I have a 02 F250, 7.3, CCSB, 3.73 Dana 80 LS rear end, 190K that is well maintained and spotless, are there any realistic options for making this rig suitable for a truck camper and light off road use? As is it will get stuck off pavement, even wet grass is a challenge. Surprisingly it hauls a #15K boat out of a steep slippery ramp with ease, possibly due to the 1200# tongue weight. Any ideas appreciated.
2WD 7.3 offroad?
- Thread starter Huffy
- Start date
east_tn_81
Adventurer
It could work. My first rig was a 2wd SCAB F150 with a manual tranny, but with some wieght in the bed and a good set of AT tires I went a lot of places.
gloriavoxdei
Adventurer
How about a pic of the truck with the boat? Consider a rear locker or posi for the truck if traction is a concern, it'll really help.
gavan
Observer
Weight in the back helps, but there is still a lot of weight over the front axle with the diesel.
They do OK, but not great. I sold my 2wd CCSB for a 4WD Excursion and the Ex does much better, but I still need to use 4x4 much more than I ever though.
Some weight in the bed and a Detroit or an ARB will help a bunch, but with all the weigh over the front axle I would avoid slick stuff, mud, snow, and wet grass.
They do OK, but not great. I sold my 2wd CCSB for a 4WD Excursion and the Ex does much better, but I still need to use 4x4 much more than I ever though.
Some weight in the bed and a Detroit or an ARB will help a bunch, but with all the weigh over the front axle I would avoid slick stuff, mud, snow, and wet grass.
98dango
Expedition Leader
I ran a 2wd s10 for a long time. The key is weight in the back and good tiers. I liked smaller lug.tiers and stay narrow. You wanr as much weight per squair inch *** you can get. I drive a 4wd ccsb superduty 5.4 and don't use 4wd very often I love it when i do but keep as many heavy items over or behind the axels.
WrenchMonkey
Mechanical Animal
That's the thing. That 7.3 is HEAVY. I've had my 2000 F250 stuck in my own yard. If the ground is any softer than pavement, the front end will sink like a stone. And once it sinks, even an inch, it's like putting wheel chocks under that non-driven axle.
I would really think about a 4x4.
Sorry.
Robert
Rovertrader
Supporting Sponsor
Add a Detroit and a winch up front- save the 4x4 dollars until more extreme off road duties are attempted/anticipated...
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
I have traveled many, many miles offroad with two wheel drive. Momentum will get you through a lot but when you stop; you're stuck.
TooTall'sTruck
Observer
My 1989 F250 was 4x4 extra cab long bed, I had a Hi-Lo camper in the back, 10 feet long with no cab overhang. I went alot of places in 2wd and never thought of going somewhere that could need 4x4. Largely due to the fact I didn't want branch holes in my camper. I just walked instead if the road was rough. But when the camper was in the bed, I was caught off guard by a loaded log truck and bailed into a very soft fern bank in November. I was ready to pull the lever (hubs were always locked on gravel) but figured I would try going forward uphill with my drivers tire in the 2-3 inches of moss/mud/ferns. The truck walked straight out of it and the tire tread was perfectly upright in the mud. The weight kept that axle loaded and tracking. At best it was a factory loaded limited slip...in a 10.5 IIRC.
Considering mine was 4x4 and leaf sprung so it sat very level when loaded,tires were 60% Dean SXT mud terrains in 285/75-16, it had a 460 gasser so it had ample distribution of weight, it had a C6 with Gear Vendor, and I knew how bad the condition of travel was. These items are crucial to keeping the power moving forward, the 7.3PS had alot of boost lag in that era, especially as they age. Our 2wd 2001 shop truck was very late in coming into the powerband and you had to power brake it every time you reversed on soft terrain (a loaded trailer helped to keep the tires locked but the braking helped more). This truck was also a extra cab long bed but was torsion bar front suspension IIRC, and so it sat very "raked" which as any drag racer can tell you, is not condusive to traction! Ideally you would get minimum weight shift upon acceleration. Also a manual transmission will be more difficult to launch effectivly. Does your truck have an automatic trans?
I would deffinatly say that your truck can be made very capable offroad, I would look at the Baja side of things and see how they set up the VW bugs for effective transfer of power...then learn the abilities of the driver and when to stop...That is a large truck and adding a winch won't help balance, a front hitch reciever and a 2" mounted winch would be great for you...you could always pull back out and if the trail got better ahead you could pull through as well.
Considering mine was 4x4 and leaf sprung so it sat very level when loaded,tires were 60% Dean SXT mud terrains in 285/75-16, it had a 460 gasser so it had ample distribution of weight, it had a C6 with Gear Vendor, and I knew how bad the condition of travel was. These items are crucial to keeping the power moving forward, the 7.3PS had alot of boost lag in that era, especially as they age. Our 2wd 2001 shop truck was very late in coming into the powerband and you had to power brake it every time you reversed on soft terrain (a loaded trailer helped to keep the tires locked but the braking helped more). This truck was also a extra cab long bed but was torsion bar front suspension IIRC, and so it sat very "raked" which as any drag racer can tell you, is not condusive to traction! Ideally you would get minimum weight shift upon acceleration. Also a manual transmission will be more difficult to launch effectivly. Does your truck have an automatic trans?
I would deffinatly say that your truck can be made very capable offroad, I would look at the Baja side of things and see how they set up the VW bugs for effective transfer of power...then learn the abilities of the driver and when to stop...That is a large truck and adding a winch won't help balance, a front hitch reciever and a 2" mounted winch would be great for you...you could always pull back out and if the trail got better ahead you could pull through as well.
I have a 2002 F-250 SCSB 2wd with the 5.4 and a factory limited slip diff. For 8 years I used it as my do all truck. I learned early on to always carry tire chains, just one pair because the front is heavy enough to steer in most cases. They are truly a pain in the rear end, but are very good traction aids in snow, ice and mud.