OBS F250 slow adventure build
- Thread starter amgvr4
- Start date
amgvr4
Adventurer
It has been a busy few weeks! We took the family down to the Oregon coast to go "camping" last weekend. The original pan was to go to Bend and stop by CVT and see my father in-law, but the potential 100+ temps were none to inviting so we last minute changed plans an reserved a camp site at Nehalem Bay state park. The sites were more dedicated to large RVs and trailers and not so much for adventurers with RTTs but we made do. The great part was that it was right by the beach so we could walk to it from our site and enjoy a real sandy beach for a change! On the way back we stopped by Long beach and had lunch, then drove on the sand for a little fun.
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My "helpers"
"camp"
We learned a lot about our setup on this trip. First off we need to have everything already in our dedicated bins and ready to go or we will forget half of it! I totally forgot the annex for the tent and it would have been really nice to have considering the close proximity of the other camp sites. We also need a dedicated cooking supplies box to keep it all separate from the clothes and bedding.
At the beach
On Long Beach
Then on Friday I went on a 4x4 run with my local group up to Gallagher Head lake. The views were amazing and the trails were a lot of fun.
I also got to use the hauling capacity and tow my brothers old ranger to the new owners house. So far this truck has turned out to be the perfect combo of all the things I wanted from a adventure rig. It comfortable took the family on a 500 mile camping/road trip, hauled a truck on my 16' trailer, and wheeled to the top of 4W304 without lockers all in the same week! There are definitely still things that I will add and upgrade, but I am 100% happy with the combination of features my old truck has and glad that I took a year to find "the one".
Loading up
My "helpers"
"camp"
We learned a lot about our setup on this trip. First off we need to have everything already in our dedicated bins and ready to go or we will forget half of it! I totally forgot the annex for the tent and it would have been really nice to have considering the close proximity of the other camp sites. We also need a dedicated cooking supplies box to keep it all separate from the clothes and bedding.
At the beach
On Long Beach
Then on Friday I went on a 4x4 run with my local group up to Gallagher Head lake. The views were amazing and the trails were a lot of fun.
I also got to use the hauling capacity and tow my brothers old ranger to the new owners house. So far this truck has turned out to be the perfect combo of all the things I wanted from a adventure rig. It comfortable took the family on a 500 mile camping/road trip, hauled a truck on my 16' trailer, and wheeled to the top of 4W304 without lockers all in the same week! There are definitely still things that I will add and upgrade, but I am 100% happy with the combination of features my old truck has and glad that I took a year to find "the one".
Rot Box
Explorer
mtm_motors
Observer
I'm really enjoying all your camping pics! As much as I like build threads, seeing rigs getting used is even more inspirational. Looks like you have a pretty good local crew there
dieselfuel
Adventurer
dude, I just skimmed through your build and I gotta say, this is one ************ Ford! I really love your front suspension, I can't help but wonder about linking my Suburban. You've probably mentioned it but do you feel like 3 linking would really perform any better than radius arms for the type of wheeling you do? I know radius arms have some inherent bind to them when articulating but it doesn't seem to affect your truck in any bad way, I like the videos by the way.
Because it needs to be said again, awesome truck!
Because it needs to be said again, awesome truck!
amgvr4
Adventurer
Thanks, your suburban is one of my favorites on here. As for radius arm vs three link I personally feel that the extra complexity and design time required for a three link is not totally worth it for a DD/wheeler truck. Radius arms are so simple it is pretty hard to screw them up and I can turn it into a quasi three link by unbolting the passenger side upper link like so....
With my springs full soft and the upper link disconnected I can get the front tire three feet off the ground before the back tire lifts. That is pretty good considering the back is still worn out old factory F250 springs and no where close to using all the available shocks back there. The other issue with a three link is that you will probably need a sway bar to cut down on the body roll, a radius arm setup naturally acts as one so it will help but is not as important. My truck will crawl over just about anything and I love how it works so I vote radius arms!
dieselfuel
Adventurer
Thanks, your suburban is one of my favorites on here. As for radius arm vs three link I personally feel that the extra complexity and design time required for a three link is not totally worth it for a DD/wheeler truck. Radius arms are so simple it is pretty hard to screw them up and I can turn it into a quasi three link by unbolting the passenger side upper link like so....
