Every fall the same conversation happens at our counter: a hunter with a stock half-ton wants to know what to do to the truck before deer season. Sometimes the honest answer is “just tires.” Sometimes it is a modest lift, a bed cover and some protection on the lower body panels. What it almost never is, is a 6-inch lift on 37s. This guide walks through a deer season truck setup for Missouri the way we would spec it for a customer who drives to a lease in Franklin County on Friday and back to work in Chesterfield on Monday.

Where St. Louis Hunters Actually Drive

Before spending anything, be honest about the terrain. Most St. Louis-area hunters are driving one of four kinds of ground: private leases and family farms in Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Warren or Washington County; Missouri Department of Conservation areas with gravel lots and maintained access roads; Mark Twain National Forest tracts a couple hours south with rutted forest roads; or Missouri and Mississippi River bottom ground that turns to gumbo the moment it rains.

Those are very different problems. A conservation-area parking lot is a stock-truck job. A clay two-track after a wet October week needs tread, ground clearance and a little patience. What none of them need is a monster truck, and the trade-off for every inch of lift is felt every single day on I-44 and Highway 40 in the form of fuel economy, ride quality and wear.

Lift or Level: How Much Height You Really Need

Ground clearance on a modern half-ton is usually 8 to 10 inches from the factory, and the limiting factor on a lease road is rarely the frame. It is the front air dam, the running boards and the rear differential. A 2-inch leveling kit lifts the nose to match the rear, opens up room for a slightly larger tire and costs a fraction of a full lift. For the majority of hunters we talk to, that is the right answer. We broke down the differences in leveling kit vs. lift kit if you want the long version.

When a real lift makes sense

A 3- to 4-inch suspension lift earns its keep if you regularly cross deep ruts, run a heavy camper shell or bed load, or want to clear a 33- or 35-inch tire for extra sidewall on rocks. Beyond that, you are into re-geared axles, driveline angles and a truck that is harder to load a deer into. See our guide on what size lift kit your truck actually needs and the full lift kit service page.

Missouri's bumper height limits still apply

Missouri regulates maximum bumper height by vehicle weight class, and a lifted truck with an out-of-spec bumper can fail inspection or draw a ticket on the way to camp. We covered the specifics in Missouri lift laws. Whatever height you pick, budget for an alignment afterward; a lifted truck with a bad alignment eats a set of all-terrains in a season.

Tires: The Part That Matters Most

If you change one thing on a hunting truck, change the tires. The highway tires that come on most new trucks have shallow, tightly packed tread that fills with clay and turns into a slick within fifty feet. An all-terrain tire clears mud better, has a stronger sidewall for rocks and stubs, and on a modern design still rides and wears acceptably on pavement.

Size, load rating and what fits

On a leveled half-ton, a 33-inch tire (roughly 285/70R17 or 275/60R20) generally fits without rubbing or major trimming. Go to 35s and you are usually into a real lift plus fender work. Pay attention to load range too: a bed full of stands, a cooler, gear and a deer is a few hundred pounds, and a light-duty passenger-rated tire will feel soft and wander. Our tire fitment guide by lift height covers the exact combinations, and you can see options on the custom wheels and tires page.

Siping and cold mornings

A detail that gets overlooked: opening morning in November is often 25 to 35 degrees with frost on the grass and wet leaves on the road. Tread that is siped (small slits across the blocks) grips better in those conditions than a plain aggressive lug, which is why a quality all-terrain often beats a mud-terrain on the drive in. If your current tires are getting low, our fall tire replacement guide explains how to check tread depth before the rain starts.

Tonneau Cover: Keeping Gear Dry and Out of Sight

A bed cover does three things for a hunter: keeps rain and frost off stands, packs and clothing; hides gear in a conservation-area lot or a hotel parking lot; and lets you leave the truck loaded all week instead of hauling everything in and out. The question is which style, and the answer depends on whether you plan to haul a deer in the bed.

For most hunters, a hard folding cover is the sweet spot: it seals well against sideways rain, locks with the tailgate, and folds fully forward so you can slide a deer or a ladder stand in. A soft roll-up is the budget answer and works fine with a bed mat underneath. Our full tonneau cover comparison goes deeper, and we listed typical price ranges in how much a tonneau cover costs in St. Louis. Browse styles on the tonneau cover page.

Protecting Paint and Glass From Brush and Gravel

Lease roads are hard on a truck in ways that pavement is not. Cedar and hedge limbs drag down the doors. Gravel thrown by the front tires sandblasts the rocker panels and the leading edge of the rear fenders. Bed sides get scratched loading gear. None of it hurts the truck's function, but it hurts resale, and it is cheaper to prevent than to repaint.

Two things help. XPEL paint protection film on the rocker panels, lower doors and the rear-wheel-arch area takes the brush and gravel hits without marking the paint, and it can be removed later. A Ceramic Pro coating over the whole truck does not stop scratches, but it makes mud, clay and road grime release with a pressure washer instead of hours of scrubbing, which matters when you are washing a truck every Sunday night from October through January. We compared the two in ceramic coating vs. paint protection film.

One more: if you hunt with a dog, a good ceramic window tint keeps the cab noticeably cooler on the warm October afternoons we still get, and it hides whatever is on the back seat.

Timing: Get It Done Before Firearms Season

Archery season in Missouri opens in mid-September and the November firearms portion opens in mid-November (check the Missouri Department of Conservation for this year's exact dates). That gives you a window right now, and it closes fast. Tires and wheels sometimes need to be ordered. A lift or leveling kit needs an alignment afterward and ideally a few hundred miles of driving before you find out something rubs at full lock on a rutted road. Tonneau covers for popular trucks are usually in stock, but specialty fitments can take a week or two.

Our advice is to have the suspension and tire work done by late October so the truck is sorted and re-torqued before the busiest hunting weekends. If you are also doing coating or film, that work needs a clean, dry truck and a day or two in the shop, so schedule it before the mud season, not during. For a broader checklist, see fall truck prep in St. Louis.

A Realistic Budget for the Whole Setup

Prices depend heavily on the truck, the parts and what is already on it, so treat these as ballpark ranges and get a real quote. Around St. Louis, a leveling kit installed with alignment typically lands in the low hundreds to a little over a thousand dollars. A 3- to 4-inch suspension lift installed runs into the low-to-mid thousands, with premium kits above that. A set of four quality all-terrain tires in a 33-inch size is roughly $900 to $1,800 mounted and balanced, more if you add wheels. A hard folding tonneau cover is usually $700 to $1,500 installed; soft roll-ups start lower. Partial paint protection film on rockers and lower doors is a few hundred to around a thousand depending on coverage, and a ceramic coating package runs from several hundred into the low thousands based on prep and package level.

Put differently: tires plus a leveling kit plus a folding cover is a very capable, very livable hunting truck for a fraction of what a big lift costs, and it will still be pleasant to drive to the office in March. We went through wheel and tire pricing in more detail in how much custom wheels and tires cost in St. Louis.

Frequently Asked Questions