Tires and locker (or the lack there of) are how to gauge your truck's offroad prowless. I have 29" ATs with a rear locker, and I got stuck in 6" of creek mud (not even high centered, only got out by bouncing the rickety old 6 off the 5000rpm mark).

 

My truck does have the granny first gear...it is very low 6.69 to 1 !!! NP435 4 speed. I decided to go to 4.10 gears mainly for trailer towing, but they help off roading too. My ol 300 six has plenty o ***** to spin those 33s in the mud but 4.10s help a lot. I went with a heavy duty clutch I found at Napa, it has had some disengagement problems. I will be replacing it soon with a LUK 11 inch clutch kit from Bronco Graveyard. Actually I am replacing every part in the clutch system with LUK products...I have heard nothing but good about them, plus they are made in the USA. I installed a Rough Country steering stabilizer, I ordered it from JC Whitney as a kit...it came with all the needed brackets and hardware along with detailed instructions for easy installation. The brackets bolt to the passenger side frame rail and the drag link going to the passenger side. It took about 1/2 an hour to install. I have been building this truck ever since I was in high school she's my pride and joy. I have a lot of plans for her in the future: Front receiver hitch, 9000 lb Milemarker winch, dual Optima batteries, high output alternator, and I would like to clean up the body and get it painted. I am building just a good all around pickup that can be driven daily, used for work, play, and be able to get back in the woods and fields camping or hunting without worrying about getting stuck some where.

 

Living in Navada most of my life, I started four wheeling at the age of 16. I'm over a half of century now, so you do the math. In normal off-roading the driver is the difference everytime. I have taken my wife's stock 04 Trailblazer 4x4 into places that lifted full size trucks could get into. I've also got stupid and got stuck in places any SUV could of gone.

 

Living in Nevada most of my life, I started four wheeling at the age of 16. I'm over a half of century now, so you do the math. In normal off-roading the DRIVER is the difference everytime. I have taken my wife's stock 04 Trailblazer 4x4 into places that lifted full size trucks couldn't get into. I've also got stupid and got stuck in places any SUV could of gone.

 

I got a two wheel drive with a one wheel wonder rear end (no-rear locker) and I still get it off road a bit. No aggressive trails, but enough to need some extra ground clearence. My roommate has a 95 f-150 with better tires and a limited slip, and I'm still better off road then him. The trick is to ride the intertial that you build up (at least this is what I've found so far). As you go uphill you gotta let off the gas a little, which isn't what you'd ecpect to do but too much gas and you'll break loose. once you're loose you don't have the same friction with the ground. good luck and good wheeling

 

awesome! i just put a recovery kit together. it consists of a george foreman grill, extra propane, some burgers, a few hot dogs, some potato buns, some regular buns, ketchup, mustard, some steaks, some a1 sauce, beer, more beer, and err... beer. sound good? think i can get outta any tough spot with that.

 

Hey that's what I'm talkin about...give me a call next time you get stuck, I'll be right there! How does Colorado Coolade sound (Coors Original for those of you who don't know)?

 

Ya know, when it comes to wheeling yur stock trucks, you really gotta be careful about gettin hung up. thats a big problem with the stock clearance.

When I first got my truck it had a 300l6 in it, which is nice and light, and good for offraod. But as time went on i slapped on some BFG 32X11.5 tires, a 2 inch lift, which helps alot with the tires, and now im working on a 460 that ive been putting together over the winter. have a t-18 Tranny with the granny 1 and 2-4 is still pretty low.

With the TTB, its good for stockers, if yur gonna go nuts, then get rid of that front suspension and throw on some Straight Axle up there, then u can lift more than 6 inches and wont eat tires.

When your off raod, take it easy over the obstacles, if you feal like your gettin highcentered, stop, put it in reverse and back out of it, dont try to mash the gas and get over it, you can tear the crud outta your drivetrain, exhaust, fuel tanks, and a number of other things if you get high centered on hard stuff.

