Slight lift and towing?

Since I've pretty much decided on finding a low-mileage V8 4Runner to use as my DD and tow rig, thoughts have turned to making it the "ultimate vehicle."

Something I can tow the Miata with, get to work comfortably, take on a road trip, or do some light off-roading and camping(no rock crawling or anything like that).

And even just a mild lift, maybe 2" suspension and 1" body.

Can I accomplish this goal and keep it's towing stability intact? My off-road buddies seem to think a mild lift with quality parts shouldn't affect much, if at all.

What does the braintrust think?

I've seen plenty of guys that tow with lifted SUVs (including 4Runners). If done with quality parts it shouldn't be a problem.

That said, when I'm towing I prefer my tow vehicle have the lowest center of gravity possible (e.g. stock). Lifting any vehicle makes it less stable in general, unless it's offset by widening the track (and even then, not so much). The 4Runner has a relatively short wheelbase already compared to most "tow vehicles" that people use.

My 2 cents:

I'd do a 2-1 cornfed leveling lift and call it a day.....or even just a 1" front leveling lift (which I have but haven't installed yet). I'm trying my best not to mod my (wife's) 4Runner since I know that once you start on doing a 4x4, it can get WAY more expensive than any of my old POS BMWs do, lol....

btw, a 4Runner in stock form with good tires is more than capable of doing "light off roading"

With a 3" total lift, you'll need to get substantially larger tires to not look dumb, and then you get the commensurate decrease in fuel mileage and lugging around more rotational mass when you're already trying to tow a trailer....

Personal opinion, do not mess with a body lift. I have, I hated it, that's my opinion make it yours.

My F150 is a daily driver right now, a tow rig, and is very capable of going off the road if I need to. I did raise the rear two inches by adding a leaf when ordering the springs that were needed anyway.

I would expect the 4Runner to work just as well.

Kind of crappy picture, but shows the rear lift after adding a leaf. (it did make the rear gear a little noisier when decelerating, but its a truck) Then again, a 4Runner has coils, doesn't it....

There are plenty of good suspension lifts out there that you don't need to mess with the nonsense that is a body lift on a 4runner. Not sure if it's the same issue as the tacos, but guys that lift more than an inch or two in the front without a diff drop end up with noise from the front diff. There are fixes for it but it involves a good bit of disassembly to do and isn't as good as a regular old ball race bearing IMO (you replace the ball bearing that makes noise with a solid bearing iirc).

Bilatein 5100s, ucas, ome springs and you have a helluva capable off roader, probably more than you're willing to try.

Check out central overland dot com for adventures near you.

spend your money on selectable lockers instead of lift kits/bigger tires. I have done the offroad gig. lockers mean more than lift kit any day and everywhere.

N Sperlo wrote: My F150 is a daily driver right now, a tow rig, and is very capable of going off the road if I need to. I did raise the rear two inches by adding a leaf when ordering the springs that were needed anyway. I would expect the 4Runner to work just as well. Kind of crappy picture, but shows the rear lift after adding a leaf. (it did make the rear gear a little noisier when decelerating, but its a truck) Then again, a 4Runner has coils, doesn't it....

The 4runner already has a raked setup with no load in the back, and with a ~500lb tongue weight it actually sits very level, so no need for adding rear height by itself. Most guys actually add lift to the front instead on 4runners.

V8 could also have the air suspension in the rear to level loads, but IDK if OP got that option.

(this is actually loaded with about 200lbs of stuff for a beach trip, but empty it's not much different)

towing

if you start getting into the kind of offroading that requires a lift kit.. the truck is really no longer suitable for daily duties and towing.

I would do airbags in the rear no matter what. I've got them in the rav4 and it tows a miata on a light trailer rock solid with no swaying at all.

mw wrote: I would do airbags in the rear no matter what. I've got them in the rav4 and it tows a miata on a light trailer rock solid with no swaying at all.

With a V8 4Runner, there's really no need unless he plans to tow with a substantial tongue weight. With a Miata on a light trailer he should be able to keep it in the 350-lb range I would think, which is not a significant load on the stock setup.

I would have to imagine that the 4Runner has substantially beefier springs than a Rav4 does. Even with our V6 we towed the e30 on a 1700-lb trailer (so probably 4200lbs total load + some gear in the car) and had no sway issues, even going through the mountains at 70mph in some windy (and wind-y) areas. And that was with the standard load-bearing hitch, and one that was too low at that (I wanted one that was about 1" higher, but couldn't find where I put it!) His V8 has a weight-distributing hitch that should actually improve his loading.

BTW, another mild lift option on the cheap: FJ Cruiser springs. IIRC they're good for about a 1" lift or so and are stiffer than the stock 4Runner springs.

Hehe, thanks for all the good info. Keep any more opinions coming.

I haven't actually picked one up yet, just trying to figure out as much as I can before I do.

Since I'll have to buy one, then put the NC up for sale I'm going to wait until March to really start shopping for one.

nicksta43 wrote: Personal opinion, do not mess with a body lift. I have, I hated it, that's my opinion make it yours.

I don't know enough about truck/off-road stuff, can you give me some more info on why it was no bueno?

Body lifts, in general, kind of suck. They look weird, they don't gain you much clearance (they're really just for bigger tires), and they look weird. Oh, and they look weird.

I tow with my Trooper, and it has about 2.5" of suspension lift and a locker in the rear. Honestly, it tows great–much better than it did from the factory.

