Mechman

Well. I came out of a Jeep and into a Truck because it's a more practical DD and a Jeep on 35's, regeared to 4.56, with stock wheelbase and a tummy tuck isn't fun to drive from Baton Rouge to Houston. I got really good at doing pinion seals =D (Yes I know why that kept happening, I was limited to a dorm room for tools =D) Anyways, I have a 2013 F150 XLT 5.0 4x4 with the locker ,

I bought this truck with the intentions of keeping it stock but I keep getting the itch to do stuff, so I want the forums opinion.

Lifting an IFS truck with the purpose to wheel is stupid. The front crossmember gets hung up on everything. Is there a company that makes bent lower control arms to allow for maximum clearence? I can run RCV's and not have to worry about destroying the factory joints. What suspension systems will give me the clearence I desire?

Leads me to my next issue. Angles. Breakover, Departure, Approach. All these things are terrible in a truck. Im not trying to run the most sophisticated trail, but I would like to occasionally run some minor trails for fun. Is there any bumper system out there that wraps around the rear and protects the departure?

Now I'm not confined to a dorm anymore. I have access to a welder, and all sorts of tools and it's my understanding that I can make all of these things, however, I want to see if there is anyone that has done anything similar to this. I've got a bunch of materials sitting at home right now for another project so stay tuned

Thoughts, Opinions, Comments please! and thank you

STingray1300

Great choice in trucks! Which cab/wheel base did you get?

I did a 2" level (BOSS suspension) and a 1" add-a-leaf to the rear. Changed the 275/65R18s to LT285/75R17 Toyos (34" vs the OEM 32"). I'm just getting ready to make my own rear bumper. Was going to use 10 gauge steel. I may go with 1/4" T-6 aluminum though.

For departure angle, you MUST get rid of the trailer power plugs (reposition them) and the trailer hitch receiver. I'm going to integrate mine into the new bumper, thereby increasing rear clearance by at least 3-4 inches.

Keep me/us posted as to what you do!

Mechman

Awesome man! I have the 6.5 bed with the SuperCab. Wish i could have went shorter =/ Damn Raptors are still up there in price. So, same wheelbase as a SCREW with 5.5 bed I believe. I'd be really interested in what you come up with. I'm currently finishing up a SolidWorks model for a customer of mine for a rear bumper for his 4Runner that I'll be building here shortly after I finish finals and get back home.

Thanks for the advice! I'm definitely going to do that! I'm most likely going to go around the edges of the rear rocker with DOM, and tie it into the frame somewhere behind the rear leaf spring mount os that if I come down on it, it hits DOM and not body. I will relocate the spare as well. I'm going to be doing SolidWorks models for the rear bumpers, a slider system and a high clearance front bumper once I get home next thursday and I will hopefully get around to building them before I have to head back to school. I will definitely post pictures of the solidworks models here. I really want to do a flow thru console so I have more options for aftermarket switches as well so I'm going to see what I can do there. We shall see!

Trailbreak74

I like the way you are thinking on actually making the truck perform better off road, and not just lifting it up and slapping big tires under it.

I'm not an expert but from what I know, what you want to do is called a spindle lift. Most of the kits out there are for 2wd trucks, but I think there are some for 4wd trucks that exist.

The only thing is most of these kits are Expensive. Maxtrac (forum sponsor) makes a basic spindle lift, but the others I have seen are part of complete long travel kits. By the time you put a full long travel kit on your truck, it will be very capable offroad, but you could have bought a Raptor with money to spare.

So I think based on what you are saying a leveling kit should get you more clearance, bigger tires, more capability, and not break the bank.

I'm interested to hear more though and if others chime in with ideas I haven't heard of.

Mechman

Yea, I'm an engineering student so it's always function over stupid a** looks. I'm not interested in 24x16s and the "squat". I'm interested in 35's and 17 inch rims. More rubber/less rim = better ride and better traction. Anyhow. I'm thinking of fabricating a suspension of my own. Going to look at materials later this week and throw up a solidworks design.

Trailbreak74

Very cool. I am interested to see what you come up with. A lot of the companies out there basically started as a guy making a lift for his own truck and developing to the point they start selling them.

I was looking at Brenthel (another forum sponsor) it's fun to dream but there stuff is too spendy for me. bajakits.com may give you some ideas as to what direction to go with your designs.

Mechman

Yes! I definitely have looked at his things. That's the idea here. And I'm currently a broke college student hahaha. So I've got tools, metal and design software with a can do attitude, so hopefully I can make something of it.

ak_cowboy

Read up on the 2011 Ultimate Adventure Ecoboost. Watch the videos and decide if you're going to wheel any harder than they did

http://www.fourwheeler.com/ultimate-...dventure-f150/


Part 1
http://www.fourwheeler.com/ultimate-...f150-ecoboost/


Part 4. Where they upgrade the IFS
http://www.fourwheeler.com/ultimate-...oboost-part-4/

pilotpip

Buy a cheap TJ, and a trailer to pull it on. Go nuts and when you break it, use that ford to tow it home.