best size lift?

[rangerkid98]

the only thing i dont like is I just hate the look of the huge space between the bed and the frame in the back above the rear wheels. Do you get that with a 3 inch body lift? or is there a way to get rid of the ugly gap?

 

[--weezl--]

very simple way, make up some gap guards... i've seen people make them with lawn edging, carpet runners, anything really...

personally, i like the lawn edging idea best, then some black spraypaint to cover it all up...

you can actually buy commercially prepared ones, typically there is an advertisement in the box with the body lift...

i got my lift for less than 300$, including EVERYTHING i needed, installed in 2 days

 

[rangerkid98]

okay I might just do that. thanks a lot!

 

[--weezl--]

no worries buddy, any more questions, feel free to ask them...

honestly, if you just spray paint everything, wheel wells, frame and everything, you won't notice the gap AS MUCH as you think you would...

 

[Surrey]

honestly, for my truck, not sure about your front drive setup, but for my truck, there isn't really a huge benifet to the suspension lift, you don't gain travel, and will wear out your front driveshaft much faster...

First, he has a TTB truck, not your shitty (no offense, but it is...) torsion bar crap. He can get more flex out of his truck with a 4" skyjacker lift than your truck gets with a $4000 long travel kit.

I see body lifts as a last resort. After you have a 6" suspension lift, and you've trimmed your fenders, and your tires STILL rub on full stuff, then you do a body lift to alleviate that. The body lift is all about looks, it doesn't improve the performance of your truck in any way (unless you count raising your center of gravity as an improvement) I say 6" suspension lift, because going higher than that makes it really hard to align and have decent steering geometry without a complete overhaul.

Sure the body lift is cheap, and a RC Lift kit is cheaper than a Skyjacker Kit, but you really do get what you pay for. A real lift kit will increase your suspension travel, and the cheaper kits have problems with breaking/bending brackets, punching holes in the differential (If the passenger side uses a drop plate instead of replacing the whole bracket) and the holes in the brackets not lining up with the holes in your truck.

And as I've said, the basic skyjacker 4" kit uses the same brackets as the 6" (they have two holes) and comes with basic lift components like blocks in the rear and radius arm drop brackets, which can be updated later for lifted leaf springs, extended radius arms, ect.

If you really REALLY dont care about that future customizability, James Duff makes a quality 3" lift, and is a bit cheaper.

 

[rangerkid98]

for right now i'm not a hard core wheeler tho so I'm looking for a cheaper lift because im really not gonna be doing anything crazy. I'm more concerned now because I thought I had a 3.74 gearing but its 3.27 and everyone I've talked to says that its not the best for any tires bigger then stock. If I end up spending money on that I dont want a 1000 dollar lift kit. for now at least. thanks tho.

 

[--weezl--]

The body lift is all about looks, it doesn't improve the performance of your truck in any way (unless you count raising your center of gravity as an improvement)

dude, a 3" body lift has less effect on center of gravity han a suspension lift does, and makes a huge difference in the clearance of the wheels... so when you say doesn't improve the performance in any way, you actually mean makes a huge difference, depending on the use of your truck, then yeah, you're right

 

[Surrey]

dude, a 3" body lift has less effect on center of gravity han a suspension lift does, and makes a huge difference in the clearance of the wheels... so when you say doesn't improve the performance in any way, you actually mean makes a huge difference, depending on the use of your truck, then yeah, you're right

I know a suspension lift increases Centre of gravity more, but they also have the benefits of increased wheel travel and stuff.

A body lift does NOT increase anything but how big of a tire you can fit without rubbing on your fenders. Bigger tires may improve the performance of your truck, but not the body lift itself. And those results can be acheived in other, even cheaper ways, like trimming fenders.

 

[legoms013]

I have 6.5"+ of suspension lift and 33's, and I don't feel like Im going to roll over any more than when I was at 4" of suspension lift and 31's. Just saying, height doesn't automatically mean you are going to roll over....Sounds more like "your opinion" too me. And i have a very narrow track width (10.5 wide tires and stock backspacing).

If I were you I'd look at Skyjacker's class I 4" lift kit. It will net about 3-3.5" of lift for you and room to clear 31's or 32's if you want.

Plus it has the built in flexibilty in case you eventually want to add long arms, new leafs, 6" coils (6" coils only lift 4-5") while keeping the original brackets you bought the first time around. Plus the Skyjacker kit will hold up 10x better than any other brand of lift kit out there (albiet James Duff, which is equally as strong, just not as flexible in the future).

Good luck.

 

[97_Danger_Ranger]

I just put 2 inch spacers up front and 2 inch blocks in the rear on 31's and i think it looks perfect. Could possibly go bigger tho

 

[strvger]

just to add a little to weezl's replies, a body lift does not alter your ride or handling. it does not add wear to your front or rear end parts. it does not require an alignment.
it does give you more room to work on your truck when you're under it. it will allow for taller tires, thus elevating critical parts like diffs, tranny and tc. if you replace your body mount bushings at the same time, it will actually improve the ride quality. it will give you the chance to customize your truck with what you do to the gaps at the rear that concern you (perfect time to add that class 3 frame hitch and go from there). and the money you will save will more than help to buy the gears and tires you want. my lift kit and new body bushings came to less than $150.
just my $.02.