The truth about body-lifts to raise your truck or Jeep.

Raising the ride height of your pickup truck or Jeep is very common in order to gain greater ground clearance, and to add larger diameter tires. While many people have a preferred method of doing this, one of the most common and perhaps the most controversial, is the use of body-lifts. Body-lifts are a popular method many use for gaining as much as three-inches of ride height. While many off-road enthusiasts love the low-cost and the ability to retain the smooth factory ride, there are others who don’t like using this method, as they think it poses a variety of safety concerns.

Much of the issue surrounding body-lifts come from many experiences that have been discussed, photographed and disseminated over the internet. After much investigation, however, one can say that many of the “experiences” are directly related to improper installations and homemade body-lifts that people manufactured to save a few bucks.

Manufacturers of quality body-lift kits have also heard of people making their own kits out of materials such as billet aluminum, steel tubing, hockey pucks, and even steel washers. Body-lift manufacturers such as Performance Accessories, who has been manufacturing and selling these kits for more than 30 years, emphasize the use of nylon-reinforced polyurethane body blocks that are strong, won’t crack or break, and when used with new high-grade hardware, will provide a reliable and inexpensive way to gain ride height on any vehicle.

Scanning across a variety of off-road, truck and Jeep forums, the same questions come up as to the use and safety of body-lifts. Some are based totally on myth, while others have some merit but are derived from incorrect information. Here are the ten most popular reasons why enthusiasts don’t want to use body-lifts with some solid answers.

Using A Body Lift Will Make The Brake Lines Too Short: In all applications the factory rubber brake lines are not affected by a body-lift. According to Chris Faustmann, R&D at Performance Accessories, the hard lines on the frame connecting to the master cylinder are usually coiled and have more than enough length to accommodate three inches. Some give you two or three extra feet! This is done to avoid any vibration problems that can occur with a straight brake line. On areas such as the rear differential, where the rubber hose attaches to the steel lines on the axle, some kits may provide a longer bracket to help support the existing brake line but a longer hose isn’t necessary.

Most of the problems associated with this myth occur when off-road enthusiasts combine a body-lift with a full suspension kit. Some people opt for an inexpensive suspension kit and stretch the lines. Later, they want more height so they add a body-lift and suddenly find out the brake lines aren’t long enough. Whatever you choose, make sure that the kit comes complete with everything you need to do the installation correctly. High quality kits typically provide a longer, Kevlar reinforced steel-braided lines.

The Gas Filler Tube Will Have To Be Extended: This can be true for some body-lift kits that don’t include a new gas filler tube extension. According to Performance Accessories, in most cases the factory tube is long enough, but there are some models that require an extension. In those cases, a longer gas filler tube extension is included and easily fits between the factory filler tube with simple hose clamps.

I’ve Seen The Body Come Off The Frame In An Accident: Lots of people claim to have seen this but can’t recall when or where. There are photos circulating with cracked frames around the body lift blocks, the reason is usually due to rust or a poor choice of bolts. According to many off-road experts and body-lift manufacturers, it’s almost impossible to separate the body from the frame, as there are 12-16 body mounts on most pickups and sport utility vehicles. It would require an incredible amount of shear-force to rip the body off of the frame in a head-on, roll-over or rear-end collision. According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, the automobile frame must be designed to withstand the impact of a collision. Although the body of a truck or sport utility vehicle can be heavy, it won’t outweigh the frame, engine, transmission and axles, which will have a greater momentum of force than the body. In addition, vehicle crumple zones in the fenders, hood, engine compartment and ultimately the cab are designed to absorb impact which will minimize the shear-force. This also holds true on a rollover, as the doors and window frame will crumple to absorb impact, limiting the leverage it may have on the body mount bolts.

But the fact remains that people sometimes build their own body-lift kits out of aluminum or steel tubing; often greater than three inches in height. This can be very dangerous and probably added to the validity of this body-lift story. High-quality body lift kits use nylon reinforced, polyurethane body blocks that are extruded using extremely high pressure and temperatures to make them strong, yet more compliant and energy absorbing than steel or aluminum. High-grade hardware is also provided, including thread-locker, as an insurance measure to prevent the bolts from vibrating loose. When installed correctly, a high-quality body-lift up to three inches in height is safe to use.

