Travis' 94 - The Culmination!

Thanks for checking out my thread!

I've owned about a dozen 1st & 2nd gen Explorers over the last 8 years. I've done Dana 44's on a 1st gen, coilovers on a 2nd gen, uniball uppers, leveling kits, lift kits, fabricated a handful of front ends, shock hoops, bedcages, the list goes on and on. For my latest truck, I began my search towards the end of last summer & actually started out looking for a 2nd gen, (I really like the ones with the AC in the center console). Thankfully this truck was not needed as a daily driver, so I was able to take my time. I happen to stumble across this extremely clean 1st gen that reminded me so much of my favorite Explorer, which was also a white 94 with black wheels. I could not pass this truck up. Here in Southern California, these trucks are getting very, very tough to come by, and this was one of the cleanest 1st gens I have ever seen. Here are the specs:

1994 XLT
218,000 miles without a rear main leak, signs of a power steering leak, mostly clean oil pan & block, clean rear end & under carriage
4x4 - A4LD - Pushbutton 4x4 - Stock auto hubs
3.73 Limited Slip
Full power seats with lumbar & bolsters
A small additional lower exterior trim piece that seems to not be too common
31x10.50R15 Toyo AT knock offs on Pro Comp Series 51 steelies
Kenwood Deck with a pyle (o' ****) sub in the stock location


I'm 9 months behind on making this thread, and I have done A TON with this truck, so stay tuned for a lot of catching up!!!

Current pic

Here are the photos from day 1 (October 13, 2019)

 

[Travisfab]

Having it mounted to the hatch as well as the bumper would take a lot of wobble out of a tire carrier. I thought about that but wanted to be able to quickly open the hatch while on the trail or camping. There is also a lot of movement in the end of the frame. I usually go on the expedition type trips with a buddy who usually sets up or breaks camp in about 10 minutes. Even with easy access, it still takes me about three times that long. My tire carrier doesn't wobble very much compared to most, but I use a bolt instead of a latch to lock the swing-outs down to the bumper. 1/2" bolt, just like a whole bunch of my suspension components with the ratchet wrench in the driver door pocket. The swing-outs used to have brass bushings, but I got tired of fighting it as it was always too tight or too loose. I redid it over the first COVID lockdown to add the traditional 1500 pound trailer spindles and bearings. Having the ends bolted down takes the strain off the trailer spindles.

With the fold down tables, my Coleman two burner camp stove fits perfectly on the tire carrier side (not the gas can side for obvious reasons).

Same for me, the entire gate is held in place by bolts, but I would like to change the hinge to a spindle at some point (maybe a Dana 35 snout?). The bolt that is keeping the gate attached to the hatch actually has an old 1/2" drive socket welded to it. Makes it a little quicker to pull off. I think I am goint to build a hidden impact mount on the bumper somehwere to make it a little easier to open. Something like this.

 

[Travisfab]

Couple new things for the truck. McNeil fenders and 35x10R15 Tensor tires.

 

[Travisfab]

Couple more pics

 

[FROADER]

Are you waiting to the current tires to wear out before swapping?

It looks a lot like the first version of my first explorer (minus the rear bumper) right now, it's cool to look at.

 

[Travisfab]

I’m prepping my truck & another truck for KOH this weekend. Tires will go on as soon as I have a second to breathe, lol! They will definitely be on for this weekend though.

 

[Travisfab]

Here's what the tires look like installed. I also added 1" wheel spacers up front.

 

[BKennedy]

Looks good.

 

[Travisfab]

I recently added a Titan Trekker auxiliary fuel tank to my ride. It added 13 gallons of additional fuel capacity. With gas prices where they are at, it allows me to avoid those middle of nowhere gas prices! The water on the ground in the last pic had me doing a water pump right afterwards!

 

[Travisfab]

Went straight to Mexico the following day.

 

[Travisfab]

Forgot that I went out to KOH with the 35’s, lol

 

[mounty71]

I've considered one of those fuel tanks too but never knew anyone who ran one. I'm often cutting it close on fuel on trips I do even with a 5 gallon jerry can. Would you recommend it for a go-fast desert truck? Does it seem like it will hold up to the abuse?

 

[410Fortune]

That is a lot of weight hanging out over the rear bumper!
Well not too bad considering many rigs carry two jerry cans
Some details of how it mounts back there would be great!

Silly the explorers have a small fuel tank, the mighty bii was shipped with 23 gallons!

 

[Travisfab]

I've considered one of those fuel tanks too but never knew anyone who ran one. I'm often cutting it close on fuel on trips I do even with a 5 gallon jerry can. Would you recommend it for a go-fast desert truck? Does it seem like it will hold up to the abuse?

My truck is a GoFast Desert truck! I can carry a decent pace through good sized whoops. I have ran it pretty hard when full, but I try to strategize my trip to where it's empty when I get into the big stuff. My bumper is also pretty rediculous when it comes to strength, so that is something that really needs to be done before going fast.

That is a lot of weight hanging out over the rear bumper!
Well not too bad considering many rigs carry two jerry cans
Some details of how it mounts back there would be great!

Silly the explorers have a small fuel tank, the mighty bii was shipped with 23 gallons!

There's a pretty solid run down located here - Titan Trail Trekker II Fuel Tank Review - Off-Road.com

 

[Travisfab]

Had a blast running this thing out at the GoFastExplorers meet. Zero issues, and pushed it harder than ever. Before the trip I did a front shock revalve and it made a huge difference!

 

[410Fortune]

It’s all about the shocks!!

Nicely done

 

[Travisfab]

Check it!

Go Fast Explorer Goes Farther With Titan Trail Trekker

Off Road Xtreme hooks up with Travis in his Go Fast Explorer to upgrade his fuel capacity with a Titan Fuel Tanks Trail Trekker.

www.offroadxtreme.com

 

[FROADER]

That's nice that the siphon is included.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

yeah!!! coolio!! glad they included the GFE video, time to spread the word love this build!

 

[Paul]

Any updates? Enjoy your posts and videos, plus the rig is bad-ass, - - the “No-Door”, not so much….