"Derpwagon" (Derpwagon)
05/19/2020 at 17:00 • Filed to: None
8
15|
"Derpwagon" (Derpwagon)
05/19/2020 at 17:00 • Filed to: None | 8
| 15 |
So, a while back I picked this trucko up:
It’s a 2015 Lariat, so kinda bougie but not too bougie. Heated and cooled front seats, no sunroof, leath er, no premium audio, power folding mirrors, 5.0 V8. I’d been wanting a truck for a while and really liked the similar year F150 fleet spec we had in Saudi Arabia (another story for another time), so I went the Ford route.
Now, I live in Minnesota, so we don’t have a ton of mountains, or desert, or sand dunes, or other places like you’d have out west. But, what we do have, is some awesome state forests, and MN has allowed driving for pleasure even throughout the quarantine. So, I’ve been taking the truck out, and exploring.
Prior to the lockdown, though, I learned the lesson of ‘don’t leave without recovery shit, you idiot’. Also learned some other lessons about driving, etc.
Also, the factory goodyears suck. Also, goodyear sucks, but that’s been covered extensively by Jalopnik. 600 dollar tow later (rural towing, y’all), I was out. Lesson learned, picked up those two tires in the image to clean up after some asshat litterer and packed them out. This led to a tire purchase in the shape of BFGoodrich KO2s. Long story short, great traction, horrible road manners, wouldn’t balance, turned them back in for a set of Coopers. Much happier since. Also, I picked up a bit of an ‘oh shit kit’, just in case:
Streamlight LED with spare lithiums, one kit with tourniquets, Israeli bandages, ACE bandages, and one with general first aid stuff - bandaids, antiseptics, sanitizers, painkillers, aspirin and such. Also a couple hundred feet of paracord, a trusty Kershaw flipper, trauma shears, lighters, pens and a couple of permanent markers. Not pictured are the two tow straps, and a come-along hand 10k lb hand winch. I’m not getting stuck again if I can help it :)
Now, on to the state forests that I’ve been able to drive in: General CC Andrews was a Civil War veteran who eventually made his way to MN as he got into conservationism and forestry - he advocated for some innovative methods that were adopted after the great Hinckley MN fire back in the day. Neat story, he’s buried in St. Paul MN. Haven’t visited his grave yet, but I’ve visited his namesake forest, and it’s beautiful up there. More on him here:
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
One of the first places I went though, was Solana forest, which has a gentle road ending at a secluded lake. Although I clearly was not the only person who’d visited, I saw zero other people there that day. Ended up at a nice, quiet spot.
CC Andrews isn’t far away, and offers several miles of off-road driving which is fully legal and signed accordingly for highway licensed vehicles. Since the DMV has been shut down, I haven’t gotten my off-road permit for some of the other trails, but on a few socially distanced drives, I’ve had plenty of fun with a couple of other folks:
Got mud all up inside the truck there - roll your windows up silly.
Otherwise, CC Andrews is just full of lovely driving. Close in, winding roads, elevation, rock, sand, I’ve definitely had to use 4WD several times, and the locker more than once. But, you end up at some lovely places.
The most recent place I went was Nemadji state forest - the DNR website finally showed it as open, so a buddy and I went. The forest roads in are nice and winding, and have a few minimum maintenance roads that are super tight - the truck has received a number of custom pinstripes... but, the link on the east end of the forest is the Gandy Dancer Trail, which is a super long trail that’s partially open to highway vehicles. It’s pretty much straight, but goes through some really gorgeous views. It’s an old railroad path that’s been removed, but the cut path stayed. We were treated to a nearly mid-May snowstorm as well...
So, that’s what I’ve been up to since I picked the truck up. Only modifications so far are a set of Bilstein 5100s in the rear (fronts are waiting till I have lift access again), a Builtright rear seat release, their stubby antenna, a set of yellow halogen fogs, and a set of LED headlight bulbs - the factory bulbs on this truck are absolute trash. The LEDs were a huge improvement, and have a great solid cutoff. And yes, I aimed them properly using the factory service manual.
