Project: Waltzing Matilda

[Redline]

The 6 speed... At first I thought I made an error purchasing the manual. However, the more I drive it, the more I like it. I do think it has the potential to be a pain on a real technical trail.

It was awesome when I was testing it the other day. I descended a pretty steep section of the trail in first gear with the t-case in low. The thing just slowly crawled down the hill. It brought back memories of the Atlas t-case in my Unlimited. Just slow and controlled.
snip.........

I love a manual trans, even though they can certainly be work on a technical trail. My thinking is that a good manual is much nicer for daily driving (as long as it's not lots of stop-go), trailer pulling, particularly in mountains/altitude, and descents. Very slow, technical trails can be a pain, but I've rarely thought so with my old F350. Then again, maybe my long legs make the hydraulic clutch seem not so bad. Maybe you will find you are not seeking the most difficult routes?

One technique I have used on really slow obstacles is to use my low gears and no accelerator, using the clutch and brake at the same time to modulate the torque.

99% of the time I still prefer the manual gearbox. In fact a manual and good gearing has allowed my to drive some roads fairly easily that I probably would not have attempted with a slush box- like towing a 30-ft., 8,000-lb trailer up and over the top of Sonora Pass and down to US 395, and over Rocky Mountain National Park's Trail Ridge Road.

If your F250's accelerator pedal tip-in has a long dead spot and is jumpy like my 1996 was, I can show you what I did to improve the feel and tip-in on the F350.

I know you're a good driver, but I recall it taking me a while to develop the techniques to drive my Power Stroke as well as I wanted.

Looking forward to your long-term build my friend.

 

[BCHauler]

What size are the Maxxis tires on the truck right now? Are they 235/85's? I've really been chewing on tire sizes for my F250 and the 255/85's are on the list. Your 255's haven't been mounted yet, correct?

 

[UHAULER]

Nice truck. Last fall I was looking for a clean 7.3 when I found this one, 02 f350, xlt with auto trans.

When I bought it.

Now

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

What size are the Maxxis tires on the truck right now? Are they 235/85's? I've really been chewing on tire sizes for my F250 and the 255/85's are on the list. Your 255's haven't been mounted yet, correct?

Just got back into town, sorry for the delay.

Yes, currently the tires are 235/85's. I wanted to mount my 255's before I left, but just didn't get around to it yet. Hopefully by the end of this week they will be mounted.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Nice truck. Last fall I was looking for a clean 7.3 when I found this one, 02 f350, xlt with auto trans.

Twins...Almost

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I love a manual trans, even though they can certainly be work on a technical trail. My thinking is that a good manual is much nicer for daily driving (as long as it's not lots of stop-go), trailer pulling, particularly in mountains/altitude, and descents. Very slow, technical trails can be a pain, but I've rarely thought so with my old F350. Then again, maybe my long legs make the hydraulic clutch seem not so bad. Maybe you will find you are not seeking the most difficult routes?

One technique I have used on really slow obstacles is to use my low gears and no accelerator, using the clutch and brake at the same time to modulate the torque.

99% of the time I still prefer the manual gearbox. In fact a manual and good gearing has allowed my to drive some roads fairly easily that I probably would not have attempted with a slush box- like towing a 30-ft., 8,000-lb trailer up and over the top of Sonora Pass and down to US 395, and over Rocky Mountain National Park's Trail Ridge Road.

If your F250's accelerator pedal tip-in has a long dead spot and is jumpy like my 1996 was, I can show you what I did to improve the feel and tip-in on the F350.

I know you're a good driver, but I recall it taking me a while to develop the techniques to drive my Power Stroke as well as I wanted.

Looking forward to your long-term build my friend.

Yeah, I was working on the low gears and no throttle while I was out the other day. It worked well and I'm still glad I chose the 6 speed.

 

[brut4s]

Try these bumpers, http://www.hansonoffroad.com/index.php

 

[brut4s]

Here are a couple of Hanson Bumpers for Super Dutys

Here are a couple

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Coming from the Jeep world I've been a big fan of Hanson for a long time. Back when he was Hanson welding and you could never get a hold of him.

However, I didn't know he made full size bumpers. Thanks for the link, it adds another contender for sure.

 

[AZ51]

16" tires?

I'm in final phase of purchasing super duty to begin a similar build. Why 16" rims? I'm curious about your thinking as it might give me some additional insight about options I should consider. Warmest Regards.

 

[greasyfingers]

Nice truck! I too have a SD, it's a crew cab SB, 4wd with an auto. I have yet to have any problems with it in the last 240,K miles knock on wood. I even towed 24k GCVW from Anchorage to Seattle to ND, into GA. And a few other cross-country heavy tows. Those mountains in Yukon and BC are no joke! I know the tranny won’t last forever so I'm saving for a built trans. definitely get a coolant filter. Dieselsite has a nice kit but I would suggest you piece together your own. Use a Baldwin CFB5000 filter base, ball valves and some pushlock hose from parker. The Dieselsite unit mounts too close to the radeator hose and it can be a bit of a pain to change filters. While you are at it you might want to get a new water pump depending on how many miles are on it and dual alt. radiator hose that goes around the belt instead of through it. Definitely go with CAT ELC, is great stuff! Also if you aren't planning on going with 35"+ tires stick with the OEM 16"s. They are hub centric and you can mount 285/75/16 no problem.

