Roger Brown body lift or not?

[jnelson4x4taco]

Im sort of in a pickle. I built a set of sliders, pretty nice IMO, but I dont want to weld them on yet because im contemplating a 1" or 1.5" bodylift and dont want there to be a gap. The BL is inexpensive and would give a little extra clearance. I know with a BL that small I dont have a ton of modifications, mainly the bumpers, radiator and steering extension.

I have Bentup bumpers front and rear, how hard is it to raise those so there isnt a gap? And for those of you with BL, was it worth all the work or should i just skip it and weld on the sliders? Thanks

 

[Cambo]

The BL install itself is super easy. I put a 2" on mine in less than 2 hours. Just soak the old bolts in PB blaster the day before. I did one side at a time and it was easy. The only thing you have to do for the radiator is remove the lower fan shroud, just unclip it, so the fan won't rub. I also had to put a spacer in at the steering joint, and that was only two bolts. I like the BL as they give a lot of clearance underneath to work on your rig. I don't even notice the body gap, doesn't seem like there is one. As far as the bumpers and sliders. I had mine set for a 2" body lift already. But, if it is only a 1" BL probably not much of a gap to worry about as far as bumpers. Good luck!

 

[washington taco]

I installed a 3" on my 2000 in 2002 and have had no issues. Would I use a 3" body lift again, no. 1 to 1 1/2" max! As with your bumpers and sliders you should match them up to your body lines for a clean look and better protection.

 

[Mr. Leary]

There will be a gap. I have seen two ways to deal with this. The first is to remove the bumper and add a strip of 14 guage to the top. The second method I have seen is the addition of blakc foam tubing on top of the bumper... makes it look good from further away. Cheap, but not superior IMO.

The 1.5" BL is an ideal fit for my 255/85/R16s on my 4Runner. The issue I ran into with the Roger Brown lift is the body spacers that were sent were for a 1.5" BL and the steering spacer was for a 1" BL. Easily fixed. The relocation of the radiator will work better with a 1.5" BL because stock holes can be used on the top, but you still will have to contend with the bottom relocation brackets (I ended up not using them in favor of fence post ties).

The BL decision is about personal preference more than anything. It depends on tire size and the amount of cutting you are willing to do. Either lift over it, or cut until it doesn't interfere any more.

There are certain advantages I have noticed since adding the BL. Changing the oil filter is much easier. Changing the starter is now possible without taking everything apart as well.

I'm still not sure it looks better, but the advantages have made it worthwhile for me.

Just make sure you pick one decision and stick with it. You don't want to heat up the frame more than you have to.

 

[Willman]

A lot of people have had good luck with those BL.

Most bumpers come with slotted holes on them....just make the slot bigger or make new mounts. Pretty easy to do if you have the time and tools.

If your only going 1".....You might have some play in the bumper you have now.....I wouldn't care about a 1/2" to 3/4" gap there

Just my .02

 

[jnelson4x4taco]

Thanks for the advice guys, those are good things to know.

How was the install? I looked at an install article on Parksoffroad and it looked like he had to tear apart a ton of interior pieces in his double cab to access the bolts. Hopefully that was a double cab issue that I wont run into on an extended cab. About how many hours did it take?

Prayforsurf- do you have any pictures of the gap on your bumpers? Looking at the bentup design, I dont see any easy way of lifting it either. Thanks

 

[TangoBlue]

Do the 1 inch body lift for all the reasons stated above - I regret not having done it now.