift and some cut out flares. The only thing you need lift for is to fit bigger tires under it so your axles are higher up. The key is good tires that clean the mud out of the tread so it can take another good bite, which leads you to a strong motor that can do that on demand. Be careful of tires with too big of a lug unless you know what is in the mudholes. When those tires like superswampers grab ahold of something solid when they are really spinning they don't break, axles do first.
The truck I ran I also drove on the street. My set up was 79', 6" lift, 35" mud brutes, 350 that was worked over some but still streetable, turbo 350 rebuilt from a great tranny shop, custom driveshafts, locker in the rear. Over the years that I did that I broke everything except for the front differential and the 203. I could have used more tire most of the time but to me it wasn't worth it on the street.
Just my $.02 from the been there done that peanut gallery.

[malibu795]

no lift 53s"


4" lift and a sawzaw will clear 39.5 easily

[malibu795]

no lift no fender triming
37x1250

with finder triming

[gharris79]

If your going to do it do it right. Buy the proper kit and i'd stay away from using blocks if your going to wheel it. Keep in mind the higher you go your changing your center of gravity so you will want to upgrade your wheels for a set that is offset. I had a Blazer with 8" suspension and 3" body on 38's that was good on and off road. If I was to build it again I would go more suspension and no body lift. You might also want to look into the reinforcement braces for the frame that weld behind your steering box cause larger tires can cause the frame to brake. Here's a pic of the Blazer on 38's and a picture of my buddy's short box. The short box is a 87, it has Dana 60's front & rear, 12" spring lift and sits on 44's. It's a very capable truck on and off road.

[fitz]

My truck had a 12" lift with 44" swampers. It ran a divorced transfer case, dropping your stock case wont cleared the front driveshaft. Don't forget about gearing, my truck had 5.13's to turn the 44's. When it was all said and done the truck looked great but rode horrible, I hated to drive it. I put in a 6" lift and 35's, it's much better to drive now.