Long Arm Review: Give your Pros & Cons

I see lots of write-ups on long arms... lots of flaming about how things work and how it was designed... and who knows something and who's a newby.... BUT... what I'd like to know is the following:

What are the Pros & Cons to YOUR long arm suspension system function on trail, road, the actual installation and how it's lasting? (please do not reply if you've heard about other people.... I only am interested if you have long arms in your XJ now or had them in the past.)

I'd like to hear about the following Long Arm Systems:
- Rubicon Express
- Clayton's
- Full Traction
- Rock Krawler
- TNT
- Rusty's
- Any others you've got.

Reason for all of this is that there are lots of write-ups on individual systems, and people really don't stick to the needed information. The systems are designed how they are, so let's stick to how they work. Have you had binding under certain circumstances etc.... was the installation horrible and you had to modify the snot out of it to fit etc... did they claim something that it wouldn't do?? Stick to the Pros & Cons... and keep to facts that you've experienced.

Hope this makes sense... and I think this will help lots of people out (including myself) who are looking at buying a Long Arm System!

Thanks in advance!
Kelly
93 XJ... waiting for some final decisions before going nuts!

TheOtherSide said:

I see lots of write-ups on long arms... lots of flaming about how things work and how it was designed... and who knows something and who's a newby.... BUT... what I'd like to know is the following:

What are the Pros & Cons to YOUR long arm suspension system function on trail, road, the actual installation and how it's lasting? (please do not reply if you've heard about other people.... I only am interested if you have long arms in your XJ now or had them in the past.)

I'd like to hear about the following Long Arm Systems:
- Rubicon Express
- Clayton's
- Full Traction
- Rock Krawler
- TNT
- Rusty's
- Any others you've got.

Reason for all of this is that there are lots of write-ups on individual systems, and people really don't stick to the needed information. The systems are designed how they are, so let's stick to how they work. Have you had binding under certain circumstances etc.... was the installation horrible and you had to modify the snot out of it to fit etc... did they claim something that it wouldn't do?? Stick to the Pros & Cons... and keep to facts that you've experienced.

Hope this makes sense... and I think this will help lots of people out (including myself) who are looking at buying a Long Arm System!

Thanks in advance!
Kelly
93 XJ... waiting for some final decisions before going nuts!

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I have installed the rustys 8" LA kit, seemed ok but the quality was lacking a little bit on the welding/stock used, never ran it but my buddy likes it, I have installed 2 Full Traction kits and really love the design and beefiness, it handles very well also, but people don't seem to like the 2" loss of ground clearance, although what hangs down is designed for major abuse. I have no binding issues at full droop/compression of my shocks(limiting factor). It seems that these kits are kind of application specific, TNT are generally designed for crawling, FT for Jeepspeed/pre-running. Good luck with your decisions.

If I was going to buy a manufactured kit in my opinion the ultimate setup would be a tnt custom's front long arm setup and a clayton's rear coil conversion.

MogifiedXJ said:

If I was going to buy a manufactured kit in my opinion the ultimate setup would be a tnt custom's front long arm setup and a clayton's rear coil conversion.

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I don't think he really was looking for "what would you do" type stuff, I think it is pretty clear he wants real life experiences.

By asking for only responses from people who run a particular kit you are eliminating some potentially valuable feedback, since most people tend to defend, not criticize, what they have chosen to run. Sometimes the observations of someone watching a rig perform are more accurate than the comments of the owner.

Since you are asking others for input, how about starting with where you live, what type of trails/terrain you run, and what your performance goals are for the suspension that you choose?

I ran the FT kit for about two years before selling the front components. I sold them because of the loss of ground clearance brought on by how the LCA's are mounted. The kit is very beefy, well thought out and designed, and installation is straightforward. I'd buy it again if I weren't so clearance greedy.

I now run the TnT front long arms and skid plate. I bought it for the skid plate and the high clearance arms (FT at the time didn't sell a skid plate, which they do now). It rides identical to the FT kit on the street, and out performs it on the trail (rockcrawling) just because of the clearance it offers with the bent arms.

I had to modify both kits to run my HP44 front. The FT kit was a simple bend in the UCA, the TnT kit was extensive welding and grinding.

Well I'll put my 2 pennies in.
I have a Rusty's longarm kit. I live in Florida (we have no rocks) and wheel mainly in deep water, mud and sand.

Pros - cheap
- no welding
- stock bushings (turned out not to be a pro)
- flex is great

cons - stock bushings (need to be replaced often)
- arms need to be unmounted to drop crossmember
- acme threads on arms make noise and need to be kept greased
(I grease them every use)

I make about 6 trips a year to places like Tellico, Gray rock,and River Rock. It does fine in the rocks with it's limited use. I don't think it would be a good choice for a full time hardcore rock crawler. I have put 2 seasons of wheeling and around 15000 miles on it with no failures.
Have I been happy with it? Ya.
Would I buy the same kit if I had it to do again? Na.

