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Is there a limit to the height of a pickup?

Geo-TH,In

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
Today at a red light, I was next to a Toyota Tundra 4x4. The first thing I thought of was stability.

I remember when Ford Explorers with Firestone tires had a Rollovers problems.

I knew a kid who jacked up an old pickup, blew a tire, truck rolled over, he got thrown out the window only for the truck to crush him.

How can today's new jacked up trucks not have a safety issue, rollover?

Is there a limit to high pickups can go?

While at the red light, I saw a mimi cooper convertible. I wouldn't want to be in a mimi cooper and get run over by the Tundra.

What goes up comes down. Will trucks ever come back down to a reasonable height?

Why do trucks have to be soooooooo talllllllllll?
 
I know some States have bumper height laws. Legal limit for a height of a vehicle is 13'6 before needing a permit. So l guess they could be 13' 6 high.
 
Some Jeep's with the short and narrow wheel base have caused more than their share of injuries. Hitting a six inch curb while making a turn will turtle one quickly.

Beagle
 
Geo,

I prefer my truck tall. Now there is a slippery slope of definition. My truck(s) a
have to travers many terrains, some for fun, some for work.

My truck should/will comply with state regs, but I am sure I do not want a second-guesser. I have seen many posts regarding Barney or the ytdot, so why is there a problem of lawful abiding folks that have a taller truck?

D.

Meant respectfully.
 
George, one of the Carolina states just enacted a law that said No one can alter the suspension on any vehicle more than THREE inches above or below the manufactured height.

Beagle
 
Dennis,
I don't understand, why does a truck need to be taller than the axles?
How top heavy are tall pickups?
 
I don't like the tall ones or the short ones. Short as in so low to the ground they would knock over a beer can neither are good for much. The old small Toyota 4X4 pickup sat up pretty high right out of the factory but ones higher to me are people who have gone nuts
 

I drive a '97 F350 crew that came with what I'm told is a 3-4" lift kit. I didn't want it, it just happened to be the vehicle I could afford that fit my needs. I don't like it, or the over sized tires on it. I think the tires cause additional wear on the steering gear among other things. The guy I got it from liked it that way. To each their own I guess, at least as far as likes go.

OTOH, when you have a lifted 4WD diesel with all sorts of gizmos and lights and such and the guy driving it is 5'6" and balding...that's what my wife calls, "A compensation machine".
 
I found this:

Headlight Height Requirements
The follow states mandate that headlight height be between 24 and 54 inches from ground level: Alaska, Arkansas, Washington DC, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas. Colorado mandates a maximum light height (44 inches), but not a minimum.

Obviously it is not enforced. Along with people adding blinding light bars. About the only thing that will get you stopped is red or blue lights showing from the front. There are also rules about exposed tires beyond the fenders slinging water and rocks. Never seen any action taken on that.

As for stability, that would be hard to argue in court, so I don't think that is mentioned.

I don't drive one, so I don't know how closely they are watched, but I see plenty of them driving day after day, clearly in violation, nothing being done.

This stuff used to be checked at inspection time, but now it's show your insurance, plug in the emissions reader, a quick glance around, and get the money!
 
as far as cops doing anything about the illegal height and mods. It is complaint driven. Had my cousins kid get reported and they made him take it for a inspection, gave him 2 weeks.
he had to put on all factory as it is illegal to change almost everything from the factory.
List of what he had to change.
; jack up kit, had to bring it down to factory.
tires, had to be stock size.
Muffler, had to meat noise by law.
light bar on roof. had to remove.
after market black out light kit, remove and install factory.
steering wheel, remove and install factory.
might have been a few more but they nailed him good. cost him almost $3000 to drive his truck again. needless to say he was mad but never bought another one of those ugly trucks again.
he was the kind of guy to just step on it at every corner in town and it cost him.
 
Cause CHICKS dig tall trucks, I was young once and had a couple of tall trucks that I couldnt get in and out of now at my age but the pretty girls sure wanted to pile in to them back in the day.
 
You don't want a vehicle too tall or else it won't go through the drive thru window at the fast food joint. Wingnut
 
4x4 bucket trucks (electric company) around here used to have headlights mounted in the bumper. Now I know why.
 
I was at the paint store today in a 2005 Dodge truck and got to looking at the new Ford truck next to it. I think the Ford truck was about 3' taller and I don't think it was modified. I don't know why people want a truck like that. It would be H to load and unload the back.
 
If your talking about the new factory stock pu. I agree. I don't like that you can't reach over the side to grab the 12 pack. But if your talking about the people that lift them,,,you were young once too. I raised the back and put big tires on the back of my 69 Dodge Coronet. Put a set of Keystones and crome pipes behind Thrush mufflers. Would I do it again today? No. But I thought it was a pretty cool looking ride when I was 18.
 
I generally like my 2010 3/4 Ram, but the height thing is a pain in the rear! No need for that, cant reach anything.

