One of the biggest disadvantages of the triangulated 4 bar systems is space requirements. With a parallel 4 bar, the two sets of rods for each side of the vehicle are like one unit, held together with mounts at both ends, so it's very simple to install. The triangulated 4 bar system has four individual bars, so it's up to the installer as to where to place them. The difficulty with mini-trucks comes with the stock fuel tank. On most mini-trucks, the fuel tank is just in front of the axle, on one side of the vehicle. It can be very difficult to fit a bar in the space and mount it without hitting the rear end, or the fuel tank. This is why many installers and "do-it-yourselfers" choose to run the upper links in reverse, or in fact, run the entire 4 bar system in reverse. It will be discussed later on as to why this is a very poor design. Another disadvantage, as described in Boyd Coddington's How To Build Hot Rod Chassis is that some builders "complain further that it's hard to run the exhaust with the upper triangulated bars in the way" (81). Mini-truckers do not normally care about something this minute because it is very simple to spend ten dollars at the auto parts store for a small "turn down" for the muffler. A turn down is basically a piece of tubing that looks like half of a 'U'. It is put directly onto the output of the muffler, thus not interfering with the 4 bar system.

There are two ways that the upper bars of a triangulated system can be designed. The normal, and probably most effective, design is with the rod ends right inline with the bars. This will allow the greatest amount of articulation and causes less wear and tear on the bushings. The other type of design is to allow the rod ends to be parallel with the axle, or angled in relation to the bar. The advantage of this type of design " allow[s] virtually unlimited up and down movement" (Echols). The disadvantage to this design is the poor axle articulation. The bars using this rod end design branch from the center of the axle, out towards the frame. Because the ends on the frame are so far apart from each other, there won't be much axle articulation except for that provided by the flexing of the bushings (Echols).

When it comes down to choosing the type of system to run, an installer basically has to look at what he wants to get out of the system, and what space he has to work with. Both parallel and triangulated 4 bar systems can provide the same driving characteristics if installed properly, but the installer will have to look at the advantages and disadvantages of each system in order to determine which will best suit his application. The installer, at all costs, must avoid installing any of the 4 bar rods towards the rear of the vehicle. Reverse 4 bar suspensions defy all of the dynamics of acceleration and braking, and it is also quite difficult to replicate the characteristics of the forward 4 bar system without compromising something else.

The characteristics of a 4 bar suspension have been described, as well as the different configurations of a forward 4 bar system. All of that information is useless if it cannot be put to good use. The way that the individual rods of the 4 bar suspension are arranged and installed will make or break the way the vehicle performs as it travels down the road. Sometimes one characteristic needs to be sacrificed in order for another to be taken full advantage of. Sometimes everything may work out just perfectly and everything that is wanted can be achieved.