9 replies to this topic

[Barko1]

Bought the used Granby FWC late last Fall and put it on my longbed F150 and while it did OK for several thousand mile trips I opted to go for an F250. Thought about new but since the market ate my retirement I stayed with a used 7.3 which seems to be the Ford motor of choice. Anyway I needed to get it ready for my Alaska trip which meant a good mechanical checkout and a few mods to make it stronger and a bit more off road worthy. I'm new to this truck stuff, especially the diesel so it has been fun. I added a DP Tuner 60+ chip which has been great, much more performance and still good mileage and also went with an oversize Donaldson severe duty airfilter and housing. That's all for under the hood. The suspension and truck had 120,000 on it and ws sagged out so I ended up putting new Ford leafs in the rear and adding Firestone Airbags to balance and raise the rear as needed. Of course then I wanted to level the front so I put in a kit up front that raised it about 2+ inches. In the process it was discovered that the sway bar mount was cracked/busted/no damn good so that was welded up plus I added Rough Country 9000 shocks all around. Finally in spite of having bought new tires as I headed for Alaska they were Big O crap and 20,000 later they look that bad so I bit the bullet and bought Firestone Destination AT's 285/75/16 up from the 265's that I had, E rating for my peace of mind. Then my final little mod was to have a custom front receiver snuck into the grill so I can haul more crap with me (-: A few pics, nothing fancy but should be good to go, rides well, a few inches higher, stronger performing, oh yeah and I threw in two 850cca batteries. So a pretty low cost truck that should be solid and capable and no payments following me. Here is the front lift:

Airbags

Front receiver

Tires

Overall lift/stance

[EdoHart]

It looks good. I've always been partial to mild lifts.

[Barko1]

I'll get a picture up but I have a Segway loaded on the front receiver/rack and a dirt bike on the rear, bet she'll be 28' long. Air shocks should come in handy with the bike sitting off the back.

[ScottBailey]

Looks very nice.

[camelracer]

Barko

That's a good looking rig.
I'm no expert on Fords but from my 4x4 experience lift blocks on the front axle are a no-no. The lateral forces imposed on the steering axle combined with the lever arm created by the lift blocks can lead to problems such as broken u-bolts or sheared center pins. Any steering or suspension problems will be amplified.
I don't mean to bum you out but I think it's something you should check out before you head north.

Good Luck- -Dick

[Barko1]

I already did the 11,000 miles to Alaska. This was a small 2' raise by a very experienced Ford 4x4 guy with better U bolts so it has my confidence.

Barko

That's a good looking rig.
I'm no expert on Fords but from my 4x4 experience lift blocks on the front axle are a no-no. The lateral forces imposed on the steering axle combined with the lever arm created by the lift blocks can lead to problems such as broken u-bolts or sheared center pins. Any steering or suspension problems will be amplified.
I don't mean to bum you out but I think it's something you should check out before you head north.

Good Luck- -Dick

[emilyjordan]

Where are you getting your truck accessories?

[chnlisle]

Be more specific.

[DLN]

Great looking truck and mods, way to go Barko.

[Stan@FourWheel]

Grrrrr

I think it is just another spammer !


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Where are you getting your truck accessories?

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