Project "Autonomous" F-350

Night Sailor

Night Sailor

New member
pappawheely said:
One of the first things I considered was wheels and tires. I wanted to be able to repair a flat in the field. Beadlock rims allow you to take the rim apart, perform a repair and then put it back together again. You can also wrestle a tire on and off without a beadlock but I wanted a very strong wheel. I chose Trailready beadlocks for their quality and the super wide "World Series" ring that they offer. It reinforces the rim substantially, much more than many other designs available.

View attachment 407663

My tire of choice was the Falken Wildpeak in a 37x12.5-17. The Wildpeaks are a great all terrain tire. I spend a lot of time offroad but I also cover huge distances on the highway. I have to consider durability, traction and fuel economy. The Wildpeaks give me all that. They also have a load rating of 3525lbs each.

View attachment 407664

One thing I learned was that the Wildpeak tires have a very thick bead on them. Spacers were needed to seat the beadlock ring onto the wheel. Trailready has the correct spacers and they are lightweight and easy to install.

View attachment 407665

If you are going to repair a tire in the field, any balancing that was done is now compromised. Fixing a flat and then hitting the pavement for a couple hundred miles with an out of balance condition will kill your tire. I HATE! wheel weights but thankfully there is an awesome solution to this problem. I use Centramatic dynamic wheel balancers. It does not matter what the balance on the wheel and tire is, the Centramatic Dynamic balancers will make the wheel run smooth and true. They mount between the hub and the wheel. The minute I drove with the Centramatics I could feel the difference! If you hate wheel weights like me and want to get the most mileage out of your tires, wheel bearings, etc. you should check out Centramatic. I run the Centramatics and NO wheel weights.

View attachment 407666

You can also see the Warn hubs I had installed by my friend Tom Baker at Baker Automotive in Fullerton, Ca. He upgraded my hubs while doing a complete front brake job including rebuilt calipers and a new rotor.

Last but not least is my tire pressure monitoring system by Pressure Pro. The sensors mount to the valve stems and send a signal wirelessly to the dash mounted display. You can monitor up to 6 tires with this unit. Once programmed it will sense a slow leak and give you a warning. It's great peace of mind when you are towing, (my trailer will have the sensors too), or carrying a heavy load. I have not installed the unit yet, I am still laying out the dash. The super wide "World Series" rings on my Trailready beadlocks also protect the Pressure Pro sensors from damage offroad.

View attachment 407672
Click to expand...
Good info on the TPMS. I have been wanting that for my dually but could not find a system that would monitor six wheels. I’d also like those for my boat trailer
 
Last edited:
pappawheely

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
If only there was a monitor that would tell you when critical bolts get loose. I was out prerunning photo locations at the Mint 400 when the bolts sheared on my rear caliper mount. When I hit the brakes again the caliper spun around and ripped the brake line out of the banjo fitting. I had to clamp the line with vise grips and kept my travels to the pavement. I've ordered new lines and will have a spare on hand now. The e-brake arm was also damaged, but I think I can fix that, and the caliper mounting bracket. I used grade 8 bolts with locking nuts. It doesn't seem logical that the bolts backed out, I think it might have been bad bolts. :mad:

504829
 
pappawheely

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
DirtRoads said:
Sheared bolts? Geez that's bad luck. I have had them get loose before so I always lock tight them, but never sheared.
Click to expand...

If the bolts just loosen, typically the bolt holes will get elongated. Two of them were fine, the third one was distorted. Two bolts went first, the last one eventually let go on the trail.
 
Chorky

Chorky

Observer
Ouch! Hey at least it didn't result in a wreck though, so that's good..it is concerning some. Makes me wonder about my suspension bolts from all that loos clunking. It must have been a manufacturer flaw though.
 
pappawheely

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
My 205 transfer case arrived last week. It was covered in decades old baked on grease and dirt that had a consistency of wax. I've spent hours scraping, brushing, and degreasing just to get it this clean. I already put in the same effort on the Dana 24. I guess it helped to preserve them. The cast iron rusts pretty fast after you uncover it.

505471

505472
 
Seabass

Seabass

Idiot
I'm just dying see this thing come together. My suspicion is that it's gonna be a really cool truck. I'm not really a horsepower junky....but I LOVE things that are bomb proof. I like good parts. I like things that are proven and dependable. Looks like this old truck is gonna have a LOT of really good parts.
 
pappawheely

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
Seabass said:
I'm just dying see this thing come together. My suspicion is that it's gonna be a really cool truck. I'm not really a horsepower junky....but I LOVE things that are bomb proof. I like good parts. I like things that are proven and dependable. Looks like this old truck is gonna have a LOT of really good parts.
Click to expand...

I have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Hillbilly Heaven said:
Twin Stick the beast!
Click to expand...

Without question!

chet6.7 said:
"It was covered in decades old baked on grease and dirt that had a consistency of wax."
A rich patina of grime.:)
Click to expand...

Who knows where its been. ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
188,046
Messages
2,901,583
Members
229,411
Latest member
IvaBru

Members online

Total: 1,220 (members: 30, guests: 1,190)
Top