What i would build if $$ was no object

[Saiyan66]

If money was not an object I would probably make Carlyle an offer he could not refuse. Have you seen his wicked Dodge with Alaskan pop-up? It is soooooooooo:Wow1:cool.

Chilli, if you were going to do that you would have to use your best Brando voice when you presented him with the offer. Just for effect.

 

[Jcrayton99]

80s body chevy pickup crew cab long box, fully boxed frame, Cummins engine, alison tranny, Rockwell axles, locked, 37's-40's and a custom slide in camper and/or expo cargo trailer.

 

[john101477]

For a "if money was no object" idea some of the answers really amaze me. For instance, a slide in camper on an old chevy with 40's sounds like someone trying to purposely commit suicide to me but hey to each their own.

For me... and we are talking strictly "dude you got more dough that Gates and more play that Hefner" i would probably be thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of

and on board I would have to have Something like ...





If money did not matter these things would afford me the ability to travel pretty close to anywhere in the world I wanted.

I will add though that I would probably have the ship designed with a log cabin or something odd like that. not really into the concrete fortress

 

[Fireman78]

I would put a Caterpiller motor in my Power Wagon.

 

[codybutz]

I'm thinking a deuce and half with one of those shop bodies as living quarters, pulling an old bell huey, loaded with camping gear and a couple dirtbikes.

 

[Metcalf]

Metcalf, I really like your Jeep idea. Although it would be cheaper and easier to go with some Jeep width 1 ton axles instead of retrofitting the powerwagon ones. Just my $.02 I think your idea is completely feasible even for someone on a budget.

That is what I first thought when I was looking into axle options for a future JK based project, but I think the Powerwagon axles are an excellent option. With proper backspacing on the pickup axles you can be pretty close to most JK width axles with aftermarket wheels. The bonus to the truck axles is that you get to keep the super high backspacing and good scrub radius....

The 2010+ powerwagon axle are pretty neat units.

Front-high pinion, factory locker, factory 4.56 gears, 33 spline inner shafts, 1550 sized u-joints (!), 35 spline outer axles, a unit-bearing that lives under a much heavier vehicle, slightly higher steering arm position, 14" disc brakes, etc.

Rear- 10.5" ring gear, factory 4.56 gears, factory e-locker, 35-spline axles, full floating rear axle end, 14" disc brakes with parking brake, etc.

The 2010+ axles are also 4 wheel ABS so adapting that system to the JK looks possible.

I think the biggest bonus to using the powerwagon axles is that EVERYTHING in the axles would be a non custom factory part. When it comes time to find replacement parts I think its going to be a LOT easier to find parts for an OEM application than trying to modify parts for a custom one off axle.

All the truck axles need is a custom bracket set to adapt to the JK suspension and most likely some kind of drag link modification to adapt to the JK steering box position.

Anyways.....

 

[reece146]

Lately I've been looking at 2000-ish Ford Expeditions. Warm up the engine to ~350 hp/tq, mild lift, say 2" or so, cut out flares, 35s, SAS it once the IFS needs a rebuild.

Nothing extravagant, just a functional sleeper of sorts kida like the XJ I'm daily driving now.

 

[Route55]

Lately I've been looking at 2000-ish Ford Expeditions. Warm up the engine to ~350 hp/tq, mild lift, say 2" or so, cut out flares, 35s, SAS it once the IFS needs a rebuild.

Nothing extravagant, just a functional sleeper of sorts kida like the XJ I'm daily driving now.

Do you like that body style better than the Excursion? Seems those are a better build platform.

 

[reece146]

It's all about size...

 

[Metcalf]

It's all about size...

Agreed! I need a shrink ray set to 80% for my Dodge....well other than the tires And the axles I would try a 4bt cumming no problem. I just need the body to be slightly smaller with more visibility over the hood. And redo the rear end behind the axle for a better departure angle.

