Sliding Door w/ Wheel Spacers

[Russell]

I have 2003 EB with sliding door, new rims and tire 17 inch rims, 285 60 17 tires. I also noticed the front axle is 2 inches wider then the back,, so I called Quigley and she recommended a shop in Vegas that makes aluminum spacers, so I put 1 inch on each rear hub and Now my door won't open all the way. So after about a year I took my van back to Leap truck painting in Fresno and he removed the door and cut out a section so it would clear on the inside. Now it works.
I'd really like to make it Electric like the new vans, anybody have that done yet?




QUOTE=motovan_mn;301395]Hey everyone,

I've searched high and low on this forum for a definitive answer, so I'm hoping someone can come forward with some helpful info. We just picked up a real gem of a van, but the only "downside" is that it has a sliding door. In terms of our use case the sliding door is not really a detriment, other than potential clearance issues for larger rear tires.

Our plan is to send this van to UJOR and get a 6" lift on 35" tires. I know that MG and Weldtec make slider hinge extenders which should enable clearance for a full size Bushwacker flare. However it seems as though UJOR recommends against running their rear wheel adapters (converts stock 8x6.5" bolt pattern hubs to accept 8x170mm wheels). I know from past experience that econolines in stock form have a noticeably wider track width on the front. I've never lifted or put bigger tires on an E-series, though, so two questions for everyone here:

1. Anybody running a full width rear axle (or stock axle with spacers/adapters) and a sliding door?
2. If not, does anybody have any photos of their lifted/4x4 van with stock rear axle width and wider front axle width?

Yes, I realize this is vain, but if I'm going to dump a bunch of $$$ into a toy, I want it to look good!


*Edit* - I guess another reasonable question is this: am I correctly interpreting that Quigley utilizes the stock rear axle, so their vans presumably have narrower track width in the rear?[/QUOTE]

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by Russell

I have 2003 EB with sliding door, new rims and tire 17 inch rims, 285 60 17 tires. I also noticed the front axle is 2 inches wider then the back,, so I called Quigley and she recommended a shop in Vegas that makes aluminum spacers, so I put 1 inch on each rear hub and Now my door won't open all the way. So after about a year I took my van back to Leap truck painting in Fresno and he removed the door and cut out a section so it would clear on the inside. Now it works.
I'd really like to make it Electric like the new vans, anybody have that done yet?

Hah, glad I'm not the only one bothered by the narrower rear track width!

I know there are companies that sell electric sliding door retrofit kits. There were a couple I was looking at when we owned a Transit. Something like this:
https://www.modifero.com/en/25-elect...atic-door-kits

A quick google isn't turning up anything for the E-Series, unfortunately. Maybe others can chime in with their experience.

[motovan_mn]

Just to bring some closure to this thread, in case anybody else is searching for the same answer:

The sliding door on our 2013 E350 completely clears the rear wheel, but juuuuuust barely! We are able to open the door all the way and have it latch it place, with no rubbing on the tire.

• Stock semi-float Dana 60
• 2" wheel spacers from UJOR
• Method 701, 17"
• 35x12.5 Toyo Open Country AT3
• Timberline sliding door extender (they claim they took MG's design and tweaked it slightly to get a touch more extension out of it)

It was pretty frustrating when I was doing my research to figure out if the door would open completely and latch in place, so here you go! Both Chris and Justin at UJOR said it would open about 80% of the way, so maybe the slight tweak that Timberline did made all the difference. Either way, pretty happy about the result!

[The Renaissance Tinker]

Looks great! It’s amazing how much variation you get from tire brand to tire brand. I was running the same size Coopers and couldn’t get the door to latch easily. Ended up going back “down” to 285/75

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by The Renaissance Tinker

Looks great! It’s amazing how much variation you get from tire brand to tire brand. I was running the same size Coopers and couldn’t get the door to latch easily. Ended up going back “down” to 285/75

Thanks! You were one of the few people able to provide concrete data, so I definitely appreciated that as I was doing my research! I wonder if part of the discrepancy is also the different rims we used, with their differing widths/offsets. The method 701 lists a 0" offset and 8.5" width, but a 4.75" backspacing which is confusing. Maybe the 8.5" width is internal rim width.

[The Renaissance Tinker]

So this set up just clears on level ground. On a side hill it rubs but the door latches open.
Copper XLTS LT285/75R17 (33.8x11.2)
Pro Comp 69 Series Vintage
* Wheel Size: 17x9
* Bolt Pattern: 8 on 170
* Backspace: 4.75
* Offset: -6

This set up rubbed badly enough that I took it off and put them back on my barn door van.
* Cooper XLTs 315/70/R17 (34.5”x12.4”)
* Method 705
* 17X8.5
* 8X170
* 0 offset
* 4.75 backspacing

I might try the tires Ujoint runs for my next set. Nittos I believe. They make a skinny 35. Not ideal for all the sand I end up playing in but that’s what airing down is for.

[The Renaissance Tinker]

Does anyone else get logged out of this site while you are typing a reply and lose your whole message? It’s gotten so bad that I compose messages in notes and cut and paste them in here so I don’t lose my work. It got so annoying I stopped posting here

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by The Renaissance Tinker

So this set up just clears on level ground. On a side hill it rubs but the door latches open.
Copper XLTS LT285/75R17 (33.8x11.2)
Pro Comp 69 Series Vintage
* Wheel Size: 17x9
* Bolt Pattern: 8 on 170
* Backspace: 4.75
* Offset: -6

This set up rubbed badly enough that I took it off and put them back on my barn door van.
* Cooper XLTs 315/70/R17 (34.5”x12.4”)
* Method 705
* 17X8.5
* 8X170
* 0 offset
* 4.75 backspacing

I might try the tires Ujoint runs for my next set. Nittos I believe. They make a skinny 35. Not ideal for all the sand I end up playing in but that’s what airing down is for.

Huh, ok. I guess that rules out the wheel differences, since our Methods have identical specs. Where did you source your slider extender from?

And unfortunately I have not experienced the same issue with this website. I'm on Brave (a chrome based browser) if that makes any difference.

[The Renaissance Tinker]

Originally Posted by motovan_mn

Huh, ok. I guess that rules out the wheel differences, since our Methods have identical specs. Where did you source your slider extender from?

And unfortunately I have not experienced the same issue with this website. I'm on Brave (a chrome based browser) if that makes any difference.

I picked it up from Timberline. It’s the longest one available. There is a ton of variation in tires. No two 35x12.5s are the same.

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by The Renaissance Tinker

I picked it up from Timberline. It’s the longest one available. There is a ton of variation in tires. No two 35x12.5s are the same.

Oh yeah absolutely, not arguing or doubting that at all. Just trying to control for as many variables as possible. I also used the timberline extender.