The wife and I picked up this 05 Explorer last year to replace our beloved but rapidly aging 94 Montero SR. At first we had no intention of building up a rig but our shared love for camping and my love of everything off road has pushed us to find a way to combine the two.
Now, we're going into this project knowing full well the Explorer isn't on the level the Monty was. Front and rear independent suspension, no air lockers, less ground clearance, and a nearly non-existant aftermarket are the challenges we face. That said, the Explorer has a lot going for it. The level of comfort is great for eating up thousands of miles. The 4.6 modular V8 offers all the power we need and decent enough fuel economy, and replacement parts are available pretty much everywhere. Lots of Mustang performance parts fit as well, so there's always fun to be had. The Ford 8.8 rear end and Dana Super 30 front are plenty beefy for our needs, and different gearing and rear lockers are readily available. And best of all, there's plenty of room for all of our gear. I'm honestly amazed at what we've managed to fit in the back and still have room for our dogs.
Planned modifications include:
32" tires, 17" Soft 8s
Spartan rear locker
BTF Fabrication spacer lift (about 1.5" overall)
F-150 front recovery points (they're a direct bolt-on)
Custom skid plates and rock sliders from a local fabricator
Hidden (more like recessed) winch
Safari rack
LED auxilliary lighting
DIY snorkel, because nobody makes one (the stock intake is very low and even the shallowest of water crossings can kill an Explorer)
DIY interior storage system
Indel fridge/freezer (maybe, eventually)
Isolated dual battery (if we upgrade to the fridge)
LG G-Pad 7.0 tablet with 64gb SD card - GPS, trail maps, dashcam, media
We started with the interior storage since we camp nearly every weekend and it's a way for us to figure out what works and what doesn't. We built a drawer setup with two drawers, each with 3 cu ft of storage. We removed the third row seats, which left a ton of room under the drawers for extra storage and I was still able to keep the 12" sub, because my tunes. Up above is a deck that will eventually have D rings (have em, gotta mount em) for securing an Ozark Trail camp kitchen (identical to the Camp Chef Sherpa but way cheaper) and a sliding mount for the fuel and water cans. The passenger rear seat has been removed and in its place we have a 70qt Coleman 5-day cooler. An Indel fridge may occupy that space at some point but for now the cooler works fine and it's entirely possible we won't even replace it. The only real motivation is not having to buy ice, though that in itself would eventually pay for the fridge.
I haven't bought slides for the drawers yet and the whole thing still needs painted, but overall it's very useable and seems to work well for us. The best part is the truck is always packed. We get ice and whatever groceries we need, pack some clothes and hit the road. Easy peasy.
We've also started a DIY awning using a 10x20 tarp that can also cover our tent if the weather turns super shitty, and poles built from Sch 40 PVC. The poles are kinda heavy so we're looking for lightweight alternatives, but overall the setup works well. I'll get some pics of the setup tomorrow but for now here's some pics of the Explorer and where we're at so far:
Now, we're going into this project knowing full well the Explorer isn't on the level the Monty was. Front and rear independent suspension, no air lockers, less ground clearance, and a nearly non-existant aftermarket are the challenges we face. That said, the Explorer has a lot going for it. The level of comfort is great for eating up thousands of miles. The 4.6 modular V8 offers all the power we need and decent enough fuel economy, and replacement parts are available pretty much everywhere. Lots of Mustang performance parts fit as well, so there's always fun to be had. The Ford 8.8 rear end and Dana Super 30 front are plenty beefy for our needs, and different gearing and rear lockers are readily available. And best of all, there's plenty of room for all of our gear. I'm honestly amazed at what we've managed to fit in the back and still have room for our dogs.
Planned modifications include:
32" tires, 17" Soft 8s
Spartan rear locker
BTF Fabrication spacer lift (about 1.5" overall)
F-150 front recovery points (they're a direct bolt-on)
Custom skid plates and rock sliders from a local fabricator
Hidden (more like recessed) winch
Safari rack
LED auxilliary lighting
DIY snorkel, because nobody makes one (the stock intake is very low and even the shallowest of water crossings can kill an Explorer)
DIY interior storage system
Indel fridge/freezer (maybe, eventually)
Isolated dual battery (if we upgrade to the fridge)
LG G-Pad 7.0 tablet with 64gb SD card - GPS, trail maps, dashcam, media
We started with the interior storage since we camp nearly every weekend and it's a way for us to figure out what works and what doesn't. We built a drawer setup with two drawers, each with 3 cu ft of storage. We removed the third row seats, which left a ton of room under the drawers for extra storage and I was still able to keep the 12" sub, because my tunes. Up above is a deck that will eventually have D rings (have em, gotta mount em) for securing an Ozark Trail camp kitchen (identical to the Camp Chef Sherpa but way cheaper) and a sliding mount for the fuel and water cans. The passenger rear seat has been removed and in its place we have a 70qt Coleman 5-day cooler. An Indel fridge may occupy that space at some point but for now the cooler works fine and it's entirely possible we won't even replace it. The only real motivation is not having to buy ice, though that in itself would eventually pay for the fridge.
I haven't bought slides for the drawers yet and the whole thing still needs painted, but overall it's very useable and seems to work well for us. The best part is the truck is always packed. We get ice and whatever groceries we need, pack some clothes and hit the road. Easy peasy.
We've also started a DIY awning using a 10x20 tarp that can also cover our tent if the weather turns super shitty, and poles built from Sch 40 PVC. The poles are kinda heavy so we're looking for lightweight alternatives, but overall the setup works well. I'll get some pics of the setup tomorrow but for now here's some pics of the Explorer and where we're at so far:
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