I have an Rubicon Express 6300 long arm lift. Flexes good, no real big problems with the kit, other than self tapping bolts suck. I do wish the rear of the skid was angled up so it wouldnt get snagged on rocks when you're reversing.

Oh, and the swaybar and discos are worthless. One time I sheared off the quick disconnect when doing some impulse wheeling (the bar was connected). I got that fixed and a couple weeks later I was wheeling with the swaybar disconnected, the front end of my jeep caught a little air, and when it came down it made the swaybar disco fold in on itself like a taco. And it was disconnected!! The kit also has a habbit of binding up with the bar where the swaybar disco holds to. When you flex and turn the wheel the bracket gets bent.

I solved the problem my removing the swaybar. No problems other than that.

I have the Rock Krawler kit

Pros
- excellent on road ride
- extreme amount of articulation
- cheap price tag

Cons -
- too much flex a times
- have to weld brackets on
- grease fitting break very easily

I was really aiming for the rusty's or clayton kit on mine, but i found a really good deal on a TnT kit and i could not be happier. Ground clearence is awesome b/c of the y-link arms. And the belly pan tucks up and gives a good amount of clearence, not to mention its thick so it gives pretty good protection. Havent had it on the rocks yet, but played around in the mud and on some ramps and it gives pretty good flex. The only downfall to it in my opinion is that the control arms connect to the belly pan so if u need to get to the trans, t-case or anything in that vicinity, u have to support your front axle when u drop the belly pan, other than that, i think its awesome. Rides great, i definetely reccomend the TnT stiffeners with the long arm, 8 inches of lift and 35's and it rides great.

I have the Rock Krawler kit on mine. I like it. For the price it's a great kit. Welding is involved so if you'd rather bolt something on then that is a con. The arms themselves are awesome, very beefy. The joints however i'm not impressed with. The zerk fittings are really tiny, they break easy and are in a bad spot on the joint. Very close to the threads and jam nut. So far I've flexed it out and it's done great. Ran Uwharrie and had no problems. There are no binding issues. So far I haven't had a problem with the lower control arm brackets being drug on anything, but they do hang down so for clearance it's a con. It's a great kit, just it needs some minor things. I'd buy it again.
-Matt

I liked Goatman's question, What's your intentions with a long arm.
While awaiting that. I Installed a Rusty's 6.5" Long arm. Drove it on the road for about a year, decided to make a dedicated crawler out of it and took the plates off.
It was a bolt in, but I've modified it a lot. It's an excellent kit for the cost, The down side as mentioned is the factory rubber bushings. Good for the road, short life on the rocks.
Have installed 2 on other club members jeeps. (Some drilling required) Road manners were very good. After the 38's went on I started cutting and reinforcing to make it last. It (The suspension lift) is the Only thing I have yet to break on the trail. Not really true, have broken 2 leaf centering pins. But the radius arms have taken a beating and held up.
Not a DD, but a capable crawler, if a little heavy.
Would I do it again? No, I'd probably design my own at this point, but for a ready made kit, I recommend it.

01 XJ, Chopped, Caged, locked with 5.38's on 38's. Oh yeah, and a 4 speed atlas. :kissyou:

I have a set of custom long arms which where the prototype long arms made by Carolina Rock Shop. I made these about 5 years ago and have been DDing the XJ since then. Starting off with a set of 32s then going to 33s and now am on 35s. The long arms are the typical radius arm setup just like the RE long arms. My crossmember is much like the claytons kit. I wheel mostly on the east coast at places like Tellico. I have run in some mud/sand down in Florida and in some big rocks on private land here in NC. The biggest thing that has come to bother me with the long arms is the handling on road. The ride they give is great but there is a little bit too much anti-dive when hard on the brakes and general feel of the front suspension on road. Offroad the biggest complaint is smacking the lower mounts on rocks. Since going to 35s this hasnt really been a huge issue as my mounts are beefy and smooth which allows me to slide off the rocks most of the time, more clearance would be nice but what I have is alright. Another thing with the radius arms is when on really steep climbs and climbing rock ledges, the front end tends to jump or hop and looks like axle wrap. The factory rubber bushings dont help this suituation. The same thing happens when throttling in deep sand. This was mostly fixed by a good set of shocks but I can still feel a little bit hop in the front end. I have been told a center limiting strap would help. I would rather do full length uppers like the FT kit or a URF hidden 3 link.

