So it's been years now since I lived in the desert and drove a 4x4 every day. Living on my sailboat in Sausalito with a motorcycle to get around on land has treated me well, but of course I started eyeballing trucks again.
I needed to be able to haul heavy boats up steep slick ramps. There needed to be space for all the tools I need for boat repair, welding, and going on trips. Full sheets of ply needed to fit in the bed. I didn't want to feed a gas big block, and I have never much cared for automatic transmissions.
It took nearly a year to find one in my price range, but I just bought my rare bird. A truck that will earn its keep and will also surely be involved in some fun trips with friends.
1999 F250 Supercab, 7.3PSD, ZF 6 speed manual 4x4 with an 8' Stahl utility body.
Hope to see you guys in the desert!
-CJ
Got a chance to play in the dirt and got a good hike in last weekend. I was rather surprised by the torque at the wheels compared to my Unimog. Only half the overall gear ratio of the mog at around 58:1, but around five times the torque at the crank more than makes up for it. Unfortunately, the 315/75r16 BFG's a prior owner had installed don't have sufficient clearance. Looking at 285/75r16's.
Previous owner swapped the rear blocks for the F350 ones, so the rear is about 2" higher than stock. Darn box is high enough as it is. Front appears to have some kind of leveling kit spring I can't ID yet, maybe 3" above stock. I recently went to 33's, 285/75r16 BFG KM2's. Sits about an inch lower, plenty of fender clearance, no more leaf spring rubbing, the turbo powerband is back in line with normal highway speeds, and the speedo is right. Oh yea, works better off road too
I was having too much fun to take any photos of the truck in the snow this weekend, but it's still going strong after ticking over the 275,000 mark yesterday. Since I've last checked in, it has gotten F350 1-ton dually rear springs with the 250 helper springs added, a 6 position TS chip, a 4" turbo back exhaust with a Walker muffler, a lumber rack, and Autometer gauges for transmission, egt, and boost. Running Propel HPR synthetic diesel (excellent) for the last year, and successfully moving heavy things again and again. See you guys at the Rendezvous!
