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So after the suspension work I needed to proceed with the daunting task of removing most of the crap from under the van so I can clean it all up, take care of some rust, add some new seam sealer and undercoat the whole thing. After this, reassembly can begin. I started with removing most of...

Ok back to the build. Last time I updated I had just purchased all of my air suspension parts. I then began all the machine work necessary to build my front shock/air bag mounts. I was slowly making progress on that but with time running out and the air suspension taking up too much time I...

The only real "custom" part of the whole thing is the valving. I simply picked one of their shocks that was the approximate size and travel that I needed. The rep at Bilstein gave me this link https://cart.bilsteinus.com/results?custom=Off-Road Motorsports&typeId=91954861479982800 I applied a...

Well geez. it's been a minute since I have updated this thread. I essentially have 30 days to make my van drivable so I have been working on the van a bit more than posting about it. For the time being I have bailed on the air suspension as it was taking up too much time with all the machine...

I feel like all the things you listed are exactly the reason auto transmissions get wrecked in off roaders. Tall tires, big bumpers, loaded out truck and slow speed with higher revs all equates to hotter trans temps. This can only get worse if you did not change gearing with the larger tires. I...

Sorry no new progress as of late. It's still happening but it's just moving real slowly. I ran into a snag with my 2WD Vanagon build, that I am currently working on, when I discovered that my transmission was trashed. It took nearly 4 months to track down a good trans which slowed down that van...

What if the thing that the thieves want is the vehicle itself? I have VW Vanagons. The value of these things is pretty absurd and generally they are always full of stuff. Vanagons are pretty easy to break into and pretty easy to get running without keys. Many thieves will target these...

I was super excited about this until I found out that the AWD option will not be offered with the diesel. Now I am only moderately excited. Curious what the mileage will be with the gas engines. Of course I also hoped it would be a cheaper option to the 4wd Sprinter but my guess is, with all...

First, my plan is to build my spare tire carrier and bike rack in such a way that it would block most of the back window of my van to make it tough to get in that way. Naturally it would lock closed. Secondly I will tint some of the rear windows just to make it a bit harder to see in where all...

Yeah I'm going to keep on keeping on as my fortune cookie just told me... Literally, I just got a fortune cookie with that message in it. I have already talked with my contact at Bilstein and we are working on a solution. We may be able to relocate the valve on the shocks I have to give me the...

Don't have a ton of physical updates but I have been doing a lot of homework. However, have you ever studied really hard for a test only to bomb it and wanna drop outta school. Well, it happened to me. Got my shocks. Yaaaaaay! Then tragedy struck. The rears fit as expected but the...

A set of max tracks might get you out of some stuff as well without having to resort to the winch.

I will say a limited slip or locker and some snow chains are about as good as it's going to get with a 2wd. However, you might think about carrying a winch with a receiver mount that you can use front or rear. That and some proper recovery gear to go with the winch should give you a little bit...

I totally scored all of the stuff I needed to finish up my air suspension and saved about $90 in the process. Now I will wait on the next discount session so I can scoop up a bunch of Nissan Leaf battery modules for my house battery in my van. They have these discounts so often I hardly pay...

It certainly sounds like this is not a good set up. What size bags were used? You definitely do not want the air bag to be the limiting strap or the bump stop in your suspension system. One option is to look at a bigger bag. It is likely that going from a 2500lb bag to a 2600lb bag is...

Teeny update. It seems my updates are only getting smaller at this point. I gotta house to fix and sell and I have been waiting on parts from a few suppliers so gimme a break. Anyway, after a month of waiting on new brake parts I finally called the laser cutter only to fine out that they "did...

Well it finally happened. I sold the bike. It will be on it's way shortly to its new home out west. I have no doubts that it will be used to it's full potential out there.

Well I am selling my bike but I am pretty proud of my street bike to ADV bike conversion. Before After What you can't see is the fork internals that have been upgraded to valve emulators and better springs and a new rear adjustable shock with more travel and a spring upgrade as well. It...

If you search and look closely at the controllers on some of the cheap ebay heaters you will see a small yellow mountain icon on the controller. It is usually the blue controller that has the icon shown...

I also love watching these builds but there are not a ton of Vanagon builds on any forum. It's pretty taxing for most people just to keep them moving. That is my primary reason for changing as many things as I plan to on both of my Vanagon builds. The footprint and layout of the Vanagon is...