Off-Road Ranger I
- 2,865
- First Name
- Donald
- Last Name
- Diehl
- Member #
-
0745
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRPN 506
Jim suggested I start a thread about our full time, poor man's expedition rig. Well, that's what my wife and I call it, as the price point is way lower, less than half, of the entry level exotics. We began camping together in a 1987 F-150 that doubled as a painting contractors work truck, then a 98 TJ, then an 04 Rubicon, then 12 years ago stepped up to our 80 series/LX450 Landcruiser. See a pattern? As we got older, we started traveling longer and longer distances. The 04 became unbearable after about 7 years of long distance touring. The 80 fit our needs, along with a light off-road trailer for part timing. Since retirement we've been out two and three times a year. Our longest time on the road was nine weeks just last year. We are taking our final trip in the 80 next month to Wyoming's Big Horns and then down to the Black Hills. Once home the entire set up will be up for sale.
Since our trip last year up to Tuktoyaktuk we have come to the conclusion that as we only live once at our ages (70 and 67) , it is now or never to go full time. We are thinking at least 3 years minimum. With that decision our research began. Interestingly my wife Virginia has entrusted me with everything except the size of the flatbed camper, the creature comfort accessories and the colors of the truck and camper.
I have chosen the Ford F-350 XL, 6.8 gasser, SRW; We ordered the truck the 8th of August and should take delivery late October or November.
The two most important things for me to consider was payload & fuel range. Payload is around 4500lbs. That translates into not needing any suspension modifications as we will be driving around with less than 1/2 that weight on our back. Getting an 8 ft bed was a no brainer for two reasons. Ist off, Virginia insisted on having as big a 4WD camper as possible which woould be the Grandby model. 2ndly, the 8 ft bed has a 48 gallon fuel tank which will give us a bit more than a 500 mile range.
The truck is a very basic work truck that I have added only a couple of options unto. The XL off-road package, the FX4 off-road package. The combination of these packages gives you a rear locker on 3.73s, fancy shocks, skid plates, breather lines for the diffs and transfer case, skid plates, larger AT tires, crawl control, a black out package and a couple of other things I don't remember. I considered a chassis build, but the fuel tank and the 4wd packages were not options. Curiously a truck with a bed on it is less expensive than the chassis only. I also ordered the 410 amp dual alternator, dual batteries, and a 120-volt/400-watt outlet. Thats it. About as bare bones as it gets and still be optioned out enough for traversing most of the roads we are accustomed to being on. I look forward to any comments, advice, or opinions as we move forward with this build.
Since our trip last year up to Tuktoyaktuk we have come to the conclusion that as we only live once at our ages (70 and 67) , it is now or never to go full time. We are thinking at least 3 years minimum. With that decision our research began. Interestingly my wife Virginia has entrusted me with everything except the size of the flatbed camper, the creature comfort accessories and the colors of the truck and camper.
I have chosen the Ford F-350 XL, 6.8 gasser, SRW; We ordered the truck the 8th of August and should take delivery late October or November.
The two most important things for me to consider was payload & fuel range. Payload is around 4500lbs. That translates into not needing any suspension modifications as we will be driving around with less than 1/2 that weight on our back. Getting an 8 ft bed was a no brainer for two reasons. Ist off, Virginia insisted on having as big a 4WD camper as possible which woould be the Grandby model. 2ndly, the 8 ft bed has a 48 gallon fuel tank which will give us a bit more than a 500 mile range.
The truck is a very basic work truck that I have added only a couple of options unto. The XL off-road package, the FX4 off-road package. The combination of these packages gives you a rear locker on 3.73s, fancy shocks, skid plates, breather lines for the diffs and transfer case, skid plates, larger AT tires, crawl control, a black out package and a couple of other things I don't remember. I considered a chassis build, but the fuel tank and the 4wd packages were not options. Curiously a truck with a bed on it is less expensive than the chassis only. I also ordered the 410 amp dual alternator, dual batteries, and a 120-volt/400-watt outlet. Thats it. About as bare bones as it gets and still be optioned out enough for traversing most of the roads we are accustomed to being on. I look forward to any comments, advice, or opinions as we move forward with this build.
