Get Lifted! Checking Out a Pickup Truck Meet
Get Lifted! Checking Out a Pickup Truck Meet
by Randy Stern
If you think about it, enthusiasm is enthusiasm.
Here lies the problem. Automotive enthusiasts are seen through a narrow lens. They could be owners of cars that are desirable, thus are cared for right down to the minute detail. They could also be owners of modified machines charged to expand the performance envelope of their rides.
Yet, they ave plenty in common – pride. Their pride runs deep to defend the brand or kind of car they own – brand chauvinism, if you will. Their rides could be seen, but they also need to be driven. Pride is also shared with like-minded people in which the common vision for their vehicles is the rallying point for creating a club, group, or online forum centering on their beloved car or genre.
These ideals are not just reserved for cars. Truck owners and enthusiasts also share the same kind of love for their rides equal to their car counterparts.
Meet Lifted Trucks Minnesota. This is a group of enthusiasts that rally around the pride in pickup truck ownership onto a level of enthusiasm seen in most car clubs.
Unlike most car clubs in Minnesota, LTM is not completely focused on the Twin Cities. The group’s admins hail from Duluth and its membership is stretched across all of Minnesota – well over 2,000 strong on one of their social media channels alone.
As the name states, the core of this group have gone onto modifying their trucks. Take a full-sized pickup – half-ton or heavy duty – and use it as a canvas towards crafting the ultimate truck. In this case, it would mean lifting the suspension, installing bigger wheels shod with strong off-road tires, work on suspension components for a better ride – and that is just a start. Some have gone on to modify their engines – both gas and diesel – with performance enhancements towards phenomenal results, do transmission swaps, exhaust modifications and so forth. Let’s forget about the visual modifications – from LED headlamps to body protection to window decals representing the club.
Though these trucks are the visual focus of their enthusiasm, not all of LTM’s members have gone onto modify their rides. Though there were a lot of admiration for the ones that had more extensive work done to their rigs. Just like regular ol’ cars, trucks are a canvas for the enthusiast to create a special ride that is both exciting to look at and highly functional for the kind of driving they do.
There were plenty of “stock” trucks that showed up at the meet I attended 22 miles north west of downtown Minneapolis on the western edge of the city of Maple Grove. Not just four-wheel drive ones – two-wheel drives, even a few compact/mid-sized pickups. There were even a few SUVs and Subarus in the mix at the meet.
Before anyone dismisses the group because they celebrate the pickup truck or anything about the membership in the club – consider that they are indeed an integral part of the carmmunity in Minnesota. As a result, the admins stated that they are working with several local clubs on events through the spring and summer. These clubs include MN Nissan Infiniti, MNBMWs and MN Exotics & Supercars.
The point of these collaborations is simple: We all love our rides and want to celebrate them with others who share their enthusiasm. Any judgment is thrown out the window. This is what true carmmunity is all about. Minnesota has one of the best carmmunities in the country – as diverse, robust, active and collaborative as they should be.
For a “warm” January Saturday, 187 trucks showed up at Mama G’s in Maple Grove. No incidents were reported. It was fun, full of great people to talk to and the admins of LTM were welcoming of this schlub of an auto journo/writer from The Cities. This again proves how deep enthusiasm is for the truck as an integral part of the carmmunity.
