HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A bill making its way through the South Carolina Legislature could lead to so-called Carolina Squat trucks being prohibited on roads across the state.
The trucks are obvious because of a signature modification: the front end of the vehicle is raised higher than the back, a change that some lawmakers say can cause vision problems for the driver.
Lyle Roberts, service manager at C&G Auto and Truck in Myrtle Beach, agreed.
“I’m 6-foot-5, and I can’t lean far enough forward to see a car length in front of me,” Roberts said. “You got a car length and a half of air space that you wouldn’t have with a normal level or factory-ranked vehicle.”
At Roberts’ shop, the team does not work on squatted trucks. Because of the angles, the insides of the car wear down a lot faster.
“It throws off all of the angles and the front suspension, which causes stuff to wear more,” Roberts said. “We don’t work on them because once you get outside of the factory angles, you really start to wear parts, and it would just be us throwing money.”
All of that does not matter to some drivers like Connor Harvey of Horry County, who just bought his squat truck a couple of weeks ago. He said he got his truck for good reason.
“It brings more attention,” he said.
He said he can see out of the vehicle perfectly fine, and there is no reason to take the trucks off the road.
“I think that most people are mad about that our trucks look better than their cars,” Harvey said.
He feels targeted by the new legislation and thinks there are other things the government should be working to crack down on instead of his truck.
“We’re not doing nothing to nobody,” Harvey said. “It’s literally just a truck.”
The fine for first-time offenders would be $100. The bill is currently still making its way through the Legislature.
