Daily Slideshow: Problems with Having Lifted Trucks
Have you run into any of these problems with your lifted Ford truck?
Fitting in the Garage
Even if you work on your own truck, installing a lift kit is the kind of thing you are likely to farm out. Imagine the horror, though, when you drive it home only to realize your days of parking it in the garage are now gone! Of course, it could be worse; you could do the lift in your garage only to realize you can't get it out the door!
Getting In
Sure, getting into the truck is no problem for you, you're a big tough guy and you have the steering wheel to grab onto. What about your wife? Or that cute girl from the bar down the street who you promised a ride? If you are a gentleman, the least you can do is park next to a curb, or give her a boost. Want to see this poor woman fail to get into this truck? Click for video.
Drive-up ATMs
Sometimes the only ATM at the bank is the one at the drive-up lane. If you can fit your truck under the roof, then you have the added trouble of having to reach the actual buttons on the machine. Maybe it's best to park and walk over to the drive-up lane?
Big Tires = Big Money
Now, this Ford truck owner built his lifted truck with just the wheels and tires he had access to, but if you are going for a set of huge Super Swampers or Ridge Grapplers, you better be prepared to spend a truckload of cash. Luckily, these big tough tires don't wear out as fast as the expensive tires sports car guys use, but still, don't expect them to last 50k miles like the whitewalls on your Crown Vic.
Fast Food Drive Thru
In America, you have the freedom to drive a modified truck if you want to, but some of these fast food places discriminate against lifted trucks as if this were China. Don't believe me? How come they close the main restaurant late at night? And how come they don't allow walk-up customers at the drive-thru window? The owner of this truck is damn lucky because it looks like he fits with maybe 2" to spare, but he may be leaving with the low clearance sign stuck to his roof.
Police Harassment
Even if your state doesn't have any specific laws about the height of lifted trucks, you can bet you are going to be having more conversations with the local police, county sheriff, highway patrol, or staties. It's like they feel threatened and belittled by our massive trucks. It isn't your fault that you have to talk down to them from your badass ride. We'll see who they come running to next time there is a flood or a blizzard.
State Inspections
If you do live in a state with rules regulating lifted trucks, like maximum bumper or headlight height, you could be in trouble when the time comes for your annual state inspection. The Ford Explorer in the picture may normally ride around on 37" mudders, but when the time comes to pass the test, a set of junkyard steel wheels with 215/75R15 tires drops it down nearly 5" overall. Is that legal? Probably not, plus it looks ridiculous and probably is much more prone to rolling on those tiny tires.
Flirting with the Girl in the Sunbird
Sure, in your lifted truck you get a commanding view of the road and a really good look at that honey in the Pontiac next to you. Good luck trying to get her number though. All she can see are your tires. Best to forget her and find yourself a girl who also drives a truck. She's probably a vegan anyway.
Resisting the Urge to Crush Cars
Once you get your truck way up there closer to heaven, and you start looking down on all those Prius and Honda drivers, you may start feeling like every day is Monster Jam, and you are in the arena. Just don't do it! Even if, like the guy in the truck pictured, you buy a car specifically to crush on your own property, things can go hugely wrong. Click the link and see the video of what happens when you are not a professional monster truck builder/driver here.
Goodbye Tow Rating
Your Ford truck is a workhorse, but you want it higher for playing in the mud. Well, if you tow a 5th wheel trailer, lifting it more than a few inches will really change the relationship between the trailer and the bed of the truck, and put it at a weird angle. With a conventional hitch, you can fix things with a long drop hitch but forget about using the full 10k pound towing capacity of your F-250 with one of those. Your payload capacity in the bed may not be reduced, but putting 1,000 lbs of anything in there, or taking it out, gets a lot harder.
For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.