SVO ....Small Vehicle Overlanding

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Dilldog

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I have thought about going the spring rout. But honestly I was happy with the spacer lift on my TJ so I wouldnt hesitate to just do spacers on the Escape. I was planning on springs because Im planning on doing a full front end rebuild soon (everything is original and Im at 135K) and honestly if I bought struts without springs and the lift springs its only $50 more than buying loaded struts...
 
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I have thought about going the spring rout. But honestly I was happy with the spacer lift on my TJ so I wouldnt hesitate to just do spacers on the Escape. I was planning on springs because Im planning on doing a full front end rebuild soon (everything is original and Im at 135K) and honestly if I bought struts without springs and the lift springs its only $50 more than buying loaded struts...
I had teraflex spacers on my JK unlimited too. It's different with different rigs however. That being said, I can have everything in my suspension new including the spacers for less than just the OME springs and KYB shocks/struts from RR. Hmmmmmm. That makes it even more tempting.
 
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My OME lift springs and bilstein shocks are going to cost quite a bit, probably $1200-1300, which is why I haven't done them yet, but considering my struts are original and now 20 years old, I figure it's worth spending a bit of cash to get a really good setup.
 
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Fugitive, I noticed in your build thread on the other site, you were looking at lighting options. I am putting an auxbeam light mount and lights on the front of my two rigs. A light bar on top of the mount and two Amber floods on the bottom for crap weather. Check them out.
 

OuterLimits

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Fugitive and other escapees, what do you think of adding the 1.5 inch spacer to the front suspension? My rig has the downward dog pose to it. I would be happy to either put a spacer in with new underpinnings or run ome or h &r springs. Whatever gets me there. I am seriously close to saying eff it and get the rocky road setup. They still have them available, Contacted them last month,

Kojack,

Personally, I don't mind the slight nose down posture. It's designed that way and handles well. When I do load up the back, it levels out nicely, yet still handles well. I don't like the way a heavy loaded, butt-low vehicle handles. Quick moves/braking get sketchy.

re: spacer lift. Do some searching on Escape City. https://www.escape-city.com Lots of good info there. If I recall some guys had a problem with front/back rocking when accelerating/braking with the front spacers. This may be size dependent, so do a bit of searching and see if you can find some info on this. If it's cheap enough, try the spacers and report back.

Personally, I passed on spacer lifting early, due to some of the potential handling problems. It was down to spring lift or stock. I decided on stock configuration, since I place high priority on ride quality, reliability, and parts availability. I've seen virtually every custom lift/springs/shocks for the Escape get discontinued one by one. Not much left anymore. I can get Moog springs and KYB shocks within 24-48 hours virtually anywhere in the US.

re: rocky road. I think that is the outfit that I have heard lots of complaints about in the 4x4 world. Mostly looong waits and some shoddy quality on parts they fab in-house. I think their offering for the Escape is The Old Man Emu lift. Last time I looked into the OME kit it was down to springs only. You would have to source your own extended shocks/struts and hope they are properly matched to the OME spring rate/length. If I could have purchased the entire kit I might have opted that way. I didn't want to get half a kit, then experiment on my own with matching shocks.

Rocky-road shows the entire kit on their website, but I would check the OME website directly to see if the shocks (or even springs) were still available. I would definitely place a phone call to Rocky-Road to check availability before slapping down plastic on parts that may not exist. When I was shopping for skid plates, I found around 6 sources. When contacted directly, only FTS actually had product.

Good luck.
 
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OuterLimits

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Fugitive, I noticed in your build thread on the other site, you were looking at lighting options. I am putting an auxbeam light mount and lights on the front of my two rigs. A light bar on top of the mount and two Amber floods on the bottom for crap weather. Check them out.
I'll take a peek at their offerings. I think I've decided on some SS6 lights from Diode Dynamics. https://www.diodedynamics.com/ss6-stage-series-6-white-light-bar-one.html They have some 6 inch LEDs that should fit nicely in the lower grill opening (attaching directly to the bottom of the hidden steel bumper). One driving lamp in the middle, flanked by a pair of wide-lamps. Should be a clean and stealthy setup, without blocking too much fresh air to my radiator/tranny cooler.
 