Paul
 
Guess I'll keep driving my 81. I can swing my leg high enough to crawl right over the side of the box if I have to. Tailgate folds down to a nice height to sit or work on. Full 8 foot box and I wouldn't want it any shorter for the things I carry. Built back in the day when people bought a truck because they needed a truck. Not a status symbol.
 
(quoted from post at 16:24:01 06/16/21) Cause CHICKS dig tall trucks, I was young once and had a couple of tall trucks that I couldnt get in and out of now at my age but the pretty girls sure wanted to pile in to them back in the day.
Click to expand...

"Cause CHICKS dig tall trucks"

YES, they absolutely do!

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and GUESS that George and several others who replied would be irritated if one of those grrrls climbed up in their tall truck!
 
In my part of the country you need a little height to get you thru the water when the roads flood.
 
Vehicle OEMs go to great lengths to engineer their vehicles so they will get a NHTSA Five-Star rollover resistance rating. Then dummies jack them up, destroying their rollover resistance.

Some classes of vehicles, such as 3/4 ton pickups, are simply not going to get a Five-Star rating in the first place. Put a lift kit on those and you're really asking for trouble. It looks like the Tundra left the factory with a three or four star rollover rating. Add a lift kit and it's probably down to zero stars.
Does your vehicle have a five star rating?
 
Ah the classic old phart attitude, it's armed revolt if they dare tell me what to do with MY truck, but because I don't like what that other guy is doing to his truck, THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW!!!
 
Not exactly a pickup, a F550, but it is tall and I love that it is tall. I can see what is going on around me when I'm driving. Rather have a tall truck than a short one any day.
 
(quoted from post at 09:09:32 06/17/21) Ah the classic old phart attitude, it's armed revolt if they dare tell me what to do with MY truck, but because I don't like what that other guy is doing to his truck, THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW!!!
Click to expand...

Right on the money.
 
I never understood it but to each their own.

My thoughts are if I wanted to drive a dump truck I would buy one instead of trying to turn my pickup into one. A neighbor of mine had his F-150 jacked way up like that years ago. He had to drop down to 30 mph to go through the slightest curves without rolling over. Hated getting stuck behind that truck.
 

I won't work on a lowered are lifted vehicle : ) Most all those squatters run open exhaust they are loud! the cops should find out how much money momma can shell out to keep their special baby happy..
 
(quoted from post at 21:25:06 06/16/21) I was at the paint store today in a 2005 Dodge truck and got to looking at the new Ford truck next to it. I think the Ford truck was about 3' taller and I don't think it was modified. I don't know why people want a truck like that. It would be H to load and unload the back.
Click to expand...

The vast majority of pickups in my area never see anything heavier than a set of golf clubs in the bed! I don't think loading and unloading is a consideration for a lot of people.
 
(quoted from post at 09:03:59 06/17/21)
I won't work on a lowered are lifted vehicle : ) Most all those squatters run open exhaust they are loud! the cops should find out how much money momma can shell out to keep their special baby happy..
Click to expand...

Back when I was gainfully employed in LE, we did just that! Same for Harleys with open pipes. In my state all it takes to get out of a "fix it ticket" is to get a licensed garage to sign off on the correction slip. People knew which places would sign off!
 
(quoted from post at 14:46:59 06/16/21) Today at a red light, I was next to a Toyota Tundra 4x4. The first thing I thought of was stability.

I remember when Ford Explorers with Firestone tires had a Rollovers problems.

I knew a kid who jacked up an old pickup, blew a tire, truck rolled over, he got thrown out the window only for the truck to crush him.

How can today's new jacked up trucks not have a safety issue, rollover?

Is there a limit to high pickups can go?

While at the red light, I saw a mimi cooper convertible. I wouldn't want to be in a mimi cooper and get run over by the Tundra.

What goes up comes down. Will trucks ever come back down to a reasonable height?

Why do trucks have to be soooooooo talllllllllll?
Click to expand...

There IS a law pertaining to the maximum height of the rear bumper from the ground. I'm guessing that most of those jacked up pickup trucks exceed that limit, and therefore are in violation of the law.
 
Grayrider,I agree! Our 15 year old wants to jack up his truck, once he pays us back for the truck and had money to do it, I'm fine with it. Our boys grew up watching monster jam! Been to several shows, best one was in Atlanta, big stadium sure beat the little civic center around here
 
(quoted from post at 23:37:52 06/16/21)
(quoted from post at 16:24:01 06/16/21) Cause CHICKS dig tall trucks, I was young once and had a couple of tall trucks that I couldnt get in and out of now at my age but the pretty girls sure wanted to pile in to them back in the day.
Click to expand...

"Cause CHICKS dig tall trucks"

YES, they absolutely do!

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and GUESS that George and several others who replied would be irritated if one of those grrrls climbed up in their tall truck!
Click to expand...

