So How Did It Work?
The tires were a hit--and they hit. They gave the truck awesome height, while the 5-inch Tuff Country lift kept the overall truck height sane. Stuffing the tires into the sheetmetal wasn't easy. We couldn't cut the front as much as we would have liked to because of battery boxes, the ECM, and the airbox. So we limited up travel. Down travel was aided considerably by the 269-pound tire and wheel combination--that's per wheel! The tires flexed awesomely and even rode well on the highway. Toss in the fact that no one in the civilian world has seen these meats before and it makes for the perfect conversation starter.The Avalanche combination slide bars, rear corner protection, and rear bumper worked perfectly to save the body. As it was we put a few dents in the body higher than the protection, but we guarantee that we wouldn't be able to open any of the doors if it wasn't for the Avalanche bars.
Upper Heldorado in Moab, Utah, proved to be component tester for us. We knew that the steering was hurting, but we didn't have time to install the prototype AGR box, pump, and Rock Ram that Matt Burkett had brought with him on Ultimate Adventure. We snapped the sector shaft in the Ford box, forcing our Adventure into overtime. Before the day was done the ARB Sahara Bar front bumper had been reshaped, the Warn winch had saved the truck quite a few times, and we managed to split a 35-spline stub axle. We really believe that having the AGR steering system on the truck would have saved us from most of this carnage--we were having to do things we didn't want to because we just couldn't turn the truck. Even the broken axle could have been avoided.
Our other lesson en route was that the Trailready bead-lock wheels needed at least a 3/8-inch bolt rather than the 5/16-inch bolts they came with. The weight of the Super Duty combined with the diameter of the Michelin tires was just too much. The bolts would snap as we drove down the highway. We're currently working with Trailready to come up with a better solution.
If you're itching to criticize the performance of the truck or its components, remember that the words Super Duty are usually only used around tough trails in reference to towing to the trail. When you look at the pictures, use the nearly 4-foot-tall tires to reference the size of the rocks the truck is going over. We know it's not the optimum vehicle for these types of trails, but we made you look! Now go ahead and write that letter if you want.