If you're interested I have a whole list of mods to increase durability I can post up. BTW I love the Hawk slide in.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I'm in final phase of purchasing super duty to begin a similar build. Why 16" rims? I'm curious about your thinking as it might give me some additional insight about options I should consider. Warmest Regards.

It's purely a personal choice. I am partial to the 255/85R16 (A tall skinny 33") size. I"ve used it on a lot of different rigs and have been very pleased with it's performance.

There are a lot of different 16"s available, so your not really limited on the tire choice due to the wheel size. I tend to usually have a couple different sets of tires for my rides, which are usually a winter set and a summer set.

I find that 16" is also pretty universal. I also think you'd have an easier time sourcing a 16" than say an 18" in a rural setting if somethign should happen to your spare or the failure is beyoned your patch kit.

If I switched sizes it would be to a 17". I've heard it said, "17"s are the new 15"s" and I'd have to agree. There is a great selection of high quality wheels in 17"s. Both Walker Evans and Hutchinson make great wheels. I've had two sets of Walkers, both true bead locks. The first was on the Unlimited and the second was on the Cummins.

People might scoff at running a true bead lock on a rig of this nature, but I have found that every little bit of traction helps. The peace of mind you get from being able to really air down without worrying about popping a bead is comforting.

At a later time I can definitely see running another set of Walkers' with a dedicated trail tire on it and keeping the 16"s for daily use. I just have a few other things to do first.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Dieselsite has a nice kit but I would suggest you piece together your own. Use a Baldwin CFB5000 filter base, ball valves and some pushlock hose from parker. The Dieselsite unit mounts too close to the radeator hose and it can be a bit of a pain to change filters.

Thanks for the kudo's. Where did you mount your kit to allow for easy changes? Do you have part numbers for the ball valves or pics? What size hose did you use?

I like the dual alternator's, but I will more than likely be going with an engine driven air compressor from Extreme Outback www.extremeoutback.com .

Thanks for the tips.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Here are a couple

Update on Hanson bumpers for the full size rigs: I called last week and learned that Hanson has been purchased by "PureJeep". Not a big surprise once you visit both of their websites (They're identical).

They are in the middle of a "redesign" and will have no information available until this fall. No pricing, no design ideas, can't even say if they will be offering the two styles pictured above. The time line while a bummer, isn't a deal killer because although I would like to have a front bumper on by fall, who knows if it will work out that way.

I liked the style on the white truck. It doesn't stick out an obnoxious distance. The brush guard portion doesn't appear to bolt on like a lego kit and it's aesthetically appealing to me. Let's hope that the new design only compliments the original one and that they are truly ready by this fall.

 

[greasyfingers]

I have the Dieselsite kit, so for now it is mounted on the core support but I plan on moving it. I was going to make my own but I found a guy selling a bunch of new Dieselsite stuff for a fraction of the cost that he ordered but totaled his truck before he installed it. I'm thinking of relocating the batteries to custom recessed boxes in the bed so I might mount the filter were one of the batteries were. I'm just not happy with where it is now.


As for the ball valves you can get them at Grainger http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Mi...m_sp=IO-_-IDP-_-BTM_BTB05209020&cm_vc=IDPBBZ2 for the ones I have or anywhere else that has 3/8” NPT M/F valves, just make sure they can hold up to the heat. As for the hose I'm not sure if its 3/8 or 7/16 bet I'm pretty sure its 3/8.
If you are planning on running the CAT ELC or any other ELC make sure you run filters that DO NOT have the SCA additive. You can get them at NAPA which is kind of pricey $15-$17 of you can get a box of 6 on ebay for a fair price $7-$9ea.


I was suggesting dual alternator radiator hose, not dual alternators. The standard hose goes through the belt, so if you have to remove the belt, you have to remove the upper radiator hose. The dual alternator hose goes around the belt. You don't need anything special to run it and I guarantee it will make your life easier when doing maintenance down the road.
You can also put a ball valve in the return heater core hose blocking it off during the summer so your AC temps drop 10-15*, or even plumb in a cheap ebay plate heat exchanger for hot showers. I hate dealing with coolant so these were the things I did when I did my flush just so I didn't have to deal with it again.


I too wanted an extreme outback compressor but their prices are just stupid! $1200 for the compressor and mounting bracket only! Add the rest of the system and you're looking at $1400-$1500. Check out York compressors, you can buy a new compressor for $150 and have a fabricator build a mount, if not do it yourself for 1/4th the cost of the outback unit.