Hello,
I only found this thread yesterday but have found it very interesting and full of ideas and information.
The truck is a 2000 Ford F-350 4X4 crew cab, long bed with a 7.3L diesel. When I bought it in 2004 it already had the lift kit installed and I found I liked it so I didn't have it taken off. The truck has 142000 miles on it now and I've been religiously changing the oil, and filters. I put in a 4' stainless steel exhaust, had it chipped and installed an exhaust temp gauge, a turbo boost gauge and a tranny temp gauge on the drivers side column. It's got brand new shocks all the way around, just got new tires, new headlights,new cablight lenses, new batteries and a new K&N cold air intake. I still need to do a little more work on the cabin to make the truck as comfortable as possible over the long trip, like a better sound system and at least one new front bucket. The front windows still need to be tinted. I'm going to put a brush guard, winch and some additional lighting on it over the next several months.
While I realize a lot of my work has been cosmetic, I've taken good care of the engine as well but I am admittedly not very mechanical.
I want to make a grand tour of the USA including driving to Alaska in it sometime in the next 18 months. I'd like to take 6 months to a year to do the trip and since I'm a "blue roads" kind of guy I'd like to explore some of the rougher secondary (read dirt) roads as I make my way around the country.
What I haven't decided yet is exactly how I want to configure the back end of the truck. I love to camp and have been considering my options i.e. a slide in camper vs a capper, taking the bed off and building a back end of my own design, or buying one of the tents I've seen on this thread which mounts up high.
There are a few considerations I have to make. I'm an avid cyclist and I need to have a secure rack to hold my bikes. I might want to take my canoe with me. I have a tipi and having a rack built to hold my tipi poles (they're 25' long) would be a positive, and if/when I get the chance to explore some of the more remote areas I reckon I'll need a place to keep extra tools, chain saw, fuel etc.
What I'm hoping you all, especially those of you who have loads more experience going off road, will help me with all of the
mechanical considerations I don't know about but should; as well as your opinions and/or experiences of the various pros and cons of using this vehicle for what I want to do and how you'd configure it if it was yours. Any links for products you suggest or have found useful would be extremely helpful.
Thanks in advance for your input. Let the fun begin!
BTW that's diesel fuel under the truck that leaked out when I replaced the fuel filter today.
