ford superduty with a 7.3 and a 6 speed, crew cab short bed, and if you get a 2003 you get the dana 60 front and if you look around you can find factory F350 single wheels that came with 80's in the rear, hard to find but you can, call EMS Offroad and get their freespin kit, get a good set of lift springs or coilover conversion kit if you like, get you lockers front and rear with a good set of deep gears......

 

If this is gonna be an off-road truck you're much better off to go with a gasser... For 2 big reasons.

1. The Cummins is HEAVY, and thanks to its extra weight, the nose likes to sink in the mud.

2. The Power Wagon is only available with the Hemi, and it is bar none the most capable pickup to roll off the assembly line of any truck maker since the last Power Wagon. You would be hard pressed to build a Cummins trucks as capable without $10K worth of aftermarket parts, and labor. With both axles locked up, the sway bar unlocked, and a good driver, the Power Wagon will go places that a truck on 38" tires won't go... Pretty much thanks to its locking Diffs. Of course, if you ever do manage to stick it, the 12K lb Warn winch should pull you out of just about anything.

But if you really want a Cummins, just expect to pay more to get good off-road capability from it. My 99 on 35's isn't bad, but in the mud I rely on the skidder to get me out if I get stuck, because another truck doesn't have the ***** to get me out when the nose is burried to the frame.

 

good point I can sure dig some nice ruts in the fields the front has a lot of engine not very nimble if you have to get into deep mud. also look into reloction kits for all drivetrain vents.

 

interesting.. here in CA there isn't a ton of mud and most of the mud we have is deep water sitting on top of wet dirt if you get my meaning.. granted in all likelyhood I'll be hood deep in water fairly often and I actually intend on adding bits to the bed of the truck to try and get closer to 50/50 weight transfer.. tool box full size spare a recovery kit etc. The new power wagon looks like sex on wheels I won't lie. I just have a hankering for a diesel that I can drive and tow and just has the best factor. originally I figured diesel wouldn't be as good for off roading as the tires won't spin up as quick and the motor reacts slower. Other than that though most of my off roading is hill climbing and some snow when I make it out to SLC and sand/desert. I'm not sure how wise it is but I am looking for ultra wide tires for a larger contact patch and in some cases that will help raising the front end while mudding if I am correct?

 

Yes and no... Its really all dependent on what kind of conditions you're in. Thick, greasy, shallow, mud requires a wide tire for the most traction; but soupy deep mud requires a thin tall tire to bite down and get traction. Deep snow requires a light vehicle, and unltra wide tires to float on top... Tracks are really the best option. Shallow snow, or hard pack, requires tall skinny tires to cut through and bite.

 

well there you go I can balance the truck out because I'll have 4 tires in the back depending on what I am doing. Found today a 2008 2500 mega cab cummins.. 65k miles is there anything visually I should look for that might be tell tale signs of heavy abuse? PS the 2008 was for under 30k so I was pretty happy but skeptical. Unless I am just off on resale values that seems pretty good to be true. There was also a chipped 2002 f350 crew chipped 7.3 liter for 19k...I am considering some of the fords

they had a harley edition 350 with the 6.0 for 19k it was a 2004 I think. But DAMN was it nice inside.

I plan on front lockers for sure likely a detroit front and rear but not positive yet. You sound pretty confident in that setup logans. You know someone running that? also what kind of issues are there with getting these trucks a little more water friendly?

 

the only thing with an 08 is that it has all the emissions stuff on it, now that can be taken care of really easy

 

That price doesn't seem off at all. For your front diff, I would suggest NOT using a Detroit... You want something selectable so its not binding up on you when you don't want it. The T-Case will hate you if you try making tight turns in 4wd with the front diff locked up. Use an ARB, or an OX, or an EcTed, that way when you need to maneuver tight you can still use 4wd, but have an open front diff.

As far as waterproofing goes, I personally think its just plain dumb to take a $30K pickup through deep water, but if you want to do it, its your truck. A few basic things you're gonna have to do is raise/extend all the axle vent tubes, the trans vent, the T-Case vent, a bunch of your wiring needs to be sealed up, a clutch fan you can manually turn off, and an airbox that is high and dry (a lot of guys run them into the cab).

Keep in mind, you're probably never going to get it 100% waterproof with an electronic truck, if it were a 12V you'd be much better off, there's no wiring needed to run the truck if you replace the shutoff solenoid with a cable.

 

I don't know about total waterproofing I don't plan on rerouting air intakes just want to make sure it's not more prone to water logging than a gasser. This dodge in the engine bay seemed a bit warn..the insulating was kind of falling off..So other than a 65k miles on a motor taht could probably run a couple hundred thousand. Are there any signs that a diesel has been abused? Towed too much for too long etc? Discoloration of the turbo? Just want to make sure whether I get a ford a dodge or a cheby I don't get something that's been beaten to death.

There was another truck there a standard bed crew cab 7.3L F250 good price they said it was chipped. They all felt strong started easy I test drove the F250 tranny was strong shifted well power steering seemed a little strange. Could have just been I'm not used to ford steering

Diesel shopping tips?

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I'm hearing people say that Diesels don't get smogged?? why in the WORLD would I keep my cat converters on if that's the case!!!

 

You really need to bone up on this stuff before you buy one, it would take a full page for us to describe this to you. 08's+ use a DPF, you can't just rip it off, the truck will throw a code and go to limp mode. Again, waterproofing is absolutely necessary to keep the engine running right. If you short out a pump harness you could really screw the engine up. I personally wouldn't buy a truck that was "Chipped" especially if you don't know what kind of chip it is, or how it works (added timing, fuel only, both, etc.).

There really aren't any more tell tale signs the truck has been abused with a diesel... In fact, IMO, a gasser is easier, at least with a gas motor you can pull a spark-plug or two and check to see how its been running.