PROJECT SUPER CREW
ProPickup staff takes a 2011 Ford F-250 Crew Cab 4×4 diesel from stock to rock for use in the road construction world
When the road ends and the open country spreads out ahead, most people stop and turn around.
Not so with our readers who pioneer roads and do initial survey work for gas pipelines and oil field wells. They flip the 4WD switch, drop the trans into 4-Lo and keep going to wherever the coordinates on the GPS topo map lead.
Road builders and construction workers involved in pioneering new highways and roads into undeveloped gas and oil fields know the value of a strong, dependable 4×4 pickup. 
Navigating over rugged terrain is just another day at the office for road builders, and it’s made even more challenging with mud, rocks, sand, water and loose soil seemingly at every turn.
Surveyors, timber crews and site planners who are ahead of the dozers and scrapers cutting in the first access roads need a pickup that can take on even harsher challenges.
Project “Super Crew” is going to be that pickup.
We’ve partnered with Ford Truck to build a diesel-powered 2011 F-250 Super Duty Crew Cab 4×4 with one end goal in mind: No road? No problem.
Over the course of 2011 – with he help of Truck Supply & Outfitters and our project truck sponsors and parts donors – we’re going to outfit and upgrade the plain-Jane F-250 Crew Cab pictured above into the consummate off-road work truck.
Project Super Crew will be equipped with locking differentials front and rear for maximum traction in the worst conditions. The suspension will be lifted and taller mud tires slipped underneath to improve both handling and ground clearance. The bed will be filled with tool boxes to keep gear safe, secure and accessible and auxiliary lights fitted to make night work easy.
Heavy duty winches and bumpers will grace both ends, protecting the body and ensuring the driver and passengers have the means to get in and out of even the remotest of jobsites on their own.
Fuel will not be an issue, either, as our plan is to have both a refueling tank and a replacement fuel tank to quadruple factory driving range.
Rest assured, we haven’t forgotten the work part. The cab will be a fully functioning rolling office with computer and electronic links to the home office as well as mobile communications and navigation.
Power and fuel economy are also on our Project Super Crew radar. The 6.7L Power Stroke diesel will see a few modifications, too. Nothing crazy, just practical upgrades every contractor has thought about doing to their own Ford at one time or another.
In fact, that’s the whole concept behind our Project Super Crew project truck: giving you ideas, spotlighting new equipment, and showing how to do upgrades that could be of value on your own project truck.
The coolest part of Project Super Crew is in the end, which will be next April, some lucky business owner, contractor, road builder, landscaper, or other qualified sweepstakes contestant will win the keys to the truck and everything that’s on it. That’s right – our 2011 F-250 Super Duty Crew Cab 4×4 will be given away.
Check out the Super Crew sweepstakes for details on how to enter.
In the meantime, we’ll have every step of the build covered on the ProPickup web site and in the pages of the magazine. We hope you enjoy the ride!
