I don't think you'll tell any difference with or without the body lift. I have had several toyotas with body lifts and I have not had complaints. Actually I like a body lift. I think a truck with a 2" body lift and 3" springs is a LOT more stable than a truck with 5" springs and no body lift. I don't know why everyone thinks a body lift will make your CG so awful. I think your CG is worse with suspension lift than a body lift. Think about it, if you put a 3" body lift on a stock truck you raise only the cab and bed 3". Your frame and drivetrain stayed put and this is where most of the weight is, not the cab. With a 3" suspension lift you raise everything 3". I think the lower you can keep your frame hieght the better it will perform.
I like the idea of raising the t-case to match the body lift, but leaving the engine in the stock location. This gives you a flat belly with more clearance, while still keeping the frame hieght and the engine low on the axles. You gain plenty of ground clearance under the frame from the larger tires and flat belly without using super tall lift springs.
Also, you gain more tire clearance from 2" of body lift than you would with 4" springs. With a 2" body lift you get true 2" of tire clearance, unlike a suspension lift which only gives you tire clearance on flat ground unless you put long bumpstop extensions. As mentioned earlier, a body lift makes a lot of stuff easier to work on.
Overall I think there are a lot of advantages to a body lift that get overlooked because the general consensus is that body lifts are awful and when some mentions body lifts you get flamed. I think this is a misconception.
For what it's worth, you now have my
on body lifts.
