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Finally got all the parts and installed the RockKrawler 3.0 Adventure Series Lift!

crawlzone207

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So I know a lot of folks were waiting for me to install the RK lift and to let them know the results. My hubby and I installed it on the weekend. It took a while as we don't have a vehicle lift, so we used jackstands on the frame and two regular car jacks.

We are no strangers to doing a lift. We have done our 3 other Jeeps. One MetalCloak 4.5" lift on my other half's 2007 Rubi, one metalcloak 3.5" lift on my 13' Rubi, one RK 2.5" adventure series on our 2021 JL Rubi overlander.....I also had a gas JT for a short period of time with the Mopar 2.5" lift (until the dealer wanted it back).

Here is a link to the system we ordered: https://rockkrawler.com/jt-3-0-inch-diesel-adventure-no-limits-system-stage-1/

The system listed above shows bump stops, but you have to buy them separately.......I was able to purchase this system for a lot less by using a discount code......

Installation was pretty straight forward.....although their instructions cover all their lifts....so you have to go through and re-read and verify, to make sure you are installing everything correctly.

The only thing I couldn't verify was the pucks they use to level out the JT. The front are the same. The backs have different heights. It said to install the taller of the two on the rear passenger's side.....now on my 2021 JL, it is a gasser and that's how we installed it, but there was no indication to install these any other way for the diesel......being a diesel I would think you would want the taller of the two on the driver's side because of the fuel tank.
We decided to follow the instructions and installed the taller one on the pass side. Can Rock Krawler chime in and confirm? @Rockkrawler

Other than that, everything else went smoothly.

Measurements before and after the lift:
Front: Before: 25" on both sides. After 28.5"
Rear: Before: 25" on both sides. After 29"

We adjusted the front track bar, checked the toe, and moved the steering wheel back to center.
The nose of the JT is now actually up, instead of the nose dive it did have.

Took the JTR out for the first test drive. It took a little bit for the new RK shocks to get pumped up.
Overall, the ride is really nice. It drives just as straight as it did when it was stock. The triple rate coils give a firm, yet non bone jarring ride. The shocks take the bumps great. Hitting dips in the roads no longer make the truck bounce up and down twice in the back end. It makes it drive with a lot more control.
We did some testing as if we were going side to side like we were trying to miss the orange cones in the middle of the road. It actually surprised both of us at how responsive the truck was and how the body roll handled. It was much better than expected.

Very happy with the results so far.

We will check the track bar again once we get home, just to make sure it didn't move....sometimes they do once they settle in. (We did use a steer smarts track bar that we had, instead of the RK track bar. No reason other than we had that one out of the box and why not use it.)

I will be posting a video on our YouTube channel about this JTR build. You can check out our page Crawlzone207 at: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crawlzone207

Jeep Gladiator Finally got all the parts and installed the RockKrawler 3.0 Adventure Series Lift! IMG_2442-1.JPG


Jeep Gladiator Finally got all the parts and installed the RockKrawler 3.0 Adventure Series Lift! IMG_2443.JPG


Jeep Gladiator Finally got all the parts and installed the RockKrawler 3.0 Adventure Series Lift! IMG_2446.JPG


Jeep Gladiator Finally got all the parts and installed the RockKrawler 3.0 Adventure Series Lift! IMG_2444.JPG
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Free2roam

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So I know a lot of folks were waiting for me to install the RK lift and to let them know the results. My hubby and I installed it on the weekend. It took a while as we don't have a vehicle lift, so we used jackstands on the frame and two regular car jacks.

We are no strangers to doing a lift. We have done our 3 other Jeeps. One MetalCloak 4.5" lift on my other half's 2007 Rubi, one metalcloak 3.5" lift on my 13' Rubi, one RK 2.5" adventure series on our 2021 JL Rubi overlander.....I also had a gas JT for a short period of time with the Mopar 2.5" lift (until the dealer wanted it back).

Here is a link to the system we ordered: https://rockkrawler.com/jt-3-0-inch-diesel-adventure-no-limits-system-stage-1/

The system listed above shows bump stops, but you have to buy them separately.......

Installation was pretty straight forward.....although their instructions cover all their lifts....so you have to go through and re-read and verify, to make sure you are installing everything correctly.

The only thing I couldn't verify was the pucks they use to level out the JT. The front are the same. The backs have different heights. It said to install the taller of the two on the rear passenger's side.....now on my 2021 JL, it is a gasser and that's how we installed it, but there was no indication to install these any other way for the diesel......being a diesel I would think you would want the taller of the two on the driver's side because of the fuel tank.
We decided to follow the instructions and installed the taller one on the pass side.

Other than that, everything else went smoothly.

