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So you want to lift your pickup*September 2, 2004 Like a lot of pickup owners, Steve Paul of Coram, New York, wanted to raise his 2002 Dodge Dakota 4X4 so he could improve his vehicle's off-road capability and also install bigger-than-stock tires - LT285/70R17/D BFGoodrich® Mud-Terrain T/A®KM tires, to be exact. He went to TNT Conversions on Long Island, and was advised to have the job done in the shop rather than install the body lift kit himself. He's glad he did. TNT proprietor Leo Terrizi says that raising a truck body with a lift kit can produce an unsatisfactory ride and excessive tire wear unless the suspension is reworked to accommodate the higher body position. "When you raise a truck body to the look you want, the suspension needs modifying to accommodate the raised ride height," says Terrizi. He notes that body lift kits are available for most contemporary trucks, and raised suspension kits are on the market for many trucks as well. "But there was no suspension kit for Steve's 2002 Dodge Dakota," says Terrizi. "So we had to fabricate some parts to essentially make one up." While a body lift kit consists merely of brackets which raise the height of the body on the frame and suspension, a suspension lift kit is a re-engineered package that tries to adjust all the bracketry and necessary components to make the systems work right. "There's a lot of engineering involved," Terrizi says. "You have the steering to be concerned about, in terms of the driveline angle from the front differential. You have the upper and lower ball joints to bring back within factory specs at the altered body height. "Paul's truck has rack-and-pinion steering," Terrizi says, "which requires a three-inch extension to compensate for the three-inch lift. We had to make up some brackets to strengthen the mounting of the raised bumper, and we had to do some work on the bottom of the fan shroud to make it look stock." Terrizi says an easier way to go is to buy a suspension lift kit, where one is available for your truck, to be installed before installing the body lift kit. A suspension lift kit, he says, involves a complete re-working of the stock suspension. "Basically, the whole front suspension has to be torn down to the frame rails, cut and welded, so when the pieces go back together, it's back to factory specs and the truck rides the way it did before." Typical prices for a suspension lift kit, he says, range from $600 to $1400, depending on truck model. Labor to install the suspension kits can run from $800 to $1000. Prices for body lift kits run from $500 to $700, including installation. Paul is happy with the truck now. He says he fell in love with the Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4X4 but felt it needed bigger tires and a lift. He wanted tires that would handle the bad driving conditions that he sometimes encounters on trips to Vermont. "I like to visit my uncle who lives at the end of a dirt road that's really only a trail," Paul said. He says in the rainy season the rutted trail becomes a slop of 12"-deep mud. "I wanted a tire with a tread designed to handle mud, instead of one in which the mud caked up in the treads, spoiling traction. "I found that BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A (tires) were the answer," Paul says. "Now my truck does duty for our pop-up camper, taking our boys to the woods, and it hasn't let me down." Paul says now his truck is happy on the fire roads and logging trails in Vermont and Pennsylvania. "Overall, I love my truck," Paul says. "And I'll definitely be staying with BFGs." *Lift kit installation and the resulting change in vertical center of gravity can change the vehicle's handling characteristics, increasing the potential for rollover. Before you decide to modify your vehicle, please read the disclaimer. |
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