Where I should start on building up my rig

[OperationSnowball]

Hello everybody! I am new to overlanding specifically. I have been camping, fishing, hunting, and exploring the Colorado rockies for most of my life and now want to expand my travels using an overlanding rig. The vehicle I have to build upon is a stock 2001 Ford Excursion with 4WD and is equipped with the 7.3 Diesel engine. I am looking for both advice and help in finding the upgrades for my truck. I have been watching videos of overlanding builds on YouTube for hours and hours now but am now genuinely lost on where I should start. Any information you can give me will help tremendously! Thank you all in advance.

 

[Billiebob]

DRIVE IT

It might be perfect as a stock vehicle. Drive it first, do the things you love... Only after you find a need should you start changing things. Ford did a great job building a big full sized SUV. Fords research and development budget is exponentially bigger than any of the aftermarket suppliers who often copy something and spend $$$ on marketing, advertising and supporting forums, including youtubers, pushing their products.

Drive it, go camping, fishing, hunting, exploring and when you find a specific need, ask the question........ "Hey guys how do I do this?"

Unless you are like me, and need a project to tinker with.

If it was me, having had front and rear selectable lockers, that would be my first mod, maybe with a regear if I thought I was going to do a lift and bigger rubber. But otherwise, I'd focus on all the basics like refrigeration, sleeping, food storage, route finding, .....

 

[Charles M]

Welcome.

Your overland "rig" should be determined on what "you" want and need it to do... My recommendation is to determine where and what you want to do with your rig. It sounds like you are already doing a lot of overlanding. Many people will tell you suspension upgrades but, truthfully it would depend on just what terrain you are wanting to go over.. If your rig will handle the trails you want to travel on then you are good. There is always a limitation when it comes to vehicle choice but, you get to decide where to limit your rigs ability...

If your rig works for the hunting and camping you do now then you are good.. The most you might add are things to make your trips easier or more comfortable or more equipped to handle days or weeks on the trail. Ultimately none of us can make that decision for you...

 

[reaver]

What Charles said is 100% correct.

For me, I tend to start with armor, usually. A good set of skids will keep you from getting stranded by an oil pan, or transmission pan hole.

I drove a first gen Colorado for a few years with skid plates being the only mod, and they saved my bacon a few times.

My 2 cents.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Maintenance ,maintenance, maintenance . All the bolt on goodies and upgrades in the world won’t mean a thing if you blow a hose or loose a belt and can’t drive .

Organize your gear
Make sure everything has a place and is easy to find and load up . To much time spent looking for gear or forgetting something will make it less likely to actually get out

Take notes
Keep track of what you actually use and what you don’t you would be amazed how much extra stuff we pack for camping but actually never use .


Let At least two different people in 2 separate households know where your planning to go And when you should be back .

 

[old_man]

I like all the input about getting out and using it, then from your own experience, figure out what you want to add.

Must haves are:

spare tire, jack, lug wrench and know how to use them
first aid kit
tow strap
good set of paper maps
good wheeling buddy

Remember to tell somebody where you are going and who to call if you don't show back up.

 

[OperationSnowball]

With my truck weighing in at about 8000lbs when fully unloaded, do I need to worry about getting my own winch and other recovery gear even if I travel with a friend? He has a 2006 Toyota 4Runner for reference.

 

[James.Laidlaw]

I agree with the consensus of the group - drive it / get out there....make notes. Everybody's needs are different. I don't refer to mine as an "overland vehicle" or a "Bug out vehicle" rather a "Weekend adventure vehicle." What do I need to support my weekend adventure? Camping, kayaking, skiing, hiking, cycling, overlanding, etc. You get the point.

Anyhow look at your needs and defciences not just wants or what's cool. Most importantly look at your pocket book - this can get expensive real quick if not careful. I make a "wants" list then start rating on the basis of price, necessity/need (not want) as well as upcoming outings. I continue to modify / adjust my list based off of those factors. For example, I won a winch in a drawing. I wasn't ready for a winch but after a year - it bumped up in priority to get a bumper because it was already in possession and sitting on the floor of my garage. Plus we always travel in groups with multiple winches and a bunch of recovery gear available so that rates it lower in my book. I also keep my budget in mind - I may be saving for a larger item but have the ability to add some smaller item that are also on the list.

Vehicle protection is usually where I start my first priority and almost always a tire upgrade leads the list. Suspension is usually second. Armor, sliders, etc. come after that. Again, this all depends on your use plan for the vehicle.

Just a little from my perspective. My excel spreadsheet is my friend!

James

P.S. As a former backcountry/ critical care / flight paramedic - first aid / medical always is high on my list as I don't want to be in the situation where I have training but not the appropriate gear - as well as Coms as I'm a Ham and ARES responder.

 

[Billiebob]

With my truck weighing in at about 8000lbs when fully unloaded, do I need to worry about getting my own winch and other recovery gear even if I travel with a friend? He has a 2006 Toyota 4Runner for reference.

Lots of ways to avoid getting stuck. The oldest is drive in 2WD til you get stuck then shift into 4WD and back up. Good judgement can make lack of a winch a non issue. A ForeRunner and a snatch strap can work wonders. A winch might only be helpful if it is on the right end of your vehicle.

I've never used my winch to get unstuck. I use it to drag logs more than anything.