In the mud, dont try to be the 1st person through the pit, at least let somebody else get their engine hydro locked before you do. if you see the big trucks havin trouble in the deep mud, well then maybe thats a good sign not to try it, lol.

would u rather look like you didn't want to do the obstacle for a day, or have your truck sittin in your driveway with a hydro locked engine, 2 broken axles, a burned up tranny and no rocker panels left?

wheelin is common sense, just make sure u dont hit the obstacles first, unless you know you can make them, which comes with experience.

 

Yes that is a good point, a straight axle swap is a very good idea. It is a bit stronger than the IFS set up, and if you retain the coil springs up front the ride quality is still good. A buddy of mine did this to his 95 F150 and he loves it. The great thing about Ford 1/2 ton 4wds They all used high pinion Dana 44 front axles whether it was a straight axle or TTB. Which means you can take the guts from a TTB D44 and bolt them right into a straight axle D44 or vice versa. When choosing a vehicle for serious 4 wheeling you might concider something in the short wheelbase category. A reg. cab shortbox F150, fullsize Bronco, or better yet a Ranger or Bronco II. These types of vehicles are the ideal choice for trail runners because they are easy to manuever aound obstacles, they have better approach and departure angles than bigger rigs. I am running a regular cab/longbox F150 4wd which is fine for me because I don't run my truck in really tight trails, besides that I haul a lot of junk in the back so I need the 8 foot bed. I have my truck set up to be able to handle most conditions with ease, but still be street friendly. I have installed a 2.5 inch lift kit (so it will still fit in the garage), 33 inch mudders, 4.10 gears, a locker in the rear, and a limited slip in the front. It does well and I am very happy with the performance of this truck on and off road. Don't think you have to go extreme on everything, build the truck to meet your needs.

 

i def wanna get rid of that front IFS. i have to look into that. i saw a 250 same year that had the straight axle.

 

Actually 79 was the last year for the straight axle on 1/2 and 3/4 ton F-series trucks and Broncos. However 1 ton and heavier duty trucks continue to use the straight axle today. From what I understand you will need obviously a Dana 44 high pinion front axle from any 73-79 F150 or Bronco that used coil springs unless you want to go with leaf springs up front (some trucks used leaf springs). You'll need the radius arm brackets, track bar and it's brackets, pitman arm and steering linkage, and I believe that's it. There are kits available through Bronco Graveyard to complete the straight axle conversion on your truck. Some people just don't like the TTB frontend. I have grown to like it over the years. It has a nice ride both on and off road, it handles well, it offers plenty of wheel travel for especially rutty terrain, and for what I do it works very well. Although when my front end needs to be gone through again, I will probably stick a straight axle in place of the old TTB.

 

gotta keep an eye out at the yards for some older trucks then.

ok n00b warning:
someone explain to me the difference between a dana 40, 44, and 60 axle.

 

size and strength
Dana 60 Being the strongest.
They also make bigger ones and other ones you didn't mention.

 

Dana 44 axles are good up to a 35 inch tire before you have to start worrying about breaking axle shafts and differential parts. The Dana 60, I would think could handle up to a 44 inch tire; I am not sure if I would go past a 40 inch tire personally. Don't forget about the Dana 70 and 80 also! I think they are only made to be rear axles but they are plenty strong. other good choices for rear axles are The Sterling 10.25 and GM 14 bolt full floating units. If that's not strong enough you can go to the 2.5 ton and 5 ton Rockwell military axles. The 2.5 ton units come with 6.72 gears with Detroit Lockers, and the 5 ton units come with 6.44 gears with Detroit Lockers...oh I forgot to mention Unimog axles too! They use gear reduction hubs, which raise the axles above the centerline of the tires...BINGO more ground clearance! Ahh soo many choices soo many decisions!

 

so many choices, so many decisions, but what about money?!?!?!?! lol. if you start looking at those military axles, you better have a big wallet.