1997-1999 Tahoe Lift / Leveling HELP

[snowmoboyle]

Hi guys - new to the site. Hope to get some answers. I'm looking at getting a 1997-1999 Chev Tahoe, and possibly do a small (cheap) lift on it to have a little bigger tire. I'm a big guy, and want a big truck lol. Anyways, gotta keep it realistic budget wise and family wise. Have a small wife, a smaller 5 1/2yr old son, and a dog that needs to be able to jump in there so I'm at a leveling kit, or a 2" body lift ideas.

How big of tire am I looking at for a leveling kit, vs a 2" body lift. And who has a good kit either way? I want to do it right -

Do levling or body lifts cause extra stress on anything?

And can this be done in a garage yourself - I'm not terrible in a garage....

Thanks!

 

[Gzes]

I did body lift on mine. Doesnt change how it drives and was under 200 and i installed it. The level kit needs the keys to be tightened and is. a stiffer ride and may wearbparts faster. Body lift wont harm anything but peple knock them without any proof

 

[Virginiabound]

You can tighten the torsion bars for a leveled look.

Body lifts are an easy way to turn a clean truck into a rattle trap. Keep in mind, body lifts have been known to separate during an accident. Wouldn't it be lovely to watch yourself flying off your own frame from a side collision?

It's all about what you'd like to do with the truck, your personal needs and preferences.

A socket bar and an 18mm socket are all that's needed to level the bars. I tightened mine two turns, it sits slightly higher in the front. Very simple, also easily reversible if need be.

 

[Fishin757]

you wont get as much lift from a crank as you would the body lift. however if you buy reindexed keys like i did you can get a full 3"s with a nice stiff ride. (keeping the wife in mind) its probably better to go with the body lift for comfort sake. though you will have a bigger gap in the back between the bumper and body. i havent done a body lift so i dont know how easy or difficult it may be, but my T bar and blocks were easy enough. took 2 guys who havent done it before about 3 hours. tire size can vary depending on if your willing to trim or not. i have 33x12.50s on mine and had to trim a bit

 

[Gzes]

Since when have body lifts broken in a wteck? Show proof buddy. And yes its easy to sintall. My old ram had em qnd has been in very tuff situations and never broke any bolts. Took me 3 days because a bolt snapped qnd he bt was hard to get out. It was a northern hoe

 

[purple 'hoe]

I would recommend a leveling kit and some 2inch rear blocks. You could crank the factory keys up but it's not the best idea. Also, Rough Country makes a 2-3inch lift kit that has been redesigned which looks to be a solid kit. However, stay away for the previous 2-3inch lift.

Body lifts are not what I prefer. However, I would look at the Zone Off Road body lift kit. Looks like a solid kit. Again, it's not the route I personally would go, but it's an option. Get the rear bumper relocator brackets with any body lift. Other wise your bumper is going to hang down and look ugly

Either route you go, it's never a bad idea to upgrade your shocks and steering components if needed. Shocks will be needed with any leveling kit or lift kit. Lifting any truck can cause stress. It's not always the amount of lift, it's the wheels and tires you added. Putting larger than stock tires can cause strain on steering, suspension, and drive line components. I can't tell you exactly what could be issues, every truck is different. Some guys have run 38's on IFS components with no issues. I ran 33's and 35's with issues on my Tahoe. Depends on your set up really.

I've never really heard of body lifts being unsafe though. 2 and 3inch body lift (kit's) are pretty safe. Dumb hicks using hockey pucks or whatever is unsafe however. Realistically speaking, separating the body from the frame is not the best idea though.

Any form of lifting a truck/suv can be unsafe. If you don't know what you are doing, it can become unsafe. Even if you think you know what you are doing, you still might be building a death trap

Most people don't like body lifts because of a few reasons
-They show a lot of frame. And OBS trucks already show a ton of frame stock. So body lift only usually look like poop on them
-You are only lift the body up. You gain no frame clearance.
-Rear bumpers need a bracket to match the body. Otherwise it hangs down lower in the stock location

I personally don't like body lifts. I would never run one unless I had to for drive train clearance or something. I personally think trucks with a body lift look like poop

 

[_Dylan_]

Since when have body lifts broken in a wteck? Show proof buddy. And yes its easy to sintall. My old ram had em qnd has been in very tuff situations and never broke any bolts. Took me 3 days because a bolt snapped qnd he bt was hard to get out. It was a northern hoe

took 1 minute on google to find these




BTW, I've had a body lift on a truck once...never again

 

[xanatost]

Doing a 1" BL would be fine. You can still run your own shocks and won't put to much stress on your wires and hoses and still look good. 3" is where you will run into problems. Will need to get new parts and start putting stress on your hoe. If you are just looking for a cheep way of lifting then remember you get what you pay for and that usely means headaches. 2" is a mid way point. You can still run your shocks but sooner or later you will have to upgrade and forget about any off roading. The hoe I am going to be parting out has a 3" on it and ill be selling it as soon as it warms up enought for me to start striping it if I can't sell it then ill keep it and cut it to 2" and put it on mine.

 

[purple 'hoe]

took 1 minute on google to find these




BTW, I've had a body lift on a truck once...never again

That's some scary stuff.

 

[_Dylan_]