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ReadyLIFT® Suspension Celebrates Its 10 Year Anniversary in 2015
2015 is an exciting year for ReadyLIFT®. While dealers and customers will revel over the vast new product line up we are offering this year, another big story has been brewing. 2015 marks the 10 year anniversary for ReadyLIFT® which first opened its doors in 2005. What started as a meager offering of quality leveling kits to a market that was just beginning to realize the need for a leveling solution has exploded into a huge company that now manufacturers everything from the most simple of leveling kits to full on big lift kits and an expansive off road line up of products.
It all started in 2005. Founder and CEO Scott Poncher has spent his entire life in the automotive aftermarket. He started ReadyLIFT based on the principals of developing a line of quality yet economical suspension leveling products that would allow truck and SUV owners to be able to “level” their vehicle in order to install plus-size wheel and tires. Prior to leveling kits, if a person wanted to install larger wheels and tires about the only solution they had was to install a large lift kit. ReadyLIFT® Leveling kits soon became the household – and dealer – name when it came to providing customers with a solution to what should be a simple request. People want an easy way to simply install a larger tire and wheel package. ReadyLIFT® provided the solution. A solution that would maintain the factory ride and handling qualities while providing important supplemental parts in each kit such as shock extensions. Every detail was scrutinized to insure every ReadyLIFT® Leveling Kit was superior and truly perfect for the customer’s needs.
The employees of ReadyLIFT® have been proud to offer new and expanding products for our customers. They start with developing quality leveling kits that exceed the quality of any new competitors and that continues to this day. The first few years ReadyLIFT® concentrated on engineering and providing more than just leveling kits. Customer demand provided the desire to create a full line of rear lift blocks which at the time were the only rear lift block kits in the industry to include model specific rear u-bolts. Most people in the industry don’t know that. ReadyLIFT® rear block kits were the first block kits to be a complete kit ready to install, providing the rear lift the customer wants for his or her truck’s needs.
In 2008 the very first SST® (Smart Suspension Technology) Lift Kits were developed and provided to the aftermarket. This genius concept created a new option for truck owners. In reality there was a lift void between leveling kits and full on large lift kits. While large lift kits have their selective customers, there are far more customers who just want something mild. Not big, but not level either. The SST® Lift Kit was born. Ranging from 2.5″ to 4.0″ the SST® Lift Kits started by creating a larger lift leveling kit and teamed it with a specific rear block lift package to create a true “mild” lift solution. To this day, the SST® Lift Kit is one of the most popular and widely sold truck suspension products in the industry. More mild lifted Ford Super Duty trucks on the road have either our 2.5″ or 3.5″ SST Lift Kit than any other manufacturer. Our 4.0″ SST Lift Kit with tubular upper control arms for 2007-UP GM 1500 trucks has been a huge success and remains so today.
With most makes and models of trucks and SUV’s covered in terms of having a quality ReadyLIFT® leveling kit, rear lift or SST® Lift Kit solution, the ReadyLIFT® engineers turned their tasks to expanding the breadth of the ReadyLIFT® line. Beginning in 2011 we began development of a new Off Road Suspension program. The ReadyLIFT Off Road Suspension brand was born. This program is aimed at providing ReadyLIFT-quality true off road enhancing products. Some of the first products that went from designs to developmental testing to manufacturing and then available to consumers were our 1.0″ boxed steel uni-ball upper control arms and baja-proven heavy duty steering kits. These two components alone will take a mild lifted truck to a whole new level of off road capability, while being strong enough to handle what the suspension is put through.
2011 was also the year that we released new 5″off road suspension lift kits for Ford Super Duty trucks followed by a 5″ Off Road Lift Kit for Dodge 2500/3500 trucks. These kits weren’t developed to provide tall mall-crawler stances. These kits were designed to truly enhance the off road ability of the vehicle by providing increased ground clearance, increased suspension travel and superior quality parts that could withstand the rigors of the off road environment.
