Pros & Cons of installing a Body Lift on an offroad 4x4 truck

[ElectricSquid]

Con:

Installing a body lift can sometimes damage wires if you're not careful.

I think that "con" is more of an installer error than a bad check for body lifts.
That's like saying oil changes are bad because you might not put the drain plug back in.

Some folks think that stretching wires is bad period, even if they don't break.

That's very correct.
Stretching a wire WILL lead to a broken wire sometime down the road.
The worst part is that the wire will most likely break inside of it's shielding, which from the outside, won't look like a broken wire.
That'll make diagnosing the problem that much harder.

 

[kkjb4x4.0]

I don't think a bl on a ranger looks too bad,,not as bad as some chevy's I see. A few years back I put one on a s15 to clear 275 75 15's, looked like crap and the engine bay was a snowdrift in the winter and would'nt start well .I would consider a 2 or 3 inch bl to clear 33's on my 97.

 

[haulasswithclass]

body lift

I like the body lift for a few reasons. It make the bronco II and rangers easier to work on all the way around. I play in the mud alot and it make it easier to wash the running gear. I think that body lifts get a bad rap because of bad installer doing them. I have had a few rig over the year that i ran body lifts on and i took my time putting them on. I never had any problem caused by the body lift.

 

[orange_ranger]

im hoping to install a bl in the fall they doo have downsides but they r cheap and if u do it right i think it will be worth it too clear the bigger tires.

 

[Boggin]

my buddy had a 6" body lift on his old chev, beat that truck like hell and no problems

ill vote 4

 

[LittleBigFoot]

I pray to buddah your buddy doesn't daily drive that truck with a 6" body lift, boggin. 6" puts shit tons of strain on your bolts. I'd laugh till I got hemroids to see him take a turn and the cab falls off.

There are obviously pros and cons to everything.

A body lift is cheap, kits are durrable, keep a low COG due to the drive train being kept down low, allow room for articulation, gives room for shock towers, gives room to drop some bigger cubes in there, gives room for other transfer case / transmission combos, allows you to change spark plugs and oil filter through the inner fender, gives room for sliders, will not effect your steering (especially with A arm).

I've jumped my truck and never torn off a body mount or sheered a bolt. I've got no beefs with body lifts especially on a 98 and up truck. It's worth it.

With some tube under the cab you can hardly tell it's body lifted.

 

[Zachalanche]

I have a 2" bl on my 89, and i am very happy with it despite being skeptical at first. I originally put it on because I found out the hard way the a 4" lift wouldn't clear 33s, but since then working on my truck has become much easier (especially changing spark plugs). my rockers don't come in contact with the ground as much and that 2" of lift is incompressible so it keeps my tires off my body (at least it did until I swapped to the wider explorer axles).

The down side is the ugly gaps and my trasfer case shifter is a little harder to operate since it it 2" closer to the floor. I also had to adjust my radiator shroud to keep the fan from rubbing on it. So, that in mind I wouldn't go more than 2 inches.

 

[svo_jon]

M brother and I both had body lifts on a pre runners and on the same wee end we both hit dunes hard on the nose and the bodies shifted on the frames. On his truck the floor buckled under the drivers foot about 2".

I will never use one on a truck again after this(what would happen in a callission?). I don't know about an SUV due to more mounts holding the same pease of the body to the frame.

To answar the question: As little lift as you need. I think the only reason my truck didn't fare as bad as mu brother's is he had a 3" and I have a 2".

Jonathan

 

[unclemeat]

The main disadvantage of a body lift is that it will allow the frame to flex. That can create handling problems, noise and a greater potential to permenantly bend the frame.

 

[_Kyle_]

I'm not a fan of them particularly. I can see running an inch or two to help clear some tires or something but that's about it - and you could probably just trim and get away with that instead.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The main disadvantage of a body lift is that it will allow the frame to flex. That can create handling problems, noise and a greater potential to permenantly bend the frame.

The frame will flex whether it has a body lift or not. I can get about 1/4" difference between the pinstrips on my truck... which is the same as it had without a bodylift. My dad's '80 F-350 has flexed enough that bed has hit the cab on both sides and it doesn't have a body lift at all.

A BII or Explorer with one solid body would be even less apt to twist.