Stubby Ford F-250 Is a Sketchy Idea No Matter How You Slice It
It’s like Ford built a Suzuki Samurai with a distinctly American flair.
YouTuber Hunter Goodrich isn't afraid of the wacky and wonderful as his delightful Stub Truck project demonstrates.
As seen on YouTube, the build is based on an eighth-generation Ford Super Duty pickup truck. The bed was first removed, which was shortly followed by Goodrich hacking off the entire rear half of the chassis. With the body and frame behind the cab gone, the rear axle was moved forwards to tuck beneath the rear of the cab. Huge wheel wells were cut into the cab to suit, and giant chunky tires were fitted.
The result is a stubby little vehicle, with a short wheelbase and a high ride height. It's so short, in fact, that the driveshaft to the rear is a mere 11 inches long. It's almost like a grown-up American version of the Suzuki Samurai, albeit a little more rough and ready.
The Stub Truck has solid ground clearance, thanks in part to the big rubber. It also boasts great articulation thanks in part to the rear suspension. Only the front spring perches are attached to the body, and the droop is controlled by a length of chain. The leaf springs are not connected from the chassis at the rear, though there's a length of pipe which serves as a stop to control ride height.
In some ways, performance is likely improved over the stock truck, largely due to the weight savings of losing half the body. However, it suffers in areas like road holding, vibration, and directional stability by virtue of its laissez-faire suspension mounts. We also wouldn't want to test its susceptibility to rollover, given that short wheelbase and elevated ride height. It would take a brave test driver to run this thing through the moose test.
It's not really a road-worthy vehicle, as noted by a police officer that pulled over Goodrich in the video. However, it does look like a riot to take out on the trails. Given the nature of the build, though, we'd want a buddy truck to carry us home when the rear axle inevitably falls off the truck.
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