Well finally got Max’s long travel kit installed. Since my Roxor is 100% ranch use I did not want a high lift as I am constantly getting on and off the Roxor when doing things spraying brush using a wand while driving then getting out to spray other areas not reachable while driving. I did have the Climax front and rear shackles installed with 255/35/R16 tires. This was all the lift I wanted.
For this reason I went with standard height YJ spring getting 1.5” of lift from the long travel kit which is slightly lower than the lift using the Climax shackles by about ¾ to 1”. I used leaf springs from General Spring rated at 840 lbs for the front and 1,080 lbs for the rear (sprayer carried in the back has 55 Gal capacity). Another reason for standard height springs is that it allows me to use the original front drive shaft and brake lines.
For shocks I went with the KYB shocks highly rated on this forum which are the 343403 front, 344015 rear. Before I started with the long travel kit I installed the shocks first and they are a definite improvement over OEM shocks.
Install was not difficult as my son helped with the front and I did the rears by myself. Since I am in the middle of nowhere in S. Texas the hardest thing was to find appropriate leaf spring bushing and bolts. Amazon to the rescue and local auto part stores did not have what is needed.
First test drive…definite improvement! Regular ranch road travel was much smoother and when I was heading for the creek bottom for the real test I came around a corner and upon a washout and had that “oh sh*t” feeling and I knew this was going to be a hard hit. The long travel soaked up the hit.
Only problem I had is that while testing in the creek bottom at speeds I normally do not travel I was having tire rub when hitting deep washouts. So for 99.9% of my use the tire rub will not be an issue. I did check the Cecco site and it seems they no longer sell the body lift spacers as this could be a fix for this issue.
On other issue is I have about a ¼” lean to the driver’s side. I checked that all brackets are flush to the frame after drilling and bolting. And the 2” spring bushings welded to the frame are equal from left to right as I really watched this while drilling those 2” holes. I did loosen all spring bolts and rocked the vehicle but that did not help. Maybe the springs will settle over time?
Conclusion…installing the kit is defiantly worth it and my back will thank me after driving over rough pastures and ranch roads. Let me know if anyone has questions.