Choosing a Lift....Again

[HikerTrash83]

Hello Everyone!

New member here with a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam. I just bought my first Jeep and it is a 2021 Gladiator Overland. It is completely factory except the edition of an aftermarket front bumper (not even sure which one it is). I have done probably a weeks worth of research into lift kits and come to realize that there are more options than I ever thought possible. Reading through the posts on here it seems Clayton 2.5 Overland is a very popular choice, BUT...I see no mention of another kit I stumbled upon that has truly peeked my interests. It is the EAV Dual Sport RT.

I guess I should have started with my intentions. I am only looking to put 35's underneath it and not looking to do any serious crawling. Most of my adventures will be of the overland variety and will include more mud than rocks when I am off road, but the primary use will be as a daily driver. I am hoping to use my rig to escape a few times a month for family camping trips. A big concern I have is losing my tow capacity. It was a deciding factor in choosing the gladiator over the wrangler and it is very important to me as I do have a small 3000 lbs. trailer that I will be towing randomly.

Back to the kits. From what I can tell, both of these kits will accomplish the same thing but the Clayton has way more adjustability while the EAV uses geometry brackets to eliminate the requirement for adjustments. Can someone with more experience and knowledge educate me on pro's/con's of each? I'm leaning more towards the EAV based solely off of cost but want to make sure I make the most educated decision I can. Thanks in advance!

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[ShadowsPapa]

Welcome to the world of the Gladiator. You will love it.
I've had my Overland for 29 months so far. 26,000 miles. It was to be just a truck, use it only for towing and hauling stuff, otherwise sit most of the time. My wife and I like it so much, it's become my "daily driver".
No lift - well, not really. It's 1" higher than a pure stock Overland because of a spring swap and 3/4" spacers.

ANY lifting impacts towing, any changes from factory drop towing capacity technically speaking but I tow a 5,000 pound car hauler with car on it and you're talking 3,000 pounds, you aren't going to lose enough to worry about it.
As far as how well it pulls - 35s will have a negative impact due to the 3.73 ratio. One reason I have stuck with stock diameter tires (even though I went to wider A/T tires) was to not cause problems towing.
Some others here have 35s on the 3.73 ratio and can tell of their experiences, but me, personally, I'd never go that much due to towing what I do.......... I'm fine where it is, but not overly fine.
Overland tires are 32.2" diameter. Most 35s will be about 34.7 or 34.8 etc. o you are talking a change of 2.5" or so inches.

Keep in mind the payload. Chances are you are just over 1,000 pounds payload (it's on the sticker on the door jamb) and you will subtract your tongue weight from that (say 10% or 300 pounds) leaving about 700 pounds. If the bumper is heavier than the stock bumper, subtract the difference in bumper weight from that 700 pounds. Wife at 130 pounds drops down to 550 for example (taking 20 off for heavier bumper)

And lifting will cause it to have a higher center of gravity- it's not going to handle well sitting up 2.5" fully loaded (ask me how I know about loading these things up LOL)

Figure what's NECESSARY, what's important, and what you might do "just because (do you NEED that much lift? Heck no, not for 35" tires!) you may want to reconsider if you will be hauling or towing much.

 

[Rahkmalla]

AEV (not EAV) is a highly respected manufacturer of wrangler and gladiator parts. They make good stuff using good stuff. Their parts or beefy and expected to last. They are also priced accordingly.

The main reason you wouldn't hear much about an AEV Dual Sport is because of the prominence (and significantly cheaper cost) of the AEV 2" spacer kit.

not to mention 3" is a lot of lift (the dualsport measures 2.5-3, which just means 3 for overlands and sports and 2.5 for willys and mojaves). Definitely on the very outside edge of daily driver territory, bordering on weekend toy territory.

 

[HikerTrash83]

Welcome to the world of the Gladiator. You will love it.
I've had my Overland for 29 months so far. 26,000 miles. It was to be just a truck, use it only for towing and hauling stuff, otherwise sit most of the time. My wife and I like it so much, it's become my "daily driver".
No lift - well, not really. It's 1" higher than a pure stock Overland because of a spring swap and 3/4" spacers.

ANY lifting impacts towing, any changes from factory drop towing capacity technically speaking but I tow a 5,000 pound car hauler with car on it and you're talking 3,000 pounds, you aren't going to lose enough to worry about it.
As far as how well it pulls - 35s will have a negative impact due to the 3.73 ratio. One reason I have stuck with stock diameter tires (even though I went to wider A/T tires) was to not cause problems towing.
Some others here have 35s on the 3.73 ratio and can tell of their experiences, but me, personally, I'd never go that much due to towing what I do.......... I'm fine where it is, but not overly fine.
Overland tires are 32.2" diameter. Most 35s will be about 34.7 or 34.8 etc. o you are talking a change of 2.5" or so inches.

