F350joe
Well-known member
I'm going to try these...http://www.dieselsite.com/1999-2004f250f350dieselsite4wdesofhosekit.aspx.
Could dirt make its way into the hub through broken vacuum lines or any other problems arise?
ExPo's 2000 7.3 Excursion Build
- Thread starter Chris Cordes
- Start date
I'm going to try these...http://www.dieselsite.com/1999-2004f250f350dieselsite4wdesofhosekit.aspx.
Could dirt make its way into the hub through broken vacuum lines or any other problems arise?
chet6.7
Explorer
So I still need to add the backup sensors, trailer wiring etc, but it is on the truck!
Looks good. Is that box hinged like the Aluminess box? Are you going to post a front page review? Thanks.
Ovrlnd Rd
Adventurer
Big toe or pinky toe? I'm guessing if it's still tied into the frame the TOW capacity would remain the same.
That truck looks awesome. It looks like its size hasn't been giving you too many, if any, problems on the technical trails.
What made you decide on an Expedition?
Edit: Also, did you ever consider using the ARB sahara bar instead of the full deluxe bull bar? Sorry, for the all the questions. I find myself constantly window shopping 3/4 ton diesel trucks for my next rig, so I'm trying to get feedback from owners.
What made you decide on an Expedition?
Edit: Also, did you ever consider using the ARB sahara bar instead of the full deluxe bull bar? Sorry, for the all the questions. I find myself constantly window shopping 3/4 ton diesel trucks for my next rig, so I'm trying to get feedback from owners.
Last edited:
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
The same. The steel used on this bumper is even thicker than the factory bar and uses the same tie in points
No problems so far! I've always loved the excursion, and I needed something big enough to haul an airstream when I eventually get one and this had a diesel and solid axles. The 7.3 is known to be extremely reliable which also drew me towards the excursion. In terms of the bumper I like the look and extra protection those bars provide. Its just a little extra shielding. Bruce Dorn runs the lower profile version on his F250 though and it looks good. We covered that truck in overland journal
I've had the same Ruenel bumper on my Nissan Titan for the last 5 years (minus the swing outs) and it is a very stout bumper. I believe the tow rating of the bumper is something ridiculous like 20K lbs. Mine is attached to the frame with (5) grade 8 bolts per side and I regularly tow my 27ft offshore boat without ever having an issue or concern. I probably should have ordered my rear bumper with at least (1) swing out, however I use the tailgate all the time and didn't want the hassle. I also happen to have the same type of ARB front bumper so needless to say that I like your style!
Cheers
Cheers
Last edited:
Regarding the Ruenel rear bumpers, if you are going to tow heavy, beware. I cannot say if they have changed the design since Ruenel sold out, but we had a bunch of them on 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups used in construction. The problem we found is if you're towing heavy, the bumper would eventually start to twist downward. Even though they were bolted together to the frame with big grade 8 bolts and torqued to the max, the bumpers would start to angle downward when used with heavy trailers (9000 lbs plus). When you have the receiver torqued up and down hundreds of times a day with who knows how much energy, things are going to move when they are just friction sandwiched together. We fixed the problem by not only bolting the bumper but also welding it to the frame.
Their 20,000 lb rating is a joke as nobody has a pickup on the market that can bumper tow that kind of weight....apparently Buckstops product liability insurance attorneys haven't noticed this yet either :Wow1:
This didn't stop me from buying a rear bumper for my square bodied Suburban back in the late 90's, but I new I wasn't going to be towing super heavy with that truck....not to mention they had one of the few high quality bumpers on the market for the old Subs.
Their 20,000 lb rating is a joke as nobody has a pickup on the market that can bumper tow that kind of weight....apparently Buckstops product liability insurance attorneys haven't noticed this yet either :Wow1:
This didn't stop me from buying a rear bumper for my square bodied Suburban back in the late 90's, but I new I wasn't going to be towing super heavy with that truck....not to mention they had one of the few high quality bumpers on the market for the old Subs.
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
That's interesting. Did your bumper have the lower brackets extending beneath the frame as well? Mine bolts to the sides but also has half inch steel brackets underneath
They did not have any additional brackets that went "forward" of the two brackets that were on the bumper. I'd be interested in seeing a picture of the bracket you're referring to as it may have been re-engineered from 20 years ago. Also, we were dealing with pickups and if I'm not mistaken, the frame on the pickups is different than the frame on the Excursion where it meets the bumper. The key would be to have a bumper bracket that extends forward 18" or so on the frame (like a receiver hitch does) to support the bumper and keep it from getting twisted up and down.
