THE PERFECT PAIR

RLC’S F350 DUALLY AND BDS’S F250 SHORT BED RAPTOR KILLER, BACK TO BACK

Some trucks are built to look good and turn heads, others are built for performance and capability. In the case of BDS Suspension's latest creation, SD126, this 2017 Super Duty checks all those boxes. From the raptor-esque body styling and long travel suspension to the 42” offroad tires, bright orange paint and custom short wheelbase this truck has it all; ready to turn heads at any truck meet or blaze a trail through the open desert.

We met up with Carter Reed, Creative Director for BDS to get the low down on Project SD126. “This truck is our chance to show what our engineers are capable of. We wanted to build something cool and unique, but above all functional” said Reed, “we approached Ford with the concept and they loved it, so with Ford's thumbs up we got to work to turn the concept into reality”. The build took inspiration from a previous project BDS was involved on, known affectionately as Stubby. Stubby was a bright orange 2001 F350 SCSB built by ROK Industry years ago. The truck was fitted with fiberglass fenders up on 44” Boggers and was one of BDS'S most memorable collaborations to date. For this build BDS starting with a brand new 2017 F250 Super Duty SCLB and plans in place to take everything to the next level. With 3 months to complete the overhaul before it needed to arrive in Vegas for Ford's booth at the 2017 SEMA Show the BDS build team went right to work tearing the truck down to a bare frame, removing cab, suspension and powertrain before carving 18” out of the boxed frame rails for a custom 126” ultra short wheelbase Super Duty, hence the name SD126. With the frame shortened and the cab off, BDS took advantage of the accessible frame and removed all factory suspension mounts to make room for the new setup showing off BDS'S capabilities along with the offroad racing pedigree of BDS'S parent company, FOX Factory.

Suspension

Up front the stock coil sprung radius arm suspension was scrapped in favor of a 4-link coilover setup. The 4-link is based off BDS'S production 4-link design for the Super Duty, but build from larger 2.5” OD x 0.250 chromoly tubing. The 4-link frame mounts and coilover mounts are built from 0.250” steel, welded to the frame prior to paint for an OE appearance. The truck is fitted with a few of FOX'S latest shock options to include 14” travel factory race series 2.5 coilovers featuring piggyback