2001 5.4 f150

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Anyone gone thru the hassle of building one of these? This coming year I wanna turn my landscaping truck into a toy as I’ll probably sell the landscape company.
4x4 crew cab.., hmdesign has a sweet kit including spindles for 6k. I figure front end will be 10k with coilovers but then need to add bumps or bypasses. Back end will be another 3k? Spring under and some 2.5’s? Is spring under and shocks in oem location worth the hassle? Or just go straight to bed cage? PLUS I’d want to do a cage sooner than later as I don’t want to kill my self quite yet.... usually...maybe. Shit idk maybe run no cage and save myself tons of money by dying :shrug:

Starting off with a kit and then adding on as I go via garage fabrication would be great. I can definitely do my own bed cage and setup shocks

thoughts opinions? Sure it’s a waste of money but wife was basically raised on the dirt tracks and sprint cars so it’s either this or we start racing with her dad which is not any cheaper lol
 

Slim-Whitey

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Anyone gone thru the hassle of building one of these? This coming year I wanna turn my landscaping truck into a toy as I’ll probably sell the landscape company.
4x4 crew cab.., hmdesign has a sweet kit including spindles for 6k. I figure front end will be 10k with coilovers but then need to add bumps or bypasses. Back end will be another 3k? Spring under and some 2.5’s? Is spring under and shocks in oem location worth the hassle? Or just go straight to bed cage? PLUS I’d want to do a cage sooner than later as I don’t want to kill my self quite yet.... usually...maybe. Shit idk maybe run no cage and save myself tons of money by dying :shrug:

Starting off with a kit and then adding on as I go via garage fabrication would be great. I can definitely do my own bed cage and setup shocks

thoughts opinions? Sure it’s a waste of money but wife was basically raised on the dirt tracks and sprint cars so it’s either this or we start racing with her dad which is not any cheaper lol

I mean unless you're building all your own shit, it's expensive. It's all expensive, no matter what you're building. My junkyard SAS with freakin leafs will be expensive enough when I'm done.

The 5.4 in the standard F series trucks wasn't outstandingly powerful, but there are factory parts available to get em up over 340hp.

If you like the truck, do it. Check the frame, yada yada, you know all that shit.
 
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I mean unless you're building all your own shit, it's expensive. It's all expensive, no matter what you're building. My junkyard SAS with freakin leafs will be expensive enough when I'm done.

The 5.4 in the standard F series trucks wasn't outstandingly powerful, but there are factory parts available to get em up over 340hp.

If you like the truck, do it. Check the frame, yada yada, you know all that shit.

yea I mean truck is solid. Minus the manifold leak that the og 5.4’s tend to do. It is ok power wise on stock tires. I bet 35’s itd be an
Absolute dog lol. I really want to get into faster desert stuff but with a toy I can tow out and tow back. A Honda talon would be neat too but where’s the fun in that. I’m a tinkerer like all the other goons on here.
 

Slim-Whitey

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If you can afford a talon, just buy a talon. Cheaper in the long run, comes with a warranty, lighter, smaller, more capable.

If I could afford a Talon, I'd own one and not bother with a project. It's the best SxS on the market. Excellent engine, a real transfer case, a real transmission (NO FUCKING BELTS), etc.
 

AssBurns

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Where are you located? If you are in SoCal, it’s nice having a street legal(ish) vehicle that you can drive wherever you want. I’d rather have a pre-runner than a SxS as long as it’s streetable, has A/C and heat, and is fully enclosed. I’ve gone out with friends with SxS’s and they are fun but they get burnt out way quicker than us guys in the trucks. plus legally required to wear helmets at all times sucks even in the mild stuff.

when you do rear suspension, don’t skimp out on it. The rear takes the most beating. The more up travel you can get in the rear, the better it will handle the desert stuff. People focus on the front and forget about the rear. SUA is decent for the cost and labor, but if you really want to build something to handle the desert well, you are going to want links (trailing arms if you can afford it), coilovers, bypasses and sway bars.
 

Slim-Whitey

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But. . . But I can buy AC and heat units for my SxS.

Helmets at all times doesn't bother me personally, I've spent the last 12 years riding bikes and quads. A helmet is a basic accessory. If I could wear a helmet and chest protector instead of a seatbelt I would. :laugh:
 

Thesandaddict

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I did one 1994 toyota pick up, caged it front to rear, built motor, spool, kings yada yada and it was the most unreliable toy ever. Sure was nice to play with when nothing went wrong but every other trip I was finding weak points. Also street legal didnt matter since half the trips we took it ended up on a trailer anyways.

On my 2nd sxs and couldn't be happier. Warranty, 17" of travel, can still tinker and tweak on them to make them "your own". Sure heater and a sealed cab would be nice. But I dont have 30k to put into a truck and have it as reliable as the sxs are.
 

Slim-Whitey

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I did one 1994 toyota pick up, caged it front to rear, built motor, spool, kings yada yada and it was the most unreliable toy ever. Sure was nice to play with when nothing went wrong but every other trip I was finding weak points. Also street legal didnt matter since half the trips we took it ended up on a trailer anyways.

On my 2nd sxs and couldn't be happier. Warranty, 17" of travel, can still tinker and tweak on them to make them "your own". Sure heater and a sealed cab would be nice. But I dont have 30k to put into a truck and have it as reliable as the sxs are.

