Hey Guys,
I have never owned a truck or a tow rig for that matter. I have always driven my rig to and from the trail. The reason I started this path was that camping at hammers is getting old. I have camped for 6-9 days in a tent at hammers. The weather is temperamental, one minute its hot as hell, then windy as hell, then cold, then rain, then hot, etc. Went to sand hollow, got caught in a wind storm and then snow. I do love camping but I would like to keep the camping for the rubicon or summer camping. Not the camping in January and February. So I started looking at RV's. Sure, I could rent them every time I want to go out but the cost will add up and I would probably go on more trips if I have a warm place to sleep.
The C class RV was a perfect size and best suited for my price range but the towing capacity sucked and I would be well overweight towing a 6500lb rig plus the weight of a trailer and since I would be going far distances I felt being far over the towing capacity wouldn't be a good idea.
Diesel pushers and Super C class could tow what I need but they are too expensive.
I thought about a dually 3500 (any brand) truck bed camper and a trailer but the truck bed camper is a little small for my liking.
I contemplated just about every setup for months and months and months. I spoke to people with setups I was interested in, I spoke to my friends about the potential setups and I finally settled on something like a 4500-5500 flat bed setup. A rig big enough to haul my 4x4 on the flatbed and then tow a bumper pull trailer behind it. Another thing I wanted was a rig that wouldn't get stuck going to camp spots. Most of the big RV's get stuck as hell when going to camp spots in the desert and we end up having to dig them out and pull them out at the end of a trip.
From there the search continued on what kind of truck, new? Old? Ford? Dodge? Chevy? I have a company car and I still plan to drive my rig to and from the trail on specific trips so having a new truck with $400-800 car payment would probably just piss me off as it would sit most of the time. Also, if I am in a position where I need to spend some extra money on the 4x4 I can stop spending money on the truck. I couldn't stop making a payment if it was a newer more expensive truck.
I found a 2000 Ford F550 on reno craigslist but it was in Stockton, California. CA is banning older 4500/5500 series trucks after Dec. 31st 2020 so you basically have a paperweight of a vehicle.
I had my brother drive over to check out the truck and it needed some work but it checked off the main criteria.
-Crew cab
-Could fit a large 4x4 on the back
-Extremely high GCWR for what I need. (26k or 30k conflicting info on that)
I wish it was 4x4 but these trucks are easy to make 4x4.
So here she is....
A 2000 Ford F550 crew cab with the 7.3L Diesel, 4R100 Auto Trans, 2wd, 201in Wheelbase, 16 ft flatbed in length and 8 ft wide, Dana S135 with factory 4.88 gears, 225/70R19.5 tires. It is a high mileage truck with 376k miles on it. It was owned by the state of CA for many many years then owned by a guy using it for moving and delivery for a couple years until the state said you cant have that anymore.
I picked it up for 5k, sold off a little utility trailer for $800 and was in the truck for $4200 and my brother picked it up and kept it at his place for a few days.
So I flew in to Sacramento from Boise, took a taxi to my brothers place in Lodi and picked up the truck. From there I drove down to so cal to visit my friend, pick up a 05+ F450 van D60 that had 4.88s for $300 then picked up a bunch of stuff my parents couldn't fit in their moving truck when they moved from so cal to Idaho.
Weird, double cardan axleshafts that were in a 450 chassis front wheel drive van.
I weighed the truck on my trek to so cal and she came in at a HEFTY 11,060 lbs with me in it.
The drive down was uneventful and the truck ran very well, when I got to my buddies place the damn thing started leaking. After some diagnosis one of the HPOP lines had an o ring go. So I had to order some parts from the dealer unfortunately but got her back up and going the next morning. After that I visited another friend, picked up my parents stuff and headed back north. I stopped in Lodi for the night at my brother's and then got up early to go to my buddies place in Vacaville to setup some tie downs so I can bring my brothers jeep back up to Idaho.
From there I went back to Lodi, picked up his Jeep so I can give it some TLC when I get home. Its a 1 ton swapped JKU on 40s weighing in at 6100 lbs, then the SD60 and my parents stuff I was grossing about 18k lbs which is equivalent to a normal F250/350 towing a 10-11k setup. Going up the 80 through truckee was ok, she got down to about 40-45 mph on 1 grade but what could you expect with a stock high mileage 7.3 lugging around 18k lbs. I think the 4.88s helped a ton. Trans temp got up to 200 max. After a very very long weekend she was home relatively problem free after logging around 1400-1500 miles. The amazing thing with the suspension is that with a 6100lb jeep on the back the suspension only squatted an inch!
So what work needs to be done? Well I want this thing to be as problem free as possible so I want to go through it all. Injectors, injector cups, gasket harness, turbo, etc. and I had to get her in the garage!!!
After I got it home my plan was to let it sit and stay put until the funds allowed to start modifying it but my wife needed help moving some stuff from one salon to another so it got put to work. Having a 16ft bed was nice!
