Does anyone know the bed length on a 1976 F250 4x2 camper special? thinking about buying one for a road trip to Baja with surf boards but don't know wha length boards can be locked inside. Thanks

 

heres a picture of the one we are looking at

 

8 feet.... and four feet btwn the wheel wells. It's an amazing coincidence that it can haul a sheet of plywood with the tailgate up.

 

If the emblem on the side of the camper shell is a compass, this is a genuine Ford camper shell.

 

Thanks for the replies. I guess the next question from someone who doesn't know these trucks at all, is what spares should we carry into the remote corners of Baja? Is here anything on these trucks that is known to go wrong regularly? Is there any advice on a basic list of spares and maybe any specialist tools to carry for this sort of journey in one of these trucks?

 

starter relay and starter (i've had them fail getting filled with mud and sand in Baja)
alternator regulator
Duraspark ignition module, coil and plugs
1-2' lengths of fuel, and any other rubber hoses with spare clamps, universal rad hose repair splice
couple lengths of 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" all thread with nuts, washers and a hack saw (the universal emergency bolt)
transmission mount, carrier bearing if 2 piece driveshaft
SPARE TIRES (i would never go without 2 personally)

i've been to Baja quite a few times, and Fords are as common as dirt down there. last time i was there my starter failed in the middle of nowhere and the passing drug mule on a dirt bike (dead serious) took me to his cousins parts shop 20 minutes away and got me a starter for $20, guy even offered to help me fix the starter when he saw i was having trouble getting to the bolts. they even had carpet to throw down in the mud so i didn't get filthy and my group cleaned out the taco stand next door. Baja is amazing.

the key is to just do a good bolt check down the entire truck, and replace anything electrical/rubber before you go if it looks suspect, and change the fluids now. i usually just replace those common items i listed and if the one i pulled off was good it gets moved to the truck box.

thats a sweet truck, camper shell looks awesome on there. figure on 8' with an inch or two to spare.

 

Amazing- great advice cheers

 

no worries, out of curiosity, where in Baja are you headed?

 

Well the plan is to head for 7 sisters area, maybe couple of spots along the way- on to Mainland afterwards. Next issue I suppose is how much gas mileage/ what is fuel tank capacity... and what sort of reserve should we carry- presumably these old trucks are only getting 10-12 mpg? any experience out there?

 

cool, i've mostly explored the west coast of the peninsula, san quintin area and such.

depends on how many tanks it has, i don't think 76 will have an in-cab tank. should be something like 19-22 gallon mid-ship tank and i think 18 behind the axle.

plan on getting 10 on the freeway and 5-8 in the dirt, it can be very hilly and you might have to do a lot of passing since the buses/trucks never move over; passing in the dirt on the right is actually acceptable in the wide open areas if there aren't people around its generally safer than passing on the left and risking a head on... i'd carry at least 5 gallons (my truck only has a 22 gallon tank, rear tank is gone) and it'll burn through that fuel pretty quick offroad. i tend to fill up whenever i see a station and i'm below 1/2 a tank, because you never know if the next station will have fuel (they run out more often than you'd think). i'd also recommend carrying an extra fuel filter or two, some of the stations will not have regular drop offs and the fuel quality can be suspect. your truck will probably run better if you are from California, their gas isn't watered down with all the additives and ethanol.

 

YES you are right apparently there is a second fuel tank! great news... but apparently only one has been used in recent times. What is the best way to get the second tank back in use? are they connected together or do they have some sort of isolating system? How do we check/flush through the "unused" system? I was wondering if theres a separate pipe, or pump? and how its all switched over from one to the other?


Thanks for the advice

 

. What do you do about fuel money down there? Carry cash, credit cards, Mexican money?

 

Reloadable travel cards from Visa or M/c are quite good- load them up when you want and then they are sort of separated from your checking/ credit accounts so the max u can lose if they get lost is whatever you loaded on them. A certain amount of cash, US and Mexican Pesos, for shopping in smaller stores...beer, eating out, supplies in smaller villages, some gas stations. But debit and credit cards all work in the cash machines in our experience, and most towns have a bank with one of those. Most bigger stores in towns and many gas stations have card readers.

 

To answer your question about the fuel tanks...there is usually a selector valve under the cab and a switch on the dash grouped with the heater controls. no telling what someone has monkeyed in there over the years, i've seen ball valve mechanical selectors and other abortions put on vehicles in junkyards.

To clean the tank, i would drop it out of the truck then get at least a quart of hi proof rubbing alcohol and slosh it around in there. if you pull the sending unit cover you should be able to look in there and see how rusty everything is. regarding the lines, just follow them back from the tank, one is the supply line and depending on the age of the truck it might not even have a vent line that goes farther than the filler neck. You can disconnect these and blow them out with compressed air if there is nothing in them, but if they look suspect at all I'd just replace them, most parts stores sell 3/8" fuel hard lines in 4-6' lengths you can bend yourself. I'd also take the opportunity to replace all the rubber lines and hose clamps, they usually aren't easy to get to once the tank is back in the vehicle.

 

regarding cards and money, i use the Chase Sapphire Preffered card, it has excellent rewards, no hidden transaction fees for being used in foreign countries, and they have EXCELLENT customer protection in place. I have friends who use this as their only card, and they spend 75% of their year travelling abroad, and have never had an issue.

To be honest, US dollars aren't worth taking down there unless you are really good at figuring out exchange rates; I only take pesos and get them converted at one of the malls in San Diego (the rates are better the farther you are from the border usually). Most of the places I eat and stay are taco carts and off the beaten path hotels, they don't really have any use for a US dollar nor do they have card readers. $100/day will easily cover food, lodging and fuel, and if you can book/pay for hotels in advance even better. Most of the hotels we stay at cost under $20/night per person and come with a view like this:


one other thing worth mentioning, if you are down there, it rains and the vehicle gets covered in mud, I'd highly suggest washing it before crossing the border as there is a 95% chance you will get turned around by the US customs, they are very strict about dirt coming over the border.