Keep in mind the payload. Chances are you are just over 1,000 pounds payload (it's on the sticker on the door jamb) and you will subtract your tongue weight from that (say 10% or 300 pounds) leaving about 700 pounds. If the bumper is heavier than the stock bumper, subtract the difference in bumper weight from that 700 pounds. Wife at 130 pounds drops down to 550 for example (taking 20 off for heavier bumper)

And lifting will cause it to have a higher center of gravity- it's not going to handle well sitting up 2.5" fully loaded (ask me how I know about loading these things up LOL)

Figure what's NECESSARY, what's important, and what you might do "just because (do you NEED that much lift? Heck no, not for 35" tires!) you may want to reconsider if you will be hauling or towing much.

I'm tracking most of the negative aspects of lifting and towing. Still going to pursue it...LOL. I was looking at the AEV (Typo'd that in the original post) and if I select the high capacity springs it is supposed to accommodate the addition of extra gear and bags. Thoughts??

 

[kevman65]

To run 35's, you don't need a full lift kit.

You can get by with spacers and shock extension brackets.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

The Clayton 2.5" Ride Right is about the same price as the AEV DualSport. Maybe you were comparing to one of Clayton's more expensive kits with more parts. The Ride Right kit is most comparable to the AEV DualSport. You can get a discount on a Clayton kit. Might be able to on the AEV kit too, but I'm not sure.

The Clayton kit gives you adjustable track bars to center the axles. AEV gives you a rear track bar bracket and nothing for the front.

Drop brackets rob some clearance. Probably wouldn't matter much for the use you described. Adjustable arms allow for more precise adjustment.

Clayton springs have a higher spring rate than most other JT lift springs. This wasn't an important factor to me so I don't know the details with this. Clayton will give you the spring rates if you want.

AEV and Clayton both make nice stuff. I ended up choosing Clayton.

 

[shokker70]

The Fox/Mopar 2" lift, especially if done by a deal or at least though them, is covered by your standard 3 year/36k miles warranty. Think it's technically 2.5", and it more than enough for 35s.

 

[Pescado]

Check out Terraflex lifts, I'm happy with the 2.5" lift on my Overland with Falcon shocks.

 

[teamblkdog]

The Fox/Mopar 2" lift, especially if done by a deal or at least though them, is covered by your standard 3 year/36k miles warranty. Think it's technically 2.5", and it more than enough for 35s.

+1 — very happy with my Mopar 2" lift

 

[ttn333]

I have Clayton overland plus kit. You may not need the complete kit for your use. The ride right kit might be enough. I think it's comparable to the other kits that's mentioned on here with the option to add on down the line if you feel the need.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

I've been real pleased with my 2.5" Readylift SST lift kit, I added Rubicon takeoff springs to the front to level it out some. You can easily run 37''s with this setup. I added drop down brackets that can be set to 3 different lift heights. This is how mine sits

It rides and drive pretty close to stock 9ther than the different feel in the tires. Naturally a more aggressive tires is going to ride a little tougher.

 

[HikerTrash83]

The Clayton 2.5" Ride Right is about the same price as the AEV DualSport. Maybe you were comparing to one of Clayton's more expensive kits with more parts. The Ride Right kit is most comparable to the AEV DualSport. You can get a discount on a Clayton kit. Might be able to on the AEV kit too, but I'm not sure.

The Clayton kit gives you adjustable track bars to center the axles. AEV gives you a rear track bar bracket and nothing for the front.

Drop brackets rob some clearance. Probably wouldn't matter much for the use you described. Adjustable arms allow for more precise adjustment.

Clayton springs have a higher spring rate than most other JT lift springs. This wasn't an important factor to me so I don't know the details with this. Clayton will give you the spring rates if you want.

AEV and Clayton both make nice stuff. I ended up choosing Clayton.

Just looked at the Ride Right and the biggest difference is the lack of shocks. If money wasn't an option, I would run the Clayton but I don't think I would ever "need" all adjustability of the Clayton. I think the AEV is enough but wanted more input.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

If you put on different wheels other than stock you can run 35's with not lift. I had 315 70 17 BFG K02's on mine for a few days with no lift. I have a Max Tow so I could fit them with my stock wheels but on the overland you don't have the wide track axles so you would need different wheels. Either way your going to need different wheels, even if you lift it your still going to hit the front bottom control arms on 35's.

 

[4xRadDad]

I’ve had the AEV RT kit with standard springs on mine for over a year and love it! Was running 35s but just upgraded to 37s last week. All summer long I tow our ski boat and it does great. The boat is heavy, guessing 6000ish all loaded up. I like towing with the AEV kit more then the factory rubicon suspension. The AEV kit is stuffer suspension tuning so it feels more planted and controlled to me then factory. Daily drive mine and love the ride. I don’t know if I’d get the heavy springs unless you have a topper or your running around full time with overland gear. All around it’s a great kit. Easy to install and I liked that it try’s to maintain factory geometry and bushings.

 

[NewGladdyOWNR]

I have the Clayton 2.5” overland plus lift kit on my 2021 Overland, with fox shocks on 33’s and I absolutely love it. This is my daily driver and it drives better than stock. Sure, 2.5” lift might be overkill with smaller tires but aesthetically it still looks great. I had 35’s but you will notice a decrease in performance immediately and maintaining power/mpg was more in my interest. Additionally, that kit comes with extremely beefy parts and if I ever decided to lower the truck all I’d need is new springs. My 2 Pennie’s.

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