overlandf150

Hello All,

I was recently having a discussion about longevity on dirt roads with one of the guys at the hunting club and it got me thinking. Who's truck spends most of its life on dirt?

I know there are a lot of companies, probably construction or mining, that have trucks that rarely see pavement.

How are these trucks holding up to vibrations and washboard roads? Anything breaking because of this life style? What are the main wear items other than shocks and ball joints?

Thanks for the input,

Overland

jhelrey

The biggest issue I had being on a gravel road were rock chips and gravel in places that you could never believe/understand. They sprayed our roads with the oil treatment which is like driving in slush after it rains. It just goes everywhere. I intentionally found a truck that never saw gravel. I also no longer live on gravel roads.

paintballdude05

Sand and other debris start to fill the rockers and wheel well lips, that traps moisture which accelerates rust if not treated regularly. Then there's the rock chips that pepper your front end and bellow the belt line. Fords in general have pretty good front end components and seem to last a long time vs. Dodges.

overlandf150

Thank you all for the reply's. I am sure that things like ball joints and shocks will wear out fast. I am sure trucks like the one attached RARELY see pavement.

WarSurfer

I live on a dirt road and my commute is very short so even though I don't drive far, half of my driving is on dirt.

I only wash the truck a couple times a year but I'm pretty good about hitting the coin op every so often and cleaning the undercarriage. It helps that only my cab and bed center are metal, everything else is FG or composite.

Ryan_2020

I can't nearly say most (but 10% of my daily commute is gravel), no issues with any parts (at 87k miles) but as mentioned above lots of rock chips (but we also sand/gravel our roads in winter).

Just did a wash and quick wax last night and was sad seeing all the chips.

WarSurfer

I forgot to mention...

I don't know if non Raptor's have 'em but there is an anti vibration weight on the drivers side frame rail next to the spare tire. That thing has worn our and makes some noise - most likely from all the bumps. I need to climb under and remove it.

AK49FordTruck

I've been around a ton of Ford trucks that spend the first half of their lives all off pavement on the north slope of AK (no pavement roads to be found for hundreds of miles) and they hold up very well. I've rented other makes when I've been up there and they are half falling apart with low miles. Fords will put up with serious abuse and come back asking for more.