Ford fundraising

So the campers at Camp Allendale this summer are helping us first to raise enough money to buy this Ford F-250, a model year 2012 with a 6.7L diesel engine, 4x4....and just a little crumpled.

The damage is not as bad as it looks from this picture really....ok, well, it is not great either, but this actually works out well for us, believe it or not.

We are used to walking by faith, not by sight, if you will allow me that playful little jab.

 

The glass has already been replaced, the new radiator installed, and some other pieces needed to make it road worthy up front, with a little more work that will need to be done before it is ready to set sail on top of a ship bound for Honduras later this summer. 

Most of the rest of the vehicle (minus the two dash airbags...have to decide if we want to replace those later) is in as new, ready to go condition.  The truck has less than 5,000 miles on the odometer, and the $15,000 goal we have at camp should pay for the truck. 

 

We have some designated funds we put aside from groups that come that should take care of the rest of the repairs, building a bumper when it gets to Honduras, new grill, the shipping, import taxes and such. 

We will only fix what has to be fixed before shipping it, because the more wrecked it looks when it gets to Honduras, the less we will have to pay in import taxes.

So all those parts in the bed can be used/installed...but we won't be putting them on or in the truck before we ship it.  In fact, I will be making sure we pull off the spare tire and anything else remotely easy to detach for safety in transport and to make it a little more "distressed" in its appearance. 

 

When all the work is done later this year (we hope to ship in August, have it by September, and complete repairs/modifications before the end of the year to put it into service)...we hope to have about $25,000 invested in what is essentially a $35,000-40,000 vehicle.   We will make some more modifications as well when it gets to Honduras (bars on the bed, probably remove the DPF system, maybe invest in a tuner for monitoring the exhaust gas temperature and slightly better fuel economy, maybe a reusable air filter)...all items to help us get the maximum number of years possible while saving money/being good stewards from this essentially otherwise almost-new truck.  Exciting stuff! 

Why the new Ford?  The blue Ford will then eventually be put out to pasture...or in this case, out to coffee farming work, where minor problems such as it is having can be more easily tolerated, where for our town and group use we need a more reliable and not-having-things-randomly-falling-off-it vehicle.