What Is a Ford Highboy? Plus, More Ford 4×4 Truck History

When you delve into the history of Ford 4x4s, you will bump into sure terms that is not going to make much perception at to start with. Conditions like highboy, dentside, and bumpside muddy the waters of what individuals are conversing about, but with some rationalization, delineations in between distinct calendar year models, out there offers, weight ratings, suspension, and extra, will start out to make perception.

Formally, bumpsides are 1967-1972 Ford vans, because these vehicles function a literal “bump”—a curved protrusion that runs down the aspect of the truck from the front fender to the finish of the mattress. A dentside is a 1973-1979 Ford truck with a concave “dent” jogging down the facet of the truck—essentially the inverse of the bumpside system characteristic.

The meaning of “highboy,” when it arrives to the Ford Truck line, is a bit far more difficult. That phrase has an unofficial history of use in reference to the initial 4-wheel-generate vehicles, and is not always used for Fords alone. The to start with 4x4s were aftermarket conversions of two-wheel-travel vehicles. These trucks frequently had a divorced transfer scenario that manufactured a taller stance obligatory. Later the expression commenced to be utilised to refer to pre-1977 ½ Ford F-250 trucks (1967-1977 ½) with 4WD and a divorced transfer situation.