Enthusiast III

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Grand Falls-Windsor, NL, Canada
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Kojack,

Personally, I don't mind the slight nose down posture. It's designed that way and handles well. When I do load up the back, it levels out nicely, yet still handles well. I don't like the way a heavy loaded, butt-low vehicle handles. Quick moves/braking get sketchy.

re: spacer lift. Do some searching on Escape City. https://www.escape-city.com Lots of good info there. If I recall some guys had a problem with front/back rocking when accelerating/braking with the front spacers. This may be size dependent, so do a bit of searching and see if you can find some info on this. If it's cheap enough, try the spacers and report back.

Personally, I passed on spacer lifting early, due to some of the potential handling problems. It was down to spring lift or stock. I decided on stock configuration, since I place high priority on ride quality, reliability, and parts availability. I've seen virtually every custom lift/springs/shocks for the Escape get discontinued one by one. Not much left anymore. I can get Moog springs and KYB shocks within 24-48 hours virtually anywhere in the US.

re: rocky road. I think that is the outfit that I have heard lots of complaints about in the 4x4 world. Mostly looong waits and some shoddy quality on parts they fab in-house. I think their offering for the Escape is The Old Man Emu lift. Last time I looked into the OME kit it was down to springs only. You would have to source your own extended shocks/struts and hope they are properly matched to the OME spring rate/length. If I could have purchased the entire kit I might have opted that way. I didn't want to get half a kit, then experiment on my own with matching shocks.

Rocky-road shows the entire kit on their website, but I would check the OME website directly to see if the shocks (or even springs) were still available. I would definitely place a phone call to Rocky-Road to check availability before slapping down plastic on parts that may not exist. When I was shopping for skid plates, I found around 6 sources. When contacted directly, only FTS actually had product.

Good luck.
I emailed RR a while ago about the escape lift, they have kyb shocks that are matched to the springs. it's 600 for the entire setup. I need some extra height. That being said, there are the H&Rs and Canuck springs that give a 1" - 1.5" all the way around. I do want to keep SOME rake in my rig. Just not as much as I have now. So I am thinking the springs and Monroe shocks/struts would be the golden ticket for me. I am putting airbags in the rear when I am loaded or towing to keep the rake as well. It's basically the same setup I had on my JK Unlimited. lifted 2" with some rake, and airbags for when I loaded up or towed our camper. Do you know if FTS still makes the skid?
 

OuterLimits

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I emailed RR a while ago about the escape lift, they have kyb shocks that are matched to the springs. it's 600 for the entire setup. . Do you know if FTS still makes the skid?
$600 is a very decent price. When it was OME shocks in the kit, it seemed like it was up around $1k. If they have a kyb shock for that application, shock replacement is made easier. I would jump on that.

If I recall, I thought someone here or EP contacted them and they were out of stock and not making anymore skid plates for the escape. I just checked their website and they don't even list the escape/mariner/tribute any more. looking at their underbody protection link under ford, they only list the ranger. I think you can officially scratch FTS from the escape aftermarket goodie list :-(

UPDATE: I clicked around the entire site and found they still offer an Escape snorkle.
https://www.fts4x4.com/en/products/?method=detail&aid=39

escape_snorkel_03.png
 
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Enthusiast III

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Will do, I will be doing a build report when I start. How hard would it be to make a skid? I have a plasma cutter, and metal brake etc. I am thinking, a cardboard cutout for a template, and go from there.

I am putting a half wrap on the back in to advertise out autism travel blog, adding some cargo management, suspension upgrades, lighting and nav/interior stuff too. Should be a great rig for all around travel.
 
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OuterLimits

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Will do, I will be doing a build report when I start. How hard would it be to make a skid? I have a plasma cutter, and metal brake etc. I am thinking, a cardboard cutout for a template, and go from there.
The FTS skid is two piece, with the plates bolted to two steel rails/springs that run parallel to the sides of the vehicle.

30211933492_4e0415b045_o.jpg

Pro: the two piece skid makes it easier to remove half to do an oil change. the springs give the plate a bit of resiliency.

Con: If both plates are removed, it is a pita to get all the holes lined back up, when laying on your back to get it all bolted back up. Also the FTS design does not secure the rear half of the rear skid to the vehicle. Instead, they provide a steel plate to reinforce the rear. I had two nuts welded to the chassis to actually secure the rear of the skid.

If I was to fab my own skid, for simplicity, I would ditch the steel rails/springs and make it one piece.

I concur that doing a cardboard mock-up is a great idea.

