Arctic Trucks is an overlanding outfitter building vehicles capable of entering the Arctic Circle and returning to tell the tale. In North America, that vehicle is a Ford F-550 with a long list of mods. And I got to head into the Wyoming wilderness with it.
The Bedrock XT2 is the result of a collaboration between Arctic Trucks, based in Iceland, and Austria’s Krug Expedition. Like most outfitters of this sort, the companies have regional offices around the world in order to use locally sourced base machines for their upfitting. For Arctic Trucks, the U.S. base of operations is in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Right on my front doorstep.
I met with Seth Neeley, the operations manager of Arctic Trucks North America. I toured the company’s shop and got a first-hand look at the Bedrock XT2. Right after its return from a tour of the Overland Expo events happening in the western U.S., where our own C.C. Weiss saw it back in May.
The rig starts as a Ford F-550 cab. Normally a dual rear, Arctic Trucks then modifies the truck to add a third axle, turning it into a 6x4 or, at customer option, a 6x6. Then space is made to allow much, much larger tires – these are 365/80R20 Continental MPT 81s on specialized two-piece wheels. Arctic and Krug have also worked with floatier Nokian-made 475/70s on smaller wheels (17s). It’s customer choice as to which is used, but the Continentals are better for mixed use versus the specific snow use of the Nokians.
Neeley says that the suspension changes, which lift the truck to accommodate the larger tires and add airbags to the rear axles for stability and leveling, were initially the greatest focus of the truck’s development. Fine tuning the airbag system has been an ongoing process and the suspension is the subject of much testing.
“Most of the parts we use or source are direct from Ford if at all possible,” said Neeley. “The goal is to keep the F-550 as dealer serviceable as possible. And to keep as many parts warranties intact as we can.”
The F-550 includes a massive diesel engine, a 6.7-liter V8 that outputs 330 horsepower (243 kW). It’s a big, purring Power Stroke monster that runs to a now well-vetted 10-speed automatic transmission. Arctic Trucks and Krug make no changes to the powertrain.
Morgan Nordmark, a fabricator at Arctic Trucks, explained to me the other modifications made to accommodate the huge camper space attached to the truck and the more recent testing the team has been doing on the front bull bar and light mount. It’s seen some damage recently thanks to that testing.
“We’re adjusting weld points after that one there,” Nordmark said as he pointed to a cracked seam on the bar. “There’s a lot of gear to accommodate around it,” he said, pointing to the custom bumper, lighting, and winch. The team is clearly past the “get the rig to work” stage and into the “fine tune the details” portion of the job.
We went for a ride in the not-quite-winter-yet wilds of Wyoming so that Neeley and his team could give me a taste of the truck’s capabilities. The amount of articulation allowed by the airbags and the ability of the Bedrock XT2 to not tip over, even as it puts two of its four rear wheels high up, is amazing to see.
That articulation is important. From the sky, the tundra and frozen arctic look like smooth snowpack. In reality, it’s undulating and constantly changing. The Bedrock XT2 has to be able to navigate that safely and with confidence.
The ride up front is smooth and easy, though the ride height is equal to that of the semi-trucks this rig shares a lot of similarities with. I asked about fuel heating and other technologies that might be used to avoid diesel fuel gelling during sub-zero temperatures. “We don’t need to do that,” Neeley responded. “Once these leave home port and enter the tundra, the engine runs 24/7. That and the large volume of fuel on board is enough to keep the lines from mucking.”
The fuel cell is tucked in underneath the truck, so that makes sense. Unlike a semi-truck, whose tanks are outside of the frame and exposed, the F-550 has its tank inside the frame and protected. The Bedrock XT2 carries 44.6 gallons (169 L) of fuel.
Altogether, the Arctic Trucks and Krug Expedition collaboration for the Bedrock XT2 is pretty amazing. For fun, I parked a Fiat 500e in front of it for a photo op. Just to illustrate the extreme size difference. You can check it out in our gallery.
