37's easily on a 6" lift is a LIE. now what you can do is put the 6" lift on and then crank your torsion keys to get another 2" of lift then you can run 37's they will still be tight, and you will wear out suspension components much faster like this. I did this and wore though my ball joints pretty fast. Also the CV's will be at a sharper angle than if you dont crank the torsion keys

another thing you will want to think of... your really not gonna want to run a 40" tire on our trucks. I broke my suspension on 36's. The front axle is a weak 8.8r the rear axle if the 9.75 is relatively strong if put together right. If the rear is the 8.8 its just mildly stronger than a D44. You can build the hell out of it but not really worth it if you plan on runnin 40's or bigger.

Like minimonster said the only true way of getting ground clearance is bigger tires, with our trucks you only have a few options, 6" suspension + 3" Body lift and 38's, 6" suspension with cranked torsion bars, and cut fenders and 38's, IMO the 6+3" and 38's looks better and is a better combo for the mild offroading you wil be doing in this pickup

The other option is what im doing, swapping in a 1 ton axle, this will allow you to get as much highth as you want and will also be stronger in the long run. Id go this route if you want to run 40's or bigger. Picture below for better representation.


your truck has a gap between the frame and bed too, its just not as big... gap gaurds and nerf bars will hide a body lift to the point of not knowing its there.

It will work, im not a fan of rough country or rancho, or tuff country or ruff country. they IMO dont have the quality control to make a good suspension lift for the torsion based suspension these trucks ride on. Id look into Fabtech, RCD or BDS.

If you really dont plan on beating on the truck too hard a RCX lift off ebay will probably suit you just fine. and they are priced decent. BUt if you have the money and paitence get one of the three that i mentioned earlier.

and the picture i posted is my truck... notice it still has a body lift even after 4k worth of work i dont plan on taking it off. it helps sooo much when changing the oil, spark plugs really any engine work. and those are 40's that are on it.

I think you will be ok with a 3" body lift and 35's

 

FWIW, I found a lot of regular maintenance and working on the truck to be overall a lot easier with the Body Lift. Changing plugs was way easier for example. Also when I installed the LT's I didn't even remove the inner wheel well for access.

I agree that a suspension lift is nice, but it's not like we're driving cheby's that have a low hanging frame to begin with...

 

I completely agree, i can change my plugs without even popping the hood.

Now another thing most here wont ever need is that the body lift gives more room for a different motor. Like what im putting in my truck a 4bt Cummins. THe motor will fit but is pretty high so the 3" body lift makes it much easier to get in there and work around it.

 

It's not a motor in my case, but i hope to have enough room to run a Super Duty Manual...If it shifts fast enough.

 

yeah that too, hopefully i can get an adapter made to bolt the 4bt up to a built 4r70w that will be alot easier than swapping transmissions

 

well, if you can handle cruising around w/ a manual, Trimble, you can easily swap in a superduty manual. the electronics controls for an automatic can be tuned off w/o swapping pcms, and you can run a manual that way. swapping in automatics on these fords is a lot more difficult in the way of electronics than a manual.

to the OP, the only suspension lifts i would run on the 97-03 torsion bar suspension are RCD and Fabtech. Maybe BDS if you can get ahold of one for a good deal, but its only a 5'' lift. The 4'' Rancho seems to be getting good reviews as well. Everything other bolt on lift kit is a pile of junk as far as I'm concerned.

 

from what Ive read so far, you need to do alot more research on lifting your truck before you buy anything...the worst thing you can do is buy something, install it wrong, and spend more money fixing it...

IMO, just google your truck year in the "images" category and just put in different phrases, such as 6" lift 2001 f150, and see what comes up, that way you get a better idea of where you would want your truck to sit, and what type of set up you want

Then your ready to research prices, and its always a good idea to research that..that way you end up with the best price!

Overall: Just take your time with this, and dont rush anything..we all had the same feelings before we lifted out trucks for the first time. So take it from us, and do your research...

 

I agree, changing the plugs/CP's are soooo much easier with a body lift on the truck!!!

 

I got a 3" body lift from PA thanks guys

 

I documented the entire install process on my 03 Screw. Here's a link that will give you some tips and show you what you are in store for. For those of looking for a small lift on a tight budget that looks good, a body lift is the way to go. I would recommend gap guards to hide the frame.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?num=13701