Here at Motor1 we’ve seen countless Ford vehicles modified to go off the beaten path, but nothing like this. FordAuthority’s latest article covers an F-550 Super Duty built to empty toilets on the famous Rubicon trail – a 22-mile route through the Sierra Nevada outside Lake Tahoe that offers up some of the most technical and beautiful off-road driving in the country.
Keen readers will know that this stretch of demanding off-road obstacles is prominent enough for Jeep to use it as a callsign for its gnarliest machines. Glamour and mystique aside, you’ve likely never thought about the bathrooms that line the trail, and how they are emptied. Yeah, we didn’t either.
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Well yes, the outhouses that line the trail need regularly scheduled service. In the past, the job used to take two days to complete. In fact, it became such a stinky situation that the local government wanted to try something different to make the job more efficient. For such a difficult endeavor, El Dorado County gave WFO Concepts of Auburn, California a call.
The vehicle for such a job began life as a Ford F-550 Super Duty which was donated to take on the rigors of the human digestive system and the mighty Rubicon trail. Among a myriad of modifications, the focal point involved beefing up the suspension; the party pieces here involve a four-inch lift kit, 40-spline RCV axle shafts, 40-spline ARB front locker, .25-inch driveshafts, and most importantly a set of 20-inch Stazworks wheels wrapped in 41-inch Michelin tires.
However, this Blue Oval beast isn’t called the Poop Truck for nothing; the elephant in the room comes at the back in the form of a 400-gallon turd tank. It may sound like overkill, but it’s more than capable of clearing out its fair share of porta-potties during the busy summer season. Feel free to leave some alternative names in the comments below.