Too risky? NC closer to ban on popular ‘Carolina Squat’ car lifts, modifications

A bill making its way through the North Carolina Senate could ban truck and SUV owners from following a popular vehicle modification trend called the “Carolina Squat.”

The modification installs a suspension lift in the front part of a truck or SUV, while the rear is either untouched or lowered, Austin Carrigan, head of sales for Carolina Custom, told the Charlotte Observer.

If made law, the bill would prohibit passenger vehicles from being “modified or altered by elevating the automobile more than three inches from the manufacturer’s specified height in the front.” House Bill 692 would similarly prohibit “lowering the automobile more than two inches from the manufacturer’s specified height in the rear.”

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed the bill on May 6, while the Senate passed the first reading of bill on May 10. If the Senate passes the bill, the ban would become effective on Dec. 1.

“Extreme lifts can cause all sorts of safety concerns,” Brenden Jones, a Columbus County Republican who sponsored the bill, told the News and Observer in May.

Certain lifts are already illegal, and Jones said the bill would “tweak” those rules to focus more on angled lifts in particular.

“As long as people have had their lifts done properly and evenly, they shouldn’t get pulled over even if this change does become law,” he said.

Problems with squatting a vehicle

Carolina Custom doesn’t offer this particular modification because of safety and liability concerns, Carrigan said. If a customer comes to their shop with their own parts then they’ll install them, but he said the individual would need to sign a waiver of liability form.

“Squatting a truck can put more wear and tear on the front [of the vehicle], considering it’s completely two different articulations,” Carrigan said. “The front is under a lot more stress than the rear because the rear is holding a lot more weight. I mean it just puts everything in a bind.”

This vehicle’s fuel gauge could also be affected because the fuel tank won’t read the same if a truck or SUV is squatted, Carrigan said.

“All your fuel is in the back of your tank, so your gauge isn’t going to be accurate,” he said.

Driving could be challenging for people in squatted vehicles because the high lift could make it difficult for them to see other drivers in front of them, curbs and pedestrians, Carrigan said.

Dangerously angled headlights and vehicles falling apart as they’re driven are also major concerns, said Jones, who owns a used car dealership in Tabor City.

“I’ve seen several instances where the wheels have literally run off these vehicles,” he said.

Got a lift kit? Squatted truck? You could get ticketed if this NC bill becomes law

‘It was different’

Back in the day, “everyone liked lowered stuff and wanted to have low riders,” Carrigan said. A couple years later, he said people wanted lifted vehicles with big tires.

“I guess everyone comes up with their new ways to start new trends and squatting is just one of them,” Carrigan said. “Someone came up with the idea, someone liked the look of it and everybody else started following their lead.”

Demario Page Jr., a member of a car club called the HeavyRollerz, said he got into squatting because he grew up around high gloss and brightly colored “candy painted” vehicles playing loud music and sitting on 24 inch rims. As an adult, he began lifting his vehicles because it “caught peoples’ eyes and it was different,” he said.

Conflicting thoughts on the ban

Although Page Jr. lives in Richmond, Virginia, he’s been keeping up with the possible ban in North Carolina and he said there’s “no way squatting is unsafe.” Depending on how lifted the front is, he said “it’s the same as a truck hauling a trailer.”

“If it was unsafe to the point where you couldn’t see then a lot of people wouldn’t do it,” Page Jr. said. “Some people just do it for shows and everything, but people just want to be mad about it because they don’t like it.”

Page Jr. said he doesn’t understand why some are so angry about people lifting their vehicles if they aren’t paying for or being negatively affected by it. He said there’s a point when a lift is too high and exhaust is too loud, but “everybody likes what they like” and he doesn’t think they should be punished for their hobby.

Carrigan said squatting is “completely pointless and stupid” and should be banned.

“If you’re gonna lift a vehicle, lift it the right way,” he said. “If not, leave it how it is.”

While he supports the ban, Carrigan said he understands why enthusiasts like Page Jr. would be upset about it because it would prevent them from being able to modify their vehicles they way they want.

“It’s not necessarily that they’re doing anything wrong,” he said. “It’s what they like and the look they want, but at a certain point, enough is enough. You can’t go crazy with it.”