I'm a bit confused, besides not wanting to fork out money for a lift, why do people crank at all knowing that it will make the ride bad and wear front end parts dramatically faster? My truck came with a lift and the guy cranked it too, I had it uncranked to level the CVs and it still rides hard. I can't imagine what a high cranked truck is like
Simple, people are stupid. There's nothing wrong with cranking as long as it's with STOCK keys and within the STOCK limits. This means not cutting out the droop stops, adding lift keys, and cranking them to the sky. Also, when people crank, they sometimes forget that you also need shocks that travel farther, that's what creates a harsh ride as well as the upper a-arms resting on the droop stops. This is in addition to people being cheap and just being ignorant when it comes to this stuff.
My uncle for instance literally has a 4" lift using keys..... I have tried time and time again to tell him what he did is wrong but that doesn't help. I can explain and show him the facts about it but he always has some retarded answer to it. His CV shaft boots have EVERY rib touching and are at every bit of a 45 degree angle. His tie rods and ball joints are crying as well but do you think he listens? He's already had to replace one CV but had every excuse in the book why it broke, and it wasn't the lift....
Sorry for the rant, I just can't handle the stupidity.