I find myself the "proud" driver of my wife's hand-me-down 2004 explorer XLT. How I go from a 2011 5.0L F150 SCREW to this is beyond me...

Anyhow, I'm stuck with it, so I'd like to make it a little more "me". I'm thinking on starting with a slight lift and tires/wheels. Nothing too aggressive as this is a daily driver. Does anyone have any experience with a body lift on these SUV's? I haven't done too much research yet, so I'm not sure if they have a rear bumper relocation kit or anything. I could go with a mild suspension lift, but since I'm going for the look only, I'm not too concerned with suspension performance (it will never see off road duty) and would like to keep the cost low.

I'm thinking on a tire size in the 31" - 32" range with an on/off road tread pattern. Again, nothing too aggressive. With the larger tire, should I consider installing a transmission shift kit? It's the 5 speed auto tranny...not sure which one, tho. It shifts fine now, and we have done some towing with the vehicle in the past with no issues.

The vehicle is a 2004 Explorer XLT with the 4.0L. There are only 59k miles on the clock. It has the tow package and 3.73 gears.

 

I would be geared towards a suspension lift as compared to a body for a couple reasons. With a body lift, you will have to relocate both the bumpers, as well as any trim packages (running boards, nerf bars, etc), and there is work that has to go into the steering shaft from the cab to chassis. I do not know of anyone that produces any bumper relocation kits, but it shouldnt be too hard to fab one up yourself.

The other thing I am not too fond of body lifts, is you get that gap going on between the chassis and cab, and to me it just doesnt look right when you step back and look.

I like not only the lifted look for a lift kit, but I know that there are many suspension lift kits out there for these rigs, and I like having the utility of the lift for work and play as well, as compared to a body lift. Sort of a "looks the part, and plays the part" aspect!