Hey guys,
I've been cruising around this site for a while and it has been an amazing resource for me! I've found this to be the most helpful site out there for getting the info I need on many different occasions. After lots of research and searching, I purchased a van. It's my second 4x4 van and I'm hoping this one will be much more enjoyable than the last (old school Dodge full-time 4x4).
While I was planning on getting a 2wd van to convert through Chris at Ujoint, I found my van and it was too good of a deal to pass up. As a young designer, budget has to be at the forefront of all my decisions. My criteria for the van was finding a diesel, preferably EB, with low mileage that was either 4x4 or ready to convert. I ended up with a 2008 6.0l Ford E350 EB with 600 miles on it. I am going to be using this van as my surf/snowboard vehicle and it will be towing a couple of snowmobiles in the winter for backcountry snowboarding. I just got the van back from Van Specialties where I had the interior done. I kept it very simple for now (finished the whole van, insulated, soundproofed, subfloor and flooring, LED lighting, swivel passenger seat, fold down bench seat with extension platform). While it's a really basic interior in comparison to an SMB, I just wanted to make it comfortable and usable, leaving the potential for building the interior out farther as money allows. Since most all the camping I do is weekends and overnights, I don't have as much of a need for all the amenities.
I have lots of plans for the van in the near future. Here's a list of things that should be done in the next month or so, assuming all goes to plan:
- Full long arm suspension kit
- Wheels and tires (35's on black 17" Mickey Thompsons)
- 4.10 gear ratio
- Coolant filter
- Custom roof rack
- Custom rock sliders/steps
- Coolant flush, fluid and full engine checkup
- Possibly upgrade to Warn premium hubs over the Ford ones I have (anyone have thoughts on that???)
- Edge Insight CTS monitor with egt probe
Here's a list of things I plan to do as money allows:
- Get rid of any chrome!!
- Custom front and rear bumpers, winch and lights
- Exhaust
- 6.0l bulletproofing
- Aux batteries, inverter, etc... (Already had the van wired for 12v power)
- Webasto diesel heater
- Sound system
Here's a photo of the van from this past weekend. Went camping and surfing at the coast. Even had to engage the 4wd for the first time offroad! The van drove really nicely and it was very comfortable to sleep in; couldn't be happier with it!