I need some advice for building my F150

2003FX4wd

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Location
Burke County
Hey Yall I got a 2003 Ford F150 supercab 4wd FX4 pickup. Its mainly stock other than the step bars, window tint, and aftermarket halo headlights. Im wanting to build a rig that will be fun on and off the trail. It is my DD so nothing to extreme but I would like to make it mildly trail capable but remain the reliability of a daily driver. I had a 3 inch body lift, more agressive tires, and some new shocks in mind. Can anybody make any other suggestions? Keep in mind Im kind of working on a budget so it will be a work in progress. Any suggestions would be appreciated very much. Brands of tires, shocks, lifts, etc... Also I would like to get joined up with a 4 wheeling club if somebody could help me out with that also. Thanks Yall.
 
A couple questions for you,

Have you done any wheeling before?

If so, What type of wheeling do you enjoy?


I would highly suggestion attending the Open Invite to the Flats - May 28-30

Here is the thread on it

It will allow you to meet people and also allow you to see what people are wheeling, The flats is compact and will allow you to see allot of the trails, And there will be all lot of other people just watching. Think of it as a large meet and greet. Theres only two a year at the flats which is in Marion.

There will be serveral clubs there (Rock Corps Club is who puts on the event) so you can talk to different people to see what club works for you.
 
If you are new to four wheeling, then I'd recommend coming out to a couple of events first and learning what it is all about.

The Farm ride, put on by the Big Dixie Boggers, is in about 1 week.

http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79821

Suspension lifts for your truck are wicked expensive, so a body lift, and some 33" tires would probably be a good way to get started without emptying your wallet. A winch would also be a good idea. Check out this thread about the budget Smittybuilt XRC8: http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86929&highlight=XRC8

After you see what it is all about, you may decide to leave your F150 stock though, and buy a beater rig for wheeling. It is a whole lot more fun when you don't have to worry about fubaring your DD.
 
Get something shorter for wheeling and keep your truck stock and use it to tow whatever you take up in the mountains to get beat up.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. Im looking at maybe getting an old cherokee or something cheap I can get my hands on for relatively nothing. Still probably will put a body lift and bigger tires on my truck. Is a cheap cherokee something that can be made into a pretty capable trail rig? I just want an old beater I can beat the shit out of and it wont matter.
 
2003FX4wd said:
Thanks for the advice guys. Im looking at maybe getting an old cherokee or something cheap I can get my hands on for relatively nothing. Still probably will put a body lift and bigger tires on my truck. Is a cheap cherokee something that can be made into a pretty capable trail rig? I just want an old beater I can beat the shit out of and it wont matter.
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Yep thats pretty much the choice of most people,

Look for one that has a 8.25 rear end as apposed to the D35.

The 8.25 is a much better axle.

We have a few in our group that do very very well.
 
2003FX4wd said:
Is a cheap cherokee something that can be made into a pretty capable trail rig? I just want an old beater I can beat the shit out of and it wont matter.
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Yes! Now you are thinking correctly, lol. 91 and newer model Jeep Cherokees have the preferred HO 4.0 engine. If your going to use the F150 as a tow rig, you'd be better off leaving it stock instead of lifting it and putting on bigger tires.
 
drkelly said:
Yes! Now you are thinking correctly, lol. 91 and newer model Jeep Cherokees have the preferred HO 4.0 engine. If your going to use the F150 as a tow rig, you'd be better off leaving it stock instead of lifting it and putting on bigger tires.
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x2
 
Another vote for buying a cheap XJ for a trail rig and keep your F150 as a DD/tow rig.

Better to spend $1,000 buying a beater trail rig than doing thousands of dollars worth of damage to your nice DD on the trail. Plus if you break the trail rig, you don't have to hurry up and fix it since it's not a DD.
 
x4 don't beat up a dd, I have been through those years, it gets expensive, I had a 03 f-150, when I first bought it I took it off the beaten path once and tore the drivers side mirror off, costing $160, I took it home and it never went off the beaten path again. I use a 83 bronco that I paid $400 for, and have been using for 7 yrs now. When it breaks you save a little money and upgrade parts. Keep the f-150 stock just throw some 285's on there and call it a day.
 
I have owned and wheeled both of the vehicles mentioned keep the f150 as a dd tow rig & get u a cheap XJ. Mine with a 3 inch lift suprised the hell out of me & a lot of people on the trail . Imho dont body lift the F150 if u plan on towing get a nice quality leveling kit u can already put a 285/75/16 basically a 33 inch tire on the truck with no lift with the leveling kit 35s are possible but a lil to much imho
 
x5. Wheeling is meant to be fun. What makes it fun is not worry'n about a scratch in your paint or having to repair something that is going to be $$. Get something cheap, wheel it within its limits, don't put a lot of money into it, and have FUN. That's the most important thing.
 
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