I have 2000 5.4,7.5 lift,35inch tires and 4:10 gears.. I love my truck. I can hall all my dirtbikes and gear deep into the desert without bottoming out on any dips or ruts.. I get 12mpg but have to replace the idler arm evey six months. Addtionally I can do all my maintenance under the truck very easily, no jacking up truck. I just crawl under and change the oil and fuel filter with no problems. I can spray off under carriage very easily too .absolutly no rust or debris build up under my truck. I can drop my jetski trailer in the water without even getting close to submerging tail pipe,rear diff or brake components.

 

Any pics ?

 

thanks for all the advice
the main reason i want to lift is for a weekend fun toy and something to look good on the weekday, and yeah i dont expect to get anything out of it but some good times with friends. money is kinds limited so for now i only whant mabe a maximum of a 5in lift and 35s
do u know anywhare i get that for cheap

 

Pretty sure everyone understands the common reasons folks have been sold to "want" to pretend they drive a Monster Truck.

Thought you were asking about whether its "worth" it? What I was trying to get at, is the idea of putting ~$3000 in nonessentials into a 10+ YO pickup. It used to be a bit of a joke for comedians to ridicule the $1000 ghetto Bloatmasters with $10,000 "worth" of spinners, sound systems, sparkles & ****.

IMO around here there are so many used F150's are forsale you could probably buy another '97 F150 that's already lifted for the cost of the work you propose! Sorry, but especially when "money is kinds limited" I think of essentials & neccessities NOT vanity & fashion in my "worth" considerations.

 

"Worth" doesn't have to be measured in dollars. I can dump lots of money into something, and as long as I have a good time doing it, it's "worth" it to me.

Take beer for example.... nothing to show for it afterwords... but i sure had a good time drinking it... so spending that $50 at the bar was worth it to me

 

Just so long as you continue to "have a good time" after you get to the bottom line in the "dump lots of money" & "money is kinds limited" equation.

Who would argue w/your logic or glorification of getting beer drunk? If it were only true that hearty drinking always left "nothing to show for it afterwords".

Would be unfortunate for the rent, utilities, or child support go unpaid so Earth can have another jacked up pickup.

IMO w/10 YO pickup I'd sooner have the cash in the bank in case the tranny or motor blew up. Of course I have a weakness for seafood & would sooner gas up my boat or buy fresh jumbo shrimp than blow "$50 at the bar" drinking beer. Would also sooner get a nice panel TV, or new roof on my shop, than jack up my pickup. The cost of 5" lift & 35's for F150 would probably buy the high MPG 2nd car I'm shopping for. You guys do realize that we're just a hiccup away from $5-$10 gas?

Whatever your priority.

 

Bassmaster,
Nothing wrong with the changes that you want to make. I see alot of cars and truck that have been personalized. If you want to make yours look different so people will notice it, go ahead. I changed mine from stock. Its the only one that I have seen that looks like it does. You only get one chance at life you might as well enjoy it. I keep my truck clean and well maintained. Its 11 years old and it looks in better shape than trucks 1/2 as old as it is here at work (US or Imports). No I wont get out of it the money I have put in to it. I dont plan on selling it. Its just cheeper to fix or upgrade mine that buying a new one. You can put another engine or trans. in it alot cheeper than making payments for 3 to 5 years on a new truck.

Club, I used to boat alot, 3 to 5 times a week. (before Kids) At the price of gas now, I havn't been out in 6 or 7 mo.s. I'd use 10 to 30 gallons a week. And probably when my kids are a little older we will go boating/fishing again. Probably only once a week at $5-$10 a gallon for gas. While you are downgrading your life style, are you going to get a snailboat to save money? That way you can put that money in the bank.
I guess you must think that all the people that have customized the cars and trucks just dont pay there bills. It is possible to do both.
My family is my 1st priority. Then there is something to be said, "He who dies with the most toys, WINS". I dont care if I win or not, but I do want to place hi up on the enjoy life scale. You only get one chance at it, might as well enjoy it.

 

Yawn.

Whatever you decide to do, don't do it b/c you think others "will notice it".

If that's your goal paint it passion pink w/bright blue dots. Jacking up a 10 YO pickup 5" won't make anybody in my pickup rich community give it a glance.

 

A note to Mr. bassmaster747....

Learn to take what he says with a grain of salt.....for what it is worth.

Don't leave yourself wide open when you ask questions because of guys like this.

 

IMO you should be prepared to take anything you read, especially in online forums "with a grain of salt.....for what it is worth".

This is particularly true whenever a post completely avoids the topic & is just a thinly disguised "guys like this" personal attack.

