Last April I bought a 2002 Excursion with the V10 and 103k on it. It's very clean inside and out (with the exception of a fair amount of surface rust on the undercarriage, and a few small dings here and there), and it runs and drives well. Only problems are typical, minor annoyances like the CC not working and some of the power windows moving slow. It recently had the front springs replaced with new OEM leafs and has a cheap head unit in place of the factory radio. It is otherwise completely original and stock. I don't know any details of the maintenance history other than it was apparently pretty well taken care of.
I bought it to be a daily driver / beach trip / camping trip / ski trip / road trip / family vehicle, as well for for some treks out west to explore some backcountry in AZ and CO and UT for a week or so at a time about once a year. No heavy towing planned. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle, probably 25k a year or a little more, and I want to have this thing last me for at least 5 or 6 years before it reaches that point where the repair costs make it not worth keeping.
I'm new to Fords and haven't driven this truck a ton or really gotten to know it well yet. I don't have any elaborate "build" plans but I'm thinking about stuff like quality floor liners, towing mirrors and putting a 2005 grill on it (both just for aesthetics), maybe some bumpers and a small lift with some good AT tires. I'd like to clean up the surface rust underneath to some extent as well; it's not a big issue at all but it just bugs me knowing it's there on this otherwise clean truck. Maybe some sort of fridge. No sleeping platform or anything; I do plan to sleep in it occasionally, but I can just put my air mattress and sleeping bag down in the back of it. Maybe a new in-dash nav / backup camera and a CB. The biggest goal is just keeping it reliable and durable and versatile, that's all.
So, let me pick the brains of those of you who know these trucks well: if this truck was yours and you had, say, about $5-$6k to put into it over the next 6-12 months, and you planned to use it the way I've described, what would you do with it? What are the first items you'd inspect and perhaps expect to need to fix or replace in the near future? What sort of tires and lift and bumpers and other mods would you consider?
I bought it to be a daily driver / beach trip / camping trip / ski trip / road trip / family vehicle, as well for for some treks out west to explore some backcountry in AZ and CO and UT for a week or so at a time about once a year. No heavy towing planned. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle, probably 25k a year or a little more, and I want to have this thing last me for at least 5 or 6 years before it reaches that point where the repair costs make it not worth keeping.
I'm new to Fords and haven't driven this truck a ton or really gotten to know it well yet. I don't have any elaborate "build" plans but I'm thinking about stuff like quality floor liners, towing mirrors and putting a 2005 grill on it (both just for aesthetics), maybe some bumpers and a small lift with some good AT tires. I'd like to clean up the surface rust underneath to some extent as well; it's not a big issue at all but it just bugs me knowing it's there on this otherwise clean truck. Maybe some sort of fridge. No sleeping platform or anything; I do plan to sleep in it occasionally, but I can just put my air mattress and sleeping bag down in the back of it. Maybe a new in-dash nav / backup camera and a CB. The biggest goal is just keeping it reliable and durable and versatile, that's all.
So, let me pick the brains of those of you who know these trucks well: if this truck was yours and you had, say, about $5-$6k to put into it over the next 6-12 months, and you planned to use it the way I've described, what would you do with it? What are the first items you'd inspect and perhaps expect to need to fix or replace in the near future? What sort of tires and lift and bumpers and other mods would you consider?