 

[MMc]

A first aid kit isn’t a upgrade it’s a must have.
I would start with recovery gear. Shackles, recovery straps and ropes, maybe a come along. Learn how to use them.
The truck I use more has been modified my for use. How I modified my truck might be useless to you. Make sure it 100% engine and drive train. You’ll figure out the rest.

 

[ChambersFamily]

Maintenance ,maintenance, maintenance . All the bolt on goodies and upgrades in the world won’t mean a thing if you blow a hose or loose a belt and can’t drive .

Organize your gear
Make sure everything has a place and is easy to find and load up . To much time spent looking for gear or forgetting something will make it less likely to actually get out

Take notes
Keep track of what you actually use and what you don’t you would be amazed how much extra stuff we pack for camping but actually never use .


Let At least two different people in 2 separate households know where your planning to go And when you should be back .

I second this on maintenance. Your going off road, maybe even off grid. You want to make sure your rig is not going to let you down. And Agree with everyone else, drive it and see what needs come up. I have a Full sized ram cummins, and it's mostly stock to be honest. I have a bumper on order and a winch. I've never been stuck but again weighing in at over 8000lbs I don't want to be caught out there scratching my head haha. -Marshall

 

[Big G]

Hello everybody! I am new to overlanding specifically. I have been camping, fishing, hunting, and exploring the Colorado rockies for most of my life and now want to expand my travels using an overlanding rig. The vehicle I have to build upon is a stock 2001 Ford Excursion with 4WD and is equipped with the 7.3 Diesel engine. I am looking for both advice and help in finding the upgrades for my truck. I have been watching videos of overlanding builds on YouTube for hours and hours now but am now genuinely lost on where I should start. Any information you can give me will help tremendously! Thank you all in advance.

Hello Aiden, welcome to the OB community. I understand that the Excursion diesel is a very good vehicle so that's a plus. I don't pretend to be an expert, and, what to start with is vast and varied and very subjective. I have seen many comments that indicate tires and armor are a good place to start. Armor would largely depend on where you plan to take your rig but protection the under belly is a good idea. What is often said is take a few trips and see what you feel you need and begin with those things, Since you do a lot of exploring already it may be that you have a good idea what you need next. Have fun and as you do some mods post some pictures so we can enjoy it with you.

 

[Charles M]

8,000 pounds / winch.. Mine weighs in loaded out just under 8,000 and with the group I go with it has never been stuck. I do have a winch but, it has always only been used to help others in the group and never for my own use... My sugestion is spend the 6 grand on your rig in preventative maintenance and up grades if needed. If you spend the money on a used rig you will need more money to do the same thing for making it more trail worthy / dependable.

This is my Tahoe.

 

[MidOH]

6" BDS suspension.
Custom driveshafts.
Rear locker.
35x12.5r17 Cooper STT pro's.
Skid Plates.
Keep $2500 on hand at all times for a transmission rebuild.

That's plenty of work for now. If you want to lock the front axle, swapping it to a new Dana 60 axle makes more sense. Some people even switch Ex's over to coil springs at the same time.

 

[MidOH]

 

[OperationSnowball]

6" BDS suspension.
Custom driveshafts.
Rear locker.
35x12.5r17 Cooper STT pro's.
Skid Plates.
Keep $2500 on hand at all times for a transmission rebuild.

That's plenty of work for now. If you want to lock the front axle, swapping it to a new Dana 60 axle makes more sense. Some people even switch Ex's over to coil springs at the same time.

thankyou for your help I will check these upgrades out

 

[OperationSnowball]

Is that your rig? It looks nice!

 

[510Steve]

Excursions are so bad ass!

 

[Dave H.]

First upgrade personally, tires. Get a good set of all terrain or mud terrain tires. If your mainly going to be off road with your rig go mud terrain. Figure out what size you want, larger tires give you ground clearance, not a lift. Lift gives you room for larger tires, if you do need to go with a lift, don’t go over 3 inches. For an overland rig there’s no need, and reliability goes down the bigger the lift. I have a gen 3 Ram 2500 very similar in size, only thing I wish is that they made a lighter spring at stock height for my truck. If you do go with a lift I’d go with Thuren Fab, Carli Suspension, or Icon.
As far as gear goes, everything you have for camping is exactly what you need to start. Now that you have your rig, find a way to organize. Pelican cases aren’t a bad start, depending on your carpentry skills you could try building a drawer system for the back of your rig.
As far as sleeping, try sleeping in your rig. I made a drawer system for the bed of my truck which also acted as the base for a bed. $50 mattress topper and sleeping bags, and it wasn’t too bad.
Just get out there and make a list of what worked and what didn’t, make your upgrades and mods off that.

 

[MidOH]

Excursions are lowered for fat soccer moms. A 6 inch lift is a 3 inch lift. Or maybe as tall as a '17 Super Duty with a leveling kit.

There's cut out flares for the x's so you can fit more tire with less lift. Especially nice if your fenders have rusty ends worth cutting off.

12" and flares:

Modified Bushwacker Fender Flares For Ford Excursion - Blue Oval Trucks

Looking for Bushwacker cut-out fender flares for your Ford Excursion? Unfortunately, bushwacker didn't actually make them for the Ford Excursion. What you see here are Bushwacker cut-out fender flares for a 1999-2007 Ford Super Duty (F-250, F-350, F-450) long bed. As you can see, the rear flares...

www.blueovaltrucks.com