Why doesnt the expedition get the respect?

[Thermo]

Tony, if you do some looking around, they do make locker kits for the front of our trucks. Once you install one of those, then you would have a true 4x4 like you are talking. I can't imagine what the truck would be able to do then. I know what my truck does in only 3wd.

 

[babysilk]

Panda, you and I think exactly the same. Im going to find a way to get some piece of metal in between the gas tank and the rocks i scrape on! Ill try and spend some time on it this weekend and see what i come up with!

 

[babysilk]

Look, I love my truck, but before it, my daily driver (for over a decade) was a 73 scout with a built 440 and 33" tires. My expedition won't even approach the kind of stuff that the scout went through. If someone made a kit to turn the expy in to a true 4wd instead of a 3wd, then perhaps it might (might) be able to get somewhat close.

Tony, I know the guy could get in a ton of places I couldnt, It's just he didnt. The scouts are my favorite 4x4, besides an old bronco, and I know they can go EVERYWHERE! I wasnt trying to say I was unimpressed with his scout, more that I was impressed on what my expdition was accomplishing!

 

[turtlejoe]

Many have touched on the underlying theme here - it all depends on what you want to do or where you want to take it. I've been on many shelf roads in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado, and there is no way I would attempt half of them with the Expy. Not because they're challenging or difficult 4WD trails, but because the big Ford is just too, well, big. There is traffic going both ways on roads barely wide enough to handle a baby Jeep and something the size of a Grand Cherokee or Explorer. The overhangs are too big, the corner vision (of the ground) is not so hot and the stock suspension is a bit soft. BUT - there are a LOT of places where the Expedition will excel just from a comfort angle.

Each vehicle has conditions and trails that it will do very well at, and trails that should be avoided. These aren't rock crawlers, but they don't have to be mall-crawlers either. I can't wait to take it on the other half of the Ouray/Silverton trails that will accommodate it - and enjoy a fabulous mountain high view and picnic.

 

[GAINMOB]

Pavement!!!

 

[toms89]

Pavement!!!

LOL.. ...

1320.....My personal favorite. Woo Hoo!

 

[treycool94]

toms89 if you want to go off roading im down to go whenever its just if you want to make the trip it about 2 1/2 hours from me to gwnf

 

[mmrseed]

all of this is true but still doesn't seem to address OP's original question. No one in their right mind would buy an Int Scout unless they loved offroading and intended to use it for such. But (especially back in Cali) I saw waaaay too many F150 that were lifted and fitted for offroad and they never went offroad...or went very little and not for serious trails. Why didn't the expy gain popularity the same way with those who wanted lifted offroad trucks that would still only see limited offroad use? The expy seems an oddity because everywhere I've lived, people lift their fords but bag their chevys...but not expys. Those are almost exclusively bagged...or fitted with 22's. I have yet to see, in person, a lifted expy. But I get about 20 offers a day to buy mine so people must like them

Conversely, the explorer, originally only available with a v6 (later with the 5.0) and REALLY seemed to have the soccer mom image is REALLY popular with the serious offroad crowd and those are always lifted and require extensive work to be truly offroad ready. I don't get it.

 

[panda24619]

who says these tanks cant fly?



and my favorite image.

 

[toms89]

who says these tanks cant fly?

Sir Isaac Newton?? LOL

Must have a hell of a suspension to land one of these beast with out breaking something!!

 

[GAINMOB]

friends...what it comes down to is..............................$$$$$$$$$$...............if you have enough...anything can be turned into anything...i certainly dont!!!

 

[sgtowing]

friends...what it comes down to is..............................$$$$$$$$$$...............if you have enough...anything can be turned into anything...i certainly dont!!!

I'll second that!!!!!!!!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Conversely, the explorer, originally only available with a v6 (later with the 5.0) and REALLY seemed to have the soccer mom image is REALLY popular with the serious offroad crowd and those are always lifted and require extensive work to be truly offroad ready. I don't get it.

