Rough Country lift kits: an installer's honest take

We install Rough Country leveling and lift kits at our Tyler and Longview shops, and every lift and level leaves aligned. The builds below came out of our bays.

Fair warning: I install these kits for a living, so asking me if Rough Country is good is a bit like asking a barber if you need a haircut. [straight face for a second] I'll tell you where they shine and where they don't, and you can check my work against the trucks below.

Are Rough Country lift kits good?

Yes, for the job most people buy them for. A Rough Country kit gets a truck to a taller stance with room for bigger tires, using parts built to bolt onto that exact model. For a truck that commutes all week and sees a pasture or a deer lease on the weekend, that's the sweet spot.

Where people go wrong isn't the brand. It's buying a kit off a forum post without checking it fits the truck, then skipping the alignment. That's how a perfectly good kit gets blamed for a set of front tires that wear out like they owe somebody money.

We see the same pattern online. Most bad reviews come from the install, not the kit: the wrong kit for the truck, a skipped alignment, or a 6 inch lift done in a driveway by two buddies and a case of something cold.

Rough Country lift kit sizes, and what each one is for

Rough Country sells kits in steps, and the right step depends on the tire you want and how the truck gets used. These are the sizes we install most, with real jobs from our shops next to each one.

Not sure if you want a level or a lift? That's its own conversation, and we had it in leveling kit vs lift kit.

What Rough Country kits do well

Three things keep us installing them. Each one shows up in the work orders, not just the catalog.

1. Fitment across the trucks we see. Ford, Chevy, GMC, Ram, Toyota, Nissan and Jeep all have kits, so we're rarely stuck telling someone their truck is out of luck.
2. A clear path from small to big. Leveling kits, lifts and matching shocks and struts all come from one place. When a customer wants more later, the parts play nice with what's already on there.
3. Value. Hunter, a Longview customer, put it in one line: "Did great on my lift kit and even saved me some money!" Your wallet may still flinch. It just flinches less.

What to know before you buy one

A lift changes how the truck sits, steers and wears tires. None of that is a reason to skip one. All of it is a reason to plan.

• It needs an alignment. Lifting changes the front end angles. Every lift and level we install leaves aligned. More on that on our wheel alignment page.
• The ride changes with the size. A level rides close to stock. The bigger the lift and the heavier the tire, the more the truck feels different. That's common shop experience, not a measured number.
• Older trucks fight back. Rust and seized bolts can turn a simple job into a long one. Richard brought his Toyota to our Tyler shop for a lift, the bolts were seized, and he wrote that we "stood next to their price and did not charge me extra".
• Your warranty is not automatically gone. A dealer has to show the part caused the problem. We break that down in does a leveling kit void your warranty.

Rough Country builds from our shops

Here's what's actually rolled out of our bays with Rough Country parts on it. No stock photos, no hypotheticals.

1. 2 inch Rough Country N3 leveling struts on a 2021-and-up Chevy/GMC full-size SUV, with 20x9 Gangstar wheels and 33x11.50R20 tires. Sensors programmed, aligned, out the same day.
2. 3.5 inch Rough Country lift on a white Ram 1500 with 22 inch bronze Fuel wheels and 33 inch tires. That's the truck in the photo above.
3. 3 inch Rough Country lift on a gray Nissan Titan XD with chrome Fittipaldi wheels.
4. Rough Country 2.5 inch level and four 35 inch Toyo tires on a Jeep. Samuel, a Longview customer, said it was "installed in less than a day."
5. 2.5 inch Rough Country level on a red 2023 Ram 2500 with black Fuel wheels and 35 inch Predator tires.
6. Rough Country 7 inch M1 struts and upper control arms on a Tyler customer's truck that already ran a 6 inch lift. He wrote that the parts "fit perfect and aligned well."

Rough Country lift kit questions