morning /bump

 

/*Updated *

Hey guys still in school, anyway updated the post,
In school we are working on body/engine/ everything electrical < wat fun

later guys

jayson

 

Have you had any luck on relocating the headlights to the bumper of your truck as we spoke of before?

 

In Virginia, some folks try lowering the bumpers with drop mounts to get more height. Don't bother with this mod, the police actually measure from the frame where the bumper should be mounted. But is actually depends on where you are and what officer pulls you over.

 

I live in Virginia, and I've never seen this one done on a truck. I do see trucks with body lifts installed and they leave the bumper in the stock location because most kits don't come with brackets to raise the rear bumper. Now I used to see lifted trucks with drop (towing) bumpers on the rear to make up for the lift, and in that situation, because it's not a factory bumper, they will measure from the frame.

 

Big_Red_Brute,
It was a common practice until VA changed the laws. At one time the law did not cover "stock" or "aftermarket" bumpers and/or brackets. You could buy drop brackets for the bumpers and even get custom valance panels to "fill in" the resulting gap, thus keeping a more "stock" look. Of course the laws now cover this issue and that "loop hole" has been closed for years.

 

More than likely it stopped because the company that made those kits went out of business. It's kind of a dumb idea, I mean I wouldn't lower the bumpers on my truck just to get around the law. Plus I know how dumb it looks on trucks with body lifts to have their rear bumpers hanging lower than the body, I can only imagine how ugly this must have been.

 

Bumper drop kits are still available at the local 4x4 shops, they just won't get you around the law anymore. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think a F250 dually slammed to the ground is ugly, but others love the look. I personally believe the fore-mentioned bumper headlights is a horrible idea, but someone might like it. The law was not there and the kits were being used. Va changed the law and now the kits are not used, but still available. Discredits the "out of business" theory.

PS: I should also clarify that it was common practice where I live In VA. It was kind of a convenience item also. If you ended up 1-2 inches over, after all was said and done, you could just lower the bumper a couple of inches. It seems some folks lift a truck without taking the added height of the tires into consideration. Or plan to use 38s and end up with 40s, for what ever reason.

 

Considering I live some 5 miles from you, given the location you gave is correct, and I have never seen them. Perhaps I'll give Xtreme 4x4 a call tomorrow and ask him about it. Personally I don't like the idea of relocating the headlights to the bumper either, but the guy was looking for a solution around CA lift laws and I threw out the suggestion. If he has any creative bones in his body, he might be able to pull it off without looking to gaudy. The best advice I can give is this; I would lift my truck the way I want it and drive it. If you're that worried about tickets, I would stick to a shorter lift, or just not lift it at all. Also think about this, breaking the lift law is not a moving violation, there's a small fine to pay and that's it. It's not like you'll lose your license over it or anything.

 

The location is correct, I live in Franklin county VA. I can't say I even know anyone who has actually been charged with a height related ticket. I am sure it may be a bigger issue in some of the other cities around VA, but out here it is just the normal. I have yet to lift a truck myself, other than using slightly larger tires. I run a 235 series on my Cherokee instead of the 215 series it should have, only a few inches difference there. I don't really get into four wheeling, which I would assume is the main reason for lifting a truck. Also, it may not be a moving violation but 5-6 improper equipment tickets will still add up pretty quick. I am sure that the owner of extreme 4x4 can confirm that dropping the bumpers was a common practice until VA changed the laws. If I am not mistaken the law was changed years ago, probably 15 years ago. But I do know it was done at one time. It would not much surprise me if you have not seen any trucks that the bumpers have been lowered, I have not seen it done in a very long time. I would again assume it is because it is no longer a way of getting around the laws.

 

hey man , not any luck yet, i dont like the set up with the lowered lights , I just figured a way around everything ,

I am registering my truck in another state, Online only . that way i don't have to smog it, and i dont neeed to modify the set up , < smart huh >
ah ha
well i need to go for now , ttul
jayson

California

 

First to Roanoker494- I never got around to calling Xtreme today to find out about the brackets. As far as lifting a truck for 4-wheeling, while that may be some people reasoning, it's not mine. I'm lifting my truck for show purposes only. I've never been big into the offroad thing, except things like ATV's or dirt bikes. I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars building a rig to just take it out in the backwoods and trash it. But if that's what you like, then hey, I won't complain.

Now to Big-old-460- I don't blame you for not liking the idea of relocating the headlights to the bumper. I would like to know how your going about registering your truck in another state. I wasn't aware you could do that unless you lived or owned property in the state your registering it in. You might also want to make sure the state your registering it in doesn't have rediculously high vehicle taxes as some states do.

 

Did even think about the show truck reason, but a good one. I am with you on spending tons of money raising a truck for four wheeling, does make sense to me. I looked into a small kit for my 90 Cherokee and was looking at $600-$800 to raise it 4.5 inches, way to expensive. Plus the larger tires will kill your gas mileage and the diffs in a Cherokee will not handle much more than a 33" tire, maybe 35s if you take it easy.

 

I didn't read the whole thread but I thought this was important. It seems there is an effort to standardize lift laws throughout N. America.
canada wide lift laws
Better to get informed and start writing and hopefully have sane laws. One of the proposals is tires limited to 35".
Richard

 

Awww America the land of the free! Is there anything that's not regulated?