The Old Truck…
Being raised in a Ford truck family and after becoming very familiar with restoring and repairing powerstrokes over the years, I began my search for a 93-97 OBS Dually. I’ve had multiple Superduty trucks in the past, those being F250’s and F350’s 99-present. But for the older design and era of this 2002 Dutchmen camper, I wanted an older truck that complimented the conservative styling of aluminum paneling it would be pulling. And not to mention I’d always loved the OBS (old body style) Ford trucks and had been looking for an excuse to buy one to fix up. I knew it needed to be a long bed dually and a crew cab, which left me with only 2 choices, a F350 or F450. The OBS trucks were never offered in a 4×4 dually from the factory, all dual rear trucks came as 2wd, unless offered as a cab and chassis model. With the F250 and F350 single rear trucks coming with the option of 2wd or 4wd.
Knowing that we may find ourselves in a bind one day, I needed 4wd. So with a little craigslist action, I came across a 1997 F350 7.3 Powerstroke crew cab…4×4. Yes, 4wd. This truck was originally a single rear 4wd truck that someone had converted to a dually shortly after being bought new. I instantly flew to Baltimore, rented a car, and drove over an hour to check it out.
It was rough. Rougher than advertised, leaking from every orifice, no heat, no ac, horribly filthy interior, rusted through bed, rusted floor pans, sloppy transmission, a broken interior door handle meant rolling down the window to reach around and let myself out. So I did what anyone in my shoes would’ve done, I bought it. After driving it home 7 hours in the middle of the night in 30 degree weather with no heat, holes in the floor letting in a nice crisp breeze and my lap covered in a moving blanket to provide heat, I started second guessing this decision. With a deadline to meet for our departure date to the trial run weekend of our camping endeavor, I now felt as if I was on a TV reality show with so much needed repairs and work to be done before meeting an unrealistic deadline.
After countless late nights, bloody knuckles, cursing and spending countless cash on much needed parts, the truck was done…well good enough for now.