Ford Expedition overland build?

[joshuak172]

Anyone build out a current generation Ford Expedition? I searched the forums but didn’t find anything. I know there was a SEMA build a few years back and icon makes some Susie sin kits. Any reason people aren’t choosing this as a platform?

 

[Grassland]

Low ground clearance, independent suspension, lack of aftermarket, would be my guess.
Lack of armor.
You can have gobs of power and towing, and tons of room tho.

 

[twodollars]

My wife's truck is a 2013 expedition limited. In the back of my mind I think about modifying when it gets retired from being the family vehicle. I saw one of the ifs generations lifted a bit with some bigger rubber, but cant recall where. The rear diff is normal production ford stuff, and would probably take a traction device. They sure are cheaper than a tahoe or burb of similar vintage. Ours has had zero issues, and is my favorite for long hauls. Just wish it had more gearing from the factory.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

The new ones are to expensive, the used ones are to clapped out.

 

[al_burpe]

The new ones are to expensive, the one ones are to clapped out.

This plus the old ones only came with the crap 5.4 motor. It was only in the last couple years that they put the 3.5 in it.

 

[al_burpe]

Similarly, you don't see many Armadas or 2nd gen Sequoias either. My guess is that people shy away from the independent rear suspension that is on all of them.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

My guess is that people shy away from the independent rear suspension that is on all of them.

My dads Navigator has IRS. It has an amazing ride, especially for an 8k brick on wheels.

 

[al_burpe]

My dads Navigator has IRS. It has an amazing ride, especially for an 8k brick on wheels.

I had a 2005 Expedition with the air ride suspension. It had a great ride as well. It was the motor that wound up being an issue. For the amount of off road driving that most people do, the Expedition should be fine and not limited by the IRS. Maybe the IRS isn't the reason as there are plenty of Land Rover builds on here that have IRS as well as the 3rd gen Monteros.

 

[phsycle]

Low ground clearance, independent suspension, lack of aftermarket, would be my guess.
Lack of armor.
You can have gobs of power and towing, and tons of room tho.

They do have about 10” of ground clearance which is pretty good. Ind suspension would ride on those washboard roads well. And the FX4 package does come with skid plates.

I think it would take you to a ton of off the beaten path places. And in comfort.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I think it would take you to a ton of off the beaten path places. And in comfort.

That would be a huge selling point for me.

 

[phsycle]

That would be a huge selling point for me.

Honestly, if I had more than 3 kids, that’s what I’d get. GM AT4’s look cool and all, but I prefer the Expedition. Solid drivetrain, seems like less dangly bits underneath than the GM’s, and although it doesn’t have a ton of aftermarket support, there are some. I’d probably either do a readilift or Icon, 33 or 34’s, and a full length roof rack. That’s it. Haul a ton of gear and ton of people to a lot of places.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Honestly, if I had more than 3 kids, that’s what I’d get. GM AT4’s look cool and all, but I prefer the Expedition. Solid drivetrain, seems like less dangly bits underneath than the GM’s, and although it doesn’t have a ton of aftermarket support, there are some. I’d probably either do a readilift or Icon, 33 or 34’s, and a full length roof rack. That’s it. Haul a ton of gear and ton of people to a lot of places.

Thats why my old man bought a Navigator... Hauls him, my step mom, their camper, and four months worth of crap...with ease amd comfort.

His is AWD, and other than a tune its bone stock.

 

[Martinjmpr]

As to why there aren't more later Expedition builds I think it's probably for the same reason we don't see very many (none to my knowledge) K2XX Suburban/Tahoe builds (2015+.) Those vehicles are still doing limo on soccer mom duty.

From what I've seen, except for Jeeps and Toyotas, most vehicles have to move "down market" (i.e. get cheaper) for a few years before people start hacking into them to make them more off-road capable.

 

[calicamper]

I have two kids. I sold my cherry 07 Sequoia to my dad last yr and picked up a Platinum 2019 HD package Expedition. So far I really like it. The Elocker rear end was a big item for me given these full sized rigs they get stuck easily on crossed up stuff, thats the Sequoia failure thats gotten me stuck on some very basic stuff.

Stock the current Expedition sits on huge tires! So very easy to toss meaty rubber on with no mods. They actually carry 11 inches of clearance like my old 07 Sequoia. The 10spd and the 3.5 are a super impressive combo. I see 21-24mpg road trip tank averages. My Sequoia was 15-16mpg road trip average. The expedition easily competes with my 2.5L Subaru for Road trip range between fuel stops which does matter in the areas we like to travel. The Sequoia was only just Ok in that regard with my old J80 being so bad I quit using it for trips after three long trips and visiting every gas station that existed along the route?.

Eventually the factory 22’s on my Expedition will likely get swapped to 20’s. But I think I’ll put some more AT / hybrid 22 tire on it before then and see how it does. In stock form I’m very impressed.

 

[WRONG_WAY_DAVE]

Feel free to PM me as I am working on a project and we can speak offline.