Body lift or not?

[pyro4fun]

I have heard plenty of horror story's with adding body lifts and off roading,
My question is: Is it worth it to add a body lift and is there a better body lift kit out there than others?

Anyone here have horror story's with a body lift?

I would like to get larger tires under my truck but i would rather add a suspension lift than a body lift.

All input helps

thanx, pyro4fun

[Disturbed_Ranger]

I have never heard of a bodylift giving in, even when off-roading... It's just a choice that people make. if you wan't bigger tires without the pricetag of a suspension or the hassle of grinding your wings, well the bodylift is perfect. I personally don't like them, they show too much off the underneath of the truck. Makes it look fugly....

[85_Ranger4x4]

The only horror story I have with mine is that I had to make my own bumper brackets as they are not available for first generation trucks. I was also able to include some tow points for the front which I didn't have before, so it was a win-win. After that it looks like it came that way. I would happily do it again.

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/11155-15727-212979.jpg

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/11155-15727-214594.jpg

[DieselSmoke]

the only horror storys ive heard are those of some of my dumb cheap buddys who try and make there own out of stuff they have layin around and they end up breaking the mounts or bushing while flexing out and the cab get unstable.

you wont have to worry about it if you buy one and do it right. i had a 3" on my last ranger and never had a problem.

i wouldnt do one unless you really need to i think there ugly as hell with that frame showing down under the body more then they already do

[mhughes165]

the only horror storys ive heard are those of some of my dumb cheap buddys who try and make there own out of stuff they have layin around and they end up breaking the mounts or bushing while flexing out and the cab get unstable.

you wont have to worry about it if you buy one and do it right. i had a 3" on my last ranger and never had a problem.

i wouldnt do one unless you really need to i think there ugly as hell with that frame showing down under the body more then they already do


just clean up the underside opf the truck and paint them with undercoating or black paint and itll look just fine especially if u lift the bumpers aswell, but i have done them both ways in the past, never really bothered me and its good for a pinch, 3" body lift and u can run 32's with minimal rubbage on the 1st gen, no rubbing on the 2 and so on

[chazawazzle]

theres nothing wrong with a body lift that you buy. i had a gigantic tree fall on my last ranger and it shoved the lift blocks through the floor on the drivers side. that is the only horror story ive ever heard of. also if you put a body lift on it, you will have easy access to the frame to install some rock bars if you want.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/chazawazzle/deadtruck023.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/chazawazzle/deadtruck020.jpg

[Ranger44]

Holy S%$#. That was a big tree. Ranger's really are tough!

[dburton07]

i want to do a body lift on my truck as well to run 33's. they do make kits that fill in the gaps from when you lift the body off the frame so it looks like it came that way

[danger88ranger]

I have no problem with bodylifts, I have one on my 87 with 31s and works fine. I would NOT reccomend you make your own kit, just buy a kit from performance accessories or summit racings kit. If your not planning on jumping your truck a lot, i wouldn't worry about any problems. Oh, and you should be able to clear 33s if your truck is 4wd. A 2wd will prolly require say a leveling kit or some fender trimming, or both.

[chazawazzle]

you know it baby, built ford tough no kidding. the damn thing still runs and drives, nothing wrong with the engine just the cab.

[c_note]

i think theyre the ugliest mod you can do to a truck.

[85_Ranger4x4]

i want to do a body lift on my truck as well to run 33's. they do make kits that fill in the gaps from when you lift the body off the frame so it looks like it came that way

They advertised in my box they did, I didn't bother. I did take a old inner tube and filled in around the engine so I didn't sling it full of mud, I have enough electrical issues as it is.

i think theyre the ugliest mod you can do to a truck.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Aside from a little more frame being visable (hardly noticable on a std cab truck) I guess I really don't see what the big deal is.

[97BlackBetty]

Personally i would rather trim my fenders than do a body lift, but i have found that body lifts are excellent if you have large wires or rock lights that you want to run underneath your vehicle. It provides additional space for the little things that make a big difference.

[Sunk]

They also make it easier to get to some bolts such as the bellhousing, which happen to be a rather tight fit...

[mhughes165]

i think theyre the ugliest mod you can do to a truck.

he wasnt asking how they looked, simply if anyone had any horror stories about them, sure they may not look the best if the turck is a street queen like yours is but for someone that has the truck offroad alot its a cheap way for extra meat to clear which = better ground clearance, which is the ultimate goal for any lift is simply the ground clearance(through larger tires).......unless ur building a rock crawler, then disregard my statement here as i wouldnt suggest them at that point do to the nasty flexing that u will experince

[chico4554]

if your only doing mild wheeling, dont worry about the breaking. A body lift will hold up fine. Ive done plenty of off-roading with my body lift with no problems.

