I call my Allied Insurance agent the other day to ask how much my insurance would go up if I put a suspension lift kit on it. She said it would be uninsurable.

People with a lifted truck, who do you have insurance through?

Thanks.

 

try allstate or state farm. I think that they will still insure it. how much lift are you going for.

 

Interesting... I never thought about that. Anyone with Allstate that lifted their truck? How much more did they charge? Would lifting an old truck (78) be any different than lifting a new truck as far as the insurance company is concerned? If I lift mine it will be something like 3 inches.

 

man for three inches I wouldn't worry about it. There's gotta be a company with that being insurable.

 

The problem is not the insurance company but it could be your state. Let's take MA for example it is against the rmv code to raise a vehicle more than 2" from its stock hieght.

 

total crap. I mean what's the danger of more than 2". Maybe I could see more than 5 or 6, but more than 2. Seems like a load to me. Probably trying to get all of us "uncivilized and uncultured" out of their fair state.

 

I've never heard of that- ever. Somebodies blowing smoke, methinks- unless the lift violates some state laws. I guess my next question would be, why would you call your agent to see in the first place? Since insurance companies are usually looking for reasons to bump your premiums (or you, depending), some things are better left unsaid.

 

rjstat: That's not entirely correct. In MA the max allowable lift is determined by using the following formula.

Max Lift = Wheelbase X Wheel Track / 2,200.

So in the case of my Ranger it would be

117" (wheelbase) X 58" (track) = 6786 Divided by 2200 = 3.08"

So I could lift my truck 3" and use 3" taller wheels for a total of 6" I don't believe you could use 5" larger wheels if you only raise the truck 1" for instance. You can go up to 3" on either, but not more, I think.

So they are not only limiting how much you can raise your truck, but how much larger you can go on tire/wheel combos as well.

I think they just made it deliberately confusing to discourage people from doing it.

There's a very good article in this months (Jan. issue) Sport Truck magazine. It gives the base laws in all 50 states plus the web site for each state so you can look up EXACTLY what you can and can not do.

Time for another "tea party."

 

I don't think Texas has any laws, but I may be wrong. I see what looks to be a monster truck on my way to the U every once and a while. And it is hard to spot a truck that isn't lifted here. I just hope the insurance thing is bull (is 'bull' allowed or is that considered a swear? hard for me to tell here. I got a warning for using stars '*' but I see other people using other words for 'poo' without moderation.).

Everything's bigger in Texas! And it looks like some people try to keep it that way

 

It happens here - quite a lot.Because in the advent of an unfortunate event the insurance agents are well within thier right to deny your claim. Which means the money you had been spending on insurance was a bit of a waste if you can't use it when you need it.
I understand it too - you are radically changing things like roll centres, centre of gravity etc.
A lift kit - even one made by a large aftermarket manufacturer does not undergo the tests that a standard vehicle goes under.
Also, the addition of a lift kit alters the owners demographic.

The only reason I got to this, is because I could not get ANY underwriter to insure me with my car - I had a perfect driving record, but the modifications made to the vehicle (admittedly coupled with my age).
It didn't matter how many engineering calculations I did to prove that the thing was still safe.

I don't know about over in the US, but here an insurance company is capable of denying a claim on a vehicle that is fitted with tyres other than OE fitted - admittedly they NEVER do it, due to the outcry that would occur, but they CAN do it if they want.

 

I plan to lift mine 6" with 35" tires. I called State Farm today and they said that they would insure a lifted truck.

 

To me, it matters what is legal. If it's legal to lift your vehicle say 3" than an insurance company should be covering you and not need to be notified. I didn't talk to my insurance company when I lifted either of my vehicles, too easy for them to just say no.

 

Texas and Alabama only have laws about max height- 13'6". In most places, it goes by bumper height, here it's 28" front, 29" rear.
Memphis-
The MA law applies to overall height change, which includes tires. The law is very similar in CT, one of the reasons why I left there.

 

I understand that Ford_Six. I don't pretend to know all about MA law. I live in So.Calif. Thought it was interesting that this question came up after I had just finished reading the article on legality of lifted trucks. You really have to go to the web site for your state and look up what you can and can not do, in your state. All the states have their own laws. Here in Calif it's based on GVWR. KY has no laws at all. Your neighbor NY is quite liberal. Stating only that the bumper must be no more than 24", headlights no more than 54" high and tails not more than 72' off the ground. So again if you want to make sure you're legal go to www.(your state).gov.

 

I found a website that lists the laws for all 50 states if anyone is interested:

http://texastrucktoys.com/catalog/liftlaws.php

It's from an article in Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine published back in 2000.

And just found this, last updated in 2004:

http://www.truckworld.com/How-To-Tec...lift-laws.html