This week’s Muddy video features lightly modified 2001 Ford F-150 playing in some deep, wet mud. Unlike some of our videos that show a F-150 digging through what is little more than a muddy pond, today’s F-150 is axle deep in mud that is wet enough to be slick, but dry enough to still be thick mud.
This is a combination that can swallow a truck in a hurry, but this lightly worked 2001 F-150 has no issues getting from one side to the other and back again without breaking a sweat.
The details on this 2001 Ford F-150 are limited, but we do know that it is powered by the 5.4L Triton V8, 4.10 gears, a rear locking differential, a 2 inch lift kit and Kelly Safari TSR tires. That is a pretty short mod list – especially for an F-150 with almost 200,000 miles on it…and who said that American vehicles don’t last?
This one is headed towards a quarter of a million miles and with only minor modifications, it is able to easily rip through this nasty mud.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
