Is It Safe To Tow With A Lifted Truck? Here’s What You Need To Know

When it comes to truck culture, the idea of bigger always being better is more of a mantra than a suggestion. An easy way to accomplish that is by adding a lift kit to your truck, raising the ride height and increasing off-road capability — in theory. Adding a lift kit also changes how your vehicle drives by affecting sight lines, weight distribution, and even towing.

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For truck owners, towing is typically one of the biggest reasons why they might decide to go with a half or full-ton pickup. Whether it’s to haul a big RV, or you’re planning on bringing your boat to the lake, trucks can tow it all. Trucks have a broad range of towing capacities; from the Ford Super Duty, which can tow up to 40,000 pounds when properly equipped; all the way to the Tesla Cybertruck, which can tow about 11,000 pounds.

However, the questions remain of whether or not trucks are capable of towing after you’ve installed a lift kit. The short answer is yes, but it’s not as simple as lifting your truck and then towing as usual. If they can, how much can they tow, and how can you make sure you’re towing properly?

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Before you decide to lift your truck, you’ll need to determine what type of lift you want to install. The two basic options for lift kits are a suspension lift and a body lift, which accomplish the same tasks, but in very different ways.

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Body lift kits are installed by lifting the body of the truck away from the frame, typically between two and five inches. With a body lift kit, you won’t have as much ground clearance compared to a truck with a suspension lift. A body lift kit will also typically be more affordable than a suspension lift, so if you need to complete a lift on a budget, a body kit is the way to go.

A suspension lift kit is a bit more complicated, lifting the entire vehicle including the frame. A suspension kit can raise your truck up to a foot, though it can lead to massive effects on how the vehicle handles.

If you’re planning on lifting your truck and towing, it’s recommended that you install a body lift kit over a suspension lift kit. This is due to trucks with body kits having a lower center of gravity and more composed handling than trucks with suspension lifts.

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In short, yes, you can tow after you’ve installed a lift kit on your truck. However, there are a few customizations you’ll want to make to your truck to ensure you’re towing safely. Adding a lift kit significantly changes your truck: The center of gravity is raised, steering and driveline angles are different, and you have to make sure your truck’s tow hook is the proper height for your trailer.

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Unfortunately, towing with a lifted truck can cause the rear of your truck to sag, putting more stress on the suspension. This can also cause the trailer to act unpredictably and can even be dangerous without adjustment. As such, it’s important to know how to properly load your trailer to limit the amount of the potential trailer sway.

There are a couple of ways you can limit the effect a lift kit has on towing, including adding a drop hitch or installing air suspension. Drop hitches, as the name implies, lower the truck’s tow hitch to a more appropriate height. Air suspensions are a bit more complicated, as they replace the back shocks. An air suspension system uses a compressor to pump air into rubber airbags. This will reduce instability when towing and may help limit some of the sagging that lifting your truck will cause.

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