Gillette Family Builds A Frankensteined Six-Door F-350, And It’s A Monster

David Porter has decided it’s time to sell the family vehicle, although theirs is more unique than most.

It's less of a traditional family station wagon or van and more of an off-road-capable but still luxurious limousine — a preposterous pinnacle of opulence for a Wyoming ranch that incredibly and improbably exists.

"This combo is one of one ever built," Porter told Cowboy State Daily. "We purchased the brand-new Ford F-350 from Blair, Nebraska, drove it down to Hurricane, Utah, to have it converted, and it's been in Gillette ever since."

The result is a Frankensteined monster of a vehicle that’s both a truck and Excursion.

The front half has all the luxruies of a Ford King Ranch F-350, while the back half has all the seating and storage of a Ford Excursion. But sale of this extended Excursion includes the original back half of the F-350, which serves its original purpose as a one-of-a-kind trailer.

Six doors, four-wheel drive, and four rows of heated seats, each with a USB port for devices on the go. The concept of a “Wyoming limousine” might sound like an oxymoron, but this custom-built combination of dependable ranch vehicles might merit such distinction.

The Porters have many fond memories traveling in their Frankensteined family vehicle. But now that his kids are moving out of the house, David hopes another big family (with $100,000) might be able to find as much enjoyment in it as they have in their SUV/pickup/limo. 

“It’s been a great rig for our family,” Porter said. “And part of me is hoping that another family can enjoy it as much as we did.”  

Porter Transport

Porter, a dentist and owner of Synergy Dental Center in Gillette, wanted a vehicle large enough for him, his wife and their six children. That’s a lot of family to fit in one vehicle.

“We like to go on road trips and do things together as a family, but it gets pretty tight with six kids,” Porter said. “We got the F-350 for that purpose.”

Porter drove the 2015 Ford F-350 to Mega X 2, a vehicle customization shop in Hurricane, Utah, specializing in making large vehicles even larger.

“They cut the frame in half and merged the back of an old Excursion with the front half of the F-350 we bought,” he said.

The finished product is quite luxurious. The King Ranch edition has an all-leather interior, heated seats, and USB ports around all the seats (which Porter’s family appreciated). There’s also adjustable rear-air suspension, a Fab Fours Grill Guard, and four-wheel drive.

But Porter wanted to do an extra special something with his custom conversion. After all, he still had half an F-350 to work with.

“They usually throw the F-350’s bed away, and I felt terrible about getting rid of it,” Porter said, so I asked if they could convert it into a trailer.”

Mega X 2 had never turned the discarded bed of an F-350 into a trailer, but they toyed with the idea until conceiving a practical design. That trailer has been towed behind the extended Excursion ever since.

A Head Turner

People don’t see many six-door vehicles cruising along the highway. The Porter Family has logged around 56,000 miles in their extended Excursion and drawn a lot of attention wherever they’ve gone.  

“Anytime we took it anywhere, we had people taking videos and pictures, giving us the thumbs up, and coming up to us at gas station parking lots,” Porter said. “It was always fun for the kids. We’d be driving down the highway and see people gawking at it. They get a kick out of it.”

Lately, the only place it’s getting attention is Porter’s garage. His kids are growing up, and it’s harder to get everyone together for an Excursion excursion.

“We used it to go on a family trip to Arizona last year, but we only had half the family,” he said. “It still works great and rides smoothly, but we haven’t used it as much. So, it spends most of its time in my shop.”

That’s why Porter decided to post the family vehicle on Casper Classifieds. Listing it for $100,000 might seem steep, but not to the right buyer.

“Value is in the eye of the beholder,” said automotive writer Aaron Turpen. “The actual value of this is probably lower to most people, but for someone who needs or wants those modifications, the limit might be sky-high.”

It’s well-known that the value of most vehicles depreciates as soon as they leave the lot, but that trend isn’t necessarily true for custom conversions. Turpen said it depends on the conversion.

“If it’s a conversion for over-landing, camping, or performance, then they can gain value over time,” he said. “Disability accommodations might increase over time, but fully custom things like limousines usually don’t.”

Wyoming Family Values

Porter and his wife grew up in Wyoming but left to pursue education and work elsewhere before returning to live the life they wanted for their family in the Cowboy State.

“We’ve been back in Wyoming for 17 years,” he said. “My wife and I were born and raised here, and we always knew we were going to call Wyoming home.”

Now, the couple’s older children are embarking on similar journeys. The extended Excursion isn’t needed, so it hasn’t been used, but there’s an undeniable emotional attachment to the custom-built Porter Family transport.

“My kids still love it, and they don’t want me to sell it,” Porter said, “but I think it can do better than just sitting in my shop. We’ve had it for ten years, but now we’re lucky if we get to use it once a year.”

Since he posted the extended Excursion on social media, Porter has had “a few tire kickers and decent offers,” but a serious buyer has yet to surface. Nevertheless, he knows the right family will find him.

“Our family has great memories associated with it, and we’ve really enjoyed traveling in it,” he said. “Miles-wise, we’ve barely broken it in, and I know it’s going to give great memories for another family.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.