Adventure Camping build

Overlanding, Expedition vehicle, Adventure rig, Family wheeler.. call it what you want, but I need some ideas for the next build. So decipher my ramblings below and add your suggestions/ideas/thoughts/examples/pics/etc..

My 1993 Sport is officially entering 'no longer able to attempt at being street legal' phase so the planning of a road friendly adventure vehicle is beginning. I will most likely be retaining my D44, Duff arms, 8.8 and 37s for the new build and although I have some ideas for a platform in mind I would like to get some of your thoughts/ideas.

I have a 1997 V8 Explorer which gives me a great drivetrain, comfort, room for the family or the ability to sleep in the rig. I have been eyeing up ext. cab Rangers as well as I like the idea of having a bed to haul gear or build a sleeping platform off of but it makes bringing our son a chore with the small back seat. A sport trac gives me both the room and the bed but the wheelbase feels like a boat on tight east coast trails.

My 44 is a narrowed HP housing and I have thought about taking all of the good bits from it and swapping into a full width housing. Same with the 8.8. Even with full width a mild flair will keep me mostly legal in my state.

 

[gmanpaint]

Oh my.... Your becoming an Overlander now.

 

[Four0Sport]

You don't have to use a Toyota steering box. You could just use the box out of your sport. That's what is in mine. It works fine.

What's the story with the Atlas though?

The atlas is still in the sport.. for now. I may have stumbled across something at work, I should know more tomorrow.

I know I know.. i come on here, post something, then I don't return for days at a time. I am not trying to lead you guys on, pinky swear. lol

I have been spending most of my free time and money recently getting the wifes TJ up to par for a trip I am going on next week. It is a good little back-up wheeler.

Oh my.... Your becoming an Overlander now.

I prefer the term "adventure wheeler". But yes.. I do miss having a vehicle I can drive to and from the trail, to work, to the store, across the country...

 

[Stic-o]

I have been spending most of my free time and money recently getting the wifes TJ up to par for a trip I am going on next week. It is a good little back-up wheeler

your cheating on us with a TJ of all things!

I mean, I never...

 

[yostyexplorer94]

I was hoping a one ton explorer would be leading the trip.

 

[Four0Sport]

your cheating on us with a TJ of all things!

I mean, I never...

no one is perfect lol.. it is a nice little rig though

I was hoping a one ton explorer would be leading the trip.

Me too.

 

[Four0Sport]

Well I made a purchase.. it was mostly based on the fact that I had yet to own one of these things.

2003 Sport Trac XLS.. which means vinyl floor, no sunroof, base base base, I love it.

I am keeping it IFS for now and leaning towards running a BL, TT, Shackles and 35s. 35s mean a regear as the factory ratio is 3.73 and I would like to keep decent mileage and be as close to stock gearing as possible with 35s.

Other plans include a rack above the bed, sliders, bumpers and a winch.



and I threw in a pic of the #wifesjeep

 

[Four0Sport]

Apparently the off-road economy is in the pooper because I can't sell the narrowed 44 out of my 93... This winter may see me using all the good parts from the 44 and 8.8 to build a full width 44/8.8 for this thing. Don't blame me.. blame the economy.

 

[timtimtimajim]

I’d be all over your 44 if we weren’t on different sides of the country... and if my Explorer didn’t need a new engine

 

[gmanpaint]

Going to have to drop that price in half, if you want to sell it faster. Hard pill to swallow, but that's the reality of selling common used parts, with no warranties.

 

[boominXplorer]

What are you asking for the front axle? I feel like I've missed the post for it. I've got a d44 out of a 78 supercab f150 (leaf sprung front w/5 lugs and factory flat top on one side) I've been planning on building.

 

[Four0Sport]

Whew its been a while.. The SportTrac took us on many adventures this past summer/fall and the fun hasn't stopped yet! I opted for 285/70r17 Falken Wildpeak AT3s wrapped around some pro comp wheels I scored from a shop with a decent selection of JK take offs. That required a TT up front and some trimming. The truck sits level but I am building leaf packs for the rear to get a little rake back. I have put 10k miles on this rig since June between weekend adventures and daily driving it to work. I am very pleased with the purchase and what I have into it dollar wise.

I still have my 44/8.8 combo and recently picked up a fw 8.8 and 44 to swap the good parts into. They may find themselves under this vehicle, then again they may not. I can never make up my mind.

On to the photo dump..

