F150

[big sky trapper]

This is what Im starting with...

85 F150 4x4 LWB. Dual Tanks. 300 straight six (great mileage and a serious torque monster) factory 4.10 gears with LS rear end. Almost no emissions simple single barrel carboration. Massive wheel wells=33x12.50x15 rubber with no lift and no rubbing. The stongest frame of the 80's fords in the half ton size.

Plans to build something on a little differant platform besides the yoda-jeeps-and LC's ect. plus its the ultimate budget DIY build. Its intended use is geocahing runs, ghost town hunting in the north west, elk hunting and running our back country trap lines and the occasional 4 wheeling trip and campping trips.

My com package is nearly finished.

Scored a like new camper/topper with built in sleeping platform-storage area. To be installed tommorrow night if the snow lets up.

So far for maintenance Ive replaced heater core and all rubber under hood, complete tune up, oil pan and rear main set, ball joints, and all front end uJoints, wheel bearings and seals, tie rods and radius rod bushings.

Total cost so far including truck...865.00

Future plans include SAS front axel hopefully to be accomplished with as little to lift as possible. (6.9l deisel in the garage on a stand), 9 in rear, true lockers, Air compressor, hidden frame mounted front and rear winches (have front mounts made need to finish the bumper extensions)

and of course the required camo paint job haha will post some pics as it goes if interested...

[calamaridog]

Oh, how badly I wanted a SWB F150 4x4 with the 4.9 I6 and a manual transmission. Such a simple truck and the 300 is absolutely, hands down, one of the best motors Ford ever built.

It sounds like you have a real good starting point for a neat truck. I'll look forward to seeing your progress.

[jim65wagon]

Reminds me of my 80 F150, 300 inline and a 4spd, you could take it anywhere because more dents and scratches were not a concern!

mine cost 1200 and like to eat hubs once a year, but Warn had a lifetime warranty, and the local NAPA always had a set waiting.

can't beat the price - 865 and lets see the pics.

[big sky trapper]

I was looking at a SWB 84 but then found this one with the dual tanks that was enough to make my mind up. plus same initaial price. and now i glad I got the LWB becuase the additional 2 feet of sleeping storage area in the back will come in handy. the tail gate can stay up and the topper door shut for when its in the -40 to -60 somethings around here in the middle of winter and theres room for some sort of a small propane heater tucked in the some where.

Gave it a good run this am on the way in needs a brake booster next be here tommorrow in the AM.

Ill throw some pics this eve out...

[big sky trapper]

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4522.jpg
this is the sleeping platform i scored. alittle on the froo froo side for me. need to find a place for the spare now so everything fits in nice and tight. there are 6 storage compartments built in to it.
With just the cost of wood alone plus padding ect there's no way i could have built this up my self. 75.00 for the topper and the platform!!!!

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4523.jpg

This a bad shot of the truck with the topper picked up on the way home tonight

[eugene]

I had to register when I saw the cap, I have the same one but its 6' and has a different brand name on it and I paid $75 for it as well.
Mine is in bad shape, it has a tiny hole in the top center so I bought a fiberglass patch kit from NAPA and patched it. Where the ceiling braces attach to the top of the window that little bracket is weak, mine would let the braces swing forward or backward a little bit. I cut some thin sheet steel into triangles and welded to it to strengthen it.
I had a small truck (Chevy S10) with an aluminum cap with the frame inside like that and went to the hardware store and bought a couple of the 4' x 8' sheets of styrofoam and cut it to fit in between the frame to help insulate it a bit. It quieted it down some when rain would hit the top. Use the aluminum duct tape instead of the the normal cloth stuff as the aluminum sticks a bit better and was stiffer to hold the insulation in place.
Wife says my cap is too ugly and wants me to spend the $ for a new one but I can buy a lot of gear for that so I'm using more of the fiberglass repair kit and spreading it all over then will sand it to smooth it out and then paint to match.

[big sky trapper]

started rebuilding my front hidden winch last night. here are a few mock up's as things are being marked and plated...

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4651.jpg

The winch will actually sit down inside an old Warn winch pate from a jeep. it will be sandwiched to the 5/16" plate between the frame rails.

The trim directly behind the winch will need to be trimmed right around the winch body for it to skide all the way back.

Hopefully the bumper will only need an inch or spacer to clear the rest.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4649.jpg

Here i need to build a side reinforcement.

[big sky trapper]

This is going to be my rear spare tire carrier hinge. That a 1 1/4" bolt. welded to 1/4 flat plate and but in with 3/4 bolts to the orinal bumper. Its one of the older ford factory step bumpers and very strong. I wanted to be able to take the swing arm off with little work to be able to run with tail gate down when hauling large loads around the house/town ect.

That was an issue i allways hated with the tire and can carrier on all my yoda;s ive built, was could no longer carry long loads in the back of the truck.

I think this will work quite well, undue the nut slide the swing arm off and back on when needed.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4643.jpg

[big sky trapper]

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4644.jpg

[devinsixtyseven]

How are you liking that Rhino? Does it "play well with others"...as far as getting the GPS data out? --laptops, other hardware etc...

-Sean

[big sky trapper]

that part i havnt tried at all yet with this one. It is very easy to use and get from screen to screen, plug in co-ord's and the like. both the gmrs and frs radio work as well as any on the market in it power class. And the radio scan function is a good feature that most of them dont have. when playing "tag" or transmitting info to other rhino's is good but limited only by the power output and the terrian. theres a few more features i like but then i might as well get the Rhino 530 next haha

[big sky trapper]

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4653.jpg

its almost done. need to make the side plates tommorrow and punch two more support holes in the front for 2 half inch bolts.

