Let me introduce myself...

[redrock]

Thanks for all the great feedback on this topic.

I'm not sure about the local etiquette here, so I'm going to reply as needed in this message.

Originally Posted by macmcintire

Is your neighbor on the Forum? If so, what is his/her Forum name?

No, he's not on the forum - he doesn't have internet. There is only dialup or satellite in our neighborhood and many don't believe it's worth the hassle.

Originally Posted by Tapatio

These videos will give you an idea of how different configurations work in a real live situation. ...

Thanks for those videos on your multiple posts about it. Useful info. I think I'm sold on front and rear lockers. Another neighbor is a hard-core 4-wheeler and he says they're overkill, but I don't think he realizes the difference between moving a van over rough terrain vs moving his tricked-out rock-crawler Jeep.

Originally Posted by BIGVANS

More winch info here .....

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8697

Great stuff. Apologies I didn't find it in my initial searches. Thanks for point the thread out to me.

Still not sure about the winch. My rock-crawling neighbor says the winch is more important than the lockers. He likes the idea of the receiver-hitch-mounted portable. Says he got stuck on the Rubicon last year and had to pay a guy with a Unimog to get him out. Took 24 hours in and out to retrieve the Jeep and it all hinged on a portable winch that they positioned on the back of the 'mog (amazingly it only cost $500 for the tow!). But any portable I'd put on the SMB would be much smaller than what they had on that 'mog.

I keep imagining all the junk you have to have to make a winch be effective, i.e. extension ropes (presuming synthetic rope vs cable), straps, snatch blocks, etc. All being carried and taking up space in the hopes of never having to use it.

That's one big advantage to lockers: They don't take up extra space.

[BajaSportsmobile]

I'd listen to the neighbor, sounds like he has some experience and knowledge. When the lockers get you farther back and more stuck, you are going to need the winch. I too like the idea of a receiver hitch winch mount.

[BIGVANS]

As far as a hitch receiver mount style, I’ve never seen a hitch receiver winch mount plate rated at more than 9,000 lbs so that limits you to a 9,000 lbs winch. If you do the “old school 4x4 winch math” we should only be talking about the Warn 16.5TI or greater winches with these vans.
(I use a hitch receiver mount winch, I store it on the front, not inside, when off-roading)

[redrock]

Thank you to everybody for your contributions to this process.

Here's the plan for the Advanced 4x4 4wd conversion:

I'll have them do these things in addition:
- Front and rear e-lockers
- Rancho rear shock upgrade
- Aluminess front bumper with brush guard and 2" receiver
- Pre-wire front and rear for portable Warn winch (Winch will be purchased when and if I recover from financial shock from the 4x4 upgrade and accessories)
- Transfer case skid plate
- Aluminess nerf bars
- Probably will also do flares, but I want to take a look at them.

And of course I have to upgrade the wheels and tires. I'm trying to figure out if I can do that before I take the rig up to Salt Lake for the conversion, meaning will the new wheels/tires fit with the stock suspension, for a gentle freeway drive.

[BIGVANS]

Don’t forget to ask what wheel size you will need. Some of the brake upgrades REQUIRE 17” wheels so your stock 16” rims will no longer fit!

[redrock]

Originally Posted by BIGVANS

Don’t forget to ask what wheel size you will need. Some of the brake upgrades REQUIRE 17” wheels so your stock 16” rims will no longer fit!

Your comment sent me off reading through lots of threads about tires. My head is starting to hurt.

I thought I was done with making decisions about the 4wd conversion, other than figuring out which wheels and tires, but your point about wheel size makes me digress into wondering whether I need to put bigger brakes on this rig. Didn't Ford up-size the brakes starting in 2008?

And now that you have me thinking about wheels again, I'm wondering about this: Randy at Advanced4x4 says that 32" diameter tires are what he recommends with their standard 4" lift. Should I be thinking about more lift for bigger tires?

There's lots of thoughts about this in some of the threads but nothing conclusive, I'm afraid. Or maybe I should re-punctuate: "...but nothing conclusive. I'm afraid."

[Ultrasport12]

First let me say congrats on the new van, its very nice and was a really good deal. Your van is going to be even nicer when you get through doing all that you want to it.

As for the 2008 up brakes yes you are correct, all the Econoline vans got a major upgrade on the brakes in 2008.

I would think that Advanced 4x4 would be using something in the front that would be comparable with the rears.

Does your van have RSC? Most window vans from 2007 up do as far as I can tell. If it does you may have to do something different for brakes altogether. Both Sportsmobile and U Joint 4x4 conversions have to use F-450/550 hubs and brakes for vans with RSC and its a big cost upgrade. That means at least 17 inch rims to clear the 14 inch rotors and larger calipers.

The size of the lift might not matter but remember if you ever want larger than 32/33 inch tires you will have to redo the lift kit. If you do a 6 inch lift now you can run up to 35 inch tire in the future but can use 32/33 now if you want.

Gearing is another thing to consider when doing bigger wheels and a 4x4 conversion. Since the 2WD tires are only about 30 inches tall even 32 will change the power band some. Since your van is a 5.4 you wont want to put too big a tire on it without changing to 4.10s especially if you are going to tow with it. I am not sure what gears it has now but if it has RSC I think it should have 3.73 on it.

Good luck with it...

[redrock]

Thanks for the heads-up about RSC. Yet another factor. Initial lookups seem to indicate that the van would have RSC. Yikes.

Could you enlighten me re why I might have to upgrade the brakes if I have RSC? I didn't find any references to that.


re 4" vs 6" lift -- I'd hate to re-do anything -- this project is pricey and my budget is unfortunately not unlimited. I'm currently biting my nails over the idea of adding any more lift over the 4" lift since I'm a bit worried about off-camber operations and the potentially high CG of this machine.

This page:
http://www.badgertrek.com/sportsmobile/4x4.shtml
shows this pic:

which is apparently done on 32" tires. This terrain seems as rough as I'd care to do in a 4x4 van. Maybe I'm not ambitious enough? Too inexperienced with 4x4 vans? Or just plain chicken?

(They ended up upgrading to 37" tires! I wonder if you have to upgrade your axles so they can handle the extra torque they would need to turn those big tires on something steep.)

[Ultrasport12]

This is from Chris@ U Joint Off Roads web page.I think it sums it up very well.

** Detailed RSC info: RSC equipped vans have a special ABS sensor & tone ring that cannot be modified. If you simply unplug the ABS wire, the van will go into a limp mode. You can turn off the RSC system via the button on the dash, but the "service RSC system" message will chime until it drives you mad. In order to make the RSC sensor work with the new 4x4 front axle, the sensor must be mounted to the spindle horizontally above the tone ring. The standard brake rotor diameter won't allow this, so the larger F550 diameter rotor must be used. The entire RSC upgrade is basically the Dynatrac free spin hub conversion that has been modified to my specs. The pricing works out pretty well too. Please email me if you have any questions!!

[redrock]

Thanks for that additional information.

I just spoke to Randy at Advanced 4x4 and he says that the way their conversion goes, there won't be a need to deal with RSC issues. He gave me a long-ish explanation that had something to do with SMB using the front axle assembly from the F-350 4wd. This changes the RSC components and their specific placements. Advanced 4x4's strategy doesn't use the F-350 parts and reuses the original brakes from the E-350 so the RSC problem doesn't occur.

I should also correct something I said a few posts up: Randy didn't say he recommends 32" tires for the standard 4x4 conversion with 4" lift from Advanced 4x4. He said it was the _maximum_ that he recommends. He says he's using 285/75-16's on his personal rig, which he says are around 31".