Are aftermarket winch, hilift mount, limb riser, tall antenna etc. street-legit? (1 Viewer)

[newbielx470]

Hi All,

I'm planning for long road trips and thinking about adding aftermarket parts like many of us. I'm wondering if most offroading specific aftermarket parts e.g. front bumper (esp. with bull bar), winch hook, hilift mount, tall antenna for comm, limb risers, anything that protrudes or adds to the truck's original frontal shape, are all:
1. Perfectly OK in continental US states and won't be pulled over by highway patrol? ("Street legal" may be too strong of a phrase here. "OK" like driving-1-mph-to-follow-the-flow-of-traffic OK ).
2. Ok from liability insurance policy's point of view? (I don't count on comprehensive coverage of the aftermarket parts. Just the liability coverage. Can insurance company argue that some sharp edge caused additional damage?)

Would you please share your experience if you ever got into trouble in these and how it was dealt with?
Thanks!

 

[suprarx7nut]

Hi All,

I'm planning for long road trips and thinking about adding aftermarket parts like many of us. I'm wondering if most offroading specific aftermarket parts e.g. front bumper (esp. with bull bar), winch hook, hilift mount, tall antenna for comm, limb risers, anything that protrudes or adds to the truck's original frontal shape, are all:
1. Perfectly OK in continental US states and won't be pulled over by highway patrol? ("Street legal" may be too strong of a phrase here. "OK" like driving-1-mph-to-follow-the-flow-of-traffic OK ).
2. Ok from liability insurance policy's point of view? (I don't count on comprehensive coverage of the aftermarket parts. Just the liability coverage. Can insurance company argue that some sharp edge caused additional damage?)

Would you please share your experience if you ever got into trouble in these and how it was dealt with?
Thanks!

I have never heard of someone in the US being bothered for bumpers or aftermarket goodies. I'm sure at some point someone in a civil suit has made a case against that, but anyone can attempt to sue anyone for anything. Doesn't mean much.

I've never heard of law enforcement attempting to apply any sort of fine against that sort of thing, nor have I heard of insurance pointing to armor as a reason to not cover or payout. To the contrary, you can find many threads on here of people that had armor, got in an accident and insurance paid out - even further, in many cases insurance covers the armor itself and pays out or replaces it.

Too lazy to search for it now, but I recall there being formal legislation (at a federal level, I believe) that aftermarket bumpers were ok, even if they invalidated some safety intentions from the manufacturer. This was largely due to the high number of work vehicles that are fitted with steel bumpers for ranch, industrial, oil and gas work, etc...

 

[AlpineAccess]

Mostly what I've seen is issues with bumper height clearances related to being too far from the ground before there is a bumper surface for registering an impact.

 

[Ayune]

Just keep your front license plate mounted and you should be ok. Many places are sticklers for that.

 

[thebeedeegee]

Only thing I can think of is I've heard some states have a limit on how high your headlights can be. So if you get a huge lift that could be a issue.

Bumpers and stuff should be fine as long as you have lights and signals.

 

[newbielx470]

Thanks all for the great info and peace of mind

 

[Lonegrasshopper]

Shouldn't be an issue, but I personally would disconnect the limb risers until you are on a trail.

 

[JOSHD]

Also, if you travel by Ferry service, they limit the amount of gasoline you can carry onboard in an external can. In Texas, that is 6 gallons.

 

[Zjohnsonua]

You may see some posts from others in other countries, namely Australia. When I lived there, their regs required that vehicle modifications have to pass crash tests.

 

[Live to Ski]

Cal has a history of non-carb gas can citations.

 

[newbielx470]

Shouldn't be an issue, but I personally would disconnect the limb risers until you are on a trail.

Those limb risers probably creates the sharpest edges on a moving truck

 

[Exiled]

I think if modifications are moderate, you're not going to get into any issues, LEO are a lot more likely to focus on big jacked up trucks, giant pipes, etc... I've had a hi-lift jack externally mounted (on a custom bumper), a snorkel, antennas, and bullbar-mounted winch and extra lights on two separate trucks for 25+ years and I've never been stopped or even had questions asked about any of them. I tried limb-risers for a while with no issues. Drive on and enjoy your trip, and share pictures!

 

[Lonegrasshopper]

Those limb risers probably creates the sharpest edges on a moving truck

Yes, limb risers could potentially be limb removers in certain scenarios.

 

[nakman]

Your non-DOT roof rack light bar is illegal, though in my experience rarely the reason for being harrassed... however the potential is there. The solution there is cover it with dark black plastic, or behind a fairing.

Your big tires can be an issue, in Utah in particular I believe the tires can't stick out past your fender flares. Probably not an issue unless you go with some aftermarket rims with no backspacing. And again usually not the sole reason you're being pulled over, but could be.

The other big one I'd point out is just the GVW of the vehicle, and not exceeding that. Just consider if there was an accident, and all your gear is yard saled all over the side of the highway... accident investigation will gather it up and weigh it, and if your weight is in excess of the vehicle rating that'll be worse than if it wasn't. Always keep the weight low, and low.

 

[newbielx470]

Drive on and enjoy your trip, and share pictures!

Thanks! Will do as long as my family OKs my plan ! Just watched on Youtube that Doug Demuro is also planning a road trip from Cali to MA in his new Land Rover Defender . Maybe we'll see who gets there first

 

[Tanner H]

Its a Land Rover so theres a chance he might not even make it to his destination.

 

[newbielx470]

Its a Land Rover so theres a chance he might not even make it to his destination.

Hopefully Doug has much better luck than TFL channel whose new & problematic Defender got them a few million views

 

[Whiskerz]

Cal has a history of non-carb gas can citations.

What is the penalty for this ? I was thinking of going to KOH with my son and throwing the gas can on the back.

 

[KraziAzn]

We live in Cali, I wouldn't be surprised if everything you listed is illegal. LOL.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Fewer federal issues and more state and local issues from what I've heard over the years.

As mentioned, things like bumper height, tire size, tire coverage (flares/flaps), lights and exhaust issues are most common in the places that have ordinances and enforce them.