Biggest body we have seen on a Ford mud truck makes more room for passengers.
This week’s “Muddy Monday” comes to us from the YouTube channel of Penny Martin Photography and it features an incredible Ford F-350 from the ninth generation of the F-Series romping in the deep water of the Redneck Mud Park. That is a real place, by the way. We looked it up the Redneck Mud Park and found that it is an off-roading facility in Punta Gorda, Florida. One of the facility’s main attractions is the deep, watery mud pit and that ominous pool of slop is the venue for the video above.
The Machine
The video above is titled “Redneck Mud Park — FordFloat Proof,” and while we know what the first part means, the second part is a bit of a mystery. Is “Float Proof” the name of the truck? The sides of the truck read “T. Garza & Sons”, so it doesn’t have a name for the vehicle on the sides, but with this huge, heavy truck immediately dropping into the deep water, perhaps it is a reference to the fact that it is too heavy to float. We don’t know.
What we do know is that this ninth-generation FordF-350 has a factory-style dually body and it appears to be very clean and straight. It is in much better condition than many of the featured mud trucks, presumably due to the fact that it sits so high off of the ground. That is achieved by an elaborate chassis and suspension system, but the engine is so quiet that we can’t guess what is under the hood.
Speculation aside, this truck is an absolute beast.
Slow and Steady
AS the video begins, this massive F-350 eases into the water, at which point the huge front tires disappear into the deep water. As the back tires join the fronts in the murky pit, the big Ford F-350 begins to slowly make its way to the other side. As the body hovers over the muddy water, the lumbering Ford barely breaks a sweat in clearing the water with ease.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
