Why doesnt the expedition get the respect?

[babysilk]

Why doesnt the ford expedition get the respect offroad that I believe it deserves. I have taken my expy to places where granted it probably shouldnt have been, never got me too stuck. Nothing I couldnt wiggle my way out of. So why doesnt it get the respect it deserves? One hell of a 4x4 if you ask me!

 

[SourMashII]

IFS,
Huge overhangs
Poor approach-Departure angles,
Non manual locking hubs,
Soccer Mom stigma.

In addition, look at the Ratio of Expeditions that are bagged/dropped rolling 20" or above wheels, to ones that are lifted.

When most people take four wheel drive station wagons, and make them pavement pounders, tends take any "rep" right out of that model.

Dealt with that for years rocking Toyota vans. 4.88 gears, low end torque for years, 3:1 low range factory. Insane COG. People just assumed they weren't serious 'froaders. They tracked like a cat, and were very manueverable. Stuck well to rocks too.

 

[babysilk]

Very calid points. Thanks for your input. Whenever Ive thought of expys, I thought of a strong 4x4 thats pulled my toys and gotten me through its fair share of deep ruts.

 

[babysilk]

Valid*

 

[panda24619]

me and my buddy fully believe in our expos off road. we love getting looks! ive shut jeepers up before so many times. they just go a frowny face and leave. while other people tell me all right! ive had this girl tell me that my grocery getter cant handle what her jeep dose. guess who pulled who out of the hole?! i fully believe in this thing off road. shes long, wide, and tall. i can see everything, i know she can make it cause the 4door jeeps have a 1" shorter wheel base, so if they can i can, and she might be wide, but she never tips over too far. sure ive gotten stuck before, but who cares?! everyone dose! haha

 

[alaskanexpy]

they do everything i need it to do, same deal when i look my explorer off road or my excursion. screw-em! have fun and enjoy it.

now ofcourse my 4x4ing has been pretty limited. mostly deep snow and winter time conditions...but alittle mud and some rocks and ALOT of curbs.

 

[Thermo]

babysilk, a lot of it is the "soccer mom" thought that the trucks get. Besides, how often do you see an Expy covered in mud? now, how often do you see and F-150 or Jeep covered in mud? I find my rig a very capable platform to play in the mud and whatnot with, even when it was completely stock.

Now, you start getting into the Gen 2 and Gen 3 Expys, that is a completely different world. I was part of a different group that one time got Ford involved just before they were to release the Gen 2 Expy's and Ford pitted the Gen2 against the Gen1's. There was like 50 Expys that went nose to tail through the woods. The only trucks to get stuck were the two Ford test mules (Gen2 trucks). The rear IRS does some funny things when out 4x4ing. Specifically, if you go over uneven terrain and push 1 wheel way up into the wheel well, on a Gen 1 Expy, this tends to lift the center of the truck up, which allows the differential to get past the problem. On a Gen 2 truck, when you do the same thing, the rear of the truck actually squats a little bit, making it that much easier to get hung up on something.

 

[GAINMOB]

someone posted a vid were FORD claimed that 75% of the expeditions would not be used as off-road vehicles...i mainly see them as large capacity vehicles...i had a 2000 4runner...it was small for our luggage...got an expedition...i dont offroad...so i have 24s on it...i would be more inclined to get a 1st gen expy or a pick-up for offroad...f150, silverado, titan, whatever else...those are your majority for work trucks that may get beat up a bit...not expeditions...you see them as police trucks...Air Force buys them for our Security Forces...to carry their stuff in...

i use it as an extension of my personality and it wont see anything pass grass in a park for offroad...

they dont even make commercials showing the offroad capabilities for any SUV...only rams/f150/silverado/titan....PICK-UP TRUCKS

 

[walnuts4x4]

expeditions dont offroad.......

 

[sgtowing]

Thermo is right. I have a 2nd gen and I wish things were different out back. It also doesn't help that there is virtually no aftermarket support for the 2nd and 3rd gen's.

 

[babysilk]

Thanks for all the input guys! Last time I went wheeling, I was toying around with an old international scout on 38's......went everywhere he did and more!

 

[m1gunner]

I spent all last winter during snowboard season (in the cascades) pulling meople out of ditches with my expy. front pulls, rear pulls.. I have 4.88's and 38s.. .. I live near white pass.. My driveway ends at only one of two roads that go east. over the mountain.. needless to say.. a lot of snow.


Most people who don't respect our trucks can't even respect their own. I know not everyone can pull f250's a minivan and two hondas out of a ditch.. But.. when you do.. they respect your rig, more than you.

And hell, who knows.. maybe they're jealous because they had to heavily mod their rig( like me) to go where ever they want.. and you didnt have to!

 

[panda24619]

Thanks for all the input guys! Last time I went wheeling, I was toying around with an old international scout on 38's......went everywhere he did and more!

thats what i mean! i can go everywhere a jeeper can down here, with some limitations. cause what they can do is some crazy stuff! just youtube truckhaven or tds. its crazy out there. but i can still make it threw most of the most basic stuff.

 

[Thermo]

Freeway, I have heard that Ford has claimed as much as 95% of the Expeditions will not see anything more than a gravel road or the grass in someones front yard. So, they were going with what the general population wants, a smooth riding passenger vehicle with good hauling ability.

All, perception and reality are very different things. Just because people say that the Expy can't 4x4 doesn't mean that it won't. I have done some 4x4ing with friends on all sorts of vehicles. I found the Expy to be very capable. Granted, I have one of the first Expy's to come off the line so there are some other oddities to it that most others don't have to deal with. But, I found with my 35's, I would keep the truck in 2wd where others where having issues in 4wd in a stock truck. The snow, please. As long as you listen/feel the rear limited slip rear end, that truck will go through things that you can only dream about. The 1st gens are some of the best rigs out there to go 4x4ing in from what I can tell. You modify them, the possibilities are really out there.

 

[panda24619]

lucky you and your limited slip!!! open diffs front and rear and now your talking some challenges. ive gone places where fully locked jeeps went. with little to no problems. usually just with such a long wheel base i scrape or get a little high centered. while were on the topic of off roading. why is the gas tank so dam low???? i have dents in it. and my tranny pan. how hard is it to make skid plates that go under neath?

 

[toms89]

Hmmm. Did not realize it has that image and gets no respect by the offroad community but then I do not go offroading. I would not even know where to go around here?! I do take it in the snow and sand frequently but the only mud I have seen is at job sites . So maybe I am one of those 95%...sorry. I would be willing to venture out sometime if I knew where to go..

I am trying to help with the belief that others may hold that expys are not that fast!

 

[Thermo]

Toms89, the nearest place to us is George Washington national Forest on the western side of VA. After that, good luck. Most of the trails that used to be open to 4x4 on have been closed down. Even a lot of the 4x4 parks are either closed to trucks and only allow ATVs or are closed completely. Even a lot of the forest roads have been blocked off. So, unless you know someone with a lot of land, you are pretty much SOL. I guess this is one of the reasons why I am looking at getting rid of my Expy and going to something a bit different.

 

[KWT2000]

I think they do great off road

 

[tonydiv]

Thanks for all the input guys! Last time I went wheeling, I was toying around with an old international scout on 38's......went everywhere he did and more!

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.

 

[DF5.4]

I may not go hard core 4 wheeling but so far my Expedition has gotten me everywhere I want to go. My son is in boy scouts now. When he goes camping with them I have been able to drive to the sites to take equipment.


These pics were it day we went out. It rained over night and it was a lot more fun getting out.