Thanks, Liventre, for bringing this to our attention.
The person to contact at Grand Prairie Ford is Dann Munro (email DMunro@vtaig.com). I sent email to Dann inviting him to join the ExPo forums.
There's an ad on eBay advertising an F554 conversion. Price $96,800. The ad says that Grand Prairie Ford has built 27 of the F554 models.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F554...ls-4x4-Severe-Duty-Applications-/300722886217
The ad for the F554 package says
2012 F550 4x4, 165 inch wheelbase shown
available in any color and body style
6.7L Ford V8 diesel, 6 speed auto trans
Electronic shift on the fly transfer case
Dana 80 front, Dana 130 rear axle
axles rated for 22,500 lb (up from 19.5K in 2012 F550)
20x10 inch aluminum 3 piece wheels
internal beadlocks with run-flat inserts
365/80 R20 Goodyear tires, 44 inches tall
central tire inflation system
Planetary double caliper brakes on front axle
Planetary parking brake
no mention of re-gearing the axles to match the 44 inch tall tires
Wow what an awesome truck. I love it even tho h1 is a totally strange looking and deferent design. But this ford is just sweet. Is it out yet? Or another awesome idea by American car makers that will never be in America or will never be the reality?
Specific questions:
What is the axle ratio?
Are the brakes disk or drum?
Is the suspension modified?
Are lockers in diffs available? (Detroit rear, ARB front?)
What is cost premium?
Very nice truck!
Charlie
And the net axle ratio is 7.42? Planetary ratio of 1.522 times diff ratio of 4.875?
Charlie
I would love to see a chassis like that stuffed under an Excursion.... :Wow1: Really nifty rig you guys have designed...now, time to win the lottery!
Lockers: Dana 80 35 spline front and Dana 130 rear, take your pick of lockers.
.
The F554's front bumper is so high off the ground that some states might not approve it for on-highway use.
(Editorial comment: The bulging codpiece of a hood and grille that USA truck manufacturers feel they have to have on their trucks, combined with the tires and body lift, would make it very difficult to see the trail less than 40 feet in front of the truck. Some sort of terrain camera setup should be mandatory for a truck like this.)
You can't compare a truck like this with your average F250 or Land Cruiser etc etc. It is more along the lines of what you would mount a Unicat style "camper" on. You would not take a Unicat across the Rubicon, but drive it to Patagonia and take the espresso machine along!