This guy is right.

You're taking a thing not built for a purpose, and modifying it for that purpose.
Versus you taking a purpose built machine, and increasing its capability in that purpose it was designed for.

You can get doors and heaters and AC units for most SxS models. That's minor. You can get beefier CVs, shocks, etc. There's no way to make a SxS capable vehicle for the price of a SxS, with the advantages of one.
 

4runner DOA

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This guy is right.

You're taking a thing not built for a purpose, and modifying it for that purpose.
Versus you taking a purpose built machine, and increasing its capability in that purpose it was designed for.

You can get doors and heaters and AC units for most SxS models. That's minor. You can get beefier CVs, shocks, etc. There's no way to make a SxS capable vehicle for the price of a SxS, with the advantages of one.

Who cares. Dude wants to build up his shit to break it, let him. It's gonna be a trailer queen regardless.
 

Slim-Whitey

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Who cares. Dude wants to build up his shit to break it, let him. It's gonna be a trailer queen regardless.

He said a Talon would be fun, I assumed he dropped that casually because he could afford one, and went off that.

You're snippy lately. Need a hug?
 

Thesandaddict

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I would say go for the talon or a yxz like I did. CVT is the stupidest thing ever for an offroad vehicle it's a known weak point with no way of really making it as reliable as an actual drivetrain. Dress warm and get a nice helmet you dont need ac or a heater as much as you think. We just rode johnson valley it was 30 degrees and you couldn't even tell once you were out and about. Plus you can do so much more with a well set up sxs. I can still hit 90mph, 70 through the choppy stuff, crawl through the rocks, sand washes, snow, water crossings or whatever. I can hit more trails than a full size prerunner can, use less fuel (I average about 15mpg on full kill mode) and it's just plain old fun.

If you do decide to actually build a pterynner, add $10k on top of your budget. And an extra 6 months to a year on completion....really wish that wasnt an exaggeration...
 
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This is why I joined. Thanks for the feedback. Definitely some things to keep thinking about. I didn’t mean to casually drop buying a talon as if cash means nothing btw, I’m a landscaper, there’s money out there but shit it’s kicking my ass lol.
I’m Phoenix, ac is nice but oct-may you’re fine without it.
 
Joined
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This guy is right.

You're taking a thing not built for a purpose, and modifying it for that purpose.
Versus you taking a purpose built machine, and increasing its capability in that purpose it was designed for.

You can get doors and heaters and AC units for most SxS models. That's minor. You can get beefier CVs, shocks, etc. There's no way to make a SxS capable vehicle for the price of a SxS, with the advantages of one.

to be fair, ANY asshole with a credit card can go pick up a sxs and think he’s Bj Baldwin. Now how many assholes can say they built a truck and think they are Bj Baldwin???? Narrows it down huh? Lol.
 

AssBurns

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But. . . But I can buy AC and heat units for my SxS.

Helmets at all times doesn't bother me personally, I've spent the last 12 years riding bikes and quads. A helmet is a basic accessory. If I could wear a helmet and chest protector instead of a seatbelt I would. :laugh:
Tell that to me when you roll lol.

My brother and his friend rolled his buddy's SxS New Years weekend and without a full harness, they'd probably be seriously injured. Bashed knees, bruised ribs, sore neck and body. Just from 1.5 rolls. Sure helmets are great, but harnesses/seatbelts are just as/ if not more important.
I did one 1994 toyota pick up, caged it front to rear, built motor, spool, kings yada yada and it was the most unreliable toy ever. Sure was nice to play with when nothing went wrong but every other trip I was finding weak points. Also street legal didnt matter since half the trips we took it ended up on a trailer anyways.

On my 2nd sxs and couldn't be happier. Warranty, 17" of travel, can still tinker and tweak on them to make them "your own". Sure heater and a sealed cab would be nice. But I dont have 30k to put into a truck and have it as reliable as the sxs are.
Almost every time I go out with friends that have SxS's they have just as many issues as us guys in trucks have. The nicest things about SxS's is they are turnkey for the most part. But when these guys are constantly breaking CV's, belts, clutches, ball joints, transmission housings, etc. It make's things not much cheaper in the long run. Either way people tend to spend just as much on a badass SxS as they do on a built truck. Basically as deep as your pockets allow is how it seems to work out in whichever direction you decide to go. If I live in AZ where I could ride from my house to the trail, I may consider one, but I enjoy being able to drive to the trail on the highway at 80mph comfortably.
 
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Tell that to me when you roll lol.

My brother and his friend rolled his buddy's SxS New Years weekend and without a full harness, they'd probably be seriously injured. Bashed knees, bruised ribs, sore neck and body. Just from 1.5 rolls. Sure helmets are great, but harnesses/seatbelts are just as/ if not more important.

Almost every time I go out with friends that have SxS's they have just as many issues as us guys in trucks have. The nicest things about SxS's is they are turnkey for the most part. But when these guys are constantly breaking CV's, belts, clutches, ball joints, transmission housings, etc. It make's things not much cheaper in the long run. Either way people tend to spend just as much on a badass SxS as they do on a built truck. Basically as deep as your pockets allow is how it seems to work out in whichever direction you decide to go. If I live in AZ where I could ride from my house to the trail, I may consider one, but I enjoy being able to drive to the trail on the highway at 80mph comfortably.

SxS are great for partial ejections.
 
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