All About Ground Clearance & Lift Kits For Western Hunters

Written By Tyler Bales

For the majority of hunters, the number one way to improve the offroad ability of their vehicle is going to be to improve ground clearance. To improve ground clearance one will have to install some sort of lift and install larger tires. Lift kits themselves don’t improve actual ground clearance all that greatly. Lift kits increase the height of everything above the springs. Larger tires improve your ground clearance the most. 

Types of Lift Kits

There are three types of lift kits, suspension lifts, body lifts and leveling kits. Suspension lifts increase the vehicle height of the front and the back creating more room for larger tires. Body lifts go between the frame and the body to create space in fender wells for larger tires. Leveling kits inchrea the vehicle height of the front of the vehicle in order to create space in the front for larger tires and level the vehicle (many vehicles have a front rake to improve aerodynamics and help with towing). The main types of suspension lifts and leveling kits are strut spacer, torsion key, coilover, and strut replacements. Most lift kits will also level a vehicle. 

Example of a parts kit for a suspension 2020 Chevy 1500 with replacement struts from Rough Country (Photo from Rough Country)

Pros

Clearance is the biggest benefit of a lift kit. When a lift or leveling kit is installed it increases the distance between the axles and the frame/body of the vehicle. This gives you more room to go over objects without getting high-centered or catching your door panels on your way to your glassing spot. Some kits can help reduce the likelihood of your suspension bottoming out, too.

2015 Ram 2500 with a Carli 2.5” Leveling Kit (Photo from CJC Offroad)

Improved Suspension

Improved suspension can be a huge benefit as well depending on your lift/leveling kit style. Some kits add performance components just as coilovers, struts, control arms, and leaf springs, that can improve suspension limitation to help explore more aggressive terrain by helping you keep your tires on the ground.

Larger Wheels and Tires

Larger wheels and tires can be installed after a lift/leveling kit. A lift creates more space in your fender wells allowing you to be able to fit and clear more aggressive wheel and tire set ups. Larger tires also improve your ground clearance and I highly recommend them when performing a lift kit as ground clearance is the most important improvement for off-roading. Larger tires increase the distance between the ground and your axles allowing you to traverse over larger objects without damaging the axles, bumpers, and undercarriage of the vehicle.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics are the a benefit of all the pros of a lift kit. It is in my opinion and that of many people all over the world that a lifted vehicle just simply looks better. Whether it is being able to fit fancy big wheels and tires or showing off the suspension components of you vehicle. As we all know, a good-looking hunting rig is just as important as anything else. Joking. 

Cons

Fuel efficiency is impacted by lift kits by reducing aerodynamics of the vehicle and adding a little additional weight.”

Cost To Install

The first con that comes to mind is cost as most lift kits are going to cost upward of $1,000 for parts and professional installation (which is recommended) and can easily cost over $10,000 for parts and installation depending on the type and complexity of a kit that comes with higher performance suspension systems. None of that includes buying different wheels and tires if you so choose, either. 

Fuel Efficiency

Fuel efficiency is more than likely to decrease after installing a lift kit. Fuel efficiency is impacted by lift kits by reducing the aerodynamics of the vehicle and adding additional weight. The addition of larger wheels and tires also decreases fuel efficiency as your vehicle has to work harder to turn a larger diameter tire. This is a common factor that prevents folks from having a lift kit installed as we all know the less we spend on fuel the more money we have for tag applications. 

Voiding Warranties can also be a problem with installing a lift on newer vehicles as it takes the vehicle out of stock with the addition of nonfactory parts.

Decreased Towing Capacity

Decreased towing capacity can also be an effect as your vehicle has to work harder to move therefore losing power that would otherwise be used to tow larger items.

Decreased Stability

Finally, decreasing the stability of the vehicle can become a problem as a lift kit raises the center of gravity of a vehicle causing it to be more prone to rollovers. This can be combated through more careful driving but definitely is a concern especially when not familiar with driving taller vehicles.