Measurements before and after the lift:
Front: Before: 25" on both sides. After 28.5"
Rear: Before: 25" on both sides. After 29"

We adjusted the front track bar, checked the toe, and moved the steering wheel back to center.
The nose of the JT is now actually up, instead of the nose dive it did have.

Took the JTR out for the first test drive. It took a little bit for the new RK shocks to get pumped up.
Overall, the ride is really nice. It drives just as straight as it did when it was stock. The triple rate coils give a firm, yet non bone jarring ride. The shocks take the bumps great. Hitting dips in the roads no longer make the truck bounce up and down twice in the back end. It makes it drive with a lot more control.
We did some testing as if we were going side to side like we were trying to miss the orange cones in the middle of the road. It actually surprised both of us at how responsive the truck was and how the body roll handled. It was much better than expected.

Very happy with the results so far.

We will check the trackbar again once we get home, just to make sure it didn't move....sometimes they do once they settle in.

If you have questions, let me know!

I'll post pics, just got to go take some now!
Did you need or feel the need for a new front driveshaft? I've heard that it recommended.
 
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crawlzone207

crawlzone207

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Did you need or feel the need for a new front driveshaft? I've heard that it recommended.
It's not bothering at the moment at all. Right now it's my every day driver and I have my 13' JKR to play offroad.
If I was going to start doing some trails I would probably go with an aftermarket drive shaft.

But for right now, there are no vibrations whatsoever. I will keep my eye on it though. I'm sure it will start slinging grease over time because that is what they do! When that starts or when I can save up some more $$$ I'll replace the shafts, and down the road go with RCV's for the front. I've run that setup in my 13' and it has never let me down.
 
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crawlzone207

crawlzone207

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I was looking at this one. I have a Sport S Ecodiesel. Want to run 35s. You've got 315s?
https://rockkrawler.com/jt-3-0-inch-diesel-ultimate-adventure-system-stage-1/
Yes I have 35's on currently....been running them even before the lift.
I considered doing one with adjustable uppers/lowers. I did that in my JK. I didn't want to go that far yet. I know from experience, if you don't get your axles exactly right on the angles, it will cause issues.
I went the route I did for now....it's not as expensive and you can always add to your suspension after the fact.....Northridge has a lot of good sales and coupon codes. I only paid $2499 for my setup....$500 savings is pretty darn good!
 

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rharr

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do you have any side profile pics? I am leaning toward this kit. Please keep us posted on life with the kit.
 
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crawlzone207

crawlzone207

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do you have any side profile pics? I am leaning toward this kit. Please keep us posted on life with the kit.
Here you go! It was early morning at my shop....so I hope it shows how high it is. Let me know if you want any other shots.

IMG_2448.jpg
 
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crawlzone207

crawlzone207

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Ok, so I have driven approx 250 miles since lift install.
My initial impressions far surpassed what I thought. The JT rides more like a truck now. The springs have a nice rate and the shocks are stiff, to control the body, but do have a nice soft ride.
I would love to have a set of diesel falcon shocks to compare the two, but very happy with RK shocks at the moment. The RK shocks also have a valve to refill with nitrogen when they get older…..kinda a nice feature. I was told 80lbs is what they are set at.
Overall a much better handling truck, that is driveable, and comfortable.
I did not replace my driveshafts and haven’t had any noticeable difference.
If I plan to go off-road I will probably change them out.
I used Adams on my 13’ JK….they are ok, but were not balanced great.
Who would you guys recommend for a good driveshaft?
 

rharr

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Ok, so I have driven approx 250 miles since lift install.
My initial impressions far surpassed what I thought. The JT rides more like a truck now. The springs have a nice rate and the shocks are stiff, to control the body, but do have a nice soft ride.
I would love to have a set of diesel falcon shocks to compare the two, but very happy with RK shocks at the moment. The RK shocks also have a valve to refill with nitrogen when they get older…..kinda a nice feature. I was told 80lbs is what they are set at.
Overall a much better handling truck, that is driveable, and comfortable.
I did not replace my driveshafts and haven’t had any noticeable difference.
If I plan to go off-road I will probably change them out.
I used Adams on my 13’ JK….they are ok, but were not balanced great.
Who would you guys recommend for a good driveshaft?
Tom woods was a go to for many years, I would look for a driveline shop in town, drive shafts aren't to complicated, these guys just order the joint parts from a spicer catalog, and weld in some drive tube to the length needed. You can go talk to these guys and have them suggest a drive shaft package that works for you. And then if you have issues you can just go there instead of shipping.

That is my plan at least if I need a new drive shaft ever, give the local guy a chance and if it doesn't work out then try ordering one.

To bad when building it you didn't flex it out without the springs to see if there would be driveline issues at full flex.