[reddog5]

Under hard offroading your body lift will fail, mine did. I have the performance accesories 3in body lift. I tore two of the cab mounts on my truck. Now granted the cab is still fastened to the frame but i dont trust it.

I would rather trim the fenders as well or save your money and invest in a suspension lift.

[LittleBigFoot]

I have beaten the hell out of my PA body lift and it holds up just fine. It's a nice supplimentary lift. Low center of gravity and room for bigger meats. Room for a doubler and added space for engine swaps. I've got no objections

[4x4junkie]

Under hard offroading your body lift will fail, mine did. I have the performance accesories 3in body lift. I tore two of the cab mounts on my truck. Now granted the cab is still fastened to the frame but i dont trust it.

I would rather trim the fenders as well or save your money and invest in a suspension lift.

My Ranger did that on the rear cab mounts and I have no bodylift on it (it was pretty early on it happened, too).
It seems mine was the result of the spot-welds breaking (someone doing shitty work some days, or not prepping the metal correctly). I drilled out the welds and put some bolts in along with a few various pieces of 1/8" steel to reinforce the area, and have not had any problems there since.

My BII I do run a bodylift on, so far no problems (even with a bit of rust perforation on the core support area). I don't see a bodylift affecting the stresses on these areas that much.

[jnunez86]

body lifts are for street queens period. no one with any kind of off roading or performance in mind uses a body lift-period. ther are other cheap ways of clearing big tires, fender flares, fiberglass, and trimming. bodylifts increase high center of gravity with excesive body roll. NOT A GOOD COMBINATION.

[blackbronc]

Ref. body lift. If you gotta go cheap...yes. If you want more flex and travel no. Best case scenario, do suspension lift of any kind first then if you need more clearance add the minimum body lift you can get away with IMO. Steering gear can get pretty strange or downright dangerous with body lifts.

[4x4junkie]

body lifts are for street queens period. no one with any kind of off roading or performance in mind uses a body lift-period. ther are other cheap ways of clearing big tires, fender flares, fiberglass, and trimming. bodylifts increase high center of gravity with excesive body roll. NOT A GOOD COMBINATION.

Ummm Yeah, I guess I have no performance offroad then, That's a pristine smooth street my queen is sitting on with its too-high center of gravity even though the entire frame, engine & everything below the body is not lifted as high as if I had used a suspension lift alone :rolleyes:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/6/web/702000-702999/702959_6.jpg (http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/6/web/702000-702999/702959_6_full.jpg)http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/6/web/702000-702999/702959_65.jpg (http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/6/web/702000-702999/702959_65_full.jpg)

(Ugh... Guess Cardomain must be f'ed up at the moment :no2: )

[Hahnsb2]

I have no problems with body lifts. They're cheap, you can clear larger tires, and makes working under the rig so much easier. I would prefer a 3inch body lift and 3" suspension over just a 6inch suspension, don't have to worry about steering angles, COG is lower and some 3" lifts I've seen flex plenty well.

[rangernotlifted]

I have a three inch body and 31x10.50's

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q254/butterball1234/?action=view&current=IMG_1351.jpg

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q254/butterball1234/?action=view&current=IMG_1350.jpg

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q254/butterball1234/?action=view&current=IMG_1344.jpg

[rangernotlifted]

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q254/butterball1234/IMG_1344.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q254/butterball1234/109_1027.jpg

Three inch body lift with 31x10.50's

[Evan]

There is a lot of BS going on here. First, people saying you shouldn't make your own body lift. It's like any other type of fab work; if you do a good job and don't cut corners, it will be fine. My body lift made from hockey pucks and threaded rod has proven itself time and time again. I did have a mount pull through the body before the body lift.

Next, people saying that body lifts are for street queens or are unnecessary. Did you know that on many RBVs you need a body lift in order to run a doubler? That's a good reason right there, and I have not seen many street queens running doublers. BLs are a great way to fit a larger tire under a truck without raising your CG sky high or creating steering problems. If you already have enough suspension lift and/or just want to run larger tires, a BL is a great option.

And as far as BLs looking unsightly, some trucks are built for the trail and not built for eye candy. I like looking at my rig and others and seeing framerails, driveshafts, coilsprings, etc.

[Muddycowboy]

my buddy is a machinist he made his own body lift buy just buying a stock peice of poly whatever, the shit performance makes there spacers out off and just cut it to make his own and bought new bolts from fastenal worked great on 4 trucks and the stock was like 4 bucks a foot bolts were like a dollar a piece

[Thumper113]

body lifts are for street queens period. no one with any kind of off roading or performance in mind uses a body lift-period. ther are other cheap ways of clearing big tires, fender flares, fiberglass, and trimming. bodylifts increase high center of gravity with excesive body roll. NOT A GOOD COMBINATION.

