Road Legal?

[dannyboy3141]

I am pretty new to all this. I have been looking into modifications for my truck as of late. I have been tossing up the idea of either a 4 link rear end or a custom fabricated cantilever rear end. What I want to know is what you guys would suggest between the two (the ups and downs of either one) and if they are road legal. Primarily in Virginia and in Pennsylvania. I don't want to know if "the cops wont notice." I want to know if it is legal or not. I don't expect people to know. But I don't want to hear "the cops won't be able to tell."

So anyway, what would you go with, why, and is it legal?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I don't know. Get in contact with the DOT.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[4x4junkie]

I'm not aware of any laws in California's books that say a particular suspension modification is illegal (though there are restrictions on lift height). Mostly it's common sense (I suspect a cop could still condemn your vehicle if you had, say, triple-stacked blocks and/or a two-foot-long cut & welded pitman arm).

Best is like AlwaysFloored said, look up the regs for your own state and see if there's anything in there that can be interpreted as saying what you want to do is illegal.

Good luck on it.

 

[dannyboy3141]

Which of the two, assuming they're both legal, would you guys go with?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Which of the two, assuming they're both legal, would you guys go with?

What do you want to do with your truck after the mods?

I don't have a good understanding of the pros and cons, but hope others will comment so I can learn too.

 

[dannyboy3141]

I'm looking for some rat rod style suspension. The truck is going to be lower than stock. It's not going to be an offroader per say, but I do intend to be able to race the curvaceous dirt roads of PA. I want good stability and a decent amount of travel. I can fabricate reasonably well and have help in that if I need it. But that's the goal of the suspension upgrade. It does need to be road legal, though

 

[dannyboy3141]

These are the two types of suspension I have thought about, but if anyone else has any suggestions for me, fire away. I'm open to ideas.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

You have a '92 ranger? 2wd or 4x4? In my experience building my race truck I would not go with a ttb or tib front suspension again. They are great for absorbing jumps and bumps in a straight line but aren't so good in the curves. And then lowering makes it even more difficult to get travel. I would look at how people that are doing rallies [on gravel roads] are building suspensions. I would suspect you won't need or want large travel numbers, just look at some of the cars doing rallies. There are a few trucks doing rallies but I don't have any links. I'm sure there was some fords built back in the day too that someone has a build page. My own truck was built on the VERY cheap for short course offroad and has no major fabrication like you are talking. Still into it for ~C$7,000.00.

 

[cammeddrz]

I don't know. Get in contact with the DOT.

Contrary to alwaysfloored

Here in Utah DOT is 100% irrelevant to non-commercial vehicular laws. It is regulated by highway patrol.

Over the years various 4wd magazines list lift/mudflap etc laws state-by-state. And who regulates them. Almost every single state as i recall is regulated by highway patrol

Yes the DOT makes nationwide regulations, but they're not the ones who regulate the laws

Just like the EPA passes nationwide regulations for cars and their emissions, but they don't regulate the laws at the state level either. And you wouldn't "get in touch with the EPA" to find out your individual states emissions laws.

 

[adsm08]

In PA you don't need to worry about cops and/or their noticing anything. All you need to worry about for "legal" is will it pass inspection.

A well built 4-link will be perfectly legal so long as it has springs, shocks, and the rear end is securely secured in the vehicle.

I am not terribly familiar with cantilever suspensions, however the same applies. If it is well done it shouldn't cause you any issues with legality.

 

[dannyboy3141]

Thank you guys so far. I am still open to any more ideas anyone would have other than 4 link or cantilever. And thank you, alwaysFlOoReD, but I am keeping the tib in my truck and working with them. It's the rear I am asking about. I know what I have planned for the front. And thank you, adsm08, for the information. I think I will still get in touch with the DOT up there because I have heard that there are many states in which 4 link is not legal and will not pass inspection because of this.

 

[adsm08]

PA is kinda weird about modified stuff. If you really want to do it to the letter of PA's law after you install your 4-link you should go through an enhanced inspection, which is needed to get a sticker after getting an R title, a specially constructed vehicle title, or doing major changes to the suspension or body (like converting from a truck bed to a flat bed). With a 4-link as long as it is done well and your scrub line is in spec you should be good. The scrub line is going to be of more concern on the cantilever setup.

And even the state doesn't know all the rules. Our inspection QAO at my last shop told me a story about one of his shops screwing up big. It was a PENNDOT owned shop that took care of road service vehicles. The state bought a bunch of pickups, sent them to get flat beds, and this state-owned shop stickered them without ever sending them for ESI because even they didn't know.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Contrary to alwaysfloored

Here in Utah DOT is 100% irrelevant to non-commercial vehicular laws. It is regulated by highway patrol.

Over the years various 4wd magazines list lift/mudflap etc laws state-by-state. And who regulates them. Almost every single state as i recall is regulated by highway patrol

Yes the DOT makes nationwide regulations, but they're not the ones who regulate the laws

Just like the EPA passes nationwide regulations for cars and their emissions, but they don't regulate the laws at the state level either. And you wouldn't "get in touch with the EPA" to find out your individual states emissions laws.

Thanks for the clarification. I'm definately not that knowledgeable about laws in general. Up here I believe we have a more unified federal approach for commercial vehicles, but provincial laws are different and depend on your attitude. Perhaps my advice was too generic. But if you are going by the letter of the law then starting with the DOT makes sense to me. Then the next step would be to contact the state level. Here in Alberta I'm not sure what rules would apply and I probably would build it and run it without asking. But I can also see why an inspection would be prudent, especially for insurance coverage purposes. Some people should not be allowed near a welder.

 

[adsm08]

In the US FEDDOT sets rules for what cars can have or have to have (seatbelts, air bags, engines, tires, things that were considered luxury options 20 years ago). The states determine what is and isn't legal in a given state, but some things are determined at the federal level. For example FEDDOT and NHTSA have not approved any HID conversion kit for a vehicle that had halogen bulbs. PA does allow certain conversions that meet certain criteria (only white light and a remote mount ballast). If I put a HID kit on my truck it would be "street legal" in PA and I could legally drive it on my road that is maintained by the township. However I live right next to US15 and not far from Interstates 81 and 83. Those are federal roads that are maintained by individual states with money given to them by the feds. Since FEDDOT and NTHSA have not approved this hypothetical HID kit it would be illegal for me to drive that truck on those roads.


For the PA side of things I wouldn't call PENDOT directly. Most of those guys are idiots. I would find the phone number of an inspection QAO (Quality Assurance Officer). These are the guys that make sure the inspection stations are doing their jobs correctly. They work for the state police, and they will have definite answers, or they will find them for you. They are kind of like Maryland's inspection referees.