[mazz]

My department is close to purchasing a Ford Explorer for patrol. I have heard they are very tight once the cage and other equipment are installed. Does anyone have problems with this?

 

[Anonymous]

My department has one, but it doesn't have a cage because its only usually used as a traffic car. I think its pretty comfortable and none of the other equipment (switch panels, laptop, etc.) gets in the way.

 

[VTCOP]

My dept. has one. No cage. It does have everything else tho. It's got pretty good room, considering it has the siren,lights control, radio, radar etc. installed in the cockpit.

Oh, it rides comfortably too. Better than the impalas we have.

 

[ROBOCOP1982]

Nooooooooo! Barnstable had one, got rid of it before I came. Apparently it had horrible acceleration, could barely make 55.

I love Explorers, drive one as my personal car, but they are not meant to be cruisers. Of course, that's in my humble opinion.

 

[40th MPOC#309]

We've got two. One is a 5.0 and the other is a 4.0 V-6. Can you guess which one goes to court everyday???? The 5.0 kicks butt, although I agree w/MT1-not a cruiser though.....

 

[Anonymous]

The explorer we have is a 1999, it is fairly good shape. The acceleration on it is excellent. Got it up to 75 going to a call a couple months ago.

 

[sdb29]

4-5 years ago I lived in California. The San Francisco police borrowed an Explorer from Ford to "evaluate" it. They took it out to Treasure Island and rolled it over twice at 35mph. Real spectacular footage on the 6:00pm news.
If you do get assigned to one don't ever forget it isn't an Impala or a Crown Vic. It's top heavy and has a narrow wheel base, and will roll if you try to drive it like a regular cruiser.

PS
San Francisco PD gave Ford their truck back.

 

[40th MPOC#309]

Our town just got 2 new Tahoes. One for us and one for the FD. They seem pretty good, both with the Police package. Anyone have any experience with these???

 

[rmauro95]

The ford explorer i drove on patrol was to confining and with all the console things it made it cramped. Also something to think about. If the dont shut off the passenger side air bag and it deploys, then hits the equipment and the officer doesnt wear a belt could be a problem.

 

[mpd61]

Originally posted by 40th MPOC#309:
Our town just got 2 new Tahoes. One for us and one for the FD. They seem pretty good, both with the Police package. Anyone have any experience with these???

Dickie!

You stay OUT of that vehicle. It's not a FORD! You want to get warts or herpes or shingles!!!!!

 

[40th MPOC#309]

I'd rather ride in your Brown '51 Subaru sedan.

 

[patsfan]

My department has a 2002 "Exploder" and I can speak for all of the officers and say we hate it. Aside from the occasional off road rendezvous or heavy snowfall it is useless. The cage doesn't fit correctly, therefore it sounds like a window is open when you go above 40mph. I don't know why this happens but it is annoying. We have already replaced the transmission because it isn't designed for the stress load that police work typically puts on a vehicle used 24/7. It is top heavy and doesn't handle very well. I can say it is comfortable to sit in and drive; the radio console is very convenient and easily accessible. Not a very reliable vehicle in terms of fleet service however and our chief has already said "never again."

 

[ShakeEmDOwn016]

Our Department's Explorer was a beater. It went thru 2 transmissions and the ass end of the Explorer seemed to be out of whack with the front while driving. Every time someone hit a bump, you would have sworn that the engine was about to fall out. You could hear it a mile away squeaking and rattling along. They wound up retiring it for another cruiser. TOTAL P. O. S.

 

[Harley387]

There's a reason they call em' Ford Exploders.

 

[davemcs]

Ford..where Quality is Job #1

Job #2 is rolling over their SUV's
Job #3 is putting out their CV's that are on fire..

Bring back the Caprice 9C1 anyday !!

 

[ROBOCOP1982]

Take it easy on the Explorer guys! I have one and I LOVE it. Oh wait...I did love it until Monday my coolant hose broke, Tuesday the battery died , and yesterday the tire went flat. The tire may not have been Ford's fault, but I was a little dissapointed when the jack snapped.

Not a good week, and here I am dispatching on a Friday night just to pay for it.

 

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by ROBOCOP1982:
Take it easy on the Explorer guys! I have one and I LOVE it. Oh wait...I did love it until Monday my coolant hose broke, Tuesday the battery died , and yesterday the tire went flat. The tire may not have been Ford's fault, but I was a little dissapointed when the jack snapped.

Not a good week, and here I am dispatching on a Friday night just to pay for it.

Why do you have to pay for the jack??

 

[ROBOCOP1982]

Why do you have to pay for the jack??

It was my jack that snapped, so if I want a new one I'm going to have to pay for it. The jack wasn't really the problem, though, it was those two new Goodyear tires.

 

[Anonymous]

We have two, on is assigned to the taffic supervisor and one is a spare unit. They tried to give one to a new traffic guy and one guy recieving a k-9. Both said no to it. It's slow, and handles like a grade-all. Once in a while it's ok to break themonotony or if sent to break up a drinking party in the woods..

 

[Guest]

Our force just got 2 new 2003 Ford Expeditions, with full cage. Its a great ride because you can look into the interior of the cars beside you and there is a ton of room but it just too big for the city and too many pit stops to the GAS station for my liking.