Exactly how risky is a lift..

Doesn't really have much to do with offroading, it has to do with how it changes the geometry of your driveline, axles, etc. and the added stress that puts on them. 3" is pushing it for a 4wd unless you do a drop bracket lift.

 

That's what she said

 

Less dangerous than texting and driving

 

Crappier mpg. If you have a warranty I’m betting that voids it. Things be out of spec/unaligned unless you do the lift the right way. It’s expensive. Then you’ll want bigger tires.

You should totally do it.

 

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20000 miles on my 3" lift. No issues at all.

 

I'm new to all this so I'm just soaking up the knowledge. How do they have such high clearance without a lift?

 

Clearance is best gained with bigger tires. A lot of those crawlers have huge tires that they make fit by cutting a lot of the body and other parts off, wider axles to clear the fenders, etc. Bigger tires brings the entire vehicle higher off the ground, not even a suspension lift can do that.

With our trucks you're pretty limited on how big of a tire you can fit unless you really don't mind taking a sawzall or angle grinder to your truck. Not to mention the limitations of the stock drivetrain versus heavy ass tires

 

That makes sense, for some reason I had it my head that you had to have a lift for bigger tires. As you said it's probably only so you can put bigger tires on a truck without having to heavily modify it. Thanks for the info!

 

Any lift at all will put extra strain on a vehicle.

 

Lift can help fit bigger tires to an extent, but really the only way to fit bigger tires is to have the right wheels/backspacing and be willing to cut/trim where necessary

 

QUICK! Grab his grill that flew off

 

Is that why most serious crawlers are jeeps? Seem to have a lot less to cut especially with longer axles.

 

Long travel

 

But Mall Crawlers sure do. You need to look good to look good.

 

Jeep Wranglers are built to offroad, that's its primary purpose...ride quality and practicality in other areas comes after that. Whereas most other vehicles like Tacomas are built for everyday use first and foremost. That's why nearly everyone says Wranglers ride like crap on the street, because they still come with solid axles. Most everyone else did away with solid front axles in the 90s because there are better ways to build out suspension that rides much nicer on the street.

Unibody construction and independent front/rear suspension is where most manufacturers are going nowadays, which is horrible for wheeling but great for pavement. We're lucky we still have Tacomas and 4runners to pick from that are body on frame with solid rears.

 

What all these guys are trying to say is: A lift will do more damage to your wallet than it will the vehicle itself. Just put enough effor into learning how to do the lift the right way the first time, and you will be safe. But - you will find that a lift will lead you through a rabbit-hole of expense when done correctly. Or a rabbit-hole of burden when not done correctly. Lift = bigger tires = bigger brakes = alignment accessories = drive line accessories = ect, ect, ect.

 

Makes sense, thanks for all the info! I'm looking to buy either a stock taco or wrangler and build it up over the next couple years.