So what would I do differently for what I wheel? I would have full length uppers and try for a more flat belly pan. Other than that what I have works for what I wheel.

AARON

FT long arm, been on for about 30,000 miles.

Pro's
-rides great on road, hadles bumps at high speed VERY well
-super easy install
-everything is adjustable, so you can modify for your specific purpose
-super beefy peices.....i use the LCA's as skids at times and never once had an issue
-offers great articulation (almost too much flex in my opinion)
-great customer support from the technical department (i've heard negitive things from customer service department though)
-true 4-link

cons
-limits my turning radius on 35's....the tires rub on the control arms....FT is looking into higher clearance lower arms though
-reuses stock upper bushings on the axle, not so great in my opinion
-track bar has given me some issues that I haven't figured out yet
-brake lines are too short for flex the kit offers, so you need longer lines
-where the long arms mount to makes it hard to get bolt on sliders.....I'm working with Martin to design a Full Traction moded set of super skinks so that there will be a bolt on kit out there. should be ready in another month for people to buy.

The kit is awesome and I would definately do it all again with full traction. I don't really care for the radius style of TNT's kit, but that's all perference.

Cool... now this is turning out to be a great thread.

Yeah, I forgot to mention what kind of wheeling we do here. In BC, we have lots of mountains and it's always raining.... so... we're climbing mountains with rocks & dips everywhere... I wouldn't call it all out rock crawling, but maybe to a certain extent... and there is always mud. I'm not a big mud guy... I won't hit huge holes just because... only the smaller ones that are on the trail that I can't avoid.

Keep the info coming. I'm a bit shocked that nobody has mentioned Rubicon Express here yet. Also looking for more feedback on the Rock Krawler kit. Full traction seems to be high on my list as 2" of ground clearance won't be an issue to loose if I go 6" lift with 34 or 35's.

53guy... I like your link... lots of great pics to builds on your Jeep. Thanks for that!

Let's keep it coming...

Love the insight guys. I am in the same problem with myself in deciding which one to buy. If anyone has any experience with the Rock Krawler 8" LA that would be GREAT to hear something about. Also if you all could throw in tire sizes and things of that sort if you could so that we can get an idea of what will fit and what will not. Thanks

James

I have Rubicon Express long arms with the Clayton crossmember and couldnt be happier. I run 35's with 6.5" of lift and very rarely hit the arms, mostly when I am on the Rubicon but the arms take the abuse with no problem and have acually helped slide over rocks once or twice. The drop out crossmember is VERY NICE and makes t case mods a breeze and is beefy. On road handling is jsut fine for me, I can cruise down the highway at 75 and the Jeep feels very good, this has been helped by the addition of the bilstien 5150 shocks which has controled body sway amazingly on and off road. I have been very happy with this setup for a DD and trail rig here in the west. My .02

jeepme said:

I have Rubicon Express long arms with the Clayton crossmember and couldnt be happier. I run 35's with 6.5" of lift and very rarely hit the arms, mostly when I am on the Rubicon but the arms take the abuse with no problem and have acually helped slide over rocks once or twice. The drop out crossmember is VERY NICE and makes t case mods a breeze and is beefy. On road handling is jsut fine for me, I can cruise down the highway at 75 and the Jeep feels very good, this has been helped by the addition of the bilstien 5150 shocks which has controled body sway amazingly on and off road. I have been very happy with this setup for a DD and trail rig here in the west. My .02

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Just curious... Why are you using the Clayton crossmember instead of the RE setup with the RE arms? What you wanted for some specific set of reasons or a bunch of parts swapping that works together?

I'm only casually familiar with the long arm kits. Now that I've "horse traded" the Scrambler for another XJ with a TNT LA kit (new in the box) I better start researching whether I'm going to use it or sell/replace it for something else.

Oh, and yeah, this is a great thread.

Root Moose said:

Just curious... Why are you using the Clayton crossmember instead of the RE setup with the RE arms? What you wanted for some specific set of reasons or a bunch of parts swapping that works together?

I'm only casually familiar with the long arm kits. Now that I've "horse traded" the Scrambler for another XJ with a TNT LA kit (new in the box) I better start researching whether I'm going to use it or sell/replace it for something else.

Oh, and yeah, this is a great thread.

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Basicaly I wanted the drop out center section that the Clayton has and the RE crossmember mounts to the pinch seem :confused1 and is very difficult to find rocker gaurds to fit with it.

jeepme said:

Basicaly I wanted the drop out center section that the Clayton has and the RE crossmember mounts to the pinch seem :confused1 and is very difficult to find rocker gaurds to fit with it.

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Was there any modification of the parts required to make this work or mostly all bolt together? Any mods to the arms/joints at all?

T!