Talking myself out of a lift
10-04-2017, 11:29 AM
#11
I don’t do any real off-roading in my F150, mostly because it’s too big for the trails in my area (and I’m just not ready to ding it up). But I’ve spent a lot of time off-road in previous Rangers and my Frontier. My Rangers were stock, and I had a very mild 2” lift on my Frontier but still ran stock sized tires.
The only time I had clearance issues it was my hitch receiver hitting rocks on steep inclines, not my pumpkin. The few times I’ve been stuck wasn’t because of a limitation on my truck, it was because of inexperience on my part from either slowing down when I should have kept a steady pace, or giving it too much gas when I should have kept a steady pace, both times in deep mud.
IMO, if you like the appearance of a lift and larger tires, it’s your money, go ahead and add it. But if you want added performance when off-roading, I suggest a good set of tires, a winch (or quality come-along), an air compressor so you can lower your pressure off-road and raise it again on-road, and a Truetrac if your truck didn’t come with a locker. Actually the best thing I ever did to my Frontier was to rip out the locker and install a Truetrac. It’s always working and there’s no 20mph speed limitation. Oh, and you might as well go outside and take a hammer to your body right now so it doesn’t hurt so much the first time you slide into a tree or rock!
The only time I had clearance issues it was my hitch receiver hitting rocks on steep inclines, not my pumpkin. The few times I’ve been stuck wasn’t because of a limitation on my truck, it was because of inexperience on my part from either slowing down when I should have kept a steady pace, or giving it too much gas when I should have kept a steady pace, both times in deep mud.
IMO, if you like the appearance of a lift and larger tires, it’s your money, go ahead and add it. But if you want added performance when off-roading, I suggest a good set of tires, a winch (or quality come-along), an air compressor so you can lower your pressure off-road and raise it again on-road, and a Truetrac if your truck didn’t come with a locker. Actually the best thing I ever did to my Frontier was to rip out the locker and install a Truetrac. It’s always working and there’s no 20mph speed limitation. Oh, and you might as well go outside and take a hammer to your body right now so it doesn’t hurt so much the first time you slide into a tree or rock!
10-10-2017, 12:37 AM
#12
Senior Member
Some good points BassJam...
10-10-2017, 11:51 AM
#13
No longer stuck in 2003
Every vehicle I've gone off road in was stock, from a 65 ****** to an 1980 Chevy 1 ton. None had extra large tires, none had extra lift, none were rock crawlers or mud runners. We used to play in western Colorado and for the most part. It really depends on where you are going. If you are going to the mall then that extra 6" lift is really "cool", but does you nothing. If you are going to do some of the crazy stuff on youtube then it might help.........maybe.
11-09-2017, 10:45 PM
#14
...
Just bought a new-to-me 2014 XLT 4x4. Came with leveling lift and 33" BFG KO2's. My application: 90% street as a daily driver, but the 10% offroad is very important to me and the main reason I bought the truck.
My offroad consists of getting to remote hiking / climbing trailheads or camping sites in remote Southern Utah-- say, 1.5 hours of serious offroading getting to the trailhead, and then 1.5 hours back to pavement at the end of the day..
This includes: washboard and unmaintained roads, sometimes for a dozen miles or more; slower speed rocky trails with some boulders (but not rock crawling like Jeeps do, and I'll spend all my time avoiding obstacles as best I can rather than intentionally crawling over the biggest ones); washed out gullies, sometimes surprising and making you instantly wish you were going slower; occasionally fording shallow rocky rivers; limited mudding. Sometimes, the rocky trails will be on extremely steep cliffs where if I slip around (or make a driving mistake) I fall to my death or ruin my vehicle.
...
Just bought a new-to-me 2014 XLT 4x4. Came with leveling lift and 33" BFG KO2's. My application: 90% street as a daily driver, but the 10% offroad is very important to me and the main reason I bought the truck.
My offroad consists of getting to remote hiking / climbing trailheads or camping sites in remote Southern Utah-- say, 1.5 hours of serious offroading getting to the trailhead, and then 1.5 hours back to pavement at the end of the day..
This includes: washboard and unmaintained roads, sometimes for a dozen miles or more; slower speed rocky trails with some boulders (but not rock crawling like Jeeps do, and I'll spend all my time avoiding obstacles as best I can rather than intentionally crawling over the biggest ones); washed out gullies, sometimes surprising and making you instantly wish you were going slower; occasionally fording shallow rocky rivers; limited mudding. Sometimes, the rocky trails will be on extremely steep cliffs where if I slip around (or make a driving mistake) I fall to my death or ruin my vehicle.
...
IMO with that level of driving, a stock truck will be fine. In your place I'd get some improved shocks and maybe some tires that will help make sure you don't fall to your death; the other driving stuff is easily handled by a stock 4x4, especially if you have a rear locker or LSD.
Sounds to me like it's a "need" vs "want" situation....
11-10-2017, 06:02 PM
#15
You may be able to clear 34's on the stock suspension and wheels. I know a guy on the other site had 275/65R20 BFG T/A KO2's on his stock truck with no rubbing. I think he was even running weathertech splashguards which stick forward a bit and still cleared. Mine has 275/60R20's(almost a 33) and clear just fine.
I am running Bilstein 5100's all around and it was a big improvement in ride on and off road. The nice thing is they are cheap, I think I paid like $350 for all 4, and the fronts allow you to go anywhere from 0" to 2.1" level in 4 settings. So if you wanna run a slight lift in the front you can. I personally set mine to a .75" lift(the first setting) and its barely noticeable. I dont think anyone would be able to tell unless i pointed it out.
I am running Bilstein 5100's all around and it was a big improvement in ride on and off road. The nice thing is they are cheap, I think I paid like $350 for all 4, and the fronts allow you to go anywhere from 0" to 2.1" level in 4 settings. So if you wanna run a slight lift in the front you can. I personally set mine to a .75" lift(the first setting) and its barely noticeable. I dont think anyone would be able to tell unless i pointed it out.
Last edited by mass-hole; 11-10-2017 at 06:15 PM.
