Squatted Trucks Offer A Unique Look and Off-Road Capabilities
While it can be a controversial look, there are certain benefits to be found from driving a squatted truck or SUV. The main reason most folks decide to squat their truck is simply for the look. This may differ from person to person, so while some may not love how they look on the road, others wouldn’t want to drive anything else. However, there are also reasons to squat your truck beyond simply looking different. If you spend a lot of time driving off-road, there can be actual performance benefits to the configuration.
The origins of squatted trucks and SUVs can be traced back to Baja racers (more on those specific details down below). What you need to know is, by lowering the read of your vehicle and raising or keeping the front the same level, any contact with the ground is going to be made in the back, far away from your engine. This allows you to simply take the bump and hopefully keep moving forward, engine fully intact. Whether you plan on racing or simply hitting some bumpy trails, the squat setup can actually be quite beneficial. Out on the road, that may be another story. If you want to accomplish this, it’s important to have the right suspension setup along with your squat.
Racing History of Squatted Rides
Because of the benefits the setup has to offer, it became quite common to see Baja racers utilize the Carolina Squat on their vehicle. That’s why the setup is also known as the California Lean in some parts of the country. These racers would constantly be making contact with the ground, and it became important to keep the engine protected. Someone came up with the idea to lower the front end, tuning suspension so that the vehicle could hit the ground and keep on moving as best as possible. From there, the rest is history. Though the Carolina Squat sees much more action on the road than off, it’s important not to forget where it came from.
How to Squat Your Truck the Safe Way
With some states recently outlawing the practice of extreme squatting, it’s more important than ever to know the right way to go about things. First, find out if there are any regulations in place in your state that may affect your ability to squat a vehicle. From there, whether there are laws to follow or not, think about the smartest way to squat your truck. If you want our expert opinion, you’ll want to keep things subtle for better on-road performance, and opt for professional installation to ensure your safety.
If you lower the front end too much, you’ll be staring up into the sky as you’re behind the wheel of your truck. This can be dangerous for a number of obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. First, your visibility will be comprised. In addition to that, your headlights might be staring straight into the eyes of oncoming traffic. That is one dangerous combination. The height of your front bumper could also have safety ramifications for anyone you may be in an accident with. Be aware of all these things if you decide to drive a squatted truck or SUV.
The Verdict: Is It Worth It?
Is the Carolina Squat worth it? That all depends on what you’re after. If you love the look enough, only you can decide if the squat is worth it or not. After all, it’s your truck. As long as you’re not altering the vehicle to an extreme degree where you’re putting the safety of others at risk, who is anyone to stop you?
Those of you wondering about the configuration’s performance benefits: if you plan on spending a lot of time driving across bumpy off-road terrain, it may well be worth it for you. Just make sure you upgrade your suspension as well, and keep the time you’ll be spending on the road in consideration.
Overall, the Carolina Squat is not for everyone. However, we strongly believe that you shouldn’t let anyone shame you out of installing it. If you’re a fan, and nobody is getting hurt, that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Just make sure to set up your truck in a way that doesn’t compromise vehicle safety!
Two Brothers With a Dream, Building The Best Ultimate Rides
Ultimate Rides consists of two brothers who have been buying and selling custom vehicles for over ten years. Selling lifted trucks by day and writing these awesome reviews by night! They started their Ultimate Rides journey with a third brother Jake, who was a big part of building the business they have today. In 2016 Jake passed away and losing their brother was the hardest thing they ever had to deal with. Even though they had a tragic loss they plan to continue to set a new trend for the auto industry, keeping customers number one. Pushing the envelope on the lifted truck market, these guys love researching and learning about everything in the auto industry!
— Nick and Alex Bulanda, Founders of Ultimate Rides
