Full size truck questions

[bronconite]

Del you're on the right track but the most important thing you should be doing before shelling out big bucks is to get yourself off roading and find out what you really need.

I so much agree. If your not currently doing any offroading/camping the 1st thing to do is learn the capabilities of your rig as is. As was said, tires to fit the application should be 1st. If you've got a diesel and low range and your only stepping up 1/2 inch in tire size you don't need gears, at least until the stock gearing becomes inconvenient for some reason. You shouldn't NEED a lift either if your stock tires are basicly 35s.
At any rate, I will be following your build as I am also about to start on a fullsize project. Best of luck to you.:sombrero:

 

[bat]

I agree, I would forget about the lockers and gears. I would think about bumper and winch, air system, tires, lights and RECOVERY GEAR. Being 22ft long I like to have the lift just for the comfort of having a little better approach and exit angle. I do have the warn 16.5 ti winch but I have never used it for myself only to help others.

 

[jdholder]

That truck is LONG!! When I built my Excursion, I wanted a decent breakover angle, along with decent approach and departure angels. The only way to get those on a big truck is a lift and big tires.

On the front, you can chop the bumper and achieve a pretty good approach angle (like mine).

On the rear, you can have someone fabricate and raise your trailer hitch (like I did). These things will help.

Here's some pics of mine:


Those are 40's under 5 inches of lift and fiberglass front fenders.



You can get a lot of droop travel if you unbolt your swaybar.



Moving the hitch makes a big difference. On the Ex, the limiting factor for departure angle is now the skid plate below the diesel tank.

 

[inked33]

if your set on getting a lift for the truck youd be better off getting the biggest tire you can fit under there to improve your breakover angle.

 

[SFROMAN]

Thanks for the awsome responses and suggestions. I try to get out wheeling as much is possible. I am rarley in the country (Uncle Sam is very needy lately) and when I am home there is about a million other priorities that need my attention.
Funny because you know what they say. When you have time you have no money, when you have money you dont have time, and when you have both the wife is eight months pregnant or the kids are sick. It is what it is.

Currently I sneak out on weekends and go wheeling in this

and one more

Its the wifes daily driver.

The F250 project is the result of us having a 3rd kid in about 2 weeks. I really want to be able to get away like I read about here on this forum. I want to be able to do it with the family though. I figure in about 2 years the youngest will be at a good age to start doing longer that weekend and day long outings, which mostly what we do now.

As far as mods for the truck
The front end definitly needs protection. I have near misses with dear on my way to work everyday. The only reason I am considering the ARB is because I have a friend that is thinking of getting rid of his so I might get a very good deal on it. Preferably I would not use one to keep the weight down on the front end. The diesel is heavy enough as it is.

I am getting a defender rack with four lights already mounted to it for a steal so that will knock out some storage and lighting.

As far as the lift yeah I think we all can agree that 10 inch lifts on these trucks are not very friendly to off roading. I am going to stay as low as possible to clear the 35s. Speaking of which, Who makes a tire that is 35x 11.5 x 17 in mud terrain? I have been looking but cant seem to find anybody that makes that size. With that size I would not need a lift at all.

I need to aquire more recovery equipment that is for sure though. Any suggestons? I am thinking the stuff I get needs to withstand some heavy loads because the truck is pretty heavy.

Commo= Communication which = CB (sorry for the military jargon)

great suggestion on the tranny pan. I want to purchase the mag hytec pan which hopefully will aid in cooling the tranny.

Bat and jdholder you have awsome looking rigs.

Hope that I covered everything.

I want to be as informed as possible before spending my money so I am glad that folks with alot more experience are willing to share their wealth of knowledge.

thanks
DEL

 

[masterplumber]

I've had my '95 cc places I usually only see atvs - & that's with the comfort of a four wheel popup along also. I'm sure I'm going to find someplace it won't fit one day but so far I haven't had to stop for lack of room. I haven't dented it "yet" but it does have lots of back country pinstriping. I do drive very carefully in the tight stuff & never try & keep up with the smaller vehicles who's drivers only can have fun fast. Other than tires & shocks my drivetrain is basically stock - I do have the Mag tranny pan, an oversized cooler, & a temp gauge to try & make the auto live longer. These trucks are extremly capable even in stock form so get out there & enjoy.

I'm making an assumption from a comment in your previous post SFROMAN that your in the military service so I'd like to make a quick highjack & say thank you for your service.

Doug

 

[SFROMAN]

your welcome sir, but we have a saying in the mil when someone says thank you and its

Dont thank me thank my recruiter :sombrero:

DEL

 

[Totenkopf]

That truck is LONG!! When I built my Excursion, I wanted a decent breakover angle, along with decent approach and departure angels. The only way to get those on a big truck is a lift and big tires.

On the front, you can chop the bumper and achieve a pretty good approach angle (like mine).

On the rear, you can have someone fabricate and raise your trailer hitch (like I did). These things will help.

Here's some pics of mine:

View attachment 25157
Those are 40's under 5 inches of lift and fiberglass front fenders.


