How to determine how much lift a truck has?

[FrankTheDog]

I have a 85 K30 camper special, most trucks I see seem to have a flat spring in front. Mine has a bit of a curve to it. I bought the truck the way it is and the previous owner had no info on what the suspension is.

How do I determine how much if any lift it has now?

My plans for it are to switch to dually hubs up front and a dually D70 in the rear to run H1's with a 38" tire. Cross over and high steer with assist are in the plans also.

This is going to be used as an offroad work truck more then it will be used for just for fun wheeling. Mostly for hauling firewood out on skidder trails and other fairly heavy loads.

I would like to add only enough lift for the clearance with trimming of the 38's.

Any pointers? I've searched and can't really find the answers I need.

Thanks, Frank.

 

[YZEATER]

post a pic of it. how many leaves does it have in the front?

 

[four_by_ken]

Get a measurment of a stock K5 of the same year, from the axle tube to the frame... and then take a measurement of yours.

 

[FrankTheDog]

It has five leaves in the spring pack. One is busted. It measures 11 inches from the top of the axle to the bottom of the frame. It measures 24 inches from the top of the lockout hub to the bottom of the fender lip.

This is on a K30 not a K5.

 

[YZEATER]

sounds like 4" to 6" of lift.

 

[NorCalKid]

IIt measures 11 inches from the top of the axle to the bottom of the frame.

I would guess a saggy 4" I am redoing my suspension and just measured my current setup for reference. With 4" springs up front it is about 10.5" from the top of the u-bolt plate to the bottom of the frame.

As for clearing 38's, it is doable with a 4" and some fender trimming, especially if it is just used for mild offroading

 

[FrankTheDog]

It is 11 inches from the axle tube. From the top of the U-bolt plate it is 6.5 inches. Right now there doesn't look like much room for Hy-steer. There is no way I have 4 inches in there now.

 

[blazin_blazer]

just for info ...my 12'' superlift swamp runner lift measures 14.25'' from top of ubolt plate to bottom of the frame w/o engine,tranny, or winch

 

[NorCalKid]

It is 11 inches from the axle tube. From the top of the U-bolt plate it is 6.5 inches. Right now there doesn't look like much room for Hy-steer. There is no way I have 4 inches in there now.

If you have a broken lift you may as well just throw in some new springs and a shackle flip and forget about it. Everyone recommends tuff country ez rides as they are a little softer then the average off the shelf lift. A shackle flip will keep your load range in the rear and give you a better ride. Good luck