If you’re anything like me, one of the first things you think about with a new truck are a lift kit and tires. The improved ground clearance and appearance is high on the list for most people looking to modify their truck.
In the past, using a leveling kit was the cheapest, and often worst way to lift your vehicle. They’re plagued with complaints like poor ride quality, and worst case, shock breakages and failures due to improper loading. Fast forward to today, and there’s a new option available.
Peak Suspension is a newer company, but they’ve been growing fast. With their 2-Piece Trail Kit you get some affordable lift with less compromise. The front comprises of a new lower spring adapter and a top mount spacer. The spring adapter adds preload to your coil spring, instead of just relying on a large spacer up top. The rest is a better and safer setup.
Check out my YouTube video – it heavily features the whole install day when we put this on.
If you decide to purchase a kit, we’ve got a discount code! Use – TRAILCO.
Table Of Contents
Initial Impressions
Reinstalling front strut with Peak kit seen above.
The kit arrives in a well packaged box. Everything is wrapped well and secured inside. This is always a good first sign.
The kit itself feels and looks great out of the box. The spacers and adapters are made from anodized CNC machined aluminum. It’s a simple setup, but it’s well thought out. The kit is designed, tested and made right here in the USA. I also added the Peak Tubular Uniball UCAs. That will be for a different post (although new UCAs are recommended for best alignment and handling).
The install is relatively straightforward if you’ve worked on suspension before. The rear is easy, you simply add the spacer (either a 1″ for a level lift, or 2″ for retaining factory rake). I went with the 2″ rear spacer since I knew I would be adding weight and didn’t want the truck to squat. You retain the factory rear shocks as is. The front is a little more difficult, since you need to disassemble the strut. Once the strut is apart, you need to place the spring adapter on the bottom spring seat. After reassembly, you add the top mount spacer and reinstall everything on the truck. Shoutout to Yotaworks for helping me with this whole install.
If you’re doing the install and concerned about thread engagement on the top of the strut, you don’t have to worry. Peak assured me there is enough for full engagement without needing longer studs.
Rear 2″ coil spring spacer seen above.
The factory suspension is pretty good, but it’s not amazing. Granted, my Off-Road trim came with the better Bilsteins with reservoirs, which are better than the lower trims. I definitely didn’t hate the stock ride, but I knew it could be improved.
Peaks states that the ride is effectively identical, and I can confirm that’s true. Near as I can tell, you retain the factory ride quality. This was something I noticed even after driving from the install shop to the alignment shop. I also added wheels and tires right away, so I need to account for the driving feel there as well. The tires are the main factor, and I got an F load tire, which is on the stiffer side. Even so, the ride was still surprisingly good.
Before (Factory Wheels & Tires)
This was right before the install. Carrying all the wheels and tires in the back, so it’s sitting a little lower in the rear.
After (Factory Wheels & Tires)
This was immediately after install. The front settled a little after alignment, but not much. You can still see more height in the rear, even though I’m carrying 5 wheels and tires in the back. Even without changing anything else, the stance was improved quite a bit.
Tire Fitment & Clearance
I added some Arroyo Tamarock RTs (33×12.5R17) and Lock Off-Road Combat (17×9, 0 offset) wheels. I have effectively no rubbing on the road (outside of full lock driving in reverse with very slight contact). Off-road, mainly due to the width and high offset (for a 4G), I have a little more rubbing during full compression (also at full lock). Nothing that can’t be easily fixed.
The product page says that you can add and clear 35″ tires with little to no trimming, depending on your wheel and tire selection. To clarify this statement, it will vary widely depending on what you choose to run. A higher positive offset with a less-than-true 35″ tire will likely clear with minimal trimming. But if you start to get into wide wheels with negative offsets and a 35×12.5, just anticipate that you will need to trim more for no rubbing on AND off-road.
The new 6G4R has some issues fitting 35s, as Brenan and I found out on our first trail run, where the added height was popping the rear fender flares off during even light wheeling and axle compression. This is no fault of Peak, I’m just explaining that tire fitment can be a complex topic.
Long Term Performance
I had this setup installed about 4-5 months ago now, and not only have we added a ton of additional mods, but I’ve had the chance to drive almost 10,000 miles. I’ve tested the ride in just about every relevant daily driving situation as well as some trails out in Montana.
I’m happy to report that everything has been going great, and I have no issues to report. No bad handling, noises, or any sort of breakages or signs of stress. The kit rides great, even with all the added weight I’ve put on the truck. It gets the job done. Gave me the additional lift and load capacity I needed in the short term.
I’ve got a Boony Stomper teardrop trailer, which I’ve towed with the kit on the truck over a few hundred miles. Also happy to report that towing a trailer didn’t give me any problems. The 2″ spacer was picked for this exact reason. The trailer only weighs about 800 lbs. (light for a trailer) but it wasn’t anything that stressed the lift kit. And of course, now, as you can see, my GFC, all the Cali Raised steel armor, and my RiGd UltraSwing haven’t slowed it down either.
Longer term, I plan on upgrading to a full 2.5 coilovers and shock kit with new springs and maybe even LT, but this again is not due to anything wrong with this setup. It’s been a great solution for me in the short term, and has surprised me with it’s overall performance. But we like to push our trucks hard and that demands taking the next step for an optimal experience and even better handling, especially off-road on technical trails while running 37s.
None of the last section is to say I couldn’t continue to run this kit, and I do give it high remarks given the price point and simplicity. Especially if you’re on more of a budget or simply don’t need high performance shocks.
Alignment and ride quality has given me no issues in the many miles covered.
Who Is This Kit For?
While this setup will certainly work for nearly everyone, there are a few situations for which it works really well.
- budget-minded builds
- daily drivers and weekend warriors
- mild off-roaders
- those not looking for high performance
- new owners who want to quickly and easily lift their truck
- those waiting on larger coilovers, shocks and high load capacity springs
Final Thoughts
“Bang for your buck” is kind of a cliche saying today, but it’s the easiest way to describe this kit. Uncompromised performance from the factory suspension, just with a little boost that avoid the common complaints and problems seen with traditional leveling kits.
I would never personally add a pure spacer lift. But kits like this have redefined what is safer and possible. So if what I’ve said in the post resonates with you, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy. Oh, and don’t forget the UCAs!
Let me know if you have any questions.
