If somebody could be so kinda as to describe the reason, benefit and how for the rear shackle flip i would much appreciate it. Im looking into a lift kit for my 79 K5 blazer. I would like to run 35x12.5x15 and need to get the appropriate lift for this. 6" or 4". I talked to a guy at the local 4x4 shop and he told me that Ruff country is crap dont use them when lots of people on this forum say that they are great for articulation which is what im looking for. This rig will not be a daily driver as soon as the weather purks up and i hope to have a comuter car before next winter so mostly just roadin for this girl. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Also as far as the road goes i planned on getting quick disconnect sway bars for front and rear for getting to and from roading sites. Thanks in advance Wart.

Tuff country is what you want the spring rates are anout half, so they are much softer and give more flex and a better ride.

Sorry i ment Tuff country, the people like tuff country. But the 4x4 goomba told me ruff and tuff country sucks.

shackle flip is the way to go in the back do a search on here or look at ORD's website they have a pretty good description

I heard that Shackle flips are kind of iffy if your going to do any towing though. Never tried it my self so cant really say either way

You heard wrong. I remember reading a thread (I think it was here on Pirate) where a guy towed his Sammi a couple hundred miles on a Shackle flipped Cheby.

I havent looked too far into so if any one actually know what their talking about please correct me.

i have the 6 inch rough country lift and it works great with 35x14x15 ground hawgs .. and also 35x12.5x15 tires it gets great articulation and no tire rub at all... I have 6 inch springs in the front and shackle flip with a 2 inch block in the back.. It flexes very well due to the flat springs in the back (stock) and rides like a dream .. we actually have jumped the truck playing around and have gotten 2 or 3 feet of air and havent hurt anything.. you will have to drop the transfer case one inch to get rid of driveline vibration. I have a bunch of pics if your interested.. 4 inch springs front and a shackle flip in the rear would get you on the 35's cheap.. and dont forget the drop steering arm.. or turning will be a bitch one way..

Have you tried towing anyting with it?

what are you going to be towing?

If i tow and i dought i will it will most likely be something small like one of those pop up tent deals. Im mostly interested in the articulation and off road performance if it handles iffy on the road ill deal with that when the time comes. I also would like to stay away from the blocks if at all possible. From what ive been hearing i suppose the shackle flip is mostly so that you can change the shackle length to get proper ride height. I would like to stick to a slightly smaller lift ei 4" if i could. So ill do more research on the shackle flipping and if yall have any more ideas gime a shout.

I heard that Shackle flips are kind of iffy if your going to do any towing though. Never tried it my self so cant really say either way


I had a 93 SAS Blazer with 38 TSL/SX's with shackle flip,I never had any problems towing.I mostly towed the buggy But I once had to tow an Old full size caddy 80 miles.

flat towing you should have no problems at all.. ive done a ton of that.. i havent towed a real heavy trailer with it so that i cant tell you about.. i have jumped the truck gotten like 3 feet of air (ok so maybe it was too much fun and we did it over and over again) and have not hurt the suspension with the shackle flip so i would think that would put more stress on it then towing..

Towing is no issue with the flip. The weakest link in that rear suspension is the shackle pretty thin and easy to bend.

If you only want to run 35's I wouldn't lift the truck at all. Just trim the bottom edge of the front fenders.

well that would be ok but i think i would get more articulation from a slightly lifted vehicle wouldnt I?

oh and bills_ny_k5 i would be very interested in those pics. I would like to see what a six looks like and also if you have them good pics of the shackle flip so i can get a good idea of how its done.