How to Tell If a Truck Has Leveling Kit

Lift kits will give your truck a noticeable height. Anyone can tell if a truck is lifted or not just by looking at them.

However, this is not the case with leveling kits. They’re smaller in size and won’t give you a noticeable increase in height. So, it’s hard to tell straight away if a truck has a leveling kit installed in it.

How to Tell If a Truck Has Leveling Kit

You won’t get a leveling kit installed in your truck with the factory setting. Truck manufacturers don’t include them for several reasons. However, if you’re looking forward to buying a used truck, you may wonder how to tell if truck has leveling kit installed in it or not.

In this article, we tried to show some easiest ways to tell if your truck has a leveling kit installed or not.

 Overview

With bare eyes it’s tough to tell a level truck apart from an unleveled truck. But if you read further along you will get to know a few easy techniques to differentiate them.

Apart from that we have discussed some initial information regarding both the level and the lift kit. So that even if your second hand truck do end up having a leveling kit, you can make the right call.

How to Tell if Truck Has Leveling Kit?

How to Tell if Truck Has Leveling Kit

To be honest, it can be a hassle to detect if your truck has a leveling kit installed or not. That is of course if you already have a truck with a leveling kit installed in it.

In that case, you can just place your new truck alongside the old one to compare the height. If your new truck’s front is lower than the old one then it’s obvious that no leveling kit is installed in it. Otherwise, if the height is the same then it’s installed.

While this is a fairly easy way to tell, there’s a catch. Leveling kits come in different sizes. It might occur that your old truck has a 3-inch leveling system, whereas your new one is equipped with a 2-inch kit.

The trouble here is, both the trucks have leveling kit installed in them but one is still a bit lower.

Well, there are two basic types of leveling kits. One uses a spacer on top of the strut/spring assembly, and the other uses a spacer at the bottom.

So, you just take a peek at the strut/spring assembly’s top and bottom where it attaches to the lower control arm. There you’ll see an extra piece of metal. It’s easy to spot if you’re familiar with leveling kits.

However, if you’re not familiar with it then just take a picture and show it to a professional.

Now then, let’s talk about an even easier way! If you’re buying a second-hand or modified truck then you can just ask the owner. However, if you’re buying a brand new one then it’s certain that your truck won’t have a leveling kit installed.

How to measure your truck for a leveling kit

 Do Leveling Kits Hurt Your Truck?

Your truck will not be harmed by a well-installed leveling system. Even if you’re planning to go off-roading or use a snowplow, a leveling kit can come in handy. However, in the long run, installing a leveling kit will reduce your truck’s gas mileage. Furthermore, it can wear out the suspension quickly and void any manufacturer’s warranties.

Every extra piece of equipment has its pros and cons. You have to analyze them and figure out if the cons outweigh the pros.

How Can I Tell How Much Lift My Truck has?

How Can I Tell How Much Lift My Truck has

If you’re buying a stock truck (unmodified truck) then you’ll see the lift height in the manual. However, what if any leveling or lift kit is installed and you don’t know how to properly measure the lift height?

It’s pretty simple actually!  Follow these simple steps and you’ll get the accurate lift measurement of your truck-

  1. First, you need to measure the distance between the frame and the axle of your truck.
  2. Then, take the same measurement of a stock truck of the same model.
  3. Lastly, subtract the stock truck’s measurement from your truck.
  4. Voila! Now you have the lift height measurement of your truck.

How to Tell if My f150 has Leveling Kit?

Leveling kits are used to level the front end of the truck with the rear end. However, the stock trucks don’t have them. All of the stock trucks have a slightly lower front end from the rear ends. The Ford f150 is not an exception.

This means that if your truck’s rear end is even with the front end, you have a leveling kit in your truck. So, how to take height measurements of the rear and the front of your vehicle?

Well, most of the trucks have a 2-inch drop at the front end compared to the rear end. So, you can just tell if it’s leveled or not by just looking.

But if you want to be precise then, you may simply measure the height of both the rear and front of a vehicle. Just take a measurement from the middle of the tire to the middle of the wheel fender. So, if both end’s height lifts are the same then your truck is leveled. Otherwise, it is not.

Now then, if you’re wondering, is the measurement procedure the same with other truck brands? Well, yes, most of the brands, including Ram, Silverado, Dodge have a 2-2.5” drop at the front end compared to the rear end.

How to Tell if My Truck has a Lift Kit?

Leveling kits won’t give you as much ground clearance as the lift kits do. To achieve that extra ground clearance, lifted trucks use longer shocks than stock shocks.

So, measuring your truck’s shocks can be a way to know if your truck is lifted or not. The stock shocks are meant to be 3 inches (7.6 cm) tall. But if your present shocks are 6 inches (15.2 cm) tall, you probably have 3 inches (7.6 cm) of lift.

How Do I Know if I Have a Suspension Lift or Body Lift?

How Do I Know if I Have a Suspension Lift or Body Lift

There is no change in the distance between the bottom of your car and the ground when you use a body lift. However, with a suspension lift, you can get some extra ground clearance. For example, you get 3 inches of ground clearance with a 3-inch suspension lift. It lifts the vehicle’s chassis (without the axle and differential or lower control arms).

How to Tell What Size Lift is on My F250?

One way to know the size of your lift kit is to see if you can track down the manufacturer and serial number. Then using the serial number, you can search online for the specs. Or, you can contact the shock manufacturer to know the lift size used in your F250.

If you can’t find the specs online then don’t worry, there are other ways to figure out the lift size. You can compare the length of the stock shocks on the car to the length of your existing shocks. Then subtract the stock shocks length from the lifted shocks. The remaining number will be your lift size. In order to get a more accurate reading, try removing the truck’s shocks.

However, removing the loads from your truck is of utmost importance while measuring the shocks. Otherwise, the shocks will sag and you won’t get a perfect measurement.

Most Asked Question

Is a leveling kit noticeable?

Yes, a leveling kit will be less visible. Choose a lift kit if you want an increased and noticeable height. But if you just want to level the front and make it proportionate with the rare’s height then go for leveling.

How much will a 2-inch leveling kit raise my truck?

A 2′′ body lift or leveling kit normally allows for a 3-4′′ tire increase, while a 3′′ body lift allows for up to 35′′ tires! With a tall suspension lift.

Is leveling your truck recommended?

The manufacturers suggest avoiding leveling because of the immense modification it needs to go through. These modification processes can reduce your truck’s original capacity. But leveling comes with it’s benefits too. A good kit will always come with some extra bonus.

Conclusion

When buying second-hand trucks, the consumers often ask how to tell if truck has leveling kit. You had a similar question, so that’s why you are here. It’s fairly easy to tell actually.

Most trucks have leveling kits fitted in them in the same way as in the others. But, due to the wide range of truck types, it can be difficult to detect if a leveling kit is installed. In this article we have clearly elaborated a few techniques for you to apply. This way you can easily figure out how to tell a leveled and an unleveled truck apart.