Start with welding some nuts over one of the three holes on each side of the chassis, just behind the transmission.

e30256869951_1cd76be4df_o.jpg

You can see the three holes here (two have nuts already welded, one has a bolt attached). You do not need two nuts/side (that was my faux-pas). I suppose if you wanted two nuts per side for extra beefiness, there's no harm in that. I would use the inner holes, rather than the outer hole to allow for a slightly narrower skid.

you can look at these pics to help with the shape.
29697777034_9f737b0219_o.jpg

30211936462_7e71d8f09e_o.jpg

30256803531_a99320fcdb_o.jpg

29697775484_516d6a04e5_o.jpg

While the FTS skid has numerous bends and bulges, You may be able to do the rear completely flat, with just one or two bends at the front to allow for attachment. Ventilation holes are optional, depending on temps at your locale.

The front attachment has two options.
1) since you cannot directly attach the front of the skid to the front mounting holes, you would need a short L shaped steel mounting bracket. One end bolts to the truck. The other end provides a mount location for the skid. The skid mounting hole can be drilled and threaded for the bolts, or maybe drilled with a nut welded to the backside to accept the bolt.

2) Find your own location(s) on the front to weld 2-3 nuts to secure the front of the skid. This may not be practical/possible and since my skid is installed, I can't look up there to give you any advice.

IMG_4538 1024x768_zpsw2wv7878998.jpg

The cardboard mockup will help you determine location and number of bends.

While it will take a bit of effort, It's not too technical, and pretty much your only option, short of paying big buck$ to have a custom shop crank something out for you.

This type of skid configuration will provide basic protection for the oil sump and the transmission/transfer case. It is definitely "feel good" insurance to protect sensitive under-bits.

Good luck.
 
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Thanks for the pics. I will be fabbing up one of those the spring. Next question, I have a new noise that has come up. Sort of a noise like if your tires are worn choppy or mt tires but the tone does not change if you drive on snow like it would with worn tires. Not sure if it’s central to the rig or two the front or rear. I know it’s loud and annoying and it was not there when I bought the rig. Any ideas where to look?
 
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OuterLimits

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Thanks for the pics. I will be fabbing up one of those the spring. Next question, I have a new noise that has come up. Sort of a noise like if your tires are worn choppy or mt tires but the tone does not change if you drive on snow like it would with worn tires. Not sure if it’s central to the rig or two the front or rear. I know it’s loud and annoying and it was not there when I bought the rig. Any ideas where to look?
That's a tough one without hearing the noise. First thought- tires. Second option- wheel bearing. Third- maybe a CV joint whining.

Good luck.
 

Dilldog

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Honestly skid plates that can take a beating would be one of my #1 mods. Thanks for posting pictures, gives me ideas. Only thing I might look at adding would be a fuel tank skid, that would also protect the carbon canister. Shouldnt be too hard to fab up something that bolts to the frame rail then to where the carrier bearing bolts in and then run it back and grab another mount at the rear differential sub frame?
On my old Isuzu pickup the largest tire I could fit was a 30", but I settled on 28" Super Swamper TSLs. Fortunately back in the day Isuzu fitted some serious skid plates, the front one met the bottom of the front bumper, covered suspension and oil pan, the second was a large plat that went right across the frame rails protecting the trans, transfer case and both output yokes. It also had a plate that wrapped around the fuel tank. The plates were made from 3/8" steel and had bends to increase their strength. with the confidence I had in that under body protection the smaller tires didnt really hold me up much, I just slid the plates and got good with the high lift. With my Escape I figure at least 2 full sized traction boards would be in order, along with a high lift and the wheel lifting brackets, and of course some good durable skid plates. With that I wouldnt hesitate to run 90% of trails around here.
 
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Enthusiast III

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That's a tough one without hearing the noise. First thought- tires. Second option- wheel bearing. Third- maybe a CV joint whining.

Good luck.
Going in for some diagonstics on my issues, getting the exhaust tucked back up in the correct position, fluid change, and tire rotation today. I will report back on what we find. I need to check the 4wd light flash as well.
 
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OK, it's a crappy brake rotor causing the noise as far as we know. None of the other parts got put on. I also found out the rockers are toast on the old beast. Gotta love that cladding. I am in the process of collecting the necessary body panels to weld back into the rig to make it solid again. I am also going to take care of any other places that are weak as well.
 
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