Body Lifts Make The Vehicle Feel Too Top Heavy: Raising the center of gravity on any vehicle will make it top heavy, and typically depends on the vehicle. Body-lifts raise the vehicle’s cab, leaving the suspension and frame in the stock location. A suspension lift lowers the suspension so that the frame and body are both lifted higher. Both will feel the same with the stock tires on it. Once you add larger diameter tires, then you raise the vehicle’s center of gravity, which can give you an uneasy feeling.

The fact is that your decision on using either a body-lift or full-suspension will depend on the type of off-roading you will be doing. A body-lift can be safe to use and will give you more fender clearance to run larger tires. If you plan on doing some serious off-roading, where you need more articulation and axle control, along with greater approach and departure angles, then a full-suspension will be a better choice.

The Transfer Case Linkage Will Be Too Short to operate: This is a case of buyer beware. Older vehicles with manual transfer case linkages will often require an extension. Budget body-lift kits often don’t include items like longer transfer case linkage or a steering column adaptor. So make sure you do your research. A good kit will include everything you need to properly lift the vehicle without any linkage problems. Look for kits that supply a high-quality, CNC precision machined steering extension that is checked and test fit to ensure that it works properly on the vehicle you are lifting.

The Body Mount Bolts Will Bend Under Severe Off-Road Use: This is true, but it’s also possible to bend the vehicle’s frame if you hit it hard enough. Even a high-grade body mount bolt is susceptible to bending, especially if it’s slid up against a rock. Remember that a body-lift block is inserted between the frame and the factory body mounts. So the bolt stays in exactly the same position as it did originally. Several Jeep owners for example, have bent their body mount bolts when the vehicle slides over a rock, or if it takes a hard hit on a skid plate that’s attached to the body mount under the radiator core support. There are products, however, that can protect your body-mount bolts. Several manufacturers make skid plates that can be attached to each exposed body mount to protect them against hard hits.

A Body Lift Will Leave A Gap Visible Between The Frame And Body: This one is also true, but again its buyer beware. Many people don’t like the space between the frame and body that’s left after it has been lifted. The gap is simply unappealing and doesn’t look cool when you view the vehicle from the side and see open air in the wheel wells. Performance Accessories manufactures Gap Guards that are included with, or are available for, all of their body-lift and Premium Lift Systems. Gap Guards are polyurethane extensions that are easily attached to the inner fender-wells of the vehicle to cover up the gap. They also limit moisture and dirt from entering into the engine compartment and make the whole installation look great.

Body-lifts Limit The Air-Flow From The Radiator Fan:

This is solely dependent on the body-lift manufacturer. Some vehicles use an electric fan that’s attached to the radiator. When the body is lifted, there’s no effect on the fan and radiator cooling. On other applications, where the fan is physically raised higher in relation to the radiator, manufacturers like Performance Accessories provide a fan shroud extension that maintains the proper operation of the fan and cooling system to prevent overheating or damage to the fan.

You Can Get A Loss Of Steering Control Using A Body Lift: This is another situation where the buyer needs to beware. Without a proper steering column extension, there can be some steering issues. Poorly made steering extensions can break, wear and even fall off over time. For this reason manufacturers like Performance Accessories provides each kit with a high-quality, CNC machined steering extension. Each extension is quality checked during the machining process to ensure that it fits perfectly and provides reliable service.

A Body-Lift Will Lower My Truck’s Towing Capacity: Body-lifts don’t affect the towing capabilities of any pickup truck or sport utility vehicle. The frame, hitch and suspension are not affected by a body-lift and the tow rating of your vehicle will remain intact. This myth started, however, when people tried to tow or pull a vehicle out from a stuck position by wrapping a tow-strap around their bumper. Bumpers are not made for handling any heavy load and a tow-strap should only be attached to a receiver hitch or tow hooks that are mounted to the vehicle’s frame. Despite this fact, Performance Accessories uses laser cut, heavy-gauge steel brackets that relocate the bumper to the factory frame.

While opnions may still vary on the subject, it’s always best to thoroughly investigate any upgrade you do to your truck or Jeep. In many instance, you can download installation instructions to get a real view on how something like a body-lift is installed on your particular vehicle, and the components that come in the kit. For more information on body-lifts you can visit, http://ift.tt/1yPtG1C

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