A lot of engineering took place in and around 2011. We introduced an industry-first GM 1500 4WD Mid-Travel Suspension system. This system captures a blend of benefits of traditional long-travel desert race suspension in a narrower track width package. Ultimately providing increased track width and travel over stock while still retaining full use of 4WD mode. Additionally, complimenting rear extended travel packages were developed including the first bed cage system offered complete as a bolt in product for consumers.
With the Ford Raptor becoming very popular, we took it upon ourselves to give these Raptor owners something more than just a lift or leveling kit. Admittedly one of the most fun vehicles to test, our team eventually developed a full Raptor suspension line that now includes 1.5″ uni-ball upper and lower boxed steel control arms, heavy duty fabricated steel uprights to solve the factory Ford upright bending problem, heavy duty steering solutions along with rear extended length products for the right balance of suspension performance upgrading. We even introduced the full line of Fox shocks as an addition to this line. This created some amazing performance suspension packages that are hard to rival.
While our suspension gurus were busy developing robust off road suspension components, our shock development team were about to release the new SST9000 Performance Shocks for lifted trucks. These super high quality shocks are the result of extensive testing to insure proper valving for lifted trucks with larger wheels and tires. Premium CNC machined bodies and precision rebuildable valving make these shocks a true benefit to any lifted truck owner.
With the ReadyLIFT® Off Road line ramping up to full speed, 2012 saw the release of our new 4.0″ Max Flex system for Jeep JK Wranglers. We have always had leveling and mild lifting covered for JK vehicles. But demand from our customers for a system that could withstand the most hostile of rock crawling environments, yet still ride and drive nicely on the road sent our development team on a journey to offer the absolute best JK short arm lift kits on the market. Kits that feature the best components and have been proven on the rock and trails. Since then we have greatly expanded our Jeep JK line to include more than 65 different short arm and standard lift kits. If a person has a JK and wants a particular type of kit configuration, ReadyLIFT® has it!
Recently ReadyLIFT® has exploded into a new segment of the automotive suspension aftermarket. The culmination of several years of development, in 2013 debuted the very first ReadyLIFT® Multi-Lift System Lift Kits. These are not just standard lift kits. These are big lift kits that are designed for off road use, but retain all of the OEM qualities customers demand. Lift heights range from five inches all the way up to eight inches for the GM HD platforms. The key to this program was not to just provide standard static lift packages. We realize that not every consumer wants just a 6 inch lift, or just a 7 inch lift. Some want more rake, some want less. Thus we created the Multi-Lift System. A truly innovative approach allowing dealers to be able to customize their customers lift kit – to give the customer the lift height and stance that they what. No one has done this yet. And ReadyLIFT® is the first company to provide this kind of customizable lift for trucks.
Over the course of the past 10 years ReadyLIFT® has captured and surpassed a wide range of company milestones. The most recent has been the introduction of the new ReadyGuard Powertrain Warranty program that covers most ReadyLIFT® products with a 5-year/60,000 Mile Powertrain Warranty. A Warranty that covers more kits with less restrictions than any other similar program offered by competitors.
Let there be no mistake about it. Starting a suspension company and making it one of the most respected names in the suspension business with one of the most expansive suspension lines in the industry in 10 years is not easy. One of ReadyLIFT’s strongest attributes has been its marketing and branding programs. Image is everything. ReadyLIFT® takes great pride in developing every aspect of its marketing programs around branding the name ReadyLIFT® with a positive and productive element. From the high-quality catalogs, laminated card stock flyers, retail banners and top notch point of purchase merchandisers and pro grade retail displays to targeted print and web advertisements and social campaigns, the goal is to present the message with a high-quality image of the ReadyLIFT® name and product line. Every product and vehicle image should tell the story of what the product is about and how it will benefit the consumer.
If you have read this far then you know at ReadyLIFT® we mean business when it comes to suspension. Our precise tactical approach to product development and strategic marketing and branding is the backbone of this 10 year anniversary. A decade of continued success is something everyone here at ReadyLIFT® is very proud of. We thank all of our customers and dealers for your unwavering support on this journey and hope we can grow our relationships, products and our company to even greater heights of success over the next decade.
And remember, Don’t Just Lift It…ReadLIFT It®