Pickup trucks have been intricately intertwined with the American automotive culture since the early 1900s, when Henry Ford adopted the preliminary truck design used by the military during World War I. Ford is considered the first manufacturer to build the first bona fide pickup truck in America. Since then, people from all walks of life have found the pickup truck practical and enjoyable to drive.
In recent years, truck owners adopted the modification culture typically seen in sports cars. Truck mods, based on the owner’s preferences, add a sense of style and personality to the truck. New technologies and trends have opened the door to several possibilities regarding truck mods that can go in either a good or wrong direction.
While trucks possess massive tuning potential, from the engine to interior and exterior looks, mounting the wrong mods can affect your truck’s performance or make it a laughingstock. We’ve covered some of the sickest truck mods that improve the truck’s aesthetics and performance, but the ones we have here achieved none of that. Here are the worst truck mods we’ve ever seen.
10 Carolina Squat
Carolina squat is not only a weird truck mod; it’s also hazardous. It involves raising your truck’s front end and lowering the back at the same time in an attempt to replicate a race truck. Well, we hate to break it to you, but it just makes the truck looks like a squatting dog.
Surprisingly, the mod originated from California and not Carolina. It’s not a popular mod today as it was deemed illegal in some states – for a good reason. The mod obstructs the driver’s view besides affecting the truck’s performance. You also can’t carry any significant cargo on the squatted truck bed.
9 Rolling Coal
What started as a craze in the diesel truck community, rolling coal is simply rude and unpleasant—most attempts by truck owners to imitate the big-rig styling end up woefully wrong. Sticking out a modified five-inch diameter chrome pipe or exhaust that billows clouds of smoke isn’t cool.
Even by overlooking the environmental impact caused by rolling coal or smoke switches, the act itself is attention-seeking. The dense cloud of soot blinds other vehicles, not forgetting the jacked-up loud exhaust noise. If not worse, it looks like trailing a smokestack on the back of your pickup truck.
8 Extreme Wheels
Throwing some 22’s sure gives life to your truck by a few inches. But for some, a few inches isn’t enough. Instead, they end up fitting their trucks with super-sized wheels to match their super-sized personality. The otherwise attractive truck now looks like a monster truck set to survive some kind of post-apocalyptic epidemic.
To make it worse, some people go ahead to add chunky spokes and chrome rivets. The truth is, massive wheels rob your truck some horses and make it harder to pack in confined spaces.
7 Sagging Truck Nuts
It is true that manliness and big trucks go hand in hand. But it doesn’t imply that you display some plastic or metal nuts to the entire world, trying to prove your masculinity. Plain and simple, they make everyone uncomfortable around your truck. No one wants to see some swinging nuts on a truck. What do you even tell a nine-year-old kid?
Let’s face it, this has to be the worst mod in the history of the worst car accessories. How such a mod became popular on a truck is beyond our comprehension. It serves no practical purpose and is downright gross.
6 Tailgate Nets
Many who go for this mod have it that the net guarantees better airflow, thus helping in better fuel efficiency compared to the rigid tailgate. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it doesn’t. In fact, scientific tests reveal the opposite happens – more drag and turbulence.
The idea of truck nets and better fuel efficiency simply trumps the manufacturer’s aerodynamic studies. They also make accessing the truck bed harder. Besides increasing the bed’s capacity by a few cubic centimeters, you are better sticking with the truck’s stock tailgate.
5 Oversize Rear Mud Flaps
Mud flaps are popular on SUVs and trucks. They are essential as they help protect the truck from dirt, flying debris, and mud. However, the big aftermarket rear mud flaps can be rather useless as many modern trucks come fitted with better stock mudguards.
The traditional solid mud flaps are subjected to drag when the truck is in motion, resulting in decreased fuel efficiency. This is true for the bulky and oversized mudflaps that also throw off the truck’s aesthetics.
4 Racing Tires
Racing tires on a pickup truck? A dumb idea, to say the least. They are expensive and impractical. They are best suited on a performance race car, not one made for off-road and everyday driving. So, unless your truck is made to live on the track, you are better off with the stock ones.
Whether on tarmac or rough roads, the slick racing tires wear out faster than the standard ones. This incurs additional replacement costs within a few months.
3 Too Many LED Lights
From an automotive perspective, LED lights can equally be a blessing or a curse. They are suitable for off-road driving since they run longer than HID setups. But when overdone, the LED gift is transformed into an esthetic nightmare.
Mounting 10 LED lightbars or more turns your truck into a space moon lander – very obnoxious. First of all, we can see you. Then again, the lights are blinding other motorists. And to say colored LEDs are today’s neon underglow is an understatement. Truck owners are mounting the minuscule lights everywhere around the truck.
2 Big Noisy Exhaust Tips
While there are many aftermarket mods, this one is easy to spot, or do we rather say hear? There seems to be an unspoken rule regarding exhaust pipes; the bigger, the better. On the contrary, the loud mufflers make the owner look like a joker. What’s the point of fitting a dustbin lid-sized exhaust tip that doesn’t improve the truck’s performance?
Besides contributing to noise pollution, loud exhausts are head turners for the wrong reasons. Bystanders will chuckle at the sight of such mufflers. You’d rather save the money for a true exhaust system.
1 Giant Rims
Moderate aftermarket rims can add to your truck’s aesthetics and handling. However, giant rims will completely ruin your ride as well as handling. They also degrade the truck’s performance since more giant rims require additional power per wheel rotation. This results in a slower, unwieldy truck.
And no, you can’t go off-roading with less than four inches of the sidewall. Hitting potholes will result in rim bends. Generally, giant rims eliminate the rugged capability of trucks. Considering their costly price tags, it’s not a wise investment on a pickup.
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