Axis 24.1 Lift Kit?

[Karl404]

If you've ever driven one of these over a speed bump, pothole. or really any road imperfection, you know how low the clearance is on the Axis. I'm interested in reading folks experiences with lift kits. I've been looking at this one as a possibility:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txuzHb_8gHI

, a 4" lift kit from WeldTec Designs.

Has anyone installed this or a similar kit?
Is this possibly a DIY project? I've installed upgraded swaybars, sumo shocks, and a steering stabilizer myself, but this seems a bit more involved.
If you have lifted your Axis, did it make a difference? Any unintended consequences?

Thanks in advance,

Karl

[Jimbo56]

A poster under the handle of ducks face has an entire thread of mods. He lifted and added 4WD. You’ll enjoy the read.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by Karl404

If you've ever driven one of these over a speed bump, pothole. or really any road imperfection, you know how low the clearance is on the Axis. I'm interested in reading folks experiences with lift kits. I've been looking at this one as a possibility:

, a 4" lift kit from WeldTec Designs.

Has anyone installed this or a similar kit?
Is this possibly a DIY project? I've installed upgraded swaybars, sumo shocks, and a steering stabilizer myself, but this seems a bit more involved.
If you have lifted your Axis, did it make a difference? Any unintended consequences?

Thanks in advance,

Karl

25000 miles 23 states no lifts never issues

[DavidEM]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

25000 miles 23 states no lifts never issues

I once caught the battery tray which is under the entry steps on a 6” rock, but otherwise the clearance has been fine for me.

Just watch out for high obstructions on the entry step side and you will be fine.

David

[Karl404]

Thanks, DavidEM and Scubawise. I'm glad that you are happy with your vehicles as they are. I've got almost 15,000 miles on mine under a variety of road conditions and would love to hear from someone who has had experience with lift kits.

[taylorbob1]

Suggest you PM ducksface

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

I once caught the battery tray which is under the entry steps on a 6” rock, but otherwise the clearance has been fine for me.

Just watch out for high obstructions on the entry step side and you will be fine.

David

Also look out for high curves in towns. Door won't open.

[Karl404]

Originally Posted by taylorbob1

Suggest you PM ducksface

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried, but...

"ducksface has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space" :-(

[AlanH]

I am a retired automotive suspension engineer. The lift kit would make the Axis much less stable, especially at highway speeds; primarily due to the higher vehicle CG. I would advise against it.

[DavidEM]

Originally Posted by AlanH

I am a retired automotive suspension engineer. The lift kit would make the Axis much less stable, especially at highway speeds; primarily due to the higher vehicle CG. I would advise against it.

David

[AlanH]

You also risk creating something called roll oversteer. It would make the vehicle "darty", that is very hard to control.

[Jimbo56]

Originally Posted by Karl404

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried, but...

"ducksface has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space" :-(

Don’t know what has happened to the “Duck”. I haven’t seen a post from him in quite a while.

[Jimbo56]

Originally Posted by Jimbo56

A poster under the handle of ducks face has an entire thread of mods. He lifted and added 4WD. You’ll enjoy the read.

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...run-18996.html

[Jimbo56]

Originally Posted by Jimbo56

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...run-18996.html

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...res-11440.html

[tjracer]

I have a lift kit coming from weldtec. Its 2 inch in the rear (new progressive springs not the lift blocks) 4 inch in the front. The front kit is the front only of the adventurer kit. This should level the coach 2021 vegas 24.1. The front is 2 inches lower than the back from the factory. I will do the install my self.What i hope to achieve is a level coach. handle rough roads better and the ground clearance.The coach handles very good after the mods i did.Should be completed by the end of november.If the kit is a negative i will remove it and go back to stock. Should have my honest opinion by december 2022. Has anybody had this done. Good- Bad ?

[Chance]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

I once caught the battery tray which is under the entry steps on a 6” rock, but otherwise the clearance has been fine for me.

Just watch out for high obstructions on the entry step side and you will be fine.

David

Video posted by OP shows step easily bottoming out. In my opinion the Axis/Vegas step not only appears too low but doesn’t look great either. There has to be a better design, though I don’t know what would work better without adding cost and complexity.

Interesting that a 4 inch lift will help by increasing ground clearance at this critical point, but at same time raises the first entry step height by 4 inches. If ground clearance under step was main concern, modifying the step would accomplish extra ground clearance without adversely affecting handling. Granted, a lift adds ground clearance in other areas as well.

[happy]

Our Axis rear leaf springs are flat when unloaded. They appear to be severely overloaded from the factory. Having springs matching the vehicle weight would seem to be a good improvement. But then it would require some front lift or the rake becomes worse.
Will look forward to your report.

Going to 19.5 inch tires on the Axis raised our ground clearance about 1.6 inches.
That includes the differential.

[sgrove]

Hi Karl

Our 2021 Vegas 24.1 was upgraded by Weldtec (they also did a video on ours). The ride and stability before and after has no comparison. MUCH better after the conversion. We did the full suspension conversion and 4" lift and new springs. The stability and ease of driving is SOOOO much better. Maybe it would have been just as good with just some alignment and sway bar mods but will never know. The sound improvement was the biggest improvement we noticed immediately. Allot of the squeaking/rattling inside the RV was gone (comparing our drive from Sac to San Diego on I5 and back). Big bumps still bother me but I am sure they would be worse with the factory install.

The 4" lift allows us to go over bumpy roads and as well as get into our driveway without dragging the rear end. It also allows me to get under the RV much easier to check things out or work on it (I am a big guy and it was virtually impossible for me to get underneath).

In terms of fuel economy we only lost about 0.2 mpg. We flat tow our 2013 Ford Edge and typically get 11.5-12 mpg.

Our experience with Weldtec is definitely two thumbs up!

The only word of caution I would add is if you are going to add auto-levelers. We added EQ Systems leveling system. We happened to have a trip scheduled to the mid-west so just dropped by to have them installed on our way home. They had to mix/match some of their parts to get it to work the way they wanted due to the location of the fuel tank and some of the suspension mods. No change in price but it would not have gone so easily if I had just ordered the kit and installed myself. FYI - they only charged $650 to install...

[Karl404]

Thanks for all of your comments. You've given me plenty to think about. I've got an Alaska trip on the bucket list and may put this off until then.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by Karl404

If you've ever driven one of these over a speed bump, pothole. or really any road imperfection, you know how low the clearance is on the Axis. I'm interested in reading folks experiences with lift kits. I've been looking at this one as a possibility:

, a 4" lift kit from WeldTec Designs.

Has anyone installed this or a similar kit?
Is this possibly a DIY project? I've installed upgraded swaybars, sumo shocks, and a steering stabilizer myself, but this seems a bit more involved.
If you have lifted your Axis, did it make a difference? Any unintended consequences?

Thanks in advance,

Karl

I had a 2017 Axix 25.2 and I caught my steps with a speed bump and had to get it replaced. It ruined it!!!