F250 Trail Whale Adventure Build

[Old bike doc]

Here's the plan, single cab F250 gasser (low buck plow trucks in the Midwest). Picked up a low mileage unit, added leveling kit and 37s (really, because I like the look). The 6.2 does not get great MPG's, but makes solid power and appears to have an excellent history as a reliable drive train. Add that to a very low cost buy in (no market love for single cab gassers!) and the Trail Whale is born.



First order of business was dragging my project bus to a few shows. Rig tows nice, even with the big rubber.




Added some Method wheels and a shell (mandatory in the winter if you want to use the bed) and hit the trails of Northern Wisco. Plan is to ditch the shell for the summer to support RTT and gear.

 

[Old bike doc]

Truck did great through the winter (Kanati Trail Hogs were quite the experiment!) and shell did its job. Hated the chrome bumper and grill, swapped for black. Grandpa side steps need to go as well.





Factory XLT head unit was pretty bad, so leaned on the folks at Crutchfield (remember them). Pain in the ass install to retain the Sirius radio and add a back camera. Added LED bar to upfitter switch. Thanks Ford for a well thought out accessory.



Shell is a Lear contractors edition and is stupid heavy, so kid and I built a dolly to easily slide it off and safely store it for the summer. Dolly has a hitch and designed to have quad tow it store on side yard. Future bed rack will live on this next winter.

 

[Old bike doc]

Next up is rack build (looked at a few production units and couldn't get stoked on them).



Here's the foundation. Each of the six pockets in the bed will get a landing plate and a 1x2" that will get bolted to bed (I think).



Hoops are sorted, now mocking up the connecting bars. Using 1.75", 1/8" wall mild steel tube. Inexpensive and easy to weld (I'm an average welder at best using a MIG to make it happen). Should have it wrapped up this month.

 

[Old bike doc]

Rain keeping me from getting back to the bed rack build (truck won't fit in garage). Was able to design the spare tire and box rack. Same size tubing, will support two 37" spares, a floor jack (thanks Harbor Freight!) and a Pelican case for tools and a bit of recovery gear. Also needs to have pockets for MTB and small motorcycles to to rest against. Maybe fire extinguisher?

Long play on all of this is a rig I can bounce around the local trail systems (Google the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail) and maybe hit Overland Expo in Colorado (I know, super cliche, racks, RTT, OX, bla bla bla).

 

[IdaSHO]

"trail whale"

Cool project dude. These 6.2 superduties have a lot going for them right out of the box

 

[Old bike doc]

"trail whale"

Cool project dude. These 6.2 superduties have a lot going for them right out of the box

Buddy of mine thought the name was funny, hard to argue. The single cab 6.2 is high on the cheap/fun scale.

 

[Old bike doc]

The ugly downside of used vehicle ownership. Thought I’d heard a tick, this morning it was full roar that manifested itself as a massive crack in the driver side exhaust manifold. ?

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Love this nice simple clean project! Following!

 

[MattF350]

If all I needed was a single cab, no doubt. But I need a crew cab.

6.2 is great. Beautiful truck too.

 

[Old bike doc]

Quick sketch I had done before truck purchase. Plan your work, work your plan.

 

[Regcabguy]

I've had three single cabs in my life. One F-250 gas and two Ram diesels. It's been my wife and all these years until we rescued a small boxer. She lays down and is no issue aside from not being able to drive a manual. it's nice being able to park the first time at Home Depot.
Looking good!

 

[jonathon]

Awesome truck! You have a solid drivetrain. The exhaust manifold issue is unfortunately common with all these modern aluminum headed trucks. The manifolds eventually crack whether it’s Dodge, GM, or Ford.

I run my truck with an open bed in the summer. Out here we are pretty dry from April through November so it works. In the winter I put a Gator SFX tri fold soft tonneau cover on. Super easy to deal with and easy to store when I don’t need it.

 

[McCarthy]

Looks good. I've been keeping my eye out for a cheap one to use as a bush truck. Small lift, cut until 40's clear, and off I go!

 

[givemethewillys]

Nice truck, I think a regular cab pickup is the best looking, but it sure does make a difference having that extra space with an extended or crew cab. I think your truck looks perfect with the 37's and the topper though. I'm subscribed for more!

 

[Betarocker]

You can fit a 37" tire underneath if you move the wiring to the outside if the hitch frame. I have a 1/2 worn 38x13.5 underneath.