RPhil's Excursion

[RPhil]

I have been perusing this forum for years, waiting until I was in a position to purchase myself a rig to use for expo-style trips as well as camping, hauling, and winter duties.


I decided on a V10 Excursion for a few different reasons, notably:

-Cost. These have depreciated a tremendous amount and I cannot believe the amount of truck you can get for your dollar. I paid $2800 for an '00 Limited 4x4 that needs a bit of work. I searched for a truck within my budget for about 8 months in an effort to keep initial purchase price low. My truck has the 3.73 gears- I obviously wanted the 4.30s that came on some V10 trucks, but beggars can't be choosers. That will come later.

-Reliability. From what I understand, these V10's are very reliable. I plan on replacing all spark plugs and torquing to factory specs, as their biggest issue from what I understand is spitting a plug. The Excursion platform shares almost everything as the Super Duties, meaning parts and knowledge is plentiful.

-Simplicity. 4 leaf springs with 2 solid axles.


As another user noted in a thread that I posted in, these trucks have a wealth of information available on different forums, but not so much Expo-Portal. Ford-trucks has a forum full of fanatics for these vehicles. I wanted to share my slow build with everyone here, as there aren't many excursions builds on this forum.

First upgrade was suspension. Front bumps stops were non-existent and the truck handled like a whale. I went with V-code springs up front and modified B-code springs out back (commonly referred to as the V/B swap). Found them cheap on Craiglist from someone upgrading their stock Super Duty. I coupled these with Bilstein 5100s from CaryT. I eventually will be adding a sway bar, but I don't tow frequently right now, so that is on the back burner for now.

Next upgrade was wheels/tires. I went with 17x8 ATX Mojave II wheels wrapped with 285/75 Toyo Open Country AT II's. Sourced from Tread Depot.

Please find some pictures below.


Stock, after purchase (I forget which order I took the wheel well height pictures in... woops. I know it was front, rear, rear, front- I just forget DS vs. PS):

Wheel well heights:

http://imgur.com/OEFwxqr.jpg
http://imgur.com/JSUQEN6.jpg
http://imgur.com/SmBB8eF.jpg
http://imgur.com/wbiwR43.jpg


Shocks, leaf springs:

After shocks and leaf springs:

Wheel well heights, after:

http://imgur.com/zYAEgBQ.jpg
http://imgur.com/eApOqok.jpg
http://imgur.com/VBagQxv.jpg
http://imgur.com/tFEosdL.jpg


After wheels and tires:

Bonus picture of before / after with a buddy's FJ that we worked on during the same weekend:

Future big plans include sleeping/storage platform in the back first. Then eventually bumpers/gearing. Just excited to get it out and do some exploring. In the mean time, I'll be throwing some tow mirrors and cab lights on.

Cheers :smiley_drive:



Can someone let me know how to resize pictures in this thread? Thanks!

 

[SDDiver5]

Nice! I love the Excursions. I drove one for a few years. I was amazed at the places it took me offroad wise. Unfortunately, I drove it in HS as it was my parents extra car and they sold it but I sure would love to own one again! it literally is a perfect platform. I actually just posted a thread about an excursion with a high top on it like a sportsmobile.

Good luck with the build.

 

[RPhil]

Upgraded mirrors to 08+ towing mirrors for better visibility. Still need to wire them up which shouldn't be too difficult.

Comparison of old vs new:

Old:

New:

 

[ExplorerTom]

I too like Excursions but here in Colorado, they are too big for a lot of the trails out here.

 

[boll_rig]

Great looking rig! and I hear ya tom, was on mineral mountain trail last night/ 505 from elder to caribou and it sure would have been tight in my suburban (was on dirtbike).
Always liked the excursions though and big difference the shocks made, can't stand a sagging vehicle..

 

[justbecause]

my next vehicle will be full sized. and I am really torn between the excursion and the suburban.

 

[RPhil]

I too like Excursions but here in Colorado, they are too big for a lot of the trails out here.

I believe that! I'm almost thankful that it already has a bit of body damage... that way I won't feel as bad when it starts gaining some more "character."

my next vehicle will be full sized. and I am really torn between the excursion and the suburban.

I, personally, would be more concerned with finding the best deal possible. Depending on your needs, an argument could be made for both, in my opinion.

 

[justbecause]

I believe that! I'm almost thankful that it already has a bit of body damage... that way I won't feel as bad when it starts gaining some more "character."




I, personally, would be more concerned with finding the best deal possible. Depending on your needs, an argument could be made for both, in my opinion.

suburbans are easier to find, and at least in my experience can be had for less money with less miles... that tells me people like the excursion more, and are willing to pay more for it, but at the same time, 2500 suburbans which is more on par with the x, are less common.... then again the 1500 burbs can get about 33% better MPG than an x.... these are conversations I have with myself often. I hope once I get to the point of test driving vehicles the decision will become easier.

