5 Solid Reasons to Get Your Truck Lifted

Trucks outsell cars by the millions every year. Now if that doesn’t say Americans love their trucks, we don’t know what does.

You can’t really blame us though. Trucks are the ultimate utility vehicle used to haul, pull, plow, offroad, and everything in between. Having a truck at your disposal opens a world of opportunities.

So what could possibly be more practical and cool than a truck? How about a lifted truck?

Plow through this article to find out 5 extremely solid reasons to get your truck lifted.  

1. Give Me More Clearance!  

Adding a lift along with big tires means the frame and body, suspension, and differential of the truck all sit higher. This equates to more clearance in muddy situations, literally.

Having higher clearance under the truck comes in handy when driving through muddy roads, deep sandy terrain, and rocky steep hills. Higher clearance ensures that the truck doesn’t scrape its bottom and do damage. 

Larger tires and higher clearance give the truck better handling in all the above types of terrain.

2. Towing Becomes Cake

There are ample different sized trailers and a truck to tow every one of them. Having a lifted truck makes the task of towing easier on the truck by giving it better safety and weight advantage against the weight load.

Trucks with stock tires and suspension risk squatting down, which can bottom out the truck when hauling heavier loads.

3. Super Big Super Nobby Tires

Big nobby tires look cool. There’s no shame in that. Not only do they look cool but they make offroading in rough terrain easier to handle. The higher the lift, the bigger the tires you can put on your truck.

Big tires also take on the wear and tear of rocks and brush, instead of your truck. Imagine doing damage to the underbody of your truck or trim because your clearance was to low.

You don’t have to get offroad tires to reap the benefits of having a lift. You can use bigger all-terrain tires which will actually hold up better on pavement roads.

All-terrain tires will also give off less vibration when driving, and have a better fuel economy as well. 

4. Higher Visibility

Most truck owners already enjoy a higher view perspective while driving. Having a higher view from the driver’s seat allows you to see obstacles ahead sooner than those driving lower to the ground. Seeing an obstacle sooner means more time to stop or maneuver if needed.

Driving through unfavorable weather becomes easier as well. When vehicles drive on extremely wet roads, water splashes up from the centrical force of the rotating tires. This can sometimes create a “cloud” of water around a vehicle and splashes water onto the windshield. This can make it very hard to see.

Adding a lift to your truck will move you farther away from the splashing water, giving you visibility advantage over others.

5. Truck in Style 

In a study done by NPR, it was found that more women dig guys who drive, you guessed it, pick-up trucks. That’s right. Women find guys who drive trucks even more desirable than men who drive sports cars.

Maybe this fact isn’t a big shocker to us longtime truck owners. Still, let’s stay humble here.

Regardless, driving up to a beach party or even pulling up to a local hardware store with a lifted truck draws attention. The good kind.

With options to lift your truck anywhere from 3″ to 12″ (more if you’re Evil Kanival jumping piles of cars in a monster truck show), you can create your own unique style that turns heads. 

Things You Should Know Before Lifting Your Truck 

First, you should figure out why and for what purpose you want to lift your truck. This will help you decide what kind of lift will work for your needs.

For example, if you intend on using your truck for all your daily driving, and only desire a height clearance of 1″-3″, then maybe a leveling kit is what you need.

If you’re hauling heavy loads through rocky off-road terrain, you might need a high-end lifting kit with a lift of 6″-9″.

Driving and Performance Considerations 

Believe it or not, changing the suspension of your truck will affect how your vehicle handles- for better or for worse. That’s because lifting your truck changes its center of gravity. 

Lifted trucks can expect worse handling, lower fuel efficiency, and higher tipping ratio.

Also, the make and model of the vehicle will determine how high you can lift, and what parts are available to use. For example, if you own a Toyota 4Runner, you might check out Bilstein 5100 4runner shocks to improve its overall performance when lifting.

State Laws Do Matter 

So you live in Indiana and just ordered a 12″ lift kit for your F-150 online. Man, that’s going to look cool on your truck! Well, you actually won’t be installing that kit unless your bumper stays within 3 inches of factory height. 

This is why checking your state laws concerning lifts is a must.

Certain states go by the weight of your truck. In Hawaii, if your truck is 4,500 pounds or less, then you’re allowed a front and rear bumpers’ maximum height of 29 inches.

In Iowa, the height of your vehicle cannot exceed 13′ 6″. 

What’s Not To Lift?

There’s still plenty more research to be done if you’re seriously considering lifting your truck. Check-in with your mechanic and see what they suggest. You might find that you need to update or replace other parts in your truck before you can safely lift it.

If you’re thinking about lifting your truck yourself, check out this engineblock.com article to see if you’re truly up for it.

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