I'll post up my new ride in a few. I'm excited that I'm back in a van, a 4x4 van to be exact! The interior is pretty set up but I'm not sure if it will suit my needs.
We had a great time in Baja. We drove about 100 miles on the Baja 1000 race course (dirt/sand) right along the Pacific Ocean, then cut over to the Sea of Cortez and drove south quite a ways, almost reaching Loreto. The farthest south we went was about 650 miles from the border. I think we did about 1500 miles total while in Mexico.
We had a great time in Baja. We drove about 100 miles on the Baja 1000 race course (dirt/sand) right along the Pacific Ocean, then cut over to the Sea of Cortez and drove south quite a ways, almost reaching Loreto. The farthest south we went was about 650 miles from the border. I think we did about 1500 miles total while in Mexico.
Went fishing/camping/full size wheelin in the Sierra's a couple weeks ago. Started at Big Pine, went to Funnel Lake and then exited through Bishop. This is all in the Coyote Flats area.
Had to do some rock crawling. I wasn't posing here, this was the only way I could make it without damage.
Same with this section...notice the ramp!
This was one big rock that I had to build ramps on either side so we didn't get hung up. I need to build some guards. We were by ourselves so we had to do it right the first time.
This was the lake we camped at. If you look closely you can see the van. We had it all to ourselves.
Namloot, did you install the U-Joint kit yourself? Are you happy with it? I will not buy another 4x4 van unless it's done right. Mine works great but I would've done stuff different.
I did install the UJOR 6" Kit myself and I am extremely happy with it. I had some bugs to work out as with any custom work but it drives really well on and off road. The only thing I would change is instead of an ARB in the front a limited slip would have been fine.
I'm looking forward to building another one very soon.
The springpad is cast into the housing on most dana 60s. Chris kit is setup to match the spring pad width of the superduty axles. The older axles have a different spring pad width and the driverside perch is cast into housing so its not moveable. I asked chris about this b4 ordering my kit since i was hoping to keep the bolt pattern and not have to swap rearends or run spacers.
That said, i ended up with a 2004 front dana 60 and ,2009 rear sterling axle in my 97 ujoint 4x van and after a quick drive im loving the disc brakes all around.
I just re-read his website and I could have sworn he used to say something about the older axles...but not now! :homer: http://www.ujointoffroad.com/axles.html
I've never been completely sold on Ford's rear discs, at least the ones behind the 16" wheels. My 1999 Ford dually brakes (rear disc) completely suck. The rotors on my dually get hot and warp way too easy compared to my drum braked van and past trucks. I tow a lot.
I can't tell a difference between my 1996 drum braked van and my 2004 disc braked van as far as stopping power goes, unless it's raining hard.
Two nice vans popped up locally if anyone is interested
I have no affiliation with either of these other than owning a 4x4 van myself. Either look like great starting points for a nice expedition vehicle, and seem reasonably priced. Thought someone here might be interested:
Just got this yesterday. Its a '72 Quadravan. It has a 302/C4/twin sticked D20 case with an 8lug D44 front and a FF D60 rear. Had it running less than 5 minutes after getting it home!
The rear has a disc conversion, but no calipers. We have a little work ahead to get it road-worthy, but I'm looking forward to it!
Mini econoline high jack. I know the 4x4 swap is pretty labor intensive. Would it be any easier of more difficult to do use D50 TTB stuff out of a truck since the vans are beams factory?
I put a D50 in my '97 E350. The pivot points for the TTB are not the same as the I-beams so it really doesn't help. Being very familiar with TTB suspension, I believe it was easier to install the D50 TTB than it is to do a leaf sprung D60 or a '05 on up F250/350 Radius Arm axle swap. And, the TTB, with 12 inches of travel rides so much better than the straight axle options.
That van is awesome, think that pic may have persuaded me to do a d50 ttb setup rather than a solid axle. You need to grab some more pics, don't hold out on us!
Here is mine. 2005 Sportsmobile 6.8 V10. Sleeps 4, sink, microwave, fridge, 2000 watt inverter and tons of storage.
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Pirate 4x4
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