RC 1.25" BL Review with pic

badfnz · January 5, 2012

I had been wanting to do the RC 1.25" BL for a month or so, but was waiting for a deal. RC was doing the "Countdown to Christmas" sale where they had a different item for sale every day, but you had to check the website to see what it was. I checked for probably 3 weeks and low and behold, finally they had the 1.25" BL on sale for $109! So I got it a couple days later and installed it last week. Below is my review and some tips for anyone else considering or installing this kit.

Overall, I'd give the install a 5/10 on difficulty. I have installed heads, cams, full suspension, etc on my Camaro, so I know my way around a garage. I wouldn't say this install was difficult, just time consuming and frustrating at times. If you didn't relocate the bumpers, I'd give this install a 2/10. It took me and my brother-in-law 8 hours total, but over half of that was spent on the bumpers.

The only frustrating part of this install was removing the grill and relocating the rear bumper. The instructions make it sound like you undo a few clips and the grill pops right out. Wrong. We ended up having to take off the painted bumper trim piece which is above the chrome bumper. We couldn't get the grill out without doing this. The rear bumper probably took the most time of all. There are 4 bolts that go up vertically, that hold the bumper to the hitch, then there are 4 that go horizontally that hold the bumper to the frame. When you relocate the bumper, you have to drill new holes for the horz bolts. There is a template provided, but after we drilled, the bolt holes weren't even close to lining up with the bumper. What we ended up doing is installing the bumper using only the 4 vertical bolts (because these holes don't change when you raise the bumper), then dropping the spare tire to get access to the back of the bumper once it's installed. We then just drilled holes where the bumper holes lined up. This was much easier than drilling the holes with the bumper off and hoping they line up when you install it. This method will also allow you to adjust the bumper fore/aft before you drill. Also, 4 of the pucks have larger diameter holes in them. These are for the rear bumper. We only had 2 with the larger hole, so we had to drill out 2 others to get the bigger diameter bolts to fit through them. This was kind of a pain in the ass and took a lot of time. Hopefully your kit will have the correct parts.

I recommend bending back or cutting off the metal tab above the parking brake cable before you do the lift. The instructions say to do it after you install the blocks, but do it before. I also didn't disconnect the cable, just loosened the hell out of it via the adjustment nut below the rear door.

The front bumper relocation is very simple. The only snag we ran into was the nut plates stuck out past the rear of the bumper, so when we reinstalled it, it ran into the brackets and the bolt holes wouldn't line up. So we removed the nut plates, took a flat head and hammer to them and bent down the tab that holds them in place, We were then able to turn them 90 degrees and reinstall them. This probably makes no sense now, but if you're doing the install, you'll know what I'm talking about. This worked like a charm.

I recommend having a good drill and 1/2" bit to get through the frame for the tow hooks and rear bumper. Ratcheting wrenches also make this install easier, but I wouldn't go out and buy them if you don't have them. We didn't disconnect anything except for the steering shaft, and we probably didn't even have to do that.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Some people will say it's not worth the ass pain for only 1.25", but I disagree. I didn't want to go overboard, so 1.25" was perfect for me. I could immediately tell the difference and I love this truck even more now. I didn't take any before pics, but I'll add a couple after the lift.

Pics show the 1.25" BL, 2" RC Level, 275/60/20 Coopers.

If you have any questions, ask! I did plenty of searches on here before I got started and got some good info.

97reddodge · January 5, 2012

great looking truck! cant even tell the BL is on there

MB2008LTZ · January 5, 2012

Looks great I have the exact same set up...but with MB Gunner 6 wheels

fishbones182 · January 7, 2012

looks good Im looking for a steal of a deal for my bl maybe one day ill find one. I want to go with a 3" bl though.

speeddemon_383 · January 7, 2012

Looks great I have the exact same set up...but with MB Gunner 6 wheels

That is one sharp silverado....How do you guys like the RC leveling kits. I notice they mount to the bottom instead of the top of the strut. Also I just looked at a 1.25 BL for my silverado and it has bumper relocating brackets. Those should just be bolt on right?

travishale84 · January 7, 2012

when i purchased my 1.25 bl i was also shorted two blocks with the correct diameter holes. so i contacted roughcountry.com and they shipped two pucks for free.

the front bumper gave me the hardest time. i tried it for a couple of hours by myself before calling a buddy up for help. the rear bumper was a piece of cake IMO. this was the first BL i have ever installed, and it was fairly easy. only brief moments of frustration

robertdegoey · January 13, 2012

the front bumper gave me the hardest time. i tried it for a couple of hours by myself before calling a buddy up for help. the rear bumper was a piece of cake IMO. this was the first BL i have ever installed, and it was fairly easy. only brief moments of frustration

I agree about the front bumper being the worst part. I just installed the RC 1.25 inch body lift with my brother about 3 weeks ago, and you absolutley need 2 people to get the front bumper to align properly. The back bumper, even with the cutting was easy, as was the body lift itself, as long as you have a good impact wrench. Doing all those mounting bolts with a manual ratchet would be pretty rough. All told, it took us about 5 hours.