Stop making me salivate!
As a green person, I’m good at manually digging snow.
Then why ask the question about lifting the truck?
Using a shovel is always greener than putting a lift kit on that huge gas guzzling pig of a vehicle, which will make it even less green.
If you care about being green, then just use the shovel when you need to.
If you need to get where you are going, invest in something that can move snow out of your truck’s path when it’s needed.
Is being green really more important to you than someone’s life when you HAVE to deliver that life saving blood to the hospital NOW???
BC.
Unfortunately a 4WD SUV is needed in adverse weather conditions
99.99% the 4WD is not used.
When possible, we take the Camry.
(Wish I had the Camry on a transport to a plains hospital.
On dry, smooth, level, almost trafficless interstate withExpedition at 103mph, they called asking us to speed it up.)
Now I know lifting is too expensive - not a matter of spacers.
On snow storm and blizzard deliveries two of us go and we carry two shovels.
Can’t afford anything else.
Colorado Department of Transportation would help but said their closest plow may be too far away.
I would find someone with the biggest 4x4 Old chevy,ford, dodge truck and ask them if they would volunteer during the worst weather. I’m sure they would like a purpose to use their trucks.
A small plaque of appreciation at the end of the year would be cheaper than your present options.
There were these air shock lift kits and there may still be some for many vehicles. They have a pump and a switch deal for inside the cab. You can adjust it without getting out.
This saves a shop half a day of installing the lift spacers. Spacers require the body to be jacked up from the frame which can be done with a pry bar and a friend maybe. One inch of lift won’t hurt.
Load leveler shocks will give a tiny bit of lift and you might get what you need from four air shocks. Your parts guy may have to open a few boxes so you can match the shocks to the old ones. I had to do that for my 87 Mazda pickup because there were none listed.
Those 4WD magazines might give you some ideas.
Recently I asked a guy who had such a vehicle - lifted Jeep Cherokee.
99.9% of the time our roads are fine.
dodgevan2, I completely forgot to mention adjustable air shocks.
Thanks for the 4WD magazine suggestion.
This vehicle should be running winter tires or studded snow tires. It will increase your capability and safety by a good margin in winter conditions.
Beats my usual answers. “OK to lift but hard to carry.”
It has aggressive winter tires mounted on 17" wheels.
But we get called to deliver in horrible conditions in which anyonelse would be too smart to drive.
Fwiw, why do you need an expedition to deliver blood? Why not an Subaru with snow tires? You wont make it through 2 feet of snow, buts that a tall order no matter the vehicle, at least a vehicle that handles safe at the high speeds you are required to drive. Unless you make the Expedition into a monster truck, its not going to go through 2 foot snow drifts all the easy, But then it wont go 100mph plus anyway.
Get a Subary wrx Sti and then you can go through a foot of snow and go at least 145mph in it.
Someone at work has an 07 or 08 expedition, and that big heavy pig got stuck in our parking lot at work in 11-12 inches of snow, 4 low ect, wouldnt get the beast out, it had all season tires on it. To add insult to injury I took the AWD Sienna minivan through the same parking lot paralleling the expeditions tracks, and made it through with only minimal spinning, I even stopped and started back up from a stop.
We may be called to transport blood pumps and heart-lung machines which need a big cargo space.
If I had a choice, I’d get a Toyota something.
The Expedition attained 103mph on level interstate. 110mph downgrade.
But faster would have been nicer on the mostly vacant interstate highway, especially when the hospital called back asking for an ETA.
Thats nice of you to do the volunteer work, sounds like alot of responsibility. Hopefully winter is over soon.
Be safe!
Thank you.
Biggest problem is coordinating everyone to maintain 24-hour coverage 365 days.
In the midst of an oil change, just starting to shower or just after falling asleep is when hospitals seem to call.
I hear you. I’ve found that the sick and infirmed as well as criminal have no respect for the sleep habits of the rest. :=) it goes with the territory and keeping yourself and bystanders safe first is the most responsible thIng to do. That is why I see a problem with driving an Expedition at speeds you refer to, ever.