Lift Install prices, should I DIY? best shop on east coast???

So I am getting quotes all over the place calling garages that specialize in Truck lift installations. generally I understand the $100-140 hourly rate but what I don't get is the wildly different times.
I explained I wanted a 3.5" lift of front end coiler shocks with new upper control arms, rear to have new shocks and new springs installed.

Im getting quotes from 4-8 hours. On the rough country website they have 1 man do the same install and video it and just sped up but showing the real time counter. dude does it like 4:17 hours, by himself.

My truck is 2023 TRD Off-road in Lunar rock it has 637 miles on it as I bought it January 27th.

So yeah Im quite sure I could do the rear end if I had a garage space in about an hour. 2-3 hours for the front end is conservative I understand to replace the upper control arms you must pry bar a space to get the control arm bolt out but in every video I watch it seems it takes 5 minutes each side to get the control arm bolt out.

I am currently in SE Pennsylvania and planning to drive down I-95 to Florida and if anyone has any great lift shops to reconmend I will drive anywhere along the east coast and even 200 miles west of I-95 for the right shop, I prefer a family owned or veteran owned business non-franchise type business.

 

I'm exploring similar options out west. Possibly State 48 Overland, SDHQ or Wescott Designs. I'm tempted to do the work myself and have the alignment done after. Price is important, but so is finding a competent and experienced shop that specializes in these trucks.

You might thumb through these threads...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lift-install-prices.505364/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ongoing-lift-install-price-thread.11590/page-38

 

It took me 6 or so hours.
The upper control arm bolts are a bear to remove,
Long ass bolt. Have to bend the sheet metal on one side more so than the other side.

 

Most shops use book time and not straight time. So it’s probably something like 3 hrs book time per side in the front, 2 hrs for the springs and 1 hr for the alignment that’s 6hrs.

 

Ill help you if you supply beer and food. Should take a full day.

Get to know your truck and have some fun.

Im in VA, about 50 miles west of DC

 

From your title,

Yes.

And relative to the 3.5 front lift. You're aware of potential axle issues from this? And the death of any warranty item that a dealer could possibly blame on that type lift?

No need to answer. Just be aware.

 

I upgraded to an OME-005 (Heavy) 2.5 in lift and installed SPC UCAs over the July fourth weekend. Working alone with a couple of jack stands and a bottle jack I put in 8 hours on the rear the first day and maybe 10 hours on the front dealing with the UCA bolts and other fun stuff. No spring compressor or anything - I used the LCA method to compress the spring and it worked well. I'm fairly handy and have my own tools and was able to do it with zero experience and a lot of research. If you have a buddy and better tools (4 jack stands, several floor jacks) as well as experience doing these sorts of things I bet you could get it done in a single day.

My $.02. It is so much more satisfying doing it yourself and the onus is 100% on you if something is F'ed up.

 

DIY is a very good option to consider if you have the right tools/facilities. Those parts are direct replacement with no extra tinkering required. Great learning experience if it’s your first time under the truck. Had a lot of fun with me and a buddy. Can be done in 3.5 hours. With your low mileage nothing should be seized just yet.

 

warranty schmoranty, mod it!

 

I just installed mine (king 2.5s with deavers) and it took about 9 hours with doing the cmc

 

8 hours on the rear?? What went wrong?
I'm curious because I'll be doing this myself soon and trying to understand all the potential pitfalls before I dig in.

 

A cheap floor jack and the stock bottle jack didn't make things easy and it was just figuring out technique to get the leafs to line up to the shackles properly. I was working alone, in 95+ degree heat, doing the job for the first time. I also documented my work which took away from time wrenching.

 

ratchet strap to pull the leafs/axle into place

 

I'm certain the install would have been quicker had you been there with me in July of last year. I figured it out though. It was a fun experience.