The Ford Explorer. How many of them live up to their name? I’m actually surprised that you don’t see more of them involved in Overlanding.
Al Maurine’s 2001 Ford Explorer doesn’t fall in to the typical small SUV stereotype, and actually lives an ‘Explorer’ lifestyle. Al bought the Explorer with 87,000 miles on it, and has since ran the odometer up to 251,000 miles on the original 4.0L SOHC engine. The only modifications under the hood are an Airaid intake, Optima YellowTop battery, and LiveWires from Performance Distributors. The exhaust is handled by a 2-1/2 inch exhaust pipe with a Magnaflow cat and exhaust.
The suspension has been lightly modified with some heavy-duty torsion bars that gave him a 2-inch lift (no, not a torsion bar crank), along with some Rancho shocks to smooth the ride. The rear uses a longer shackle to match the new ride height. The new height allows room for a set of 285/75R16 (32.8×11.6×16) BFGoodrich KO2 tires mounted on 16-inch steelie wheels from Desert Rat with 1-1/2 inch spacers.
The axles were upgraded with 4.10 gears to compensate for the larger tires, and the 31-spline rear 8.8-Inch axle received an Eaton Detroit Truetrac limited slip.
A set of custom rock sliders protect the rocker panels and body from trail damage.
To make the Ford a true ‘Explorer’, Al removed the rear seats and built a sleeping platform and storage area. The area under the mattress stores recovery gear and tools. There’s also a 108-quart plastic container to store food and cooking gear.
Al found that it was safe to use a Buddy Heater in close quarters as long as he had a window cracked. He uses a CO detector in the Explorer just to be safe.
The bumpers, skid plate, bull bar, and tire carrier were custom made by James Callahan at rlcweldfab.com. The front bumper houses a 12,000-pound Badlands winch with 85 feet of synthetic line.
Al made his own mounting brackets for the generic roof rack One tube carries things like the whip antenna and trekking poles. The longer tube is his 4-gallon water carrier. The roof rack also features a 20-inch LED lightbar.
Henry Ford and the Vagabonds would be really proud of this Explorer. I’d really like to see more Explorers modified for overlanding.
Specifications:
Engine: Ford 4.0L SOHC V-6
Transmission: 5R55E 5-spd automatic
Transfer Case: BorgWarner 1354
Low Range Ratio: 2.48:1
Crawl Ratio: 25:1
Front Axle/Differential: Dana 35, 4.10 gears/open
Rear Axle/Differential: Ford 8.8, 4.10 gears/Eaton Detroit Truetrac
Front Suspension: Independent, HD torsion bars for 2-inch lift, Rancho RS5000 shocks
Rear Suspension: Leaf springs, extended shackles, Rancho RS9000 XL shocks
Tires: 285/75R16 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
Wheels: 16×7 steelie, 1-1/2 inch spacer
Armor: Custom rock sliders, skidplate, bumpers
Other: Airaid intake system, MagnaFlow catalytic converter and muffler, Performance Distributors LiveWires, Optima YellowTop battery, power converter, roof rack, Badlands 12,000-pound winch w/synthetic line, Desert Rat lightbar, Kenwood stereo unit, Garmin GPS, Titan tire carrier, Little Buddy heater, Rugged Radios radio, Canyon Coolers cooler
More Photos:
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