By Chris Haak
03.27.2009
I’ve been on an interesting streak this past week. Literally every day either on my way into the office or on my way home, I have encountered the same white Ford F-250 traveling in the opposite direction. I’m sure that I see dozens of F-250s during my 5-+ miles on the road each day, but this one particular one stands out. And why is that? It looks ridiculous.
The specific truck in question is a white F-250 Super Cab with huge desert-running tires and probably an eight- to ten-inch lift kit installed. The truck is also adorned with any number of accessories, such as an aluminum louver over the back window, 11 lights below the tailgate (I know because I counted them from my blurry camera phone photo), and gigantic twin antennas mounted in each of the front corners of the pickup bed. These antennas are over six feet tall, and the top of them is probably between 12 and 15 feet above the ground. The front of the truck has a giant grille guard and accessory lighting.
My favorite accessories, however, are the enormous slogans stuck onto both the tailgate and the windshield. The windshield is my favorite – where it says (in fancy script, of course), “HIGH CLASS REDNECK.” Well, he got half of that correct.
I grew up in the 1980s, and while the nature of my father’s business (he is a small used car dealer) meant that I was exposed to an enormous variety of different vehicles, but for most of that time, my mom shuttled us around in various Chevrolet Suburbans. I can remember her having a 1973, 1978, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, etc. In fact, although she drove cars for a few years at a time between Suburbans occasionally, and even had a few Lexus RX crossovers, she drives a late-model Suburban even today. With only one exception I am aware of, all of those “Subs” had four wheel drive – but never a lift kit. In fact, I don’t think in my 34 years I’ve ever ridden in a truck with a lift kit, much less driven one. Perhaps that’s part of my problem.
From my perspective, I can see only one reason to jack up your vehicle to ridiculous heights: visibility. By visibility, I mean both outward (you surely have an incredible view of the road ahead) as well as having the world notice you. Having driven an orange Challenger SRT8 last summer, I know that it’s kind of fun to have people wave to you, give you thumbs up, and point at your car (in a good way, not the sorry way that people pointed at the Jeep Compass that we tested a few weeks ago). The latter point obviously works, too, because of all the F-250s I see each day, the only one I notice is the one driven by the “High-Class Redneck.”
But there are so many disadvantages to driving a lifted truck. Parking garages (as well as nearly any other garage) are not possibilities (just driving a regular F-150 4×4 last week, I ducked my head every time I drove through my garage, where there was about six inches of clearance). You literally have to climb steps or a ladder to get into the truck, which is inconvenient for tall people like me, and nearly impossible for short people or women wearing skirts or dresses. Ride and handling is compromised by the tall tires and serious amounts of un-sprung weight, plus raising the center of gravity. The trucks are very difficult to use as trucks, because the bed’s load floor is at chest height on a six-footer. It’s difficult to tow a trailer without lowering the hitch to new depths. Fuel economy has to be abysmal. Worst of all, the bumpers and headlights are generally incompatible with “normal” vehicles. If the truck in the above photo (which looks similar to the “High-Class Redneck,” but isn’t him) rear-ended me in my CTS, he’d drive right over my already-tall trunklid.
I just don’t see the point. Are all of the negatives worth driving such an extroverted vehicle? They must be for some people, but as for me – no thanks. Am I missing something here?
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A couple of years ago I watched a woman in a bright yellow lifted Hummer H2 with a cartop carrier on TOP of it drive right into the cement roof at the entrance to a hospital parking garage. (She was on a cellphone of course.)
She certainly got the attention she was looking for! I have never laughed so hard in my life.
I should have also mentioned that my parking garage exit was delayed a few weeks ago when a lifted Jeep got stuck at the exit. An entire line of cars behind him had to back up to allow him to try a different exit. At least there’s some justification for a lifted Jeep.
BTW, here’s Philip’s link above in case others have trouble finding it:
http://www.creativityatwork.com/Newsletters/Aug00ReptilianBrain.html
Each inch lifted is compensation for “you know where”. Or lack thereof.
It doesn’t create extra ground clearance because the axles/suspension are still down there.
I guess it’s just the “I’m bigger than you” factor – it sure looks intimidating in the rear view mirror.
There are plenty of reasons for installing a 10″ lift on a truck. Most of them involve some sort of significant off road use.
Out in arizona there are many “forest roads” that are not maintained much. I’ve had to backtrack and use a different road because of a 3-4 foot boulder several times. The truck in the picture could probably drive over a 2′ obstical without too much dificulty (you need to go over with the tire).
Using one for a dayly driver is pretty nuts though.
What’s the point of feathered hair? Because it looks cool! (To certain people).