 

[98dango]

I would honestly build exactly what I'm building/dreaming up right now. Well it would get a rock track 60 front with 5.13 and a shaved 14 with 5.13 arb's and 42s and Alaskin would build my topper deal instead of me

 

[ZR2nit]

Its all in good fun. My feelings are not that fragile. I had just consumed and kept consuming a few adult beverages and decided "why not share this crazy idea with some folks that have alot more $$ than me." LOL.

Now would it be the GREATEST RIG EVER.....no but it would certainly be different. Are there better rigs out there??? Come on I'm not naive,of course there are.

Look at my signature below this post. I have plenty of projects with updating my truck and KLR650. So lets be honest shall we? Will i ever build this LS3 powered,Atlas twin sticked, SAS lifted and locked, trail armored out, rectractable roof pig.....? NO LOL. I just like many of you like to think outside the box a bit.

So no need to bicker everyone just hear like you to enjoy the outdoors while slightly polluting it from my truck/bike LOL......Sorry Earth.

Oh an on a serious note Tread Lightly

 

[Saiyan66]

Well since everyone else is putting up what they would build, I guess I might as well throw my crazy idea up here too.

Here is what I would start with:
2012 Ram 2500 Reg Cab long bed SLT, White w/beige interior, Cummins 6.7, 6spd manual trans, protection group, popular equipment group, luxury group.

Then some mods:
Convert to a short bed (6'4")
Swap to an NV271 manual transfer case w/fixed yoke
4.56 gears and ARB lockers in both axles
Carli/Thuren 6" lift with 2.5" King reservoirs and deaver leaves in the rear
17x8.5 Trailready beadlocks
40x14.50R17 BFG MT KM2's
EGR and DPF delete with a 5" turbo back exhaust and H&S tuner (running stock power)
12.5k winch mounted under bed in stock spare tire location
Batteries, full size spare, toolbox, power tank, 60qt fridge, camping gear in bed

And it would look something like this:

 

[reece146]

Now would it be the GREATEST RIG EVER.....no but it would certainly be different. Are there better rigs out there??? Come on I'm not naive,of course there are.

Better is in the eye of the beholder...

For example, given a choice between a Unimog and a built domestic pickup I'd take the pickup every time - unless I could get and sell the mog and buy two pickups with the proceeds.

High-end equipment is usually wrapped in so much social and monetary BS that it rarely lives up to its reputation in the real world.

Also, spending 97% of your budget to ensure that you have the last 1% of capability is a fool hardy way to spend money. A lot of times trying to live with the machine that was bought/built for that last 1% is a real PITA. That's why people get out of hard core rock crawling for example. It's just not worth it.

2¢

 

[john101477]

Better is in the eye of the beholder...

High-end equipment is usually wrapped in so much social and monetary BS that it rarely lives up to its reputation in the real world.

Also, spending 97% of your budget to ensure that you have the last 1% of capability is a fool hardy way to spend money. A lot of times trying to live with the machine that was bought/built for that last 1% is a real PITA. That's why people get out of hard core rock crawling for example. It's just not worth it.

2¢

I agree with the unimog comment as a mog would do me little good in the places I like to go
I am going to have to call BS on the gear part though. On a large scale if you spend the money which is not always the top dollar stuff but often the top dollar stuff is tried and true work horse gear. For instance, a Warn winch vs Smitty, BJ spacers vs a real lift (toyota), etc. On a large scale if the average person is willing t save for the higher dollar stuff that means it is going to be better. think of Marlin Vs trail gear? some of the same type of gear but obviously one is made better. Also High End does not always equal the highest dollar.

As for the hard core rock crawling, on a large scale it is an enthusiast sport. Unless you are making $$$ out of it, you are basically a hobbiest that enjoys it, has the money for it, and does not mind destroying a vehicle. Many just get older and realize that hey, I do not really need to go TRY to break my truck every weekend since I am not sponsored and have to pay for my own repairs hahaha.
Others like myself, find that they enjoy the outdoors more than they do the crawling part of it so we tailor our world to our desires, hence why some of us end up here on EP instead of on Marlins site, or MUD, Pirate, or any number of other sites dedicated to the crawler world