 

[justcuz]

Nice job on the suspension, looks just right at the new height.
I also like the comparison picture between the Excursion and the Land Cruiser, not a lot of visual difference except wheelbase. You never realize how much rear overhang the 60/62's have until you see a picture like that.
Sway bars can be had off of Superduties, personally unless your towing heavy, I would skip it in the rear.
I agree with the above poster about shopping price.
If it is not a daily driver the mileage penalty of the Excursion is not a real big deal.
Nice looking vehicle, glad your going to post your improvements here.

Oh and guys in Colorado, how much would you miss with a vehicle this size? Tom I know you have added an Expedition to your driveway. I ask because the last time I was in Silverton I bought a back country book and the guy was using a Suburban on a lot of the back roads.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Oh and guys in Colorado, how much would you miss with a vehicle this size? Tom I know you have added an Expedition to your driveway. I ask because the last time I was in Silverton I bought a back country book and the guy was using a Suburban on a lot of the back roads.

You could certainly get out and have lots to explore, but you would be limited. A big vehicle takes 33" tires and laughs them off while on something like a Samuri they are huge. Those tires that are fairly big on non-full size vehicles won't hardly clear the medium sized rocks on the trails I go on. And while I know my Explorer's limits and stay away from those trails, the trails that it handles could get me into trouble with my Expedition.

And then there's pin striping from the trees and bushes that overgrow onto the trail. My Explorer is pin striped pretty badly. And it's much narrower. Not that either are concours queens.

 

[justcuz]

I suppose 35" or 37" tires would be much better on an Excursion. From what I've seen it does not look like it takes much to put 35's on an Expedition, a couple inches of lift maybe.

I just pinstriped the heck out of my 2000 Suburban a couple weeks ago. Filled the inside full of leaves and bugs off the branches too. It was too nice a day to have the windows up and the AC on. I actually went up a seasonally closed road and was not aware of it. No lock on the gate and sign says keep gate closed, no off highway vehicles, etc. But it is seasonally closed from March through September with no signage. The only one in the entire forest! Just my luck! The Forest Service guys who met me a few miles in were nice and even gave me a map.

 

[RPhil]

I suppose 35" or 37" tires would be much better on an Excursion. From what I've seen it does not look like it takes much to put 35's on an Expedition, a couple inches of lift maybe.

I just pinstriped the heck out of my 2000 Suburban a couple weeks ago. Filled the inside full of leaves and bugs off the branches too. It was too nice a day to have the windows up and the AC on. I actually went up a seasonally closed road and was not aware of it. No lock on the gate and sign says keep gate closed, no off highway vehicles, etc. But it is seasonally closed from March through September with no signage. The only one in the entire forest! Just my luck! The Forest Service guys who met me a few miles in were nice and even gave me a map.

The Toyos I put on are almost exactly 34". The size of the Excursion just makes them seem almost "normal." I knew adding the V/B codes would allow me to stuff these without any issues rubbing anywhere. I considered going with an aftermarket lift and 37's, but I didn't see a whole lot of gain in doing so. Also, with the 3.73s, I would have had to regear to be happy. Somewhere far down the road when I have a larger budget, I would love to consider some 4.56s and 37s...

 

[fnjeep314]

Awesome! I cant wait to see where you go with this build. Its one that I have been contemplating myself. How is the gas mpg so far?

 

[RPhil]

Awesome! I cant wait to see where you go with this build. Its one that I have been contemplating myself. How is the gas mpg so far?

First half-tank that I hand-measured was 9. That was on the lift and stock tires. Currently running through the first complete full tank of lift and tires.

I have been using it for putting around- not a whole lot of highway driving. Even when I have driven it to work, my commute consists of highway driving that is almost always pretty busy (not quite stop-and-go, but almost). I expect closer to 11-12 once I can get it on the highway at 65 for a few hours.

Actually, as I am typing this, I am realizing that my numbers will be off moving forward. I am using the tripometer to calculate... which is actually off due to my tire size. Hmm... guess I'll need to fill it up one day then use a GPS to calculate miles driven and calculate from there.


I let my brother in law use it for a few days. I'm excited to get it back and take some interior dimensions in the rear so I can CAD up a rear platform. I use Catia and Creo extensively at work, so that will be no problem. It will be a problem to work around the huge spare tire that will live in the stock spot until I feel like springing for a rear bumper with tire carrier.

Also going to be ordering an '05 grill to freshen up the front a bit.

Taking it on a short camping trip with some friends in 1.5 weeks. Would like to flush the coolant, change the oil, and replace plugs before then.

:smiley_drive:

 

[5HUB]

Subscribed, looking forward to progress