Agile Offroad RIP Kit

[rean1mator]

Oakland!! Just got the van and haven't posted much on here. will update my location soon.

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I agree totally. I don't fault rean1mator or any other member for this really. I completely understand the desire for privacy, and I rarely put that kind of stuff in my signature or info box on a new forum, but it is helpful to answer questions like this when asked.

So where are you rean1mator? Just your state is plenty to give more specific help.

[rean1mator]

Also, i'm not going the custom route to save money. my budget is well within what it would cost to do an agile conversion. I'm just finding a lot of negative information on TTB setups in general.

Originally Posted by carringb

If a premium ride is a priority, I would certainly recommend going with Ramsey's IFS setup from the get-go. Maybe you can take care of the T-case and fuel tank, then send it to Ramsey for the suspension/axle work?

I have a feeling that if you did the whole conversion at another shop, then sent it Ramsey to "fix" the ride, you'll end up paying close to what it would cost to do it right in the first place.

[rean1mator]

Also, carringb if you could provide some comment on your Agile conversion including both plus and negatives of the conversion that would be great!!

I'm still not completely sold yet on going custom but I did find a really nice dana 60 that I may be picking up early next week.

Originally Posted by carringb

If a premium ride is a priority, I would certainly recommend going with Ramsey's IFS setup from the get-go. Maybe you can take care of the T-case and fuel tank, then send it to Ramsey for the suspension/axle work?

I have a feeling that if you did the whole conversion at another shop, then sent it Ramsey to "fix" the ride, you'll end up paying close to what it would cost to do it right in the first place.

[1der]

PM sent, actually two !

[carringb]

Originally Posted by rean1mator

I'm also concerned about the TTB setup. All the research I've been able to find on TTB suspensions do not seem very favorable. Dependability and alignment issues being the two big ones for me. But if others would care to comment on this that would be great.

My shop has recommended full coils with Dana 60 using a radius arm setup. I need it to ride well on highway without drifting/floating like it does now and terrain such as death valley, downieville, etc. nothing crazy. The current camburg setup on rancho 5000's are very harsh even on mellow washboard, dirt roads.

Any input is welcome on the positive and negatives of doing custom vs agile.

I think most of the alignment issues were caused by Ford's inferior components. Some of the bushings had really limited range of motion, so they would just get eaten up (especially since they were all rubber) and they everything gets sloppy.

As long as your van's front axle isn't too heavy, I don't see any reason a good setup won't hold up.

My van's front end ranges from 3500 pounds to 5,000 pounds. Because of this, I decided i will be going solid axle (QuadVan... upsized to a full width F550 axle...) both because of durability and alignment, since IFS will change alignment with ride height. If my van were used more like most vans, where front axle wright isn't so variable, I would actually prefer IFS. Since you mention washboard roads, that is definitely one area where solid axle can never ride as well as IFS, since solid axle is simply more unsprung mass, and oscillations are transmitted side to side which can cause even worse resonate vibrations.

Also... even though it looks like an '05+ F350 axle is a simple swap, its harder than it looks, if yo want to maintain proper steering geometry. Even QuadVan has made many improvements to the '05 setup since it came out. At the very least, I think it would be worth the time to crawl under a QuadVan setup to see the small details that make that setup work so well. The axle itself isn't modified, but there's an array of brackets used to properly located the coils, shocks, and some of the steering components.

[BajaSportsmobile]

John at QuadVan does an excellent job of installing the '05 on up D60 in E-Series Vans.

I've posted several times before, if I didn't want a Long Travel 4X4, and the off-road capabilities that only the TTB offers, QuadVan would be my choice. If you could come up with a way to get more bump travel out of a D60 without have to lift to get it - I would be all over that.

QuadVan faces the same limiting factor that Quigley, Ujoint, Advanced 4X4... all face - limited bump travel at reasonable lift heights; axle and frame interference is the same on all of them.

By the way QuadVan has built more D50 TTB E-Series Vans than we will ever be able to.

[RandallDee]

Originally Posted by rean1mator

I'm also concerned about the TTB setup. All the research I've been able to find on TTB suspensions do not seem very favorable. Dependability and alignment issues being the two big ones for me. But if others would care to comment on this that would be great.

I had Ramsey and Glen do my conversion. I'm really happy with the way it rides and drives and I think it's actually a really nicely tuned suspension. It's very firm without being harsh. This is my first van so, I may not be the best person to resource. I live in Portland, so I did go to Quadvan and drive one of his conversions and I also drove an Advanced 4wd conversion that came up for sale locally. I had it narrowed down to Agile, Quadvan and Ujoint for the conversion and ended up going with Agile. Prior to my van I had always been a pickup guy. My last rig before the van was a 2001 Dodge Cummins 4x4 and my van with the TTB conversion rides and drives better then my Dodge did. Prior to my Dodge I had a 94 Toyota 4 runner and I was a big fan of an independent front suspension for my application which really doesn't involve a lot of recreational off roading. Your application needs may be different than mine.

I did the same research you did and read all the same stuff about the TTB suspensions. From what I remember, it seems that a lot of the negativity was more regarding the smaller D44 TTB's. Also, if I remember correctly, the factory radius arms were considered to be a weak link. The radius arms that Glen fabs up are a thing of beauty.

I thought that there were some good points made in this write up....
http://www.greatlakes4x4.com/showthread.php?t=9287

And also, I thought that this explanation of Ramsey's was pretty good and should probably be on his web site....
http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic. ... 2&start=15

Good luck with your decision.