I have been talking to a friend of a friend about a simple bed cage to let me mount some tools on the side and a basket on top for extra space. When you throw your spare and a cooler in the bed you don't have much room for anything else.

I have lots of small things planned for this vehicle, just need the time to do it.

Keep Exploring..

 

[410Fortune]

Heck yeah sport trac!!!

Goin gback in this thread a little bit if you run the 5.0/ 4r70w/ NP205 t case you are stuck with the Ford unit and there are no gear sets available so you are stuck with the 1.96:1 low range
The NP205 can easily be twin sticked which is nice, and it can be a doubler 205/1356 or any other combo of doublers.
There are some nice aftermarket cable shifters that work well with the twin sticked 205 also
The NP205 can also be supported off of the drivers frame rail quite easily

 

[Four0Sport]

Heck yeah sport trac!!!

Goin gback in this thread a little bit if you run the 5.0/ 4r70w/ NP205 t case you are stuck with the Ford unit and there are no gear sets available so you are stuck with the 1.96:1 low range
The NP205 can easily be twin sticked which is nice, and it can be a doubler 205/1356 or any other combo of doublers.
There are some nice aftermarket cable shifters that work well with the twin sticked 205 also
The NP205 can also be supported off of the drivers frame rail quite easily

I have a 203/205 doubler from off-road design sitting in the garage for whichever explorer gets a 5.0 swap.

 

[410Fortune]

Sweet!
Here are some pics of a 4r70w to NP205 twin stick I did in a 84 Ranger
You can see what is required to put the NP205 on a Explorer 4r70w
Took a few hours to modify the tailhousing perfectly to clear the shifter

Here is early picture of how I supported it off the drivers frame rail, very simple setup has been working well for 20K miles now

 

[Four0Sport]

I have grown to like the 4.0 sohc over these past several months which made it a perfect time for the dreaded timing chain rattle to flare up. With over 200K on the odometer and not being sure if it is the OE engine I have some debating to do. As much as a I would like a 5.0 swap I am not sure if it is in the cards right now. My wallet needs to lend itself to more important things, like a new roof on the house.

I may do some research to see if the engine had been replaced previously as I have spotted a few things that make me wonder. The main thing that has me puzzled is the placement of the dpfe sensor. It is just sort of hanging out at the end of the vac hoses, not attached to anything.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I have grown to like the 4.0 sohc over these past several months which made it a perfect time for the dreaded timing chain rattle to flare up. With over 200K on the odometer and not being sure if it is the OE engine I have some debating to do. As much as a I would like a 5.0 swap I am not sure if it is in the cards right now. My wallet needs to lend itself to more important things, like a new roof on the house.

I may do some research to see if the engine had been replaced previously as I have spotted a few things that make me wonder. The main thing that has me puzzled is the placement of the dpfe sensor. It is just sort of hanging out at the end of the vac hoses, not attached to anything.

It might not be much more to buy a rolled/rear ended 5.0 than buying quality ($$$) timing components. Plus you get rid of the 5r.

 

[Four0Sport]

I have a complete 5.0 donor vehicle. I was saving it for my 93 crawler. I do not mind the 5r, third vehicle with it and no complaints.

 

[Stic-o]

As long as you take care of a SOHC and the 5R55E, they can be good. I'll take a 5R55E over a A4LD any day.

 

[Four0Sport]

Managed to get a few things done this weekend between shifts at work. I picked up Affordable Offroad bumper for a Ranger, as well as a RCI skid, also for a Ranger. While these items did fit nice I will say they are not direct bolt ons for an Explorer or Sport trac. The frame horn bumper brackets are different on Explorers needing a 1/2" spacer to fit correctly.

The skid needs additional holes drilled in the frame to work with the ranger skid bolt pattern. The skid came with thread cutting bolts so it worked out fairly well. The skid and bottom of the bumper line up very well. I am pleased with how they turned out. I got hasty with trimming the front fascia and let the jigsaw walk on me a few time. I took it back off to clean it up.

The bed bars I picked up off of amazon for $130. Technically they are ladder rack bars for trucks with a bed cover. While at first I wasn't sure I could use them without modification, I was able to find 2 spots per side where the steel liner of the bed came up high enough to contact the rack brackets.

I was hoping to get the bilsteins on before the weekend when I take the truck on a 3 day camping trip but I don't think I will have the time.

 

[Four0Sport]

Brief update. I scored an are topper off of marketplace for $100 and finally got around to swapping rear leaf packs. Truck is still my daily driver and still going strong.