View attachment 25158
You can get a lot of droop travel if you unbolt your swaybar.


View attachment 25159
Moving the hitch makes a big difference. On the Ex, the limiting factor for departure angle is now the skid plate below the diesel tank.

That's a nice truck. Did you build that rear tire carrier? Do you have any more pics of it?

Also, would 40"s rub the stock front fenders? I'm thinking about building my '05 PSD Ex.

 

[milo12]

I have a quadcab Dodge diesel and have gone lots of crazy places. I have found only a few limits. First and most obvious is size. If the trail is wide enough no problem. The fun part is after following a jeep for hours and you come to a dead end and need to turn around.:Wow1: Another limitation is mud. Heavy trucks have a lot more trouble when the ground gets too soft.

I recommend you do not lift the truck. Lifting is mostly for show. Get a good level kit that replaces all the springs and good shocks and 35 inch tires won't be a problem. Another good addition is all the underbody skid protection you can get. I don't know if the Ford has an aluminum driveshaft but if it does replace it with a high quality steel one. With the longer wheelbase you will find you drag the underside occasionally. The crappy "beer can" aluminum driveshaft will fail if they even lightly touch anything.

Other than that have fun and don't let the little rigs intimidate you.:victory:

 

[ntsqd]

Look at the ride quality angle too. If the ride quality is high, everyone - including you, is less cranky at the end of a long day in the sticks.

If you don't carry much load in the bed consider going to a lighter spring rate rear spring or removing any overload spring leaves that are almost in contact with their limit-stops.
Consider going to high end shock absorbers. To me that means a name like Fox, Bilstein, or King. These are not cheap, but they are worth it. In a live axle full size I would consider a pair of 2" bodied shocks or a single 2.5" body the bare minimum for the front, particularly if coil sprung. There may or may not be some early tuning needed for such a shock, but once the valve stack is dialed in the difference in ride quality can be absolutely amazing.

CB is the old, default 4WD comms method in the U.S., but 2 Meter Hamis rapidly gaining ground and I would expect CB to have all but disappeared within the next decade. There is a license required for these radios. The tests are given by other hams and there are on-line practice tests available. Search the comms sub-forum here on Expo as these are frequent queries.
For most other uses of the CB type radio the fairly new "FRS" and "GMRS" radios have nearly replaced cb's too. The GMRS radios need a license that comes directly from the FCC while the FRS radios do not require any license. As I understand the FCC rules one GMRS license covers a whole family, which is not the case with a ham license. Some of the folks that I've gone exploring with in the past have used the FRS radios. I've been disappointed by their range, but they are a simple to use, inexpensive radio.

 

[SFROMAN]

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far. I am looking into the DR or ICON leveling kit which will only raise my truck 2.5 inches. This system will replace the front springs and add aan f350 block to the rear. That will give me the clearance I need to run a 35x12.5x17. That tire size will only increase my original tire by 1/2 inch in height and 1 1/2 inch in width. I could probably fit a 35 with stock suspension but nobody makes a 35 that is only 11 inches wide.
For now I am going to buy an inexpensive CB radio. If later down the road I need something more then I will add it.

DEL

 

[ujoint]

That's a good choice. DR/ICON springs always ride well, good quality.

 

[redthies]

If you are still thinking about a locker or two down the road, get the ARB compressor with the bigger tank and you will be set for the lockers. I ran front and rear arb's in my Tundra and seldom needed more than the rear. You have to go somewhere fairly crazy to need both in a full size with a camper on... If you go 4" lift and 37's you will be set for most anything. If you already have 34.5's going to 37's will only increase ride height by 1.25 inches.

 

[saltamontes]

leveling:
A stock ‘05+ Superduty 4wd has roughly 3 degrees of castor. Increasing ride height by 2.5" takes that down very near 0 (and negative when loaded). The DR system includes 2.5 degree castor adjusters to correct for the loss of castor due to the additional lift. They also sell an adjustable trackbar.
DR is the only lift i know that has both of these (good choice).

however, their kit also includes duel-rate coils. If you are planning to carry lots of weight (camper) you may experience nose-dive under hard breaking. Better to use stock coils and spacers or get single rate longer coils from Bilstein.

also, their kit comes w/ their own shocks (used to be bilstein, now i think its their own design). for lots of washboard may be better to get reservoir shocks to dissipate heat.

you will need a realignment post lift.

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tires:
lift/leveling kits makers only advertise clearing 33's. 35 will rub slightly on stock offset wheels. Toyo has lots of new specialty sizes in AT/MT, check them out.
better to get a taller/narrower tire w/ E rating like a 285/75 which has same width as stock (no rub) and is 34.8 tall.

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wheels:
why not 18, instead of 17? i would recommend keeping stock wheels (20/18/17) because they are hub-centric while most (all?) aftermarket wheels are lug-centric. This is esp. important if you plan to haul heavy. Also stock aluminum wheels are forged while many aftermarket ones are cast (less dense; less capacity)

 

[Marc1]

I' m running the dr 2.5" fit on my F350 and couldn't be happier. A 35" tire is no prblm. at all.