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- Listen, we've all been there.
You're on the old Custom Offsets website,
browsing lift kits for your truck.
You enter your year of make and model
and dive headfirst into all
of the wonderful lift kit options that we have available
when suddenly, you find it, the body lift.
It's 250 bucks, it gives you three inches of lift
and it seems like a no brainer right?
But is it too good to be true?
I'm Dustin with Custom Offsets
and today, we're gonna be stacking them up
and finding out just why we hate body lifts.
Before we do that though, if you're looking for a lift kit,
wheels or tires, or even some awesome accessories
like bumpers, lighting, things like that,
you can find all of those customoffsets.com.
Seriously, we got all that stuff.
Also while you're at it,
please consider subscribing to our channel
cause it helps us keep bringing you guys
the content that you've come to love.
All right, let's dive right into this.
Before we get started, we should clarify two things.
One, we don't actually hate body lifts,
it's more of a strong dislike.
In certain applications they can be super beneficial
for gaining that last little bit of clearance
however, we're not exactly a huge fan of them
and we'll get into that in just a little bit.
And number two, what exactly is a body lift?
If you're not familiar with them,
a body lift is exactly what the name suggests.
It's a lift kit, which utilizes spacers or bushings
to lift the body of the truck up off the frame.
This is opposite of a suspension lift of course,
which is going to adjust or replace
the factory suspension components
to actually lift the vehicle.
So with all of that being said,
why do we dislike body lifts so much?
And well honestly, there's a few reasons actually.
The biggest factor for us is that
body lift stretch factory components of your truck
passed what they were designed for.
We're talking components like wiring harnesses
in your steering column,
which were designed at a proper length from the factory
for the body height of the truck.
This is increasingly more important the newer the truck is
as today's trucks come with more sensors
and more harnesses than ever before.
Additionally, two or three inches of clearance
gained by adding a body lift means that every harness
between the body and the frame, needs to have enough slack
to make up that difference.
This can oftentimes be problematic
as it causes wire harnesses and connectors to pull apart
or stretch out as well as the steering joints
to be put at awkward angles that could cause a bine.
However, not a huge deal if you have
an older truck, is generally you're gonna
have less wiring than something newer.
Another thing to mention with body lifts
is that because you're putting a spacer
between the frame of the truck and the body of the truck,
you're gonna be able to see that.
Body lifts do create this kinda weird visible gap
in the vehicle, especially when you're looking at the box.
Additionally, if you have factory cutouts
for your exhaust tips, there's a good chance
that the body lift will raise the bumpers up,
but, your exhaust tips are gonna stay
at the same location meaning you're gonna have
this weird gap between the exhaust tips and the cutouts.
On the flip side, let's say your body lift
does not move the bumpers, now you have this weird gap
between the body of the truck, and the bumpers.
In either situation, not super ideal.
Trust me, I know what you're saying,
but it's only 300 bucks, I can get a body lift
that cost alone is much cheaper than a suspension lift kit.
Listen, here's the thing, body lifts
are actually significantly more expensive to install
than a suspension lift kit.
Well it may not seem that way,
let me break it down for you real quick.
Remember, a body lift is basically a spacer
that sits between the frame and the body of the vehicle.
The only way to get that spacer into that space,
no pun intended, is to lift the entire body of the vehicle
off the frame and install the spacer.
On newer trucks it's not so bad,
but around here in the rust belt,
you're bound to break something
on any truck that's literally over five years old.
Sure, you could do it yourself, probably save a few bucks
but you're gonna need means to get the body separated
from the frame of the truck.
Now, before someone says it,
I know we have them on the website,
and if your heart is dead set on a body lift,
we'll certainly sell it to you.
I mean, at the end of the day, I'm not your dad.
- You're not my dad.
- You can do whatever you want.
Do you have a clean, pre-OBD truck that you're looking
to pick up an inch or two of clearance?
A body lift might be an all right option for you.
In most cases however, you're gonna see us recommend
going with a suspension lift kit.
- So just do it, make your dreams come true.
- The updated components and the new suspension geometry
is almost always a better option for lifting your truck
and, you can get about the same lift kit
for about the same price.
Either way, you can check out all of our lift options
for your truck at customoffsets.com, peace.
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