I have a stock 95 Chevy 1500 and I want to add a 4" lift to it. What do u guys think of Trailmaster, I've heard mixed opinons but never a straight answer. Also is a Jet or B&M electronic shift kit worth the money or am i just going to destroy my transmission? Any help would be great.

I have the 4" TM on my 94. Seems to be OK to me, no alignment problems or pieces falling off. It should give you pretty close to exactly 4" of lift. Beware though, that you will still only be able to fit 33" tires under it. You can get away with a wider/more offset rim, but not any taller of a tire.

It's the only lifted truck I have ever owned or driven, so I really have nothing to compare it to.

I have a Trailmaster 4" on my 97. I have never had a problem with mine. I like it, and have had it since May of 99. It is the first lifted IFS I have owned, but not my first lifted truck. As far as the tranny kits go, these kits are designed to give you firmer shifts which will actually lengthen the life of a tranny. When you have those nice, smooth a silk sifts that you cant hardly feel, the tranny is actually slipping some to relieve the harshness of the shift. This slippage over time takes a toll on your tranny in the form of worn clutches etc.

I have the TM 6" on my 90 and so far it has been a decent lift. I've used it pretty hard off road before and have even caught air under the front tires a few times, but so far nothing has broken. The only problem I've been having lately is that the front tires ware on the outside, even after 3 alignments and new ball joints. Don't know if it has anything to do with the lift or not.

Someone else here may be able to compare TM with other lifts. Most brands are similar though.

90 Z71

My buddy put the full 6" on his '97 1/2 ton (same kit that would cover your year). He loves it. The lift itself is excellent quality, but you could potentially have problems if you romp on it too hard without a stronger driveline...he did.


<font color=green>'99 Silverado 2500HD ext. cab/SWB, 6.0L, manual, 4.10's etc. etc.- not even close! no mods yet!</font color=green>

My best friend has the TM lift and has had lots of alignment problems.[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
But this is probably because he has the T-bars cranked to get 6" out of it, and is running 35"s.
He also had to buy bigger blocks for the rear since the ones that came with it were for a 4" lift.
He now says if he did it again he would have taken my advise and bought SUPERLIFT, but he was trying to save some bucks, in the long run it cost him more[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Anyway I "THINK?" if you keep it at 4" it is probably a pretty good lift for the price.
But if it was me, and I only wanted 4" or so I would buy RANCHO, if you want 6" buy SUPERLIFT. (Just My opinion)
Scooby Dooby Doo !!!

Has anyone had any problems with the 4" TM?? Anything I should look out for?
(assuming that don't try to make a 6" out of it with big blocks and t-bar cranking[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif[/img])

As far as I know, it's just me and TxFireman running these and we are both running 33's without any trouble.

*Edit* Jekyll, Fill out your profile

What sort of drawbacks will there be when i lift the truck? Also what else will i have to do to my truck, change the ball joints or get better breaks ect, after i lift it?

Loss of power. Caused by larger tires. Can be corrected by re-gearing axles.

Increased stopping distance. Also caused by larger tires. Can be compensated for by upgrading pads and rotors on front, and you can even add disk brakes to rear(most people do not do the rear disk)

Its hard to go un-noticed !
just leave your truck in front of a strip club and see how many people noticed you were there [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif[/img](this particularly applies to wives and/or girlfriends)[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]


Scooby Dooby Doo !!!

The only drawback to lifting the truck that I can think of is this: When you get the lift,tires, and wheels..and lay your lump of money up on the counter...the guy on the other side will stick out his hand and then draw it back...and the money will be gone..hee hee hee. But, you wil have what ya wanted. As far as the ball joints go, I believe that Trailmaster comes with the TRW (?) ball joints...at least at one time they had them in the kits. They are supposed to be better than the stockers. To be honest with you, I never really look at new kits, or their ads anymore so maybe someone else may know if they still include them in the package. If not, most shops will include it in the parts/labor (just make sure you ask). As far as brakes, they won't be as good as they were stock. You will feel a slight difference...but nothing major. I have pulled trailers w/ heavy equipment without any problems before. In fact, I don't feel a difference anymore. My wife thinks there is a difference between my truck and her Tahoe but I guess I'm just used to it.