Here in SoCal, we don’t really have many opportunities for lifted trucks. Maybe if we had some real off road duties, then maybe I’ll agree there’s a point, otherwise it’s just a fashion exercise. A pretty bad trend too, considering they seem to be everywhere here.
There alot of trucks out there tricked out for the same reason someone pours big bucks down the toilet “tuning” a little import car. It’s a hobby- an expensive one. I’m not gonna knock either one.
For practical matters, If you enjoy exploring the desert or doing some serious rock crawling (Moab!!), then a reasonable amount of modifying is warranted. If deer camp is twenty miles deep in the woods, you will likely need a suspension and body lift, mudders, lockers, -and a winch. Here in Arkansas, these trucks are common.
You don’t often see those kind of trucks in a parking garage. Those space are reserved for condescending, Prius-driving, Chiraz sipping, wienies, that would faint at the sight of a hook being pulled out of a fishes mouth. Hmmm…I think I’ll go fish tomorrow. Heh…I’ll be riding my mountain bike to a near-by pond!
yall must be a bunch of city slicker so ima tell yall the real reason the lift kit so you can get some bigger tires on there which wil in turn lift the whole truck higher even the axles plus the allows you to get through the mud better and it is alot safer and if it is jacked up they really dont use the bed for heavy things and they make trailor hitches called drop down balls to fit the trucks height which are about the same price as the normal ones. and i wouldnt call them rednecks because when you are stuck in your little 2wd car they aint gonna pull you out
guys are all fags you dont know shit about trucks or that matter life more you are educated more stupid you get i think
I’ll just let that last comment speak for itself, and more importantly, its author.
I lifted my truck to play in the mud ive got a 95 chevy with a 15″ lift on 44′s and i also have an 06 f350 powerstroke and i lifted it so when i see a little sports car drivin i put that exhaust right in their window and fill their car with black smoke, its the funniest thing in the world and some of you might say well thats mean what if it happened to you, well i drive a chevy s10 to work and there has been many times i have pulled up to a powerstroke dmax and cummins and asked them to roll some coal because i think its neat as hell it shows power so for those of you who put down people with lifted trucks mind your own buisiness it looks good and that person can do what ever they want with their money thats why we live in america the home of the free
how much do u want for the truck and tires if u r selling it
Looks like you hit a nerve Chris. Can’t believe people are still responding to this. These monstrosities are still as plentiful as ever here in the suburbs of where I live and judging by the C4C’s ACTUAL numbers, it seems there’s no end in sight. Le sigh~.
How about a piece on the point of “rice-ified” cars next? I’m getting tired of being typecasted and Hondas here in SoCal only reinforce my supposed heritage.
You know, I owned an older F-150 4×4 extended cab. After one trip off-road, I realized really quickly it wasnt a very good rig for 4-wheeling. I got the rear bumper planted in the mud so many times, I learned that a short wheelbase with small overhangs is ideal.
That said, ENORMOUS lifts on F-150′s is understandable. Think about it, the truck has a large rear overhang, more likely to smack the ground while climbing at an extreme angle. Since nobody is going to shorten the trucks bed… You lift the crap out of it! The further up the bumpers are, the less likely you are to drag them. The bigger tires are another way of lifting the truck, and hey, they look cool. And also you only get the best off-road tread patterns in oversized tires. And as far as your comments on fuel economy……….. If your driving a high end sports car, or a giant trail rig, you generally have so much fun you dont think about it……….. Well until you get to the pump…
My rig is a little 1991 Toyota 4×4 pickup, barely any overhangs, so I havent even needed to lift it. And its a 4-cylinder so it gets decent economy. And without investing money in anything but tires, its twice the rig my F-150 was. Not that i have ANYTHING against Ford, I loved my old F-150. Just this Toyota is cheaper, so my wallet loves it more.
If you actually never take it off-road, which I doubt if your investing the money that you could resist the temptation (Try lifting a 4×4, or putting mud tires on it, you WILL want to use them) But even if you live in the suburbs their are parks and trails you can drive to JUST to drive offroad. And it is an enjoyable, challenging sport, and an excuse to go camping! But if you do lift your truck for no other reason thant for looks, yeah its a pointless modification….
Well, own an old lifted truck. A 78 chevy with a big block, 38 inch tires, 8 inches of lift, ect… and though its a toy most of the time, its been my daily driver at times. either way, i live in MN, and when the snow is half way up your cars bumper, it really does not phase me much. the crawls through the mud and over the trails most everywhere i need to go. My impala definatley wont make it out to the hunting land, and even if it did, i would have no place for my deer. as far as fuel milage goes, you could not be more wrong. If you are farmiliar with gear ratios, but the bigger the radiud of a drive grear, or in this case a tire, the RPMs it takes to travel at a higher speed, therefore the motor works less to achieve greater speed, which increases fuel milage. that being said, I dont know anyone driving a full size truck that really cares about fuel economy. your mom has sacrficed fuel economy with every suburban she has driven. if you want a fuel efficent people mover, buy a mini van.
all of that being said, it is no different then a guy driving a sports car, which is pointless and expensive with no purpose beyond personal enjoyment. why do people put huge sterios in cars? or chrome 24″ rims? or graphics? everyone has a hobby, and they are normally unproductive and expensive, so who is anyone else to judge?