:icon_rofl:




Ummm Yeah, I guess I have no performance offroad then, That's a pristine smooth street my queen is sitting on with its too-high center of gravity even though the entire frame, engine & everything below the body is not lifted as high as if I had used a suspension lift alone :rolleyes:

X2

Man, they need to remove all the rocks & boulders out of the Safeway parking lot. It's not easy pushing a shopping cart full of groceries through all of that stuff. Maybe I should remove the body lift so that I might be able to become more off road performance oriented?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/RockRash/m4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/RockRash/m11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/Wheeling/warr10.jpg

[dgarner08]

i had a 3 inch body lift on my 99 and ran 33/12.50/16. the only draw back is that i think the BL was part of the reason it rolled :no2::no2::no2:instead of just skidding:black_eye:

[c_note]

the only reason id put a body lift on my truck is to put a CHEVY 350 in it. id much rather just do alot of cutting even if its more work though. btw, thats alot of stress on those long bolts.

[ckblum]

I have a 3 inch body lift with 31" also. It sounds like a popular choice there must be something good about it. And it isn't even ugly, what I think is ugly are those sick suspensions that criss cross all over the place and probably don't even drive that well.
http://socaltrucks.com/forsale/images/karla_hernandez3.jpg

[baadboy11]

I have a 3 inch body lift with 31" also. It sounds like a popular choice there must be something good about it. And it isn't even ugly, what I think is ugly are those sick suspensions that criss cross all over the place and probably don't even drive that well.
http://socaltrucks.com/forsale/images/karla_hernandez3.jpg

+1

I'd say its fine for what you will use your truck for, but as you can tell its a personal choice...with one or two different views on the subject
:dunno:

[Evan]

i had a 3 inch body lift on my 99 and ran 33/12.50/16. the only draw back is that i think the BL was part of the reason it rolled :no2::no2::no2:instead of just skidding:black_eye:


The BL would have made it roll easier, but a 3" suspension lift would have been even worse.

[hitech_hick]

There is a lot of BS going on here. First, people saying you shouldn't make your own body lift. It's like any other type of fab work; if you do a good job and don't cut corners, it will be fine. My body lift made from hockey pucks and threaded rod has proven itself time and time again. I did have a mount pull through the body before the body lift.

Next, people saying that body lifts are for street queens or are unnecessary. Did you know that on many RBVs you need a body lift in order to run a doubler? That's a good reason right there, and I have not seen many street queens running doublers. BLs are a great way to fit a larger tire under a truck without raising your CG sky high or creating steering problems. If you already have enough suspension lift and/or just want to run larger tires, a BL is a great option.

And as far as BLs looking unsightly, some trucks are built for the trail and not built for eye candy. I like looking at my rig and others and seeing framerails, driveshafts, coilsprings, etc.

What state are you from and what roads do you drive on? I definitely want to be sure that I steer clear of you on the road, or even the trail for that matter. As for making as apposed to buying one; yes, you can make your own that is as good or even better than a production model (PA), but it won't be cheaper, that is for sure. And if it is cheaper, then it definitely isn't better.


hick

p.s. If I were on pirate, I would make that statement my sig line...

[Evan]

What state are you from and what roads do you drive on? I definitely want to be sure that I steer clear of you on the road, or even the trail for that matter. As for making as apposed to buying one; yes, you can make your own that is as good or even better than a production model (PA), but it won't be cheaper, that is for sure. And if it is cheaper, then it definitely isn't better.


hick

p.s. If I were on pirate, I would make that statement my sig line...


Why would you want to steer clear of me on the road? Do you really think that 10 lengths of 1/2 inch grade 5 threaded rod are going to simultaneously shear off and my cab will disconnect from the frame while I'm driving down the road??

Regardless of the theories you may have, I have been running this setup for years both on and offroad, with no problems. The mounts are still tight and look like new.

[reddog5]

I dont think this thread should even be in the "extreme suspensions" forum.....:woot:

[BIIprospector]

I dont think this thread should even be in the "extreme suspensions" forum.....:woot:

X2
although i replaced all of the stock mounts on my BII with hockey pucks because mine were blown, and while i was doing it i added a 2 inch PA body lift. i also put pucks below the frame mounts so there was a sort of absorber. i found big flat washers the same diameter as the pucks so when it was done i had:
body, washer, lift block, hocky puck, washer, frame mount, washer, puck, washer, and a bolt going through all of it.

i wheel the crap out of it in mud, rocks, everything and have not had one problem. i did the explorer springs in the rear, and spacers in the front running 33" boggers and have not had to trim fenders.

