What did you do to your SMB today?

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by Sheriffdoug

G'day,

Can you get me the details of fabricator for dual fox shocks please, contact name, email address & company name?

My 08 Ford e350 6.0 diesel bounces around far too much.

Could you post a few closeups includung plates at top & bottom holding Fox shocks please?

Cheers Doug.
Western Australia

Doug,
Rather than inundate this tread with numerous pictures of the dual shock installation, I loaded 7 Pic's onto my Album - You should be able to access what you need from that. There was no "kit" to use for this install, everything was custom.
Note: The hoops that hold the shocks were fabricated from some very thick tube - According to him "it was a bear to accomplish all the bends" (thats what took him so long).
I've had a couple weeks now to drive the Van with this setup, and I cant be more pleased with the results.
I'm not qualified to verify this (and because of that a little hesitant to include this), but he did make the comment that the Fox shocks I originally purchased a year ago from SMW didnt have enough travel for my Front-end setup...Both top mounts on the shocks they removed (where the bolt goes through to hold the shock in place) were damaged
PM me if you need anything else.

[velo47]

Before we went to Expo, I looked at getting some bug screens. Not because we have a lot of bugs here, but because when we go other places, there can be a lot of bugs. Especially fishing spots. I love caddis, mayflies, and especially stone flies, but only when I'm fishing. Anyway, then I looked at the prices - OUCH!
So I made some.



The front window screens are pillowcase style and have magnets along the bottom to keep them tight.



The slider has zippers on each side and a magnetic closure in the middle. I think I will remove the front zipper and put magnets there as well. But that's a project for another day.



The rear has 3 zippers, one on each side and one in the middle.

Got webbing, velcro, sash weights, and polypro webbing from Amazon, bulk YKK zippers from Sailrite, and magnets and no-see-um screen from Home Depot. All in I've got about $200 in it, with a lot of leftover materials. And about a million labor hours.

[velo47]

When we got back from Expo, I looked again at JJSporty's review of the SMB windshield sunshade. This is a great idea for those of us in the SW, as it shades the window before the sun gets to it, rather than trying to insulate it after the heat has entered the van. With a trip pending to Austin in a week, and temp.s forecast in the low 100s, I figured we needed one. So I made one. Not SMB quality, but not SMB price, either. Only about $40 in materials and half a million labor hours in this.



Shade cloth from Home Depot. I really wanted white but the closest they had was beige.



Sides have magnets to hold them in place.



Red for port.



Green for starboard.



The other thing we needed was a cupholder that you don't have to leeeaaaan forward to get your drink. And that's not in the beating sun. So I added this $9.99 special from Autozone. Held on by a couple bolts thru the ashtray insert and a bungee cord. We'll see how it works on our next trip.

[Fitz]

I saw the screens for myself at Expo, very nice work!

Fitz

[velo47]

Mounted the Maxtrax to the box today. The box is too short to use the Maxtrax brand mounting posts, so I improvised. We will have to run a cable lock thru them to keep them from walking off.





We had wanted the shovel and axe mounted in this spot, and were going to put the Maxtrax on the right side of the box, but this works fine. The only downside is we have to swing the box out to take off the Maxtrax, because there's not enough room between the box and the spare for them to slide off the posts.

[Fitz]

Matt,

Nice installation! How is the visibility out the rear window? Are the Maxtrax hidden from view in the rear-view mirror by their location at the center of the rear doors?

[velo47]

Thanks.
They're pretty invisible through the rear view mirror.

[Nrobert10]

Installed front and rear ARB lockers along with changed to 4.30 gears. 7.3 van with 35” tires. Pretty happy with the 40 mile trip from the shop to home.

Installed by Bull Built Differential in Sumner WA. I would highly recommend him!

[DesertSMB]

I don't know if my 2012 SMB water installation is different than others but I discovered a way to refill the water tanks without a city water supply. l bought the SMB used so didn't get the SMB training. In the first photo you will see a yellow handled valve. Just behind it is a male hose connection with plastic cap. If one connects a short hose, such as the one which came with the van, to the male connection and then throw the yellow handle as shown in the second photo and the water fill valve in the third photo one can then put the hose into a container of water. Then turn on the water pump in the normal manner and the pump will proceed to suck the water out of the container. No muss no fuss. It takes it just a few minutes to empty a 20 liter water jug.

[simplesez]

Brake pads and rotors. Choose your brake pads wisely. These are two year old pads. Turned to mush and the heat cracked the rotors.