However, keep one thing in mind: spring rate isn't for lift and lift isn't for spring rate. I put stiffer springs and longer shackles on in the back, and cranked the torsion bars up front. The stiffer rear springs help a ton while towing or carrying a bunch of cement or whatever else I put that poor truck through, while the shackles provide only lift. I've seen too many people put an add-a-leaf on a truck they only want to lift, or put shackles on a truck so it can carry more.

Make sure your sway bar(s) are connected and in good shape. I went ahead and replaced everything that mounts/connects the bar to the truck. The last thing I want is something snapping while I've got a giant trailer out back.

Of course, I also have Bilstein sports on the Trooper, and urethane bushings the few places I could stick them.

Oh, and for mild wheeling, a 4runner really shouldn't need a lift... could you elaborate on what you plan to do with it?

Tom Suddard wrote: Oh, and for mild wheeling, a 4runner really shouldn't need a lift... could you elaborate on what you plan to do with it?

more than this? bone stock on stock tires...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwKYcL4OU0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9GCF7EH_r8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u8YSY-Ju0A

I have thought of putting heftier springs on the back of my disco for towing.. but I -barely- fit into the parking garage at work as it is. I actually have to close the rear sunroof of I nail the bad they have hanging down to tell you the max height

Tom Suddard wrote: Oh, and for mild wheeling, a 4runner really shouldn't need a lift... could you elaborate on what you plan to do with it?

I'll admit, partly I want the lift/tires/spacers for a bit of looks. It's quite obvious from the videos irish posted, a stock one will do anything off-road that I'm ever likely to throw at it.

And all being vain is going to do is likely make it a worse to tow with.

z31maniac wrote:

Tom Suddard wrote: Oh, and for mild wheeling, a 4runner really shouldn't need a lift... could you elaborate on what you plan to do with it?

I'll admit, partly I want the lift/tires/spacers for a bit of looks.

I'd say just get the Cornfed 2-1 leveling lift, some Spidertrax spacers, +1 on the tire size in some tires with an aggressive look AND good road manners (I've already suggested that the Revo2's ARE that tire), and pick up a BajaRack (google it, they look great on T4R's). With that setup you don't sacrifice towing, you add utility with the rack (stock 4Runner roof rack sucks big, btw), and you get the off-road look without having a vehicle that's E36 M3ty to drive on the street or tow with ;) And all for maybe $2500 total.

mw wrote: I would do airbags in the rear no matter what. I've got them in the rav4 and it tows a miata on a light trailer rock solid with no swaying at all.

Yes but you tow in Canada with Canadian physics. I know its hard to understand but down here its just different. We could never tow a Miata with a rav4 that would just be silliness.

I do not anticipate you would have any issues with a properly engineered mild lift. The c.g of the towing vehicle will be higher so braking/cornering stability may be affected slightly. It goes without saying your trailer hitch capacity may be affected by the increased lever arm you will be towing with since you will need a larger drop hitch to maintain level loading. If you brotruck it your hosed but your not talking about that so I imagine you have little to worry about.

A body lift is great if you want to do a tummy tuck with the transfer case.

irish44j wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

Tom Suddard wrote: Oh, and for mild wheeling, a 4runner really shouldn't need a lift... could you elaborate on what you plan to do with it?

I'll admit, partly I want the lift/tires/spacers for a bit of looks.

I'd say just get the Cornfed 2-1 leveling lift, some Spidertrax spacers, +1 on the tire size in some tires with an aggressive look AND good road manners (I've already suggested that the Revo2's ARE that tire), and pick up a BajaRack (google it, they look great on T4R's). With that setup you don't sacrifice towing, you add utility with the rack (stock 4Runner roof rack sucks big, btw), and you get the off-road look without having a vehicle that's E36 M3ty to drive on the street or tow with ;) And all for maybe $2500 total.

Excellent, that sounds about perfect!

And it looks like it works with the XREAS suspension if that happens to be what I end up with.

Speaking of, is there an easy way to identify an XREAS equipped 4Runner? Or the airbag suspension? I know most of the time people/dealer know the option is there, but is there some way I can check or have them check? It looks like with my initial searching I will likely end up flying somewhere to pick one up and then driving it home.

Also with the XREAS, is there any special maintenance or lifespan concerns? Typically most shocks will be dead by say 100k miles.......whats the procedure for the XREAS? Replace the whole system with OEM? Go aftermarket?

Thanks again for all the info, I'm signed up on the big 4Runner forum, so this gives me a great headstart on my research.

A slight lift shouldn't be a problem, in fact it's not the lift itself that screws up towing ability so much as changes to suspension rates and travel.

+1 for avoiding body lift. It raises your center of gravity, makes the vehicle taller, often causes trouble with shifters and the handbrake...and doesn't do much else. It doesn't increase your ground clearance.

Hmmm, as I'm digging more, it does look like there were 2wd V8 4Runners.......it's just that the 4wd V8 models were Full-Time AWD vs the V6 were it was selectable.

Maybe swap TCs across models? If there aren't too many electronic systems that would get upset at that...

GameboyRMH wrote: Maybe swap TCs across models? If there aren't too many electronic systems that would get upset at that...

No, I'm OK with full-time AWD. Previously I had mistakenly read that ALL V8 4Runners were 4wd, it's just the v8 4wd 4Runners are full-time AWD.