Then I let my parents use it to move their stuff from the house they were renting to the their new house. When they went to start it she wouldn't start. Unplugging the ICP didn't fix it. I changed the IPR without success and then threw a stage 2 CNC Fab HPOP at it and still nothing. I was throwing parts at it but had planned to do so anyways. Then I changed the LPOP with a melling low pressure oil pump and that fixed it. By the time I got that fixed they had to move so I did tow it with my H3 to their new place. Luckily it was only 8 miles away from their rental house.
Flat towing it with the Hummer.
fixing it away from home
So now she is back in the garage and I started looking for a plan on parts. I really was after towing heavy with little EGT issues. First I thought 180/30 injectors with a wicked wheel on the stock turbo but with that kind of weight it may not be enough so then found KC turbos which is a big upgrade compared to the wicked wheel but after much research, while it does cost more it seems the irate T4 kit and a SXE364.5 turbo really will help with EGT's. What really sold me on that was talking to a hot shot hauler on Instagram that has a 7.3 running 180/30 injectors and a T4 kit with a SXE366 turbo and he has no EGT issues and he runs anywhere from 30-37k gross daily!!!! I already ordered that T4 turbo kit and a PHP hydra. Now I just need the 180/30 injectors, cups and gasket harness.
As for the trans the downside is that with 4.88s it revs high. About 67 mph I am at 2500 rpm. Going from 225/70R19.5 to 245 will get me to about 70-71 mph at 2500 rpm. So I will do that, I think re-gearing it with less gear is stupid as that will help with the heavy loads. I did contemplate a 6 speed Allison swap but at 12k dollars it doesn't make sense financially and that hotshot hauler claims he runs 2500-2700 rpm all day long without issue. I will pull it and have the 4R100 built locally with a billet converter and put a 4wd output shaft in it so I can get a tcase in there as well.
I originally was going to do the 05+ axle swap but I am impressed with how well the leaf springs ride and I may just sell the 05+ SD60 and go with a 99-04 one. I dont think 99-04 had differences in rotor size, caliper size and R&P size when going to the 450/550 chassis like the 05 and up did. so in theory I should be able to grab any F250 axle.
I am taking care of the drivetrain first then I will get to the door and fender damage from a blowout, aux tanks, tool boxes, I am thinking about painting the bed black instead of white, etc. I just want this thing to be as reliable as possible since getting it towed will be a PITA since shes a big long truck lol
I have never owned a truck or a tow rig for that matter. I have always driven my rig to and from the trail. The reason I started this path was that camping at hammers is getting old. I have camped for 6-9 days in a tent at hammers. The weather is temperamental, one minute its hot as hell, then windy as hell, then cold, then rain, then hot, etc. Went to sand hollow, got caught in a wind storm and then snow. I do love camping but I would like to keep the camping for the rubicon or summer camping. Not the camping in January and February. So I started looking at RV's. Sure, I could rent them every time I want to go out but the cost will add up and I would probably go on more trips if I have a warm place to sleep.
The C class RV was a perfect size and best suited for my price range but the towing capacity sucked and I would be well overweight towing a 6500lb rig plus the weight of a trailer and since I would be going far distances I felt being far over the towing capacity wouldn't be a good idea.
Diesel pushers and Super C class could tow what I need but they are too expensive.
I thought about a dually 3500 (any brand) truck bed camper and a trailer but the truck bed camper is a little small for my liking.
I contemplated just about every setup for months and months and months. I spoke to people with setups I was interested in, I spoke to my friends about the potential setups and I finally settled on something like a 4500-5500 flat bed setup. A rig big enough to haul my 4x4 on the flatbed and then tow a bumper pull trailer behind it. Another thing I wanted was a rig that wouldn't get stuck going to camp spots. Most of the big RV's get stuck as hell when going to camp spots in the desert and we end up having to dig them out and pull them out at the end of a trip.
From there the search continued on what kind of truck, new? Old? Ford? Dodge? Chevy? I have a company car and I still plan to drive my rig to and from the trail on specific trips so having a new truck with $400-800 car payment would probably just piss me off as it would sit most of the time. Also, if I am in a position where I need to spend some extra money on the 4x4 I can stop spending money on the truck. I couldn't stop making a payment if it was a newer more expensive truck.
I found a 2000 Ford F550 on reno craigslist but it was in Stockton, California. CA is banning older 4500/5500 series trucks after Dec. 31st 2020 so you basically have a paperweight of a vehicle.
I had my brother drive over to check out the truck and it needed some work but it checked off the main criteria.
-Crew cab
-Could fit a large 4x4 on the back
-Extremely high GCWR for what I need. (26k or 30k conflicting info on that)
I wish it was 4x4 but these trucks are easy to make 4x4.
So here she is....