I would think this is even more important for those towing heavy with a weight distribution hitch since the weight distribution hitch is trying to leverage the weight of trailer tongue to the front tires of the truck. That is a lot of energy and leverage to be placed on the last 6" of the trucks frame.
If you're not towing heavy or using a weight distribution hitch, then I honestly don't think you'll even have any problems. In a perfect world I wish Buckstop would re-engineer the bumpers to fit/work with the factory receiver hitch frame.
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
So mine used every standard bolt hole for the factory hitch but was much thicker steel. Im not near the truck so I sadly dont have a good photo to show. Essentially it sandwiches the frame but then there are two half inch steel plates that extend out along the bottom of the frame rails outside the fuel tank. these bolt directly into the bottom of the frame and would alleviate the twisting you mentioned. I would guess that since buckstop acquired reunel they made some improvements in that area.
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
I did, however with a 44 gallon fuel tank and the diesel motor I didn't see it being a huge issue. I guess we will see over time though
SSSSTFIRE
Adventurer
Great build Chris and excellent writeup and articles in OJ!! Thanks for all the effort to put this out.
I'm finally starting a real build-out using my 02 F-350 as my foundation.
I've had it since new and 178K of work/travel/adventure miles. The wife is tired of ground camping in the Oz Tent RV-5 so I'm upgrading to a Hawk FourWheelCamper on a custom flatbed. I've been looking to run 37's as I did the swap to 4:10 gears years ago when I began running 35's. The suspension is a Donahoe 6" (now Icon) but will need some upgrades once I get the camper/bed finished and the load figured out. What I'm seeking is advice on wheels. I want to run 37x125R17 and need to know the right backspace/offset I should seek for proper fitment. The forum searches for this info have been a bust.
Anyway, you've definitely given me some mod ideas and I love what you've done so far. Subbed.
I'm finally starting a real build-out using my 02 F-350 as my foundation.
I've had it since new and 178K of work/travel/adventure miles. The wife is tired of ground camping in the Oz Tent RV-5 so I'm upgrading to a Hawk FourWheelCamper on a custom flatbed. I've been looking to run 37's as I did the swap to 4:10 gears years ago when I began running 35's. The suspension is a Donahoe 6" (now Icon) but will need some upgrades once I get the camper/bed finished and the load figured out. What I'm seeking is advice on wheels. I want to run 37x125R17 and need to know the right backspace/offset I should seek for proper fitment. The forum searches for this info have been a bust.
Anyway, you've definitely given me some mod ideas and I love what you've done so far. Subbed.
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I've got some insight here.
I have had the same issue as you since I have owned my Excursion. Whenever trying to research fitment, there is a ton of discussion among various message boards about "lift required" to fit X size wheels, without real discussion on the backspace/offset.
I actually just took some pictures and measurements this past weekend of my Excursion that is sitting on 285/75R17's (~34) on 17x8 4.5" backspaced wheels at full lock on both sides. I was planning on sketching up some lines to see what backspace/offset I needed to keep me off the leafs with a 37" setup.
I had someone holding the wheel at full lock to the right.
Here are some labeled pictures:
PS overall:
PS rear liner clearance:
PS leaf clearance (just hardly kisses spring at full lock):
DS overall:
DS front bumper clearances:
DS leaf spring clearance:
As you can see, the limiting factor is the rear of the tire touching the leaf spring at full lock. As you move up past 35's, you will need to trim the front bumper and pull the liner back. Neither of these things worried me. I also would like to get some measurements while the tire is full stuffed, I just didn't have the time or resources to get that done.
You can do some calculations for the leaf spring clearance as you increase the tire diameter.
In the sketch screenshots below, I've constrained the smaller tire to just touch the leaf spring, and then constrained the larger tire to be at the same center point and angle as the smaller tire. I used my 33.8x11.2 tire and a 37x12.5 tire for comparison's sake here. I used a guess of 30 degrees worth of steering as an assumption.
As shown, the larger tire goes ~1.4" past the leaf spring. I'm sure someone could have easily figured this out, but I just whipped this up on my lunch break because I had my software open.
Obviously, I have made some assumptions and your mileage may vary. Hopefully some of these images and thoughts of mine can be useful to you. Thanks for giving me an excuse to actually write some of this down instead of think about it in my head.
-Russell