Is a 6 inch lift worth it?

The answer is NO.

 

with the drop brackets you usually end up with less ground clearance than a 3" lift up front. my buddy had rough country kit on his truck and it was brutal. smashed into everything and threw itself out of alignment each time

 

Sounds more like his shocks (springs) were simply sacked out (that, or maybe he needs to hone his driving skills more/needs a better spotter). New (better) shocks (or springs) could've cured a lack of clearance issue.

13" of clearance under the front skid (11.5" under the diff) on a RC kit (4½" lift in this case, of course you'll get even more if you go higher).

 

Just a data point. My 1.75" lift and 32 tires yields almost 11" under the lowesr point of trd skid plate

 

i was driving front on same trail cruising through. my truck with 3" lift measures over 2" more clearance at the cam bolt area. he ended up trashing the 4" kit and went with vertex 3.5" kit. much better in just about every aspect

 

The 3.5" probably does beat that... But at what cost? (ride quality? CV joint & steering rack longevity?). 3.5" is a lot of lift if you don't have corrective drop-down crossmembers.

The 3.5" kit also uses diff drop spacers, so there's going to be some clearance lost to that as well.

 

I can tell you for certain that a 3.5 lift does not require cross member to be cut...anything over 3.5.....REQUIRES CROSS MEMBER TO BE CUT!

Imo 3.5" lift looks great on this midsize truck.

 

As a couple of the other guys from Wisconsin have mentioned here, 2.5-3” is plenty. We do off-road trips about every other month. some of the guys do Moab and other more extreme off-roading and have no issues with our moderate lifts. When you get over 3”, you’re already needing new UCAs, prolly going to need a new needle bearing and of course possibly cutting to cross member. 33s, a winch and some straps will go a long way to having a fun off-road experience.

 

^^
Judging by the looks of it, you were having issues there (the scratch marks in the dirt/mud in front of your rear tires, it packed into the tread of your tires, and your exiting the truck mid-climb (I assume) to survey the situation). Two more inches lift and you probably would've made it over that rock no problem (this is pretty much the same exact scenario I mentioned earlier that played out on GM trail in Big Bear last year).
While I do carry straps and other recovery equipment, my preference is not being a trail plug and having to use it all the time if I don't have to.