Breaking down can be common when you hit the dirt...well, at least that seems to be the case for us at OFF-ROAD. More often than we’d like to mention, we get helped back to camp by a tow rig, so it’s no surprise we’re big fans of tow rigs. A friend of ours recently purchased a ’97 Ford F-350 for a great price. The Ford was incredibly clean inside and out and had a relatively low-mileage engine with plenty of power to pull heavy trailers or play in the dirt. Our friend wanted to get a few inches of ground clearance, so the decision was made to bolt in a Tuff Country 4-inch EZ-Ride full leaf-spring lift, which would give us the extra height needed to tow trailers into the dirt. 1. The Tuff Country EZ-Ride 4-inch lift kit comes with front leaf springs, U-bolts, shocks, a pitman arm, track bar drop bracket, and either 4-inch blocks or replacement leaf springs in the rear. We ordered the optional 4-inch-lift rear leaf springs.1. The Tuff Country EZ-Ride 4-inch lift kit comes with front leaf springs, U-bolts, shocks 2. The kit comes with a drop pitman arm to correct the steering geometry of the 4-inch EZ-Ride lift kit.2. The kit comes with a drop pitman arm to correct the steering geometry of the 4-inch EZ- 3. The Tuff Country 4-inch EZ-Ride lift kit also uses a drop bracket to keep the track bar in line with the drag link.3. The Tuff Country 4-inch EZ-Ride lift kit also uses a drop bracket to keep the track bar 4. The kit uses the EZ-Ride SX8000 Nitrogen gas shocks at all four corners. 5. After the Tuff Country 4-inch EZ-Ride leaf springs were installed, we bolted in the new SX8000 shocks. Tuff Country EZ-Ride leaf springs are tapered, snub rolled, and pre set. The leaf springs bolted right up to the factory spring perches with the new U-bolts.5. After the Tuff Country 4-inch EZ-Ride leaf springs were installed, we bolted in the new 6. The F-350s have the shackle in the front the same way the old CJ and YJ Wrangler originally came. These trucks do benefit from a shackle reversal (moving the shackle to the rear of the front leaf spring), which reduces bumpsteer and allows for better articulation. We might look into enhancing our Tuff Country leaf springs with this feature in the future.6. The F-350s have the shackle in the front the same way the old CJ and YJ Wrangler origin 7. We went with a full leaf spring replacement instead of a block lift, because this truck already had factory blocks. We didn’t want to stack blocks for the type of use this truck will see.7. We went with a full leaf spring replacement instead of a block lift, because this truck 8. The U-bolt plates needed to be drilled out slightly to fit the larger center pin of the new springs.8. The U-bolt plates needed to be drilled out slightly to fit the larger center pin of the 9. We installed the new EZ-Ride 4-inch leaf springs with the factory blocks using new U-bolts that were included in the kit, just like in front (never reuse U-bolts and always tighten them when the truck is on the ground with the weight on the springs).9. We installed the new EZ-Ride 4-inch leaf springs with the factory blocks using new U-bo 10. Once our suspension was buttoned up, we bolted on a set of Pro Comp Xtreme Alloy 1079 polished wheels wrapped in LT315/75R16 Pro Comp Xtreme All-Terrain tires. These tires deliver excellent performance in harsh terrain and are a great choice for heavy tow rigs that see frequent use in the dirt.10. Once our suspension was buttoned up, we bolted on a set of Pro Comp Xtreme Alloy 1079 How did that EZ Ride Work? Every piece of the kit went on without issue, save for having to drill out the U-bolt plates to fit the new, larger center pins. But we’ll never complain about adding more robust center pins. When the truck was back on the ground, the rear was sitting just a tad high and we hope it’ll settle a little as time goes on. In the dirt, the front seemed to move better than the rear. Again, we’re hoping the rear springs will break in a little more. With a trailer on the back or a load in the bed, the rear springs felt great, but we’re getting some teeth chatter when unloaded. Sources Pro Comp 400 W. Artesia Boulevard Compton CA 90220 866-232-0665 www.procomptires.com Tuff Country 4172 West 8370 South West Jordan UT 84088 800-288-2190 www.tuffcountry.com By Agustin Jimenez Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