I am leaning toward this exact kit, just having a hard time pulling the trigger for a few reasons (potential holidays discounts, voiding my standard warranty, possibility of buying new front drive shaft) Any concerns on your end with warranty issues going bigger then oem lift?

BTW the shock with the krawler kits are a pretty good shock, look to be what the industry calls a smooth body shock. They are fully rebuildable and tunable and have a fair amount of fluid in the bodies. IF you don't like the ride you can take the shocks to a suspension shop that rebuilds these things and have them change the shim stack (aka valving) to go stiffer or softer. Only thing different the falcons have is some on the fly turnability, and a piggy back to hold a little more fluid, but in reality once you get it set the way you like you won't be touching the adjustability any longer. And frankly those RK shock might be rebranded falcon monotube/smooth body shocks, they look very similar. There are only a few actual mfr's around that build shock like that from scratch and a lot of their work is making stuff for vendors like RK.
 
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crawlzone207

crawlzone207

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Tom woods was a go to for many years, I would look for a driveline shop in town, drive shafts aren't to complicated, these guys just order the joint parts from a spicer catalog, and weld in some drive tube to the length needed. You can go talk to these guys and have them suggest a drive shaft package that works for you. And then if you have issues you can just go there instead of shipping.

That is my plan at least if I need a new drive shaft ever, give the local guy a chance and if it doesn't work out then try ordering one.

To bad when building it you didn't flex it out without the springs to see if there would be driveline issues at full flex.

I am leaning toward this exact kit, just having a hard time pulling the trigger for a few reasons (potential holidays discounts, voiding my standard warranty, possibility of buying new front drive shaft) Any concerns on your end with warranty issues going bigger then oem lift?

BTW the shock with the krawler kits are a pretty good shock, look to be what the industry calls a smooth body shock. They are fully rebuildable and tunable and have a fair amount of fluid in the bodies. IF you don't like the ride you can take the shocks to a suspension shop that rebuilds these things and have them change the shim stack (aka valving) to go stiffer or softer. Only thing different the falcons have is some on the fly turnability, and a piggy back to hold a little more fluid, but in reality once you get it set the way you like you won't be touching the adjustability any longer. And frankly those RK shock might be rebranded falcon monotube/smooth body shocks, they look very similar. There are only a few actual mfr's around that build shock like that from scratch and a lot of their work is making stuff for vendors like RK.
Thanks for the info....we used to have a local shop that built driveshafts, but they went out of business years ago. That doesn't leave us much options.
The shocks are not that bad......they do have a softness to them, but it seems to complement the stiffer springs.
Another thing I noticed, is that the diesel has a left hand lean when you fill the fuel tank up. I thought maybe I put the pucks in the wrong side, on the tail end. Talked to RK and they said we did it right.
Here's what they said:
You did it correctly. The entire drivetrain is shifted towards the passenger side to create clearance for the steering column. You don't notice it until you get under a right hand drive model. That drivetrain is still causing the weight bias to be passenger side heavy.

So I guess if you have a Jeep it's going to lean one way or the other.....my old JK has the right hand lean.....:)
 

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rharr

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Thanks for the info....we used to have a local shop that built driveshafts, but they went out of business years ago. That doesn't leave us much options.
The shocks are not that bad......they do have a softness to them, but it seems to complement the stiffer springs.
Another thing I noticed, is that the diesel has a left hand lean when you fill the fuel tank up. I thought maybe I put the pucks in the wrong side, on the tail end. Talked to RK and they said we did it right.
Here's what they said:
You did it correctly. The entire drivetrain is shifted towards the passenger side to create clearance for the steering column. You don't notice it until you get under a right hand drive model. That drivetrain is still causing the weight bias to be passenger side heavy.

So I guess if you have a Jeep it's going to lean one way or the other.....my old JK has the right hand lean.....:)
One more question, I looked at the Northridge website, but didn't see the diesel adv kit with shocks listed, only the non shock kit. How did you go about ordering your kit? Phone order?
 
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crawlzone207

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One more question, I looked at the Northridge website, but didn't see the diesel adv kit with shocks listed, only the non shock kit. How did you go about ordering your kit? Phone order?
Let me chat with Northridge....It doesn't give me the kit number....just gives me the individual parts. Hang on!
 
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crawlzone207

crawlzone207

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they are not sure why it's not showing right now. You can do the chat with them.....it comes up in their system for $2,807.19.
RK part # JT30ASNL-DS1
Talked to Chris R. in sales. He said you can always call them or chat directly.
 

rharr

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they are not sure why it's not showing right now. You can do the chat with them.....it comes up in their system for $2,807.19.
RK part # JT30ASNL-DS1
Talked to Chris R. in sales. He said you can always call them or chat directly.
Thanks for the research!
 

rharr

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Kit ordered, can't wait to get it installed. How's your been now that it's been a while?
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