Next is decide how to mount and wire the soilnoid pack...
then trim the front bumper to clear the whole mess. I was going to space the bumper out but after test fitting it, I think it will be too far out for any strength.
more to come

[big sky trapper]

two cans or three-four. weight isnt and issue on this mounts. as there temporary for this year only. Ive decided to ditch the stock bumper idea and this comming winter rebuild the whole thing with my rear winch built in to the bumper instead of seperate, but for now what do you think???

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4655.jpghttp://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4654.jpg

Im kinda leaning towards the 3 side by side. they dont stick any farther out than my spare tire.

[mike h]

3 side by side will serve you better - no particular reason to worry about overall vehicle length on this rig. I had a 79 F150 which I dearly loved, until I put it on its roof one winter. My mistake, but that old Ford kept me alive somehow when I found myself suddenly rubber-side up.

I do not think your bolt will last as a hinge pin, if I understand your plan correctly. Most homemade and many aftermarket swing-aways fail there, you need to emulate the hinge designs proven by ARB, Slee and a host of others.

Pack a self-siphon hose regarding the dual tanks, they don't always work as expected. But they are a much appreciated assett when you can hit the button or use a siphon.

m.

[big sky trapper]

The dual tanks switches are picky about getting switched just "right". Depending on what the local dealer can find i might just go ahead and replace them and the tank switch completly this spring. My other option Im kicking around is just to put a small electric pump and make it into a tranfer system.

The front winch plate is completed. I did have to trim a lot more of the front bumper than from the initial measurments, But im quite pleased with it as it is.

The small opening to each side of the winch plate Im going to put a section of "C" channel on each side. Since the front bumper is now completly cosmetic only, This will give me a place for the high-lift to lift from without sliding or kicking out.

On the cans im going to try and do 4. two deep and then length wise side by side. 2 for fuel and 2 for water. still kicking around the layout there...

heres a pic of the final front bumper...

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4752.jpg

[big sky trapper]

The misses and i took the big truck out for some testing and get some bump time on the new truck. over all everything worked perfectly. I was just easing down a little side road in 2WD when got stuck in a small spot of snow. locked it in and dug it straight down. woo hoo get to test my home built winch mounts. every thing worked great...minus two wires came loose inside the solinoid pack for the hand controler. 5 min fix and were pulling free. A lot shorter pull could have been done but i wanted as close to a 90 or over pull to test the side loading on my bottom support tray. Everthing seem good.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4775.jpg

The snow really picked up and we started a fire for the eve, got some good coals for the my new 10 in lodge dutch oven. Oh what a dandy!!!! deer tenderloins potates onions and carrots, with sesamee oil. hmm good. left overs for breakfast. with some hot rolls coffee ect.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4786.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4784.jpghttp://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/bigskytrapper/100_4783.jpg

The next thing that needs a change or up grade is my antron 10m whip, it needs a cb style support spring under it. had to take it off. hiting the body so hard. with a spring under it I will be able to tie it down out of the way when needed.

[Haggis]

Good God, that makes me hungry just lookin at it. Nothing better than deer steaks and eggs for breakfast. Venison is a stable around here, we have it a least three times a week, we very seldom buy beef. Plus we're still eatin' on the moose and caribou I shot last year in Newfoundland, and my dad got one of the few PA elk tags and bagged a super nice 7x7. PA Elk, nothing but the finest corn and soybean raised meat.

[upcruiser]

Yeah, made my stomach growl too! haha

I wonder if you happen to know my brother. He's based out of Pray and owns Rockin HK Outfitters. Here's their link, its a pretty small comunity in that area...

The majority of his business is pack trips into Yellowstone, but also does elk hunting guiding in the fall. His website seems to be down today, but here's another link with info...

http://travel.state.mt.us/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordId=14974&SiteId=1

[big sky trapper]

wait till i give up my super secret "roasted beaver suprise" recipe on here one day. that takes a 14 in dutch oven, some patience cooking and some hungry campers....never any left overs there

[big sky trapper]

well this rig is done for. It was built for a spefic reason that i cannot explain in here. So Im looking at draging one of the many old school toyotas from the back yard (84-85) and see what i can build up from them. I have a few ideas ill share in the toyota list shortly. If your in the montana area and would be interested in a good sound truck cheap let me know theres nothing overall really wrong with it but i can not drive it does not include winch and radios everything else...

Moderaters unless you think this post deserves to stay you may delete it

[black rhino]

Hey Big Sky,

How did the rear tire/ jerry can holder workout. I'm planning one very similar for my old Chevy.

John

[Spikepretorius]

well this rig is done for
Bummer.
Don't know the details but bummer nontheless.

And I'm also keen to hear how your wheel carrier worked out.

[big sky trapper]

The gas can rack i never finished. i made the brackets but never went any further with it. The tire carrier worked well but for really long term and lots of beating the bumper it self would have to be rebuilt. the hinge pin never showed any signs of fatigue but the factory bumper (20 years old) started to pull apart at the seams.

The locking pin worked really well. and i think is what held the whole thing together.

as you build one lets see it.....

[Doc Gary]

Always liked the older Fords. I personally am not a fan of regular cabs but if I had to it would be the LWB for sure