Lift kit

[commodor47]

Fdxflyer,

Check the posts in this thread:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...?t=5042&page=3

I believe you already have the advantage if a 2.5 lift with the new axle design. If so, adding a 2.5 lift kit would raise your unit 5 inches higher than our unit.

Thanks for the info. The dealer says the lift kit is 2" although there was initial info that indicated 2.5. The step down is a concern.
Fdxflyer

[Bill]

Race38 -

The history of the lift kit is a little murky in my mind, but I think the following is more or less right. Corrections from other members are solicited.

As I recall, the axle was bolted to the frame, and the lift kit was not offered by the factory, before about 2002. Some aftermarket lifts were available.

Between about 2002 and 2005, a lift kit could be added by the factory on special request. The lift kit was an unacknowledged option at build time, and was bolted in by the factory when ordered.

Starting in about 2006, the axle was welded to the frame, and the lift was a standard welded-in feature. The lift was optional but commonly ordered, especially for TMs delivered in the west. Due to its popularity, the lift quickly became standard equipment, and the option became NO LIFT KIT.

Starting in late 2006 or 2007, the lift was removed as an option, but the standard axle had a higher resting angle, which in effect provided the same amount of lift. At this point, the higher-angle welded-in axle became standard, and NO LIFT KIT ceased to be an option.

I'm sure there are errors in the dates here. But the bottom line is that in the early days, such as 1991, the axle was bolted to the frame. Adding a lift is a matter of unbolting the frame from the axle, raising the frame, inserting the lift tubes, and rebolting with longer bolts.

Bill

Here are before and after pictures of my 2003 TM (22 1/2 degree Dexter axle???) with the lift kit installation. As you can see, the shell and fender skirt now comes down to right below the top of the wheel. In some recent "For Sale" pictures for a 2007 2619 with a lift kit, the bottom of the fender skirt is shown as an inch or 2 above the top of the wheel (although the jacks are down, which could acount for some of the difference). I wonder if that TM had the new 45 degree Dexter axle, and then also had a lift kit?? Ought to be able to take that puppy about any where !!!

The lift kit on my older TM seems to be about the right fit. Plenty of clearances when going over storm water dips, getting in and out of some dry-camping places in the National Forests around here, and still tows great without any noticable sway, but still not a doozie of a 1st step getting into the TM.

Chap

I went with the 2 inch lift and it made just the difference I needed to get it where I wanted to go. It has also helped a couple times when I ran into an unforseen dip in a campground area. Can't say about the ride although everything is generally in the same place after a trip.

I have the factory lift kit in my 2005 TM 2720. In three seasons of camping, I finally scraped ground for the first time this month. The tray that holds the batteries in the front scraped when leaving a parking lot via the driveway.

Without the lift kit I have no doubt that I would have scraped several other times.