[ckblum]

I think Im gonna take my body lift out and cut it down to 1" instead. 3" is a pretty high body lift and I think its part of the reason my box shifted to one side, there is a lot of leverage on the bolts and mounts to shift under stress. I want my truck to be lower anyways. Im just gonna cut the rear fenders and buy some fiberglass front ones for clearance.

Down the road I may even put some 1.5" lift coil springs in the front.

[mhughes165]

I think Im gonna take my body lift out and cut it down to 1" instead. 3" is a pretty high body lift and I think its part of the reason my box shifted to one side, there is a lot of leverage on the bolts and mounts to shift under stress. I want my truck to be lower anyways. Im just gonna cut the rear fenders and buy some fiberglass front ones for clearance.

Down the road I may even put some 1.5" lift coil springs in the front.


the reason it shifted is every so often u have to make sure the bolts are still tight as everything settles after u set the body back down, says it in the instructions, they work there way lose as they settle and cause shifting, aslong as u make sure its all tight itll never shift

[Todd]

body lifts are for street queens period. no one with any kind of off roading or performance in mind uses a body lift-period. ther are other cheap ways of clearing big tires, fender flares, fiberglass, and trimming. bodylifts increase high center of gravity with excesive body roll. NOT A GOOD COMBINATION.

Oh ya spot on:icon_rofl::icon_rofl:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/5/web/2321000-2321999/2321854_345_full.jpg
Look at my street queen that has a BL. Not off road performace there at all:buttkick:

What state are you from and what roads do you drive on? I definitely want to be sure that I steer clear of you on the road, or even the trail for that matter. As for making as apposed to buying one; yes, you can make your own that is as good or even better than a production model (PA), but it won't be cheaper, that is for sure. And if it is cheaper, then it definitely isn't better.


hick

p.s. If I were on pirate, I would make that statement my sig line...

Pirate is full of dicks that love busting on others, Pirate sucks.

I have been running pucks for years. Still running some of the same pucks I had under my BII body. After having them on there for 5 years I saw nothing wrong with them for me not to use them agian under the Ranger cab. Go a ahead and call me dumb but you have no experiace with pucks as I would guess.

So you know what my rig looks like, and by all means STAY CLEAR.

[canyoncritter]

all depends on what you using the truck for......

all but maybe the most hardcore tube frame rock crawlers and the desert trucks are the only ones that really need to shy away from off the shelf body lifts.

in desert trucks most tend to shy away cause of the fact they can puncture threw the sheet metal,and have more of a chance to shear off cab mount bolts.but there has been a few nice desert trucks with body lift's. But not your off the shelf kit.

For something like todds truck, junkie bronco etc, they work just fine.And I bet for junkie it worked out even better.keeping the stering in shape as best he could and still clear 35's.

for 97% of every other use of a truck,if the body lift is installed right(lots of little things to be done when installing a body lift that make it or break it),and you matian your truck.Check the body mount bolts time to time.REPLACE a bolt if it starts to strech.that person should have no problems with a body lift.

If you hauling heavy loads in the bed of your truck, you could end up with a problem. your bed floor may start to sink.

Making your own,would be fairly simple to do right.And great I think if you have a all out trial truck and have a need to build some better than off the shelf. but for most people to be done right, in the end its cheaper to just buy a kit.

And this is coming from a guy who dont like bodylifts.

[spdcrazy]

well these pages were amusing....

[hitech_hick]

Oh ya spot on:icon_rofl::icon_rofl:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/5/web/2321000-2321999/2321854_345_full.jpg
Look at my street queen that has a BL. Not off road performace there at all:buttkick:



Pirate is full of dicks that love busting on others, Pirate sucks.

I have been running pucks for years. Still running some of the same pucks I had under my BII body. After having them on there for 5 years I saw nothing wrong with them for me not to use them agian under the Ranger cab. Go a ahead and call me dumb but you have no experiace with pucks as I would guess.

So you know what my rig looks like, and by all means STAY CLEAR.

I think that perhaps you need to reread my original quote. It was not the hockey pucks that I was busting on, it was the threaded rod that concerned me. I know that there is high grade (grade 5 and grade 8) threaded rod available, but that is not what most shade tree "fabricators" use. They get the cheap stuff from Ace hardware, and use it on every thing from shifters, to u-bolts, to the previously mentioned body lifts. I am not saying that you cannot make a quality body lift without a kit, I am merely saying that it is not economically feasible. You can make it cheap, but it won't be better, and if it is better, then it won't be cheaper.

If you some how took offense to a statement that was not even directed to, that is your problem, not mine. And yes, as previously stated this thread doesn't belong under "extreme suspensions".


hick