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Been to the mall many times and never needed it yet... Seriously, nope, I haven't used it yet. (And I never go to the mall.) I got the Pull Pal just before I went to Overland Expo last spring. I figured I was going to remote areas in NV and AZ where trees to winch from would be rare. But when...

Da BIG one... The 14,000 pound model.

Last spring I mounted the main body of the Pull Pal on the left rear bumper swing arm of my SMB before my trip to Arizona. For a million reasons, the mount for the blade part of the Pull Pal just got done today. Photo 1 is the main body on the left swing arm. At the lower end is a simple C...

"I'm stuck in Washington State for a few weeks so no progress to report. It feels like mid-life-crisis time, but I already have a toy and just want to retire.." You still in WA state? I just saw this thread again. If you are, and anywhere near NW Washington, we could meet up and have your...

Nice work on T.low's van! That's funny as I did a similar Photoshop job a while back to show him that the lower panels, bumpers and wheels should be black! Just looked for it and found that photo again on page 11 of this thread! HA! Still haven't convinced him though. Brian Rutherford

I don't know much about the details of the 4x4 conversion but I did run into one at Mojave National Preserve a few years ago. I was amazed at how much smaller a full size van was back then. http://www.pbase.com/railvan/image/61297442 Brian Rutherford

Yeah, a '89 to '91 Suburban is a great rig. New enough to have EFI but still has a straight axle up front. Simple to work on too. Here's my '90 2500 before I sold it. I do get to see it around as I know the current owner. It had a 350 with a manual SM465 tranny, tan interior and barn doors and...

Very nice build and incredible in such a short time! Have you considered a poptop that would cover just a strip down the center of the roof? It could go up a foot and allow you to stand up in the center area of the van, and still allow for storage racks alongside both edges of the roof. Just a...

A couple of new photos of the SMB: http://www.pbase.com/railbat/image/118787065 http://www.pbase.com/railbat/image/118787070 Brian

On the Provan Tiger GT, what did they do to the frame when they cut off the van body and installed the RV body? Astro vans have a separate frame up front under the engine and front axles but are unibody in the rear. Did Provan build their own frame and attach it to the Astro frame up front? Brian

I downloaded PhotoMatix HDR software a couple weeks ago and have been playing with it. Went out yesterday in the rain to shoot some images to work with in HDR. Just messin' around at this point. Still need to read the directions... :^) Brian

I just looked at the Quigley website and I don't see the leaf spring and front straight axle option for GM vans that they used to offer. I'd check into other 4x4 conversion companies if you want the GM diesel and a straight front axle. Brian

The Quigley IFS 4x4 could be a good candidate for a lot of travel. If you travel forest roads and some rough spots come along, you'll just have to choose your line carefully or decide when to stop. I'm sure it rides a lot smoother than the leaf springs in the SMB conversion. From what I recall...

SMB West does their 4x4 conversion only on Ford vans. They'll build a RV conversion in a Chevy but you'll have to get the 4x4 conversion done elsewhere. I considered this option since I wanted a diesel and the Ford 6.0 turbo diesel had such a questionable reputation. I wanted to go with the...

Welll, the new turbo (#3) is in... And I was headed out of town an hour ago in my SMB with T. Low and his wife in their Astro ahead of me on the freeway. Four days off and headed for the coast of BC! And now here I sit at home typing this... A vibration in the drive train got so bad on the...

They "blamed" me for not driving it enough... Seriously, nobody from Ford has ever said it was my fault the turbos have failed. But, I have been told again that I need to drive it 30 minutes a week after it gets warmed up. At least this time they didn't suggest driving it everyday... They said...

An update: My 2006 E350 6.0 diesel SMB with 40,000 miles on it just had it's third turbo installed by Ford... Brian Rutherford

I own an Ford '06 6.0 diesel 4x4 Sportsmobile and would NEVER buy another 6.0 Ford diesel. Mine has had two turbos replaced, the first at 6,000 miles. I have had to stop at Ford dealers on a couple different long vacation trips to have them diagnose the check engine light, which loves to come...

>> Are you looking to re-live your youth? > YES! Uhhh, and exactly when did your first "youth" end?... ;)

Glad to hear a sale is likely. Good for you. It's a clean looking rig and a very fair price. You gonna bring your new/old rig to the Expo?