With my springs full soft and the upper link disconnected I can get the front tire three feet off the ground before the back tire lifts. That is pretty good considering the back is still worn out old factory F250 springs and no where close to using all the available shocks back there. The other issue with a three link is that you will probably need a sway bar to cut down on the body roll, a radius arm setup naturally acts as one so it will help but is not as important. My truck will crawl over just about anything and I love how it works so I vote radius arms!
Thanks for the input! I like radius arms because they're easier to set up at a low ride height, I like to keep the truck kinda low if possible. And it seems that hide height adjustments would be easy, adjust the coil overs and reset the castor, easy peasy.
mtm_motors
Observer
That's great, that's what we build them for! Yeah his truck is coming along pretty well, he has been working on the bumper lately I think, so I'll update when I get some pics of the progress. I'm working overseas right now but on the lookout for a 3/4 Squarebody Suburban to build up for myself when I get home.
chaos616
Adventurer
I agree with this that radius arms are simpler and just as effective when unbolting one of the top links. If i were to redo, I most certainly would be doing a radius arm without question...in fact i'm still thinking of swapping mine over to copy this build more closely.
Hey Amgvr4, looking very good and looks like your having some fun using the truck. Question for you, in your wheeling experience so far with this truck, and with weights being similar to mine, do you feel the 2.5 shock is enough, and what valving do you have in yours. I am considering another spring swap, just a tiny change on the bottom spring, but more importantly, i feel as though i could probably use another 2.5" shock up front to keep all the weight in check. Also having bumpstop issues, have gone through 2 sets now, just wondering what you were doing for bump stops (i will look through your previous pages to find out too i suppose as i'm just thinking out loud).
Cheers,
Edit: Ok, i see what bumpstops your using, do you know the brand etc... I've been considering hydraulic, however i don't know if that will help the issue at all.
Hey Amgvr4, looking very good and looks like your having some fun using the truck. Question for you, in your wheeling experience so far with this truck, and with weights being similar to mine, do you feel the 2.5 shock is enough, and what valving do you have in yours. I am considering another spring swap, just a tiny change on the bottom spring, but more importantly, i feel as though i could probably use another 2.5" shock up front to keep all the weight in check. Also having bumpstop issues, have gone through 2 sets now, just wondering what you were doing for bump stops (i will look through your previous pages to find out too i suppose as i'm just thinking out loud).
Cheers,
Edit: Ok, i see what bumpstops your using, do you know the brand etc... I've been considering hydraulic, however i don't know if that will help the issue at all.
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amgvr4
Adventurer
Chaos,
The 2.5" shocks should be plenty big enough to work for our trucks. The way to tell is if you are overheating them and getting them to fade. Mine have never faded and the trip I went on last week was a great test, lots of rocky and bumpy trail to heat the shocks up. If you need more control then you may need to re-valve them or increase the nitrogen pressure in the RR. I am running mine in single rate pretty much all the time now to keep them stiff enough to control my body roll, but I can't remember what the valving on them was so I'm no help there. I am toying with the idea of making a sway bar for the front to be able to put the springs back in dual rate and soften them up a little bit, but it will be a little tricky. For bump stops I am running the factory ones that came on the truck, it was supposed to be a temporary arrangement but so far I haven't needed anything more substantial as they are holding up great. I like to keep things as simple as possible so unless you really need them I would not dive into air or hydro bumps just yet. A softer durometer might be the key since it will deform more readily and not be torn apart since there is some give to them.
The 2.5" shocks should be plenty big enough to work for our trucks. The way to tell is if you are overheating them and getting them to fade. Mine have never faded and the trip I went on last week was a great test, lots of rocky and bumpy trail to heat the shocks up. If you need more control then you may need to re-valve them or increase the nitrogen pressure in the RR. I am running mine in single rate pretty much all the time now to keep them stiff enough to control my body roll, but I can't remember what the valving on them was so I'm no help there. I am toying with the idea of making a sway bar for the front to be able to put the springs back in dual rate and soften them up a little bit, but it will be a little tricky. For bump stops I am running the factory ones that came on the truck, it was supposed to be a temporary arrangement but so far I haven't needed anything more substantial as they are holding up great. I like to keep things as simple as possible so unless you really need them I would not dive into air or hydro bumps just yet. A softer durometer might be the key since it will deform more readily and not be torn apart since there is some give to them.