Officer Carl "Got Your Green Card" Hammerhead was doing about 70 MPH down a dirt road that snakes along the U.S./Mexican Border, and through the rocky hillsides of Southeast San Diego County. As he rounds a treacherous outside corner about 5 miles out of Tecate' sliding sideways and slingin' rocks over the edge of the 800 foot cliff with the back wheels of his RCD Suspension equipped Ford Expedition. He spots an old 70's Impala, dragging its rear bumper in the rocks up about a mile ahead.

"Obviously chock full of undocumenteds," he says to himself, "time to go to work!" and stands on the throttle as he turns on the bumble gum machine and reaches for the radio to call in for back up.

Careening down the dirt road strewn with razor sharp rocks the size of bowling balls, crisscrossed with ruts and potholes that could swallow a Studebaker at over 80 miles per hour. Officer Hammerhead closes the gap and overtakes the lumbering Impala in mere seconds...

In 1997 the U.S. Border Patrol switched from Broncos to the new Ford Expeditions. But they needed a little something extra in the suspension department to soak up the brutal terrain that comprises most of the U.S./Mexican Border from Matamoras to Tijuana.

They Called Race Car Dynamics.

Jamul, CA, home of RCD is located in in rural San Diego County (you can spit and hit Mexico in fact), so who better to understand the the needs of vehicles that are ground to pulp patrolling our borders on a daily basis. In this extremely harsh environment your average SUV would last about an hour, maybe...

All RCD Suspension kits come equipped standard with Bilstein 5100 shocks
Nothing but the best!

The founders of RCD have been designing and building lift kits on the sly and private labeling them for big name suspension companies for years. Then a few years back they decided that the cost constraints of contract design and manufacture was forcing a negative impact on quality. Read as; The big boys want minimal quality at cut throat prices. Knowing that's no way to satisfy a customer, they broke their ties and launched their own high-end product line.

With customers like the U.S. Dept. of Justice to their credit, you can be sure that you're getting a top quality product. Those boys at the USDJ got a blank check from us taxpayers and only buy the best.

What's In The Package?

Well everything you need to run 35's on an F150 or Expedition. "Everything!?" you say, "You mean I don't need to do a an ugly, pain in the ass body lift to go from 33's all the way to 35's?" you ask. Nope, it's all in the box:

3 Complete new frame cross members
New spindles with a 5" rise (The heart of the kit)
All front and rear drop brackets.
Bilstein Shocks! STANDARD!
Grade 8 hardware.
All new bushings are polyurethane.
Stainless steel cross member struts with polyurethane bushings.
Giant sway bar links that look like pieces from the Space Shuttle.
(The Border Patrol was breaking 'em, so the just kept making 'em bigger until they stopped.)
All the fasteners, nick-knacks and gadgets to complete the task.
Instructions too!

Just ad tools...

Editors note: This is a very complex and laborious installation that will take an experienced mechanic, with a helper at least eight full shop hours to complete. We would urge you if not in possession of the proper tools and experience to complete the job, to seek out professional installation services. Our kit was installed by Performance Products expert installation staff.

Moron Disclaimer:
Always be sure to follow the manufacturers directions completely. We have included a step by step series of installation photos along with this article (Click Here). THIS IS NOT AN INSTALLATION INSTRUCTION and is not intended to be used as such. It is designed to be used as a companion guide to the manufacturers instructions, for visual reference. Any other use proves your stupidity and our lack of liability.

What You Get:

Click any image for blow up, or to get to the installation photo gallery.


The heart of the suspension and the reason it retains stock ride quality are the dropped spindles. By not altering the control arms, OEM steering geometry is almost unchanged.	Side by side comparison of some major components shows how beefy the RCD suspension is. Optional aluminum skid plate is shown. (This is a "gotta have" item)

One of the biggest advantages of this kit's being thrashed by the US Gov. is that, they broke it so you won't. This monster swaybar end link is an example of lessons learned on duty. The stock piece is plastic with an 8mm center stud.	Both new front crossmembers. Note the durable black wrinkle powder coating. It can take the full force of a two pound sledge with little or no marring. All powder coating is done in house at RCD. Also pictured is the grade 8 hardware and other fittings.

The completed front end. Did I mention Bilstein shocks are standard?	A slick gussetted transfer case crossmember allows for the new steeper torsion bar angle.