New to Forum - Just bought a quigley

[Mr.Anderson]

Hey All!


I just bought a lifted quigley V10 ford 350 super duty last week. I'm super excited to start the build out and thought I would join the SMB forum to join the community and get ideas and input on the build as things progress.



This van is an '08 that spend its life working as a border patrol vehicle in Arizona. Right now it's a blank slate and my goal is to build it into a full camper and spend a 1 or 2 year travel sabbatical from the 9 to 5 grind that I've been doing for the last 12 years.



I'm not sure if I'll do a pent house or not but here are some immediate upgreades I plan on doing:



-New stereo and audio system

-insulation

-captains chair on front passenger seat, maybe drivers seat but not sure if there's room w/ the 4x4 shifter

-roof fan

-off road bumper

-get the biggest tires I can get installed on this thing, hopefully 33" or 35"

-upgrade the suspension
-set up electrical storage and solar paneling on roof
-build out interior with bed, cabinets, maybe a kitchenette
-Maybe rock slider pannels - how important are these?





What else should I put on this build schedule? My goal with the van is to be able to take it on easy to moderate 4x4 trails (grade 4 to 5 probably) but not necessarily more than that. Hells revenge in Moab, for instance, is probably about one grade higher than what I would want to take it on.



Also - what do people recommend in terms of priority of budget? Are there areas of the build that you can go "cheap" on and are there areas of the build that you should spend some extra $$ and go all out on for performance purposes?



Cheers!

 

[Flux]

Wow. Nice van you got there.


First thing I would look into and others will agree here is to get a RIP kit from Agile Offroad. They make a kit to improve the Quigley handling shortcomings. It's big known performance upgrade and as you add weight to the van with your build, it will make a bigger difference.


V10 is awesome. If you want more power or at least better shifting and OD behavior. 5 Star Tuning is what to look into. Might get a little MPG kick too.


If I am not mistaken, you can get 35's on a quigley. I think you can and hopefully others chime in.



Chairs?? You can get decent seat upgrades for either side. If you want swivel bases you might be limited to just passenger unless you do something fancy with the 4x4 shifter. I have seen folks cut and thread so you can unscrew the grip and shaft to have a rotatable seat.



Great base van. WOW. Congrats

 

[gahamby]

Does it have security restraints still installed? Those could come in handy for kids or in-laws.

 

[WhitH]

X2 for the Agile ride improvement package. Its the kind of thing that you’ll wish you’d done a long time ago if you don’t do it right away.

 

[BroncoHauler-SMB]

Being a former law enforcement vehicle, the first thing I would do is clean it and then clean it again. Who knows what was done in that van, or left in that van. You don't want to get sick or arrested for something in the van.


In my Crown Vic Police Interceptor, I removed the vinyl flooring, clean the floor pans and then installed a carpet kit with mass backing to reduce the sound.




Herb

 

[marret]

Congrats and welcome.

The RIP kit is pretty much universally recommended. Never heard a bad thing about it. Quigleys are known for needing ride assistance.

Budget will depend on you. So many variables.

I wouldn't go cheap on any drive train and suspension changes. You don't want to chance cheap parts in the middle of no where.

Some/many people decide after use that they might like to change their layout. So you might consider going cheaper on something that might change. On the other hand, it needs to be durable enough to hold up.

Lots of information on this forum. The search function works well and the subforums are easy to search as well.

 

[Mr.Anderson]

Awesome!


Thanks for all the information! I'm definitely going to look into the RIP kit and 5 star tuning, looks like they have a kit which can increase the HP and torque for the van while improving the fuel economy, that's a no brainer.



yeah right now the van is empty but has spray foam insulation and a odd heater/AC box that's laying in the back. see pic - I'm going to get this removed b/c it's taking up valuable realestate and I don't think it works or at least I can't seem to get it working. Anyone seen these things before? I can't even find a part number or manufacturer name on it.



This forum is the reason I opted for a V10 6.8L engine, while I was shopping around last month I summarized pretty much all the 4x4 vans that were on sale in the US and in my budget and of those there were like 3 that had the V10 engine. LOL the best advice my brother (who is more of a gear head than me) ever gave me was to always go for the bigger engine. I applied the same to my motorcycle (yamaha Roadstar warrior 1700cc) and am a believer in that philosophy.



I'm excited to get started on the build, I'll post up more pictures as things start moving along.



I totally agree spending the money on mechanical parts, definitely don't want to cheap on those parts, I think the interior build is where I can be more crafty and frugal by DIY building. I'm also considering DIY'ing a bumper through "Move bumpers" where they provide the kit and you weld and paint it but I'm still doing research on that.



First thing that I'm buying today is a new stereo and speakers, the damned CD player is broken and I have to have music while rolling down the highway.



Speaking of tires, do people have a favorite brand and model of tire? I was running General grabber AT tires on my truck and was pretty happy with them.



Cheers!

 

[WhitH]

I just put General Grabber ATX on my van. Only had them for a week but initial impressions are very good in a mix of driving.

 

[Twoxentrix]

Hey All!


I'm not sure if I'll do a pent house or not but here are some immediate upgreades I plan on doing:
-New stereo and audio system
-insulation
-captains chair on front passenger seat, maybe drivers seat but not sure if there's room w/ the 4x4 shifter
-roof fan
-off road bumper
-get the biggest tires I can get installed on this thing, hopefully 33" or 35"
-upgrade the suspension
-set up electrical storage and solar paneling on roof
-build out interior with bed, cabinets, maybe a kitchenette
-Maybe rock slider pannels - how important are these?

Also - what do people recommend in terms of priority of budget? Are there areas of the build that you can go "cheap" on and are there areas of the build that you should spend some extra $$ and go all out on for performance purposes? Cheers!

Initially you will probably drive yourself nuts, all the things you'll want to do, all the "toys' you'll want to add...hardest part (now that you have a Van) is to manage your enthusiasm.

Welcome aboard - Think you're on the right track with priorities listed above.

There are some great build (and rebuild) threads for the interior - each offers a unique perspective.I would take the time to review these so you can deduce what is important to you. We all look back and have some regrets, so you may as well accept that at some point you will too - Just makes you wiser.

***Most important recommendation would be to get a cooler for the beverages... Its an effective way to negotiate compromise.

 

[86Scotty]

Welcome.

:a4:

 

[Tienckb]

I see u over here from expeditionportal

This is the place to hang out.

TeeDawger

 

[marret]

Move bumpers are a viable option. Adds up though with welding and powdercoating if paying someone. Had one on my van.

 

[Flux]

That unit is most likely a rear AC unit. You might want to consider keeping it as you live in the desert. It was probably mounted under a bench or something like that.


I would check to see if it's functional. It's probably tied into your factory front AC and removing it could take all the refrigerant out of the system. Is you front AC working? Just follow the lines from that rear unit. If they go under the body and head to the front then it's definitely tied in. You'll have to cap the system and have it recharged.



But do consider mounting it and using it. I specifically wanted rear AC. I live where it's over 100 for much of the year. I think you do too.