Yeah, I would love to test a truck with just a big suspension lift to see the difference. I am not going to 100% defend body lifts. But they are all I have experience with, and never had problems. I have never owned a stock Yota. I really appreciate anyone's comments, experienced or not. A well rounded opinion is much better than somebody stuck in their ways.

 

Looking back, I really wish I had it on video too. I did not even consider it at the time. I was to busy wondering what shorts I should change into.

 

I can imagine...I suspect my truck will end up on its side one day, but I would prefer to do it in the dirt, and on video...

 

I can't believe this thread has gone on so long w/o a mention of Roger Brown's Website... This will put some answers to a lot of your questions, and give you suggestions on what you might want to do to your truck.

4Crawler OffRaod's FAQ site:Click Here

As for my personal experience...
I think a blend of slight body lift and a slightly stiffer suspension lift will form the best possible option for DD/occasional off roading... You can't associate putting a lift on another truck, it all depends on how stiff the suspension is and the condition of the shocks. Its hard to find a balance, and each person's is different but those that drive their trucks they take off road every day have a conflict of interest. On-road you want it low, stiff and connected... off-road you want it high, soft and flexy. At this point you must ask yourself what you value more and is it worth the lack of control on road for the benefits of a soft suspension off road. That way you can build your rig for your needs. Personally, if I go off road no more than 3 times a month I'm going to stick to a stiffer suspension setup as I value control over my vehicle than maybe a half inch extra flex off road. Thats my view, it might not be your view. My truck started out on HD OMEs w HD Bilsteins and I loved the setup. It was definitely on the stiffer side, but the truck handled like it was on rails and you should see the road I have to drive to work. It may not have been the most ideal setup off-road, but it made it through every trail at uwharrie w/o a problem and w/o lockers so it did what I needed it to do and still liked the concrete twisties. Another thing to consider is if you have lockers, you can afford to lose a little wheel travel. It doesn't matter if you are lifting a wheel, the correct wheel will still get the power it needs.

Another long post...

 

bodylifts are completely safe. If you turn your truck over going around a turn too fast, its your fault. You gotta use common sense. They are definitely great mods and will be one of the first things i do to any truck i get.

 

hey no probs here ive had a 3" on my runner for the last 10 years its been air born many times ,just use a good lift grade 8 bolts and make sure u got them all centered on the body mounts and use lock nuts dont go cheap its for ur safey and it dont cost much more, just keep in mind ur steering wheel shaft needs to be extend and ur gear shift gets shorter so u need o make mods for clearence so they dont pop out of low range when ur wheeling hard, not hard to due about 6 hours or less

 

I don't like body lifts at ALL.

The ONLY advantage is tire clearance...

The MANY disadvantages:

• Raised COG
  
• Shifter complications
  
• Increased body roll on roads
  
• Often makes your bed unusable for heavy loads
  
• Increased chance of failure on older bodies
  
• Leaves the dreaded gap between frame and body
  
• Doesn't increase ground clearance at all
  
• Cost $$$

Why blow money on raising the COG? Clearance your fenders where needed at no cost and keep your rig LOW. Those of you who don't wheel much and just want to look high it's fine...

But if you do end up going that route, I'd definitely go with Roger Brown's BL's and wouldn't go over an inch or two

Flame on

 

Yeah, but don't all those things say that you're a "hardcore wheeler"?...
Well, that and nerf bars....

 

I like my 1" BL, but personally I wouldn't go more than that.

One positive is the extra clearance makes it easier to to get to some really tight spots (like R&Ring the tranny or exhaust)

But there is a lot of credibility to the negatives mentioned. My advice is one inch goes a long way, so don't go overboard. RB will do custom sizes too, so consider fractional sizes too, (ie 3/4" or 1.5")

 

The dreaded gaps, the COG that is taller than a skyscraper, the horrible shifters, the the the the filler neck, the the the the. I wheel my truck and if it wasn't for my 3" Performance Accessories bodylift, i would be trimming and blah. Get over it. If you can't handle a little bit of work, then don't do it. It's that simple. A bodylift takes less time than a suspension lift. I wheel my truck hardcore and I don't ********************FLIP**************
over! If you are too incompetent to drive with a modified vehicle, go to the KIA store and get a car.

i.e. Its okay to do a two inch bodylift but you are thrown overboard when you add an extra inch? I don't understand that logic at all. I think it is just making mountains out of mole hills about all this bodylift bias.

 

You're right on the cost money though, it costs a huge sum of 150 dollars or less.

 

i cant afford 150 dollars. i dont bust my ass 20 hours a week for nothing!

 

I like my 3 inch BL on this truck.

I had a 3 BL on a jeep and it was really tipsy..but truck is great.

Its relatively cheap and easy to do if fits my bigger tires...life is good.

end of story.

 

A body lift has the least impact on the vehicle's COG of any other type of lift. If you assume approx. 25% of the weight in the body, each 1" of body lift raises the COG by 1/4". Sure, fender trimming does nothing to raise COG, but there is only so much trimming you can do w/o cutting into the inside of the cab/body and involving more work to restore. A suspension lift probably raises 90% of the vehicle mass (frame, engine, tranny, + body) and larger tires raise nearly 100% of the mass (and COG).

I love my 3" body lift, allowed for the drivetrain/exhaust/gas tank to be raised increasing the underside clearance by about 5", raised bumpers and rock sliders for increased approach and departure angles:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...ft/index.shtml

Go from this:


to this:


Also allows me to run a relatively mild, flexible lift spring instead of a stiffer, taller spring. Keeps driveline angles reasonable, minimizes bumpsteer, etc.

And body/frame gaps are not really an issue on the Toyotas, the bodies sit fairly low on the frame to begine with. Even w/ 3" lift and properly fitting wheel well liners, you see very little frame:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...tml#Aesthetics



And like any form of lift, the kit can be well designed and installed properly or if can be poorly designed or poorly installed. But to each their own. If there were one *perfect* lift, everyone would be running that and nothing else.

 

thank you roger for making everything better.

 

Great job on clarifying all this bias. You covered all the angles.

 

just put mine 3" body lift on this past weekend, the truck has been driven about 100 miles with the lift on and i love it, no tcomplaints yet...install was just a matter of unbolting a couple things and bolting everything back up...pretty straight foward, definetly a lot bigger, i did not expect the 3 inches to make my pickup look so tall...anyway i have driven both city and highway and no problems what so ever, i would do it again....

o and roger you are the man of explainations

 

I agree. I have a 2" body lift, so I drive the 4runner like it has a 2" body lift. If you act responsibly, body lifts are a great way to gain clearance on a IFS, where 2.5" is the max on suspension.

 

One thing's for sure, I am by NO MEANS a "hardcore wheeler." -- Many on this board can attest to that.

And don't think I'm holding you at gun point to remove your BL cause it may make you tip over on a certain obstacle; to each his own. I've wheeled with people with BL's before and no, they didn't tip over...but if it isn't necessary to fit you're tires and is just extra work, what's the point? Most of the people on this board run BL's and not many really spoke out against em' so I was sure to express the disadvantages as you have represented the advantage of BL's so very well.

Again I'm not telling anyone how to build their truck because I have NO experience doing that - no money to play with. $150 is A LOT to a poor student...but I have learned my lesson.

I shall never speak against the BL again -
*Grabs keys and heads to nearest Kia dealership*

 

I'm just saying all this bias with bodylifts is kind of rediculous. But to each their own. It's a great and cheap way to get a little bit more clearence for those tires.