Now you tell me!! After 8th grade I went on the summer wheat harvest from Texas to Cut Bank, Montana. I can tell you that dragging main in Great Falls, Montana in a wheat truck didn't do us any good with the girls.
 
Drove suzuki SJ-413 for years - a 5 narrower version of the suzuki samurai, was fine. Not every vehicle needs to be able to plow through turns under steering the whole way like the average family sedan.

Drive a newer 1 ton now with no lift and its plenty high already. Nice to be able to get in and out of fields vs the older 90s 1/2 tons that drag their belly / smash the side steps everywhere.
 

Indiana has a bumper law of 30 inches from ground max.

Federal law says semi trailers built after 1998 must have "rear impact guards" (bumper) no more than 22 inches off the ground.


Appears to be no regs on suspension mods nor frame height limits for Indiana.
 
Folks should have the right to drive what they like and it is no one's business how tall it is. There has to be a practical limit for infrastructure height, hence the 13'6" but who in the world should have the authority to dictate max vehicle height to free Americans? No one!
 
It ain't your vehicle. You don't have to like it or be happy with it. The owner does.

Lifting or lowering does effect the physics of the vehicle. Past a certain point it's altered to a point of stability issues. The thing is unless you significantly raise the height of the axle you don't increase ground clearance one little bit. So a 6 inch lift with stock tires = no gain in ground clearance. Raising the height of the tire gives 1/2 the height gained difference. Say the stock tire is 30". Going to a 32" tire gives a 1 inch axle height lift. Doing a lift properly that actually gives a significant ground clearance gain can get to be very expensive when you start adding in the cost of custom tires and rims. I've seen 4,000 dollar trucks with 6,000 dollars worth of tires and wheel that gave no significant axle height gain. Heck, most of em never leave the pavement. But again, it's their vehicles and their money.

Rick
 
[b:654c4848f0]who in the world should have the authority to dictate max vehicle height to free Americans? No One![/b:654c4848f0]

I agree 100 percent.
That is if you do not dismantle the built in safety features mandated by laws such as bumper and headlight height.
There is a reason we have these safety laws.

While I can not speak intelligently about why; I do notice most pickups with lift kits the front of the truck is raised more than the rear of the
truck. So not are the headlights higher up they are pointed at the sky. All of this is done with no readjustment to the headlight aim.

But I guess if you can see; who am I to tell you this is blinding me so can I please dictate that you not do it.
 
I have to lock my doors to keep chicks out of my classic truck. Dr warned me to say away from young chicks. At my age and health I would be arrested for murder. Young chicks can't handle it.
 
Try one you might like it. My son who is old enough to have a boy driving has a F350 Diesel with a 8 inch at least lift. The floor board is as tall as my waist. Big loud exhaust. 4 door long.bed. I hate it. But once I climb in it's a blast to drive. Drives perfect and rides better than a stock one. It's a 96 and in perfect shape. Drives a normal one to work.
 
Have a friend that has a repair shop and he has built quitr a few of those Monster Jam trucks. 6'+ lift completely hand made and with tires taller than a small tractor has for drive tires. And I find one driven on the road once in a while. A 6'6 person would not have any trouble standing up under one.
 
I don't care what your truck looks like, your choice. I do care when your tires make it so wide that you top hills on country roads on my side of the line. And I really am not impressed by the amount of meaningless noise you make with your exhaust, tire rumble, and music. Yes, you can make it look like whatever, but when you intrude on my space with width and noise, that shows a lack of class.
 
It all has to do with this: Do I want to be safe and smart or do I want to look cool? Most of the time its the latter. In my town, the new cool look is to jack the front of the truck up as high as possible while leaving the rear as low as possible and adding 36 inch wheels and low sidewall tires. Somewhere a circus is missing their clown vehicles. Remember when the fad was jack the back end up? It actually looked cool.
Not so good if someone rear ended you though.
 
(quoted from post at 17:32:37 06/18/21) It all has to do with this: Do I want to be safe and smart or do I want to look cool? Most of the time its the latter. In my town, the new cool look is to jack the front of the truck up as high as possible while leaving the rear as low as possible and adding 36 inch wheels and low sidewall tires. Somewhere a circus is missing their clown vehicles. Remember when the fad was jack the back end up? It actually looked cool.
Not so good if someone rear ended you though.
Click to expand...
very generation has to have their weird stuff, Mohawk hair, bell bottom pants & you can find one for every generation. They all grow up & out of it in time. The world rolls on.
 

cvphoto92304.jpg
 
North Carolina, no more than 3 inches lift 8n front with no more 2 inches drop in rear, trying to stop the dog squatting. And it only has cleared the house.
 
The feds started regulating lift kits a few years ago, the lift kit is only allowed to make a certain amount of change in the what it takes to roll the vehicle to be legal.
 
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