So my lift aspirations have come along way in the last couple months........... from being happy with just my 2" leveler and 35's to wanting a 6" thenwanting to add another 2" to a 6" in order to run 37's to getting a Rize 8" and all the way up to getting a Rize 12" and some 40's.......

I was dead set on the 12" and 40's. So much so that I changed my order from the 8" Rize to the 12". A fellow Maryland member told me the other night that he had been ticketed for his truck being lifted too much and it caused me to do a little more research into the laws here than I previously had done. No matter if I do the 12" and 40's or the 8" and 37's, I will be above the legal limit. There is a way around the law and that's to install a smaller set of wheels in order bring the height down so you can get the repair order signed off on and then go right back to the wheels you obviously want on after the paperwork is signed off on. The same member that told me about the ticket actually did this and was successful.

Here's the problem....If I go with the 12", I would have to install a set of 25" overall diameter tires to fall within the legal limits. To put that into perspective, a 1997 2wd Ranger had 25" diameter tires! There is no way I could get away with that if I got a ticket. With the 8" Rize I would be able use up to a 33" tire in order to bring me into legality. Since the stock tires that came on my FX4 were under 32" I could easily pass that off just like the other member did. That's just too easy and too far away from the 12"/40's scenario for my liking though.....

I've decided to go with te Rize 8" with Kings adjusted to 10" and a set of custom National Springs 10" leaf packs. King 2.5 shocks in the rear and Camburg UCA's to aid with the tweaked ball joint angles. For the wheels/tires I am going with 38x15.5x20 MT ATZ's on 20x10 Desert Rat Raton machine finish wheels with 4.5" bs. That combo will only be a total of 3" shorter than the 12/40 combo and it will allow me to use a much more believable 29" wheel/tire combo if I need to get a repair order signed off on. To put that one into perspective. The BMW X5 and Mercedes SL suv's came with 29" diameter tires.

Does that all make sense to you guys and what do you think abouth the set up/plan?

 

sucks man, FL has lift laws that are RAIRLY enforced.

FL lift laws are based on vehicle weight. The laws are on bumper Hieght. But anything over 5k pounds has no bumper laws. But the headlights have to be a certain distance from the ground. Which is easy to solve, just add a set of lights that can be controled from the cab. During the day have them sucked up behind the bumper, then at night with the flip of a switch the lights drop down to the legal limits and turn on. Ive seen a few setup like this.

After my truck is finished im gonna have it re weighted and have the NEW weight put on my registration. My truck right now is close to 5k after the 1 ton axles and 44's it will be probably closer to 6k or 6.5k

 

i wish i could have went that big. WI laws, under 8000# gvwr, stated any vehicle cannot be lifted more than 9 inches total, including tires. so a 6 inch lift with 35's is max. but if your truck is over 8000gvwr then there are just bumper laws. so i can go 10" and 40"'s on a 3/4 ton. i hate some laws. are you sure about the laws? i just read bumpers can't be higher than 28" ??

 

thats what NJ is, 9 inches total lift for our trucks

but in my area ,i dont think they would enforce it. just need a buddy at a garage who does state inspections lol

 

Yeah I'm sure. Trucks weighing less than 10K lbs have to be 28" or less from ground to bottom of front and back bumpers. Over 10K gets 30". That is the only restriction as far as lifts go in MD. If you alter the bumper height to beat the measurement they revert to measuring to the frame rails.

My truck sits at 22" in front and 23" in back with a 2" leveler and 35's.

I knew the measurement was 28" all along but I didn't know it ws measured to the bottom of the metal portion of the bumper. I thought it was just to the lowest portion to include the valance. I am going to put a Foose valance on which is a couple inches lower than the stock one. I also didn't know they measured the rear bumper too though it makes sense. What doesn't make sense to me is the fact that bigger heacier trucks get more height allowance. The reason they have the limit is to lower the risk of a truck killing someone in a car accident due to the bumper missing that of a car. It doesn't make sense to me that they would give bigger heavier trucks that take much more to stop an extra 2 inches.

I posted a thread in the regional section asking about MD drivers encounters with the police due to their lifts and not many people chimed in. The few that did suggested that it shouldn't be a real problem and that i would more than likely get away with it but it's just too much of a risk to spend all that money and then not be able to fix it without remving the lift. Call me a ******* if you want but this is my daily driver and an extra 3" just isn't worth the risk of getting busted and having to spend all that money.

sucks man.......

 

yeah Maryland laws state bumpers no higher than 28" so what are your bumpers at now?

just curious. theres a way you can get around this as well.

 

read the above post....22" up front and 23" in back with a 2" leveler and 35's. Can't just move the bumpers down because it you do they will just measure to the frame rails instead.

 

yeah i get enough looks from state troopers as it is i initially wanted a rize and 37's but that got shot down long ago. all it takes is one cop to wreck your day and the thousands of dollars you spent is pretty much worthless. you can't run 33's on a rize so your taking it off and selling it, buying another lift and losing a ton of cash. hence why i'm leaving the ford crew and getting a 2500HD, big block power, allison trans, 5.13/5.38's, 37's god i can't wait, i can taste IT!

 

another route you could go is a custom road armor bumper or ranch hand bumper.

the bumper is the bumper aftermarket or not, the whole thing is metal. they will have to measure from.

 

yeah I hear ya..... only 2 problems with that though.....

1) that doesn't do anything for the rear bumper

2) I don't like the looks of either

 

get matching bumpers then or doondocks are cheaper

 

I'm not an "all function before fashion" kind of guy. It's not worth sacraficing the look that i want in order to get another 3". I'd rather have the 3" less of lift and have my truck look as sick as i want it to.

Nothing against those of you that do subscribe to that motto though....to each their own!

 

ok man, bummer that you cant go the route you wanted to.

All good though it will look just as good with the 8"

 

thanks for the attempted help and the reassurance bro

 

Just move out of MD., Just kidding Man, that sucks! I got pulled over and had the tape measure broke out on me. State Troopers are ****s in my area. Just doing thier job I know, but there are more important things out there. Luckily I was respectful, and sweet talked myself out of even a written warning. For other people out there if you don't already have the lift just go smaller and avoid the headaches. I have seen guys do all kinds of crap to beat the measurements like stack frames, drop bumbers etc., unless you want to be a target just try to comply as much as possible. If I have any problems in the future with Cops, I may just have to drop down to 37's to comply.