I've been here before, contemplating what goodies might fit. Bench racing and spinning my wheels.
First go round was a VW westy but I ended up coming to my senses and just selling it off because it didn't really meet my needs.
Second go was a massive cab over diesel but the heavy duty parts I would have needed to complete the project ended up being far more rare than I originally thought and the zeros that come after rare where too much for my wallet...
So either I like spinning my wheels or just like to abuse my ego when I have to give up...
But... I still am after that elusive "perfect" (for me) expo/adventure rig.
This time I picked up this beast.
Not rare (at least the truck part), not unique and the camper checks all of my boxes. Shower, head, furnace, frig and more.
But... It's not a 4x4.
It's an 88 E250 2 wheel drive with coil spring IFS and leafs in the back.
What my needs are:
Not a off-road jeep trail rig but an explorers rig.
Desert gravel/sand washout
Mountain FS and Fire road/graded but sometimes muddy
Mountian pass snow and mud.
Far north gravel/muddy roads
Maybe some Ice roads.
Nothing too rocky/boulders and not too far off camber. Mostly graded, albeit long ago and poorly. Just needs to not get stuck... In sand or mush.
Yes, I'm looking for something shiny.
I think I'm probably out of my mind but 05-10 F350 super duty dually axles would fit the bill. The front has coil springs so it looks easier to fit to me than leafs. The radius arms, steering box, etc look like they land in similar locations as my current IFS.
Big dually axle out back with some fender flares.
Don't want to get too tall but I do want lots of floatations. 285's maybe? My GVAW is 3250/5300 currently and the super duty Dana super 60 an Dana 80 are rated at 6k and 10k+.
So gross overkill or just enough crazy to be a very solid gravel traveler?
Would a 60/70 combo be better?
Or even a TTB 44 and a 60? If leveled correctly it might handle well... Or not.
Or a TTB 50 with coils and 70 out back (dually conversation 60 hubs?)
I'd really like to hear from someone with some experience but we're just bench racing at this point so throw in your two cents.... Scotty, you lurker you.
Anyway, if I do dually or single I'd be keeping them all the same so I would only need one type of spare... Although I'm planning on carrying two.
What say you?
First go round was a VW westy but I ended up coming to my senses and just selling it off because it didn't really meet my needs.
Second go was a massive cab over diesel but the heavy duty parts I would have needed to complete the project ended up being far more rare than I originally thought and the zeros that come after rare where too much for my wallet...
So either I like spinning my wheels or just like to abuse my ego when I have to give up...
But... I still am after that elusive "perfect" (for me) expo/adventure rig.
This time I picked up this beast.
Not rare (at least the truck part), not unique and the camper checks all of my boxes. Shower, head, furnace, frig and more.
But... It's not a 4x4.
It's an 88 E250 2 wheel drive with coil spring IFS and leafs in the back.
What my needs are:
Not a off-road jeep trail rig but an explorers rig.
Desert gravel/sand washout
Mountain FS and Fire road/graded but sometimes muddy
Mountian pass snow and mud.
Far north gravel/muddy roads
Maybe some Ice roads.
Nothing too rocky/boulders and not too far off camber. Mostly graded, albeit long ago and poorly. Just needs to not get stuck... In sand or mush.
Yes, I'm looking for something shiny.
I think I'm probably out of my mind but 05-10 F350 super duty dually axles would fit the bill. The front has coil springs so it looks easier to fit to me than leafs. The radius arms, steering box, etc look like they land in similar locations as my current IFS.
Big dually axle out back with some fender flares.
Don't want to get too tall but I do want lots of floatations. 285's maybe? My GVAW is 3250/5300 currently and the super duty Dana super 60 an Dana 80 are rated at 6k and 10k+.
So gross overkill or just enough crazy to be a very solid gravel traveler?
Would a 60/70 combo be better?
Or even a TTB 44 and a 60? If leveled correctly it might handle well... Or not.
Or a TTB 50 with coils and 70 out back (dually conversation 60 hubs?)
I'd really like to hear from someone with some experience but we're just bench racing at this point so throw in your two cents.... Scotty, you lurker you.
Anyway, if I do dually or single I'd be keeping them all the same so I would only need one type of spare... Although I'm planning on carrying two.
What say you?