Looking for 4x4 conversion recommendations for 2 vans - Page 2

b. rock · 06-14-2021, 09:59 AM

Independent installer may be the best route. UJoint, Timberline, or MG kit. Who is in your area - kind of depends on where you are. I doubt you'd get it done correctly under $20k these days.

PetiteautoRv · 06-14-2021, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b. rock

Independent installer may be the best route. UJoint, Timberline, or MG kit. Who is in your area - kind of depends on where you are. I doubt you'd get it done correctly under $20k these days.

We are in northern Illinois, not too much out here. We are willing to have it dropped off anywhere in the States.

ScrapIron · 06-14-2021, 10:47 AM

Best bet is to just research each of the listed installers on this forum and then pick up the phone and talk with each one to determine which one fits your needs the best. They all have some nice stuff, personally i went with the Timberline kit for my rig, for my own reasons.

sierraoneill · 06-18-2021, 07:56 AM

Wrong sided of the country but Advanced four wheel drive in Salt Lake City did mine (07 E 350 converted in 2019). I could not be happier with how that van handles as it is just as tight and right as it was as a low mileage 2WD van. They were a no brainer after seeing the quality of work they do and the fact they would do an older van. I paid around $12k to have it done then with a 6 month wait to get in, and about a 2-week turnaround after delivering it to them.

REF · 06-18-2021, 09:31 AM

Find a local shop to install and order up the MG metalworks Baja kit. I’ve heard good things and considering there’s no conversion shop close to you, may as well get the kits shipped and have the work done locally. That way if there’s any issues or something needs to be fixed or worked on, they’ll at least be familiar with it

shenrie · 06-18-2021, 11:42 AM

Sierra, you are the only positive feedback I’ve seen for advanced. Glad to see someone have a good experience with the place. Are you local to their shop?

I’m with ref above. Find a local shop to do a kit conversion from either mg or uj. Working with a shop across the country can be problematic (I say this as I just got off the phone with a customer in Wisconsin, lol).

It’s just hard to work a punch list from different city. It’s also really easy for any shop to screw you hard if you aren’t there to regulate when they get sick of dealing with you. Not being able to wander down unannounced to check progress etc. I did it once. Got a car painted in Portland and got screwed overall cause they knew I had no way to really enforce follow up.

That said, our shop can do conversions on eseries vans if anyone local needs a kit installed in or around the boise area.

sierraoneill · 06-18-2021, 12:14 PM

No, I live in California. The only negatives I have with them is they did miss my delivery date by a week, so that screwed up my travel to pick up my van, but they did me right and covered the cost of that hiccup. The only other issue I had was the fact that the front brake rotors are specially machined down, so not something you buy off the shelf...apparently the only part you can't find at your local autoparts store... that was a surprise to me earlier this year when I went to replace the front rotors but I now have an extra set that I had turned, so likely I should be good for the life of the van....not sure if that is the case with other conversions or not to have them fit the bolt pattern on the wheels with the front axle.

I will admit their communication and phone etiquette leaves much to be desired, but unfortunately, so do lots of companies in this day and age, especially with a niche business where people are banging down the doors....but their work is quality, especially compared to Quigley conversions that I looked at in my area where it looks like whoever did the welding just watched a you-tube video prior to getting after it.

I looked long and hard to find someone to convert my van, and it was tough to find anyone wiling to do it to a one that was not fresh off the assembly line! Perhaps I did just get lucky with Advance, but really no regrets going with them given how well the van drives on and off road compared to reports I hear about other conversions.

Steve_382 · 06-20-2021, 10:29 AM

If Quigley will do your older unit, they do a quality job. Last I checked, they were only about $15,000 also. They have done thousands of conversions over the years. Ours has 165,000 miles with no problems.

fjmatt73 · 06-20-2021, 10:41 AM

Give AJ’s 4x4 van in Oregon a call, they seem to have plenty of happy customers, basically same setup as MG metalworks

boywonder · 06-20-2021, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shenrie

Sierra, you are the only positive feedback I’ve seen for advanced. Glad to see someone have a good experience with the place. Are you local to their shop?

I bought my van used and it has an Advanced conversion....it's been fine no real complaints. Kingpin D60. One strange thing was it had Chevy suburban/pickup front brakes. I've since updated them to stock Ford 2008+ calipers and F-450 14" rotors.

The other kinda unique thing with Advanced is that they use a welded extender tube between the transfer case and trans. Makes the gas tank chop a bit more. I think my tank holds around 28 gallons.