40s NO Lift?! Fab Fours Open Fender System Says YES

History remembers the people who pushed back against the status quo, who challenged the traditional—not the people who played it safe. The folks over at Fab Fours have certainly made themselves known in the truck and off-road community since the company’s founding in 2005. They’ve done this by creating unique and visually striking exterior upgrades for trucks and sport utilities. And best of all, they design and build everything right here in the USA. What could be better than that?

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Fab Fours’ CEO Greg Higgs, and he was quick to admit that people either love their products, or they can’t stand them! There’s just something polarizing about Fab Fours’ catalog. But while, the loud and over-the-top styling of some of the company’s products may not appeal to everyone, that won’t stop Fab Fours from staying true to its vision for what the off-road community so desperately needs: something different.

Fortune Favors the Bold

Greg found inspiration for a new product, the Open Fender System, around 10 years ago on the off-road trails. There, he noticed several older model trucks with huge 38” or 40” tires on them, but no suspension or body lifts. The image of these trucks stuck with him, and the gears started turning in his head.

He fell in love with the scaling of the larger tires compared with the size of the truck. He could immediately see how usable the truck would be, how much lower the center of gravity would be (which, by the way, is ALWAYS a good thing). But he knew that these were custom-built trucks that had cost the owners a TON of money to complete.

One question rang out in his head, could they find a way to make 40” tires with no lift possible for the masses?

Popular culture dictates that lift kits are “cool.” So, naturally, that’s the first thing many people want to do to their new trucks. Greg told me he and his crew discovered that a new Ford Super Duty needed 8 inches of lift to clear a 40” tire with no rubbing! That’s a LOT of lift just to clear the tires. And with that lift comes a number of challenges and compromises.

Lifted trucks can be tough to get in and out of, especially for vertically challenged folks like yours truly. Lift your truck high enough and you might make it tough to see into your bed, let alone climb up into it. If you tow trailers regularly, you’ll probably find yourself in the market for an expensive drop hitch which will allow you to connect a trailer. And you can forget about hooking up a fifth wheel! That’s not to say that these things can’t be done with lifted trucks, but they surely become more difficult.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Once Greg had found his inspiration for a new product, he assigned it a simple tagline: “40’s no lift.”

This isn’t to say that this had never been done before. It certainly had been done by people with enough motivation (read: money) and were willing to pay a body shop tens of thousands of dollars to custom build a truck to their own specifications. Never before though, had a company sought to create a commercially viable kit. Greg now admits that he knows why: “It was terrible!”

Fab Fours invested a small fortune into the R&D of its first Open Fender System. So how did the staff start this process? Did they use state of the art programs, augmented reality, or some new sort of sorcery (read: technology) to run simulations on how to fit 40” tires on a truck with no lift? Nope. Fab Fours bought a brand-new HD truck, took some 3D scans of it and used CAD software to determine which areas of sheet metal would need to be removed to clear the tires. Then they simply started cutting.

Let me repeat that. They started cutting! This wasn’t some old “rusty but trusty” pickup they were cutting into. No—this was a brand-new $80k HD pickup. But they decided to go this route because of one simple truth: CAD is a fantastic tool. But, sometimes, experience is the best teacher.

CAD programs can’t always predict exactly how wheels will move inside the fender when backing a heavy trailer uphill into a driveway, or under heavy braking, or any scenario in between. So, the engineers would CAD their best thoughts, cut the truck, and test. Then if more cutting was needed, they would take more 3D scans and repeat the process.

No Lift, No Suspension Mods

The most impressive part about this system might be the fact that zero suspension modifications are required. You’re not cutting, welding, or replacing any suspension components to run those big tires. Why is this important? Because, it means that your truck will ride just as smoothly after installing the Fab Fours Open Fender Kit as it did before.

Aftermarket lift kits tend to suffer from the “cookie cutter” effect. Take the new Super Duty for example. Care to venture a guess on how many different spring rates are available for that truck in the Ford Catalog? Did you guess over 20? 30? Well you would be wrong. Because there are FORTY different spring rates available! Now, look up a lift kit for the truck. How many different spring rates do you think aftermarket companies like Fabtech sell? ONE.

Think about all of the money the OEMs pour into R&D for the suspensions on their trucks. Think about the amount of effort they pour into making a truck comfortable to ride in—while still being able to haul a trailer or a bed full of materials. Now imagine being able to retain that comfortable ride AND fit those huge tires under the truck. That right there is what makes this kit so special.

Repetition

The next challenge for Fab Fours was figuring out how to make the kit into a commercially viable product. Because, making a kit which allows customers to run 40” tires with no lift is one thing. But refining the whole package into something that a body shop can install in the shortest amount of time possible? That’s some advanced level thinking. Shorter install times mean lower labor costs for the customer—a win-win.

A number of ideas and methods were tested before the team settled on vinyl cutting templates. These templates were designed in CAD, then printed to scale. Each piece of vinyl will only fit in one location, guiding the installer on exactly where to cut and where to drill. These templates are really something to behold—so elegant and simple that they make a seemingly daunting install seem far less intimidating.

Additionally, each Fab Fours Open Fender kit comes with a 200-page printed install manual. Yes, you read that right, 200 pages! It goes without saying that the manual is extremely thorough. But it’s also written for anybody who is working at a body shop; from seasoned pros to 19-year-old tech school grads. Plus, the printed manual is backed up by 5+ hours of online installation videos! Fab Fours takes great pride in its products, but the company’s installation support really shines. If there were awards for install manuals and videos, you can bet that Fab Fours would win it year after year!

Positive Feedback

I asked Greg if he had gotten any feedback from customers on how they liked their Fab Fours Open Fender systems. He told me a story from a few years back on one of his own personal trucks which has the kit installed. He took the truck into his local dealer for service, and after the work was done the technician found Greg, introduced himself, and they started talking about the modifications on the truck. The tech was specifically interested in the Open Fender system, and was really impressed with the fit and finish of the end product. Greg talked him through the whole kit and gave him a Fab Fours’ catalog.

A few months later he heard from that tech again. The guy had done his research, watched all the install videos and a Fab Fours Open Fender kit for his own truck. Then he spent two full weeks laying underneath his truck and installing the kit in his own driveway without ever taking the stock wheels and tires off! This is already a challenging install, but leaving the tires on through the whole thing? That’s a really tall order!

Now, Fab Fours is quick to point out that this kit is not meant to be a DIY install. But this story proves that it can be done. With a lot of prep work and education, some elbow grease and determination, you too could rock “40’s no lift” on your truck!