Why Buy the F-650?
Typically, Ford F-650 medium-duty trucks are used for a wide range of commercial jobs-from agriculture to construction. But not too many of these trucks are converted into pickups to be used every day. So what possesses a person to build and use a truck as a daily driver when that truck is built for medium-duty commercial applications?
That was the question on our minds as we left to check out Judd Balls' F-650. After meeting Judd, he told us, "I needed a vehicle that was more reliable and more capable than a 1-ton truck. I first saw the 650s online, but with all the modifications, I was skeptical about the build quality, so I flew down to F650 SuperTruck in Georgia to check them out. I was surprised to find that the axles lined up perfectly, and the truck was really well built. I just had to have one. So I picked the specs that I wanted and had it delivered about eight months later."
Judd uses the truck as his daily transport and has put over 43,000 miles on the odometer in the one year he has owned it. "The main reason I bought the truck was that it came with a 400,000-mile, five-year warranty on the drivetrain," Judd explained. He also said the repair bills were getting too costly on his Excursion and F-350, and he came to realize he was just asking too much from a 1-ton truck. Judd needed a vehicle that could seat at least six adults comfortably and have enough capacity to tow a snowmobile trailer or toy hauler without putting too much stress on the vehicle.
Building the F-650
Judd purchased the truck from F650 SuperTruck (www.f650pickups.com) in Augusta, Georgia. The F650 SuperTruck crew has built similar F-650 trucks and giant SUVs they call XUVs for a long list of celebrities, including many NFL and NBA stars who have trouble fitting inside smaller trucks (such as Shaquille O'Neal, at 7 feet 1 inch tall and 325 pounds). Judd's truck started as an F-650 two-wheel-drive crew cab and chassis and was stretched into six-door form by Alton Company in Pigeon, Michigan. It then returned to Georgia and was converted to four-wheel drive with a kit from Marmon Herrington that comes with a new front axle and transfer case. As a six-door 4x4 cab and chassis, it returned to the F650 SuperTruck shop for paint, interior, wiring, and suspension upgrades. The bed from a F-350 1-ton dualie sits on a two-channel cold rolled and tempered stiffener that reinforces the frame and brings the bed into the correct elevation with the cab.