People off road explorers cause they're smaller so they can fit on tight technical trails, they're lighter so they don't need as much power,suspension strength, or dampning, they're super plentiful and cheap, and have more aftermarket support since they're much closer to the ranger than expeditions are to F150 AFAIK.

 

[mmrseed]

I guess I was wrong about the aftermarket support. From reading explorer fan sites I was under the impression that most suspension work was custom but my knowledge about that stuff is...limited. Anyway, my main point was that explorers are the ultimate soccer mom vehicle and yet overcame the stigma to be of interest to the offroad and lifted crowd. Why did the expy not overcome the stigma? Clearly the aftermarket never embraced it because no one showed interest. That just seems weird, again because I see plenty of lifted f150, f250 and excursions....but the expy just got skipped over.

Out of curiosity, is a SAS harder to do on an expy than an explorer? I see A LOT of lifted, offroad ready tahoes....those can't be that light on their feet...err I mean wheels.....just curious

 

[sgtowing]

I think the main reason is the IRS. The F150 and 1st gen Ex's have a solid axle. 2nd and 3rd have the IRS and that means more complicated brackets and making all the angles work. That means more $$$$$$.

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[SourMashII]

I think until you address approach and departure angles, custome bumpers, moving the wheelbase, etc. The Expy is never going to a Bronco, K5, etc.

Rockwell and link it on 46's.. approach and departure less of an issue, but shy of that.....

Ditch the bumpers, move front axle forward 6", have the tube bumper wrap right under grille. Link it.
Ditch the rear bumper, slide that axle back 6", whack off the last of the wheelwell, the part behind the rear tire... and run a tube work back there as well,

Make that 18" for rear tire... Oh wait, then you have an Excursion wheelbase....

They weren't designed to be the Bronco. They were Fords Suburban getter, which I feel was in part inspired by the succes of the Centurion Bronco..

 

[Madmaxwell87]

I guess I was wrong about the aftermarket support. From reading explorer fan sites I was under the impression that most suspension work was custom but my knowledge about that stuff is...limited. Anyway, my main point was that explorers are the ultimate soccer mom vehicle and yet overcame the stigma to be of interest to the offroad and lifted crowd. Why did the expy not overcome the stigma? Clearly the aftermarket never embraced it because no one showed interest. That just seems weird, again because I see plenty of lifted f150, f250 and excursions....but the expy just got skipped over.

Out of curiosity, is a SAS harder to do on an expy than an explorer? I see A LOT of lifted, offroad ready tahoes....those can't be that light on their feet...err I mean wheels.....just curious

I think explorers still have that stigma,they just get used because of the reasons I mentioned.When you lift and equip it for off road excursions(bumpers,roof racks,meaty tires etc) the stigma goes away. The expy has the stigma because its an suv,its designed as a people hauler. Dad usually has a truck so mom has the suv to haul the kids.

Another aspect is that its much harder to bob the rear of a suv than it is a truck. The rear overhang is the first thing to go on alot of serious trail rigs and its super easy to take 6"s out of a bed,not so much with a roof and glass and the structural rigidity they provide. Plus you can trow everything in the bed without worrying about getting the inside dirty or have it fly around inside if you roll over.

Tahoe's are popular cause they're more simplistic, more alike generation to generation(drivetrain atleast), have more efficient and reliable motors(no cops,no spark plug blowouts) and were more similar in size to a k5 blazer than a suburban. An expy is closer to a suburban in use and size(that's why you see more of them on the road or used for light off road) whereas a explorer is closer to a bronco/blazer in size and potential use.

With that said I plan to get an expy and equip it for light to moderate off road use and dd the hell out of it cause an explorer is too small and I'd never be caught dead driving anything with a bowtie except my 68 camaro.

 

[jacks3am]

Most expeditions are pos's in my area. The only decent ones are mine and this girl I go to school with, we both rock the EB editions Boyyy!

 

[jacks3am]

Oh your talking about offroad!? I think they are great

I <3 4LO and babysilk your little front bumper partial removal probably helps alot offroad thats forsure

 

[jacks3am]

I also think the most reliable part of any expedition is the 4 wheel drive systems