Anyway, looking forward to more adventures, I’m thus far really happy to be using the truck to do actual truck stuff.
camarov6rs
> Derpwagon
05/19/2020 at 18:39 |
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Biggest pro and con, go
DipodomysDeserti
> Derpwagon
05/19/2020 at 22:04 |
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Very cool. I like that med kit set up. I need to check the expiration kit on my Israeli bandage.
Interesting history with Gen. CC Andrews. I was first introduced to backpacking, ecology and a love for nature by a good friend of mine, who had just returned from Iraq when I moved to Tucson. I used to skip class so we could go out hiking, exploring or shooting around southern Arizona . I knew I was getting more of an education out hiking, and could still do well in my classes.
It’s been pretty cool being friends with a modern day Hayduke.
I’ll share your post to O/E so they can give you authorship.
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Derpwagon
> camarov6rs
05/20/2020 at 01:55 |
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Biggest pro: versatility
Biggest con: fuel economy.
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Derpwagon
> DipodomysDeserti
05/20/2020 at 01:55 |
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Thanks!
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camarov6rs
> Derpwagon
05/20/2020 at 04:38 |
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I think it will be very interesting how Ford implements its hybrid Powertrain. Chevy didn’t quite have the right technology and brought it out too early. While I think Ram hasn’t gone far enough with its E-Torque system.
If Ford actually uses the electricity to boost output and fuel economy I will be impressed and likely purchase one. I understand it’s a been a bit of a demographic issue up until now but I’m surprised manufacturers haven’t been quicker to include hybrid trims.
Rufant
> Derpwagon
05/20/2020 at 05:35 |
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Welcome.
(hopefully I approved you as an author, dunno, first time I’ve tried it... ?)
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Derpwagon
> Rufant
05/20/2020 at 12:06 |
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Thank you! I got the notification and accepted it, so it should have worked.
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Derpwagon
> camarov6rs
05/20/2020 at 12:08 |
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I agree it’s probably the way forward. For now, I’m willing to deal with the fairly poor fuel economy to hopefully have a reliable powertrain, like avoiding the displacement on demand garbage in GM.
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camarov6rs
> Derpwagon
05/20/2020 at 12:43 |
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The 5.0 doesn’t have any cylinder deactivation? So which technology would you rather have reduced displacement w/ turbos or cylinder deactivation (advanced DFM or simple AFM). I personally feel cylinder deactivation would be better just from the perspective of not worrying about heat issues with all the recent turbos I’ve driven.
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Derpwagon
> camarov6rs
05/20/2020 at 13:07 |
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Nope, no cylinder deactivation which I specifically wanted. Personally, the 3 people I know with newer GM trucks have all had engine failure ranging from head out to full replacement under warranty due to issues with DOD. Out of the two then, I’d probably say turbos, though I also specifically avoided the Ecoboost trucks... Ideally, a reliable NA engine with hybrid assist would be my desired ‘next truck’, if I don’t go the turbodiesel route.
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Rufant
> Derpwagon
05/20/2020 at 16:35 |
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Great. Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures.
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camarov6rs
> Derpwagon
05/20/2020 at 18:59 |
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I see where you’re coming from. I’m very intrigued by the rumors of Toyota developing a turbo V6 hybrid power train for their trucks. Seems to fly in the face of their reputation to use turbos. I can only assume that they use the hybrid as filler to make the turbo not work as hard when it has little boost and fill the gaps when it’s on boost.
When going diesel I have reservations that it “makes sense” unless the bring the price for the option down significantly. Plus there always seem to be questions about the emission controls when it comes to reliability.
JMKarstetter
> Derpwagon
05/20/2020 at 22:21 |
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Awesome truck and setup, I’ve been looking at trucks lately and may be purchasing one this week, but we will see. What Coopers did you get?
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Derpwagon
> JMKarstetter
05/21/2020 at 09:16 |
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Thanks! I went with the Discoverer AT3 4S.
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Derpwagon
> camarov6rs
05/21/2020 at 09:17 |
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Yeah, I hear you.