After reading through hundreds of posts here it seems that most of the discussions for modifications are directly related to towing with your Ex. That's all good information, but my needs are somewhat different.

As far as towing goes, neither my boat or utility trailer ever go over about 4000 lbs, so the stock setup seems to work fine. However, what is really important to me is the off-road performance of the vehicle and what can be done to improve it without seriously impacting on-road performance.

I'm not planning on taking the Ex rock crawling, but my place in the mountains has a 3/8 mile dirt and gravel drive that has over 200 feet of elevation change over the first 1/4 mile of it. I also have other locations on the property that the Ex needs to be able to access, via overgrown logging roads.

I know that tires are generally the first place to start, so for those of you who have off-road/on-road needs for your Ex, what are you running?

For a change, I think I have an actual need for grill guards/brush guards, plus additional lighting. It gets damn dark and I believe that additional lighting is important unless I plan to navigate the property only in the day time, which isn't practical. The grill guard needs to be seriously functional and not a show piece, and I'm not interested in paying for "big name" lighting systems unless they offer a significant advantage.

Basically, I just want to be able to go anywhere on my property (or my neighbor's, who I'm helping build a house) without worrying that the Ex will have off-road issues. This is in PA, and the properties we're talking about are heavily wooded and fairly rocky.

All input appreciated. Thanks

 

From what you describe, I would recommend some genuine mud-tires (like the new-design BFG's) in a 295/75 or 315/75-size, with a 4" all-spring lift for tire and ground clearance, and some decent Bilsteins or adjustable shocks to keep the axles under controle. Then a front selectable locking differential and rear selectable or automatic locker to keep all four tires turning, as the stock anti-spin won't be enough for what you describe.

If you're really interested in a front guard, you might consider investing in a winch bumper like one from Warn with integral guard, so that you can upgrade to a winch if you find yourself needing to use the winch to remove downed trees or do some yardwork (I use the winch on my off-road truck as much for landscaping as I do for vehicle recovery).

 

Do search for Carr light bar on eBay or the store name Snappylights.

He has inexpensive light bars with 4 lights (Two driving. two fog) that go on top and can be easily removed provided if you wire up a plug for them. The higher lights will give you a wider and farther swath of light than if you just add them to your brush guard.

How much $$ are you looking to put into your truck?

 

It's not really a money issue; I can't imagine modding this truck will cost me more than my last street/road course f-body build

I was considering a roof basket with light mounts, too. Not so much a necessity, but extra cargo capacity is a good thing, and I agree that lights atthat hight will be more effective.

Going full mudder with lift doesn't seem all that practical to me. I still need to use the Ex on the road most of the time and was thinking something along the lines of the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO, but don't think that they are available in an ER rating.

If I go with U springs won't I end up with about 1" of lift? I don't think I need a huge amount, just better tires, possibly in a size or two larger than stock.

I like the idea of the brush guard with a winch; shallow rooted 60' tall pine means that I often find dowbned trees on the logging roads after storms; chain saw and ATV works, but chain saw and Ex would work better. The main reason for the griill guard is that I'd rather the first contact with something a little too solid on the logging trails be with a part that is easily replaceable rather than the truck body.

 

As long as money is not a problem you might consider Rickson wheels with a 265/70/19.5 tire. You can get it in a 12 or 14 ply rating. Those will give you a little extra ground clearance and extra protection against punctures in rough terrain. No lift is necesary and they ride good on the paved roads. There are many aggresive truck tread patterns out there also. Rickson is a sponser of these boards.

 

for lighting, i like anything by Hella, cheap and very reliable. KC, PIAA, Eagle Eye are a few other brands that have treated me well on previous trucks.

as for grille guards, i took this off a post i responed to that was in the superduty forum a couple weeks back. if you want the ultimate front protection though look at a front end replacement bumper (what im about to buy next week, ditching the grille guard for a T3 front or Diamond B haven't decided yet.). anyways.

of the round tube design the ranchhand style is the strongest, with that said there are some many manufactors that make a great product that competes with the ranchhand brand cause they alot cheaper and just as strong. 100-200 bucks cheaper usually, well around here (someplaces it is even more than that)..

Ranch Hand - Your #1 Source for Truck Accessories
Tietjen's Lone Star Truck Equipment Home Page
Frontier Truck Gear - XTREME Grille Guards
T3 Home (what im using)
http://www.trailbosstruck.com/
Tough Country Products | Headache Rack, Front Replacement Bumper, Rear Bumper, Step Bar, Running Board, Brush Guard, Grille Guard

but if you want the strongest grille guard out there look at a Diamond B grille guard. i have seen the damage they do to whitetail deer they hit, lets just say you have the deer quartered up upon impact, but the truck was untouched. they use square tubing over the round tubing, stongest front end protection you'll find unless you look at a front end replacement.

Diamond B Accessories

but any grille guard you choose make sure it is one piece welded together, no bolts anywhere (well only mounting bolts to the truck).

For tires you have so many great choices that it is really endless.

 

Dedicated mud-tires ride surprisingly well these days, and still retain excellent on-road traction, but the off-road traction they provide is far superior to an AT design.

I prefer no lift whatsoever, so go with whatever keeps your undercarriage from grinding on the ground.

But the 19.5" tires, just like the older 16.5" tires, don't have a safety-bead on the lip of the rim, so airing-down becomes much more problematic, as you're much more likely to lose the seal at the bead.

 

another bumper to look at is iron bull bumpers

 

i have a tbilt bar on my x fits great with 2 10in hella lights bar can fit 4 lights ck them out Ford off road bumpers, San Diego | T-Bilt | Superduty Fabrication
stu

 

Well for my self, I have the front and rear ranch hand replacement bumpers, a super lift 3'' lift that is not really to high at all, and nitto terra grapplers 305/70/16. I have not had any problems so far, but would love to have the ARB lockers. I am also going to do a roof rack with light mounts, but if you opt for a bumper replacement such as ranch hand you have plenty of room where the stock fog lights go to add some more lights.

 

I would look into local fab shops...
I have 2 rockcrawlers to I'm no stranger to off road.....
chances are, for what you'd get a "bolt on" bumper/brush guard for, you could get one custom made, light tabs and such where you need them, slid plate and whatever else you may need....
this time of year they slow down a bit so prices may be better as they look for work

 

I'm looking to get a Go-Rhino step guard
Go Rhino! Sumatra 3000 Series StepGuards: GRH-3364MB - summitracing.com

 

I run BFG ATKO's (285/70/17) and I would recommend a full on mud tire too. Unless you air em down, they are clog up really easily with gunk/sand/mud. I would think that a mud tire with a hight void ration would self clean a lot better.

Also, as far as lighting goes, if money is no object, look at light force lights. I've read some really good reviews

 

I would really look into some quality skid plates with all those rocks, log, and tree stumps all over.

If yoru used to spending $ on mods (f-body) then how about some tires on teh more aggressive side? Think of em as drag radials for the mud? lol I HIGHLY recommend the M/T Baja Claws's, they SCREAM at highway speeds, but unles syou high center there is nothing that will stop your vehicle with these tires. I got around 25-30K in my bronco out of a set of bias plys before I started noticing the center getting a lil low on thread, outter edges had a lot of thread still though. Just something on the more wild side you may want to explore a lil.

Oh and they clean out rediculously well, itll be like having 500 kids throwing mud ***** all over if you get em spinning a lil in the mud lol. Unlike the all/terain/more street oriented tires that fill up with mud and turn into slicks, with the emphasis on slick, and not traction!


Man tire!!!