Suspension Ideas For Your Lifted Truck

Do you ever find yourself laughing at that poor sap limping onto the job site with his truck squatting under the lumber load? How about that dude at the desert whose truck looks like it’s getting punked by his buggy trailer? Yeah, we’ve all seen it and here is the bottom line – a pre-runner lift looks cool, the sissy squat does not. If you’ve been the victim of the sad sag, or you wanna avoid future ridicule, read on.

The old-school way to combat squat was the good old Add-A-Leaf. By beefing up their truck’s rear suspension, construction old-timers kept from getting laughed out of the trade unions. Problem was, while the extra leaf springs kept their trucks from squatting under load, daily driving in those back-breakers could lead to severe cases of hemorrhoids.

Even with a modern lift kit installed, your truck may not be set up for hauling and towing the big loads. It’s one thing to give Yaris drivers a panic attack with your 8-inch lift, but hauling a toy box loaded down with bikes, buggies and beer coolers is another ballgame. Obviously, if you only load your bed with quads or camping gear, you don’t need much more than a set of ATV ramps and a strong back. Anything beyond what truck ramps can handle is towing and that means squat potential.

So, when your work and play requires a trailer hitch, side mirrors and a trailer cover, it’s time to look into some air suspension. Working along with your truck’s existing shocks and coil springs, air bag suspension kits are like a helping hand that’s there only when you need it. They’re controlled by an on-board or portable air compressor (which is handy to have around for filling tires and wake toys) and a simple control panel. You can get all digital and automatic, but the idea is the same: When under a heavy load, just air up the shocks and ride level. With no load, your normal suspension takes over and you’re ridin’ cozy as a baby in a buggy.

One final important point to keep in mind: Along with being a serious blow to your manhood and your truck’s attitude, squat is downright dangerous. Handling and driveability are thrown way off and you quickly become a hazardous to everyone on the road. So remember, leave the sag to retired hookers and the squat to those muscle heads at the gym – dial in your suspension to handle the big loads and keep your Socaltruck rolling big, loud and proud.