Has Earthroamer gone nuts???

[CoreyPerez]

I was just looking at the earth roamer site, and I noticed that he is building a new truck, It looks a awlful lot like a FORD!!!



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Corey :--)

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Could be a very interesting move - since he spends lotsa time rock-crawling - heavy weight at low speeds in steep grades - the difference in low-end torque between the former Dodge and the new trouble-plagued Navistar MIGHT just be quite revealing...



Time will tell...

 

[scarlton]

Yes he is going Ford, check this out: http://www.earthroamer.com/main_truck/vehicle_basic.html

 

[scarlton]

Maybe the F-450 will once and for all prove to everyone how poorly engineered, and how sorry built the Powerstrokes are,but I hope Earthroamer has better luck with his than I did with my 2000.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

A buddy of mine has a F550 4x4 and he only gets 9 mpg empty. Wait til Bill loads that sucker up and that is what he will have... A sucker of fuel... ... ... .

 

[Summit]

i'm speechless... so i'll type something

i wonder how the next TDR will end? (oh by the way... soo long i have a f series??)

 

[jimk]

ford

I would like to have one if it had a cummins in it. I might buy a 550 some day as it would be fine for what it wont it for. I like the manual locking hubs.

No I dont wont the V8 but the rest of the truck if fine. Four big doors is a plus to. jmop jimk

 

[jimk]

ford

I would like to have one if it had a cummins in it. I might buy a 550 some day as it would be fine for what it wont it for. I like the manual locking hubs.

No I dont wont the V8 but the rest of the truck if fine. Four big doors is a plus to. jmop jimk

 

[83 crew cab]

with the 450 and up I a pertty sure you can order it with the cummins there is a 440 crewcab around town that was orderd with the the cummins in it

 

[Dkevdog]

Originally posted by 83 crew cab

with the 450 and up I a pertty sure you can order it with the cummins there is a 440 crewcab around town that was orderd with the the cummins in it

I didn't think you could order the Cummins (or any other for that matter) in anything less than a 650. Guess I'm wrong.



kev

 

[Dkevdog]

Originally posted by 83 crew cab

with the 450 and up I a pertty sure you can order it with the cummins there is a 440 crewcab around town that was orderd with the the cummins in it

I didn't think you could order the Cummins (or any other for that matter) in anything less than a 650. Guess I'm wrong.



kev

 

[dshockley]

According to Ford's website you have to go the 650 before the cummins becomes available.



Dan

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Earthroamer is just doing what anyone with sponsorship would do. He does what his sponsors dictate.



Now that he has crossed over... . his sponsors can brag about their new F*rd specific products and how they last to his abuse.



Do you really think John Force would stop racing if Castrol made him wear a different color scheme? He might have to break down and wear a clean firesuit.



Matt

 

[gitchesum]

Out of the three major diesel light truck manufacturers, Ford is the only one to offer a cab-chassis truck with a four seat extended cab (super cab). In order to accommodate four people in the cab, an extended cab is required. The cab-chassis has straight frame rails, which simplifies camper design and allows for a larger interior standup height. The F-450 also has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 15,000 pounds, which allows us to carry a large payload.

I would bet that Bill would gladly have a Dodge if they made on that meets his requirements. Considering the size and weight of the campers he's using, you have to consider safety.

 

[856.9]

For the cost that's being charged to me it seems doing some drivetrain modifications would be a small percentage.



Like throw the cummins into the ford. Or just take the dodge and put custom axles on. For his clearance he's going to replace all the suspension anyways. The 450 is mostly a 350 with heavier springs, and a bigger bolt pattern for the tires. Same engine and transmission. Still uses a dana 60 front, and dana 80 rear. The 550 jumps to the dana 135.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I'd like to see a Dana-135 under my truck... .



Matt

 

[R.E. Miller]

Without bias of any type, and only experience from day to day working on fords, all I can say is that they are the biggest engineering abortions that I have ever seen. This is tied in first with International trucks. Don't agree with me, don't care, try working on either of these two brands everyday... . you'll see. It would be one thing if the price reflected the thought that went into these vehicles, but neither international or ford trucks are what I would call cheap.



Russell

 

[RHancock]

I agree with the ford coment on the motor and electronics side, but the reason they sell so many is that to 100k they are great. Also the price is 4-5k less than a comparable chevy or dodge. Look arround at most of the construction companies they all have fords because for the 3-4 years they lease them they have minimal problems. Now as for after they get 100k they start leaking oil and having electircal gremblins also the gas and diesel motors in the current trucks take a dump at about 150k if you work them real hard. We just had to put lower ends in 3 5. 4's here and the powerstrokes don't do much better. . Now we work them with heavy trailers and load them hard.



On the International front I agree 50% I have seen a lot of old Internationals still on the road and the motors seem to last forever. Now the valve covers always leak, the electronic distributors suck and the doors always make that bong sound. But for when they were built they were a good truck. I have seen 345's with over 250k of hard work and still going strong find me a small block chevy that can beat that...



Sorry if this sounds bias but I am... . I think the auto makers need to do a better job...



BTW have you niticed how a 92-93 1st gen looks a lot like a binder... .



What we need is someone to build new 1st gen's with a real transmission, real brakes, a dana 135, a mechanical injection pump, a cab that doesn't leak or crack, a real fuse box, no computers and sell it for under 20k...



It could be done..... but everyone wants cars with pickup beds so the market would be limited and the auto makes wont touch it be cause it wouldn't need any parts or repairs for a long time... ...





I do beleive that auto makers know when they build a truck what will break and how long it will take Ford especially. Look at the GETRAG's weak transmission very mariginal at best. then tilt it so the oil level is below the front bearing. At about 100k the trans goes out or less if someone puts gearoil in it. Now the dealer is the only one you can get parts of it from and they will only sell an exchange transmission. at almost 2k a pop. so for 50$ worth of bearings the customer pays 2k, sounds like a good profit margin. takes almost 10 years for the parts to come out aftermarket. When they could have put the dana/spicer HD 5 speed in it and to begin with and never had a problem and the cost wouldn't have been that much more... .

 

[wrk2mtch]

What we need is someone to build new 1st gen's with a real transmission, real brakes, a dana 135, a mechanical injection pump, a cab that doesn't leak or crack, a real fuse box, no computers and sell it for under 20k...

Amen! A real truck at a price regular people can afford.

Sign me up!

 

[ACoyle]

And you too can own one starting at 135K bones.