A 2000 Ford F550 crew cab with the 7.3L Diesel, 4R100 Auto Trans, 2wd, 201in Wheelbase, 16 ft flatbed in length and 8 ft wide, Dana S135 with factory 4.88 gears, 225/70R19.5 tires. It is a high mileage truck with 376k miles on it. It was owned by the state of CA for many many years then owned by a guy using it for moving and delivery for a couple years until the state said you cant have that anymore.
I picked it up for 5k, sold off a little utility trailer for $800 and was in the truck for $4200 and my brother picked it up and kept it at his place for a few days.
So I flew in to Sacramento from Boise, took a taxi to my brothers place in Lodi and picked up the truck. From there I drove down to so cal to visit my friend, pick up a 05+ F450 van D60 that had 4.88s for $300 then picked up a bunch of stuff my parents couldn't fit in their moving truck when they moved from so cal to Idaho.
Weird, double cardan axleshafts that were in a 450 chassis front wheel drive van.
I weighed the truck on my trek to so cal and she came in at a HEFTY 11,060 lbs with me in it.
The drive down was uneventful and the truck ran very well, when I got to my buddies place the damn thing started leaking. After some diagnosis one of the HPOP lines had an o ring go. So I had to order some parts from the dealer unfortunately but got her back up and going the next morning. After that I visited another friend, picked up my parents stuff and headed back north. I stopped in Lodi for the night at my brother's and then got up early to go to my buddies place in Vacaville to setup some tie downs so I can bring my brothers jeep back up to Idaho.
From there I went back to Lodi, picked up his Jeep so I can give it some TLC when I get home. Its a 1 ton swapped JKU on 40s weighing in at 6100 lbs, then the SD60 and my parents stuff I was grossing about 18k lbs which is equivalent to a normal F250/350 towing a 10-11k setup. Going up the 80 through truckee was ok, she got down to about 40-45 mph on 1 grade but what could you expect with a stock high mileage 7.3 lugging around 18k lbs. I think the 4.88s helped a ton. Trans temp got up to 200 max. After a very very long weekend she was home relatively problem free after logging around 1400-1500 miles. The amazing thing with the suspension is that with a 6100lb jeep on the back the suspension only squatted an inch!
So what work needs to be done? Well I want this thing to be as problem free as possible so I want to go through it all. Injectors, injector cups, gasket harness, turbo, etc. and I had to get her in the garage!!!
After I got it home my plan was to let it sit and stay put until the funds allowed to start modifying it but my wife needed help moving some stuff from one salon to another so it got put to work. Having a 16ft bed was nice!
Then I let my parents use it to move their stuff from the house they were renting to the their new house. When they went to start it she wouldn't start. Unplugging the ICP didn't fix it. I changed the IPR without success and then threw a stage 2 CNC Fab HPOP at it and still nothing. I was throwing parts at it but had planned to do so anyways. Then I changed the LPOP with a melling low pressure oil pump and that fixed it. By the time I got that fixed they had to move so I did tow it with my H3 to their new place. Luckily it was only 8 miles away from their rental house.
Flat towing it with the Hummer.
fixing it away from home
So now she is back in the garage and I started looking for a plan on parts. I really was after towing heavy with little EGT issues. First I thought 180/30 injectors with a wicked wheel on the stock turbo but with that kind of weight it may not be enough so then found KC turbos which is a big upgrade compared to the wicked wheel but after much research, while it does cost more it seems the irate T4 kit and a SXE364.5 turbo really will help with EGT's. What really sold me on that was talking to a hot shot hauler on Instagram that has a 7.3 running 180/30 injectors and a T4 kit with a SXE366 turbo and he has no EGT issues and he runs anywhere from 30-37k gross daily!!!! I already ordered that T4 turbo kit and a PHP hydra. Now I just need the 180/30 injectors, cups and gasket harness.
As for the trans the downside is that with 4.88s it revs high. About 67 mph I am at 2500 rpm. Going from 225/70R19.5 to 245 will get me to about 70-71 mph at 2500 rpm. So I will do that, I think re-gearing it with less gear is stupid as that will help with the heavy loads. I did contemplate a 6 speed Allison swap but at 12k dollars it doesn't make sense financially and that hotshot hauler claims he runs 2500-2700 rpm all day long without issue. I will pull it and have the 4R100 built locally with a billet converter and put a 4wd output shaft in it so I can get a tcase in there as well.
I originally was going to do the 05+ axle swap but I am impressed with how well the leaf springs ride and I may just sell the 05+ SD60 and go with a 99-04 one. I dont think 99-04 had differences in rotor size, caliper size and R&P size when going to the 450/550 chassis like the 05 and up did. so in theory I should be able to grab any F250 axle.
I am taking care of the drivetrain first then I will get to the door and fender damage from a blowout, aux tanks, tool boxes, I am thinking about painting the bed black instead of white, etc. I just want this thing to be as reliable as possible since getting it towed will be a PITA since shes a big long truck lol
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