I drove about 80 miles today, easily saw over 1000 pickups on the road & I'd bet 50 used FORD pickups for sale. I didn't "notice" a single one b/c of a lift or tires, even at the specialty lot that's overloaded with jacked up Gas Guzzlers they're struggling to unload. I was looking for another Club Wagon, but only saw a nice cargo w/XLT package.

The last pickup I "noticed" was a hard working veteran, scruffy white, early 90's F350, heavy hauler, w/DIY duallies, hand painted '4X4' in the usual places & no lift at all. It left no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the owner was getting this vehicles full worth.

The last jacked up pickup I "noticed" was the hilarious, spotless, overly accessorized, extremely yellow beast that nearly got stuck on a wet flat grass parking lot. What I "noticed" was how pathetic the traction was, even with Monster tires! Its not like the thing bogged down in mud or anything, it left ruts only 1"-2" deep. What was most noticeable was the serious lack of driving skill. You just couldn't ignore the guy spinning his wheels at high speed, smoking his tires & the Tonka Toy not moving. Even harder not to notice was the 25' Rooster Tail of dirt & chopped up sod that he mindlessly sprayed all over other cars parked in the lot when he finally got it going. This guy was probably condemned to spend the rest of a glorious Sunday afternoon having a "good time" by pressure washing his mess.

 

I would catagorize your "personal attack" statement as a scapegoat for everything you do around here. I am trying to help a relatively new poster from an endless barage of criticism you are capable of around here. I would like to suggest to bassmaster to "search all posts" of you and let him judge for himself.....or is that another attack towards you? You made your point so why do you have to repeat yourself?

You batter us with endless posts in regards to lifting a truck that is 10 years old or the poor traction the "yellow beast" ....a dramatic way to make your point don't you think? I for one have seen several trucks lifted and it seems the percentages are going compared to non-lifted....and most of them are older trucks ranging 5-30 years old. My point is if he wants to lift a 2wd truck which to me is an appearance thing then why not? Yes you made valid points in mpg loss and gas prices but just leave it at that and move on. Save us from the endless campfire stories please.....yeesh!

Over and out for good from this thread......

 

Like I said, I think you should fix up your truck any way you want. Don't let other people impose their opinions on you. If I had more money, I would definitely be driving a "spotless, extremely yellow" Ford F350 7.3L PSD with a 10" BDS lift with 44" Nitto Terra Grapplers. But for now I'll have to settle for my 10 year old pickup.

 

You should read more carefully. Its been obvious from the 1st that "he wants to" jack up his pickup. His question was if it was "worth it". What you label "criticism" & "repeat" has in reality been additional "valid points" & a bit of dry humor that elluded you. The "valid" point I made about your response was that it ignored the topic & was a personal attack. I criticized jacking up the pickup. You criticized me. Now you "repeat" the same "endless barage of criticism" citing your own sour grapes "search all posts".

To take your advice "and move on" allow me to address your contention that jacking up pickups with body lifts & oversized tires "is an appearance thing". IMO the safety issues should be considered. Pickups have a bad reputation for rolling over b/c of the high center of gravity, which is exacerbated by their poor traction. Lifting pickup bodies & installing oversized tires substantially raises the center of gravity, greatly increasing the risk of roll overs. Others have stated that steering, suspension & brakes wear out at accelerated rates due to oversized tires. It could cost nearly $3000 to accomplish the mods which get your "why not?" recommendation. IMO that's a lot of money to spend on "appearance" for a pickup that could have less value & a big factor in "worth".

In similar fashion body lifts & oversized tires can serve functions other than "appearance" & "the percentages". Serious offroaders use the increases in ground clearance & rolling diameter to overcome obstacles. In this special use the mods would have "worth". That did not seem to be the objective here.

Internet forums may very well serve as today's "campfire stories". What's "endless" is your propensity to evade the topic & obsession to bash the story teller.

You want somebody to "save" you? OK, you dislike my contributions & recognize my ID. I suggest that you follow "Over and out for good" & refrain from reading my posts, having already "made your point so why.... repeat yourself?".

 

ok well for right now at the moment i might just get some springs to do a jerry rig temp lift, until i get some money saved up
what kinda springs could i put under it
what could i do to up the mpg

 

WOAH BUDDY.... your thread started asking about lifting your truck and putting bigger tires on it... now you want to know how to get better gas mileage?

You going in two completley opposite directions, do you want better fuel economy, or do you want to lift your truck?

If you don't like the gas mileage now... wait til you lift it and put some bigger tires on it.