I am a pickup truck owner. Me and my father, both need our trucks for work. He is an old timer, and wouldn’t be caught dead with a lift on his truck, its just his belief. He uses his truck for work, and he is a volunteer ranger at a park here in NY state, where he needs a decent 4×4 to wheel. Me, I have a similar situation, but I feel a small lift kit, maybe 2 or 3″, along with larger tires can go a long way.
HOWEVER…
There is such a thing as TOO much lift. First of all, a lot of larger trucks, ram 2500, f250s, Chevy 2500HD, aren’t worth to much in a lot of off road situations. You want a small vehicle, with a short wheel base. A longer wheel base giant HD pickup truck is worthless off road compared to say a mid 80s solid axle 4×4 Toyota, or a current well equipped Ford Ranger. What I am trying to say, there is a point where lift kits can become TOO MUCH, and make the vehicle much LESS functional. The F-250 featured in the article, the example picture. You could not PAY ME to take that thing anywhere off road. Most of the lift on that truck is pointless, it looks like he cleared about a foot of ground clearance from the axles lowest point. Hell my Dakota clears about 9″ stock. Its all about the articulation and available down travel. There is no need, for any purpose on earth to have your trucks frame to be sitting 2 feet above its axles. Some may argue that amount of lift is for playing around in mud bogs, but lets be serious, most people don’t get a kick out of drowning there vehicle in a 10 foot deep pool of mud. I would much rather find away AROUND the mud.
Chris’s article holds water. That truck in the picture, is no more capable then a truck that had a mild lift to clear a few more inches on the tires, the proper wheel base, the right size truck, rear locker and a winch. On top of all that, a truck like that is worthless to guys like my father and I, who use a pickup truck for work AND play. Items like chrome flame grills on a truck also are a dead giveaway that this truck is for show purposes only.
But then again, this is America, and that guy did pay his taxes (i hope).
Well first off, these trucks aren’t meant for “off-roading” and “rock crawling”. The mildly lifted Suvs are what you want to use for that. The trucks are for hauling whatever, or towing whatever. Now granted if you have a truck with a 10in lift with 38′s, you more than likely don’t use that for work everyday making full use of the bed. I’ll agree that huge lifts seem more geared towards show at times, but even so, I like the way they look and they still can serve a purpose. These lifted trucks do serve their purpose greatly when they’re pulling you out of snow, mud, or a ditch. Wherever your car/small truck gets stuck, these trucks can get you out.
I agree with Jaw818 though. Everyone has their hobbies. Why talk down to the people who have the lifted trucks because they have a difference in opinion? Calling them rednecks? While it doesn’t help when people jump in and voice their opinion for lifted trucks and can’t form coherent sentences, and have no use of any punctuation and abbreviate words that don’t have abbreviations, not all people in huge trucks are rednecks. I’m far from redneck, but I still love the look of a nicely lifted truck. In fact, I plan on getting an F250 superduty with 10+ in. suspension lift, and 38′ or 40′ tires because I love the look, and when I take it out to the beach or fields or anywhere that’s off road (not rock crawling) I don’t have to worry about getting stuck. Nevertheless, it’s still a hobby. You consider it fine for someone to put a huge F1A Procharger on a built V8 making over 800rwhp with the goal of more power when the only time the full 800 can get used is at the track or a crazy high highway roll, but it’s not ok for someone to take pride in their truck and a different hobby and a goal to make it bigger and really only use the height every now and then if they go on unpaved roads or off road on mild trails?(again not meant as in rock crawling) Both have their hobby with different goals. A lot of auto enthusiasts modify their car/truck/bike to the point that seems stupid on the road, but they love it anyway and have certain times where what seems stupid on the road comes in handy in the right situations.
I know many people with lifted F250′s and 350′s and they drive it on the roads all the time. They also take it in mud and on the beach, and out in the snow. Places that even stock trucks can get in trouble. They have them as a toy, and they don’t really complain about gas mileage because you know what you’re getting into when you get a V8 whether it’s gas or diesel.
Anyway, happy wheeling guys!!!
just an FYI when I said “off roading” in the first sentence, that’s meant to quote people who use it meaning something similar to “rock crawling”.