And now the moment you didn't know you've been waiting for...Atl-Atl's 4x4 Ford E350 RV documentation thread!!

[Atl-atl]

Weekend update!! #2

The pictures for this update aren't as cool as yesterdays but they represent an equally huge accomplishment. Picked up the trans from the shop on Friday. Got it installed today. Also got the transfer case mounted, crossmember installed, starter installed, most of the wiring harness reinstalled and the entire drivetrain is now bolted in place with no need for jacks propping things up. Its so nice to have the truck on all 4 tires with no external support, no leaking fluid and nothing at risk of falling on me. ? In fact, I packed up all my jacks/stands/hoist/gear and brought it all home this evening which was a great feeling.

2WD tail cone gone. Shorty shaft installed.



BAM!! No pics during the install, my hands were kinda full. Hopefully I got the torque converter installed correctly. I feel like thats always a big question mark.





This little *******er. The charcoal canister was in the way of the transfer case so I had to move it backwards and make a new mount for it. Thankfully(I think) there are a lot of random holes in the frame rail as you go backwards. I was able to flip around the bracket on top of the canister, flip the nutserts and mount it to the frame and a crossmember under the floor of the RV. Its actually up higher and more out of the way than the original location so Im happy about that. I will have to extend one of the rubber lines and the electrical connection that does something. Probably some sensor that goes to the ECU to tell the EPA its still connected.


All buttoned up.

 

[ujoint]

Damn! Its super sick!

 

[Roam.Wild]

SO awesome! Looks perfect!

One thing I'll add is that if you are really doing a lot of off-roading, are you planning on doing anything to brace the habitat? These are not meant for offroad, I'm part of quite a few boondocking / offroad rv groups and almost everyone has issues (even some guys with UJOR conversions) at some point with their campers rattling apart. The structures/hardware are just not built for it even if the suspension is. Any thoughts on replacing hardware / structural components for the camper?

 

[Atl-atl]

SO awesome! Looks perfect!

One thing I'll add is that if you are really doing a lot of off-roading, are you planning on doing anything to brace the habitat? These are not meant for offroad, I'm part of quite a few boondocking / offroad rv groups and almost everyone has issues (even some guys with UJOR conversions) at some point with their campers rattling apart. The structures/hardware are just not built for it even if the suspension is. Any thoughts on replacing hardware / structural components for the camper?

Appreciate the concern. For the sake of this trip the offroading will be minimal and thoughtfully done. After this trip will be a different situation which I havent really decided upon yet. I have 2 other rigs that are much more capable offroad so this will probably wind up as a home base that gets us away from other people as opposed to truly doing gnarly offroad stuff. Please share the boondocking/offroad rv groups if you will!

 

[Atl-atl]

Midweek update

Things have slowed which sucks but its the calm before the storm. Took care of a bunch of little stuff the last few days.

• Loctite'd and torqued the rear wheel spacers
• Installed extended breathers for both diffs, trans, t-case
• Painted and installed the draglink
• Spliced the ABS wires from the new axle harness to the chassis harness
• Extended the wiring and hoses for the relocated charcoal canister
• Finished mounting the trans wiring harness and shifter connection
• Filled the t-case with fluid
• Filled the trans with fluid
• Topped off the coolant
• Bled the brakes
• Deleted the rear bumper/spare tire
• Started fabbing the new rear bumper/storage "thing"
• Probably a few other things Im forgetting
• Oh also started it up with open headers for the first time and scared the s++t out of myself ?

More to come about this...

 

[Atl-atl]

This weekend update brought to you from frustration station. First lets back up a step though. Ive made major progress. Drove the RV to my house from my friends where I had been working on it for the last few weeks. It only gets worse from there...

The good

• The rear bumper is done and currently at the powdercoater.
• The driveshafts are in and the truck runs and drives, at least up to 45mph that Ive gone so far. And only in 2WD right now because Im waiting for the template to cut the floor for the t-case shifter which is supposed to arrive tomorrow.
• The exhaust is nearly complete, just need to have an exhaust shop weld up the last section of pipe with flanges so it can be removed. I fired it up with no O2 sensors and tripped a bunch of CELs but cleared them with FORScan(not a typo) once I refitted the sensors(more on that later) and all seems to be working well. No CEL after 30 minutes of driving.
• I drove the truck back to my house (to finish working on an exhaustive list of small things.)
• My Starlink flatmount has arrived so I can finally finish the internet install this week.
• My front hitch arrived from UJoint so I can get the spare tire finished.

The bad

• The brakes just dont feel right. Ive bled the entire system 4 times. Ive downloaded FORScan software and run through the ABS bleed procedure to no avail. The truck stops but the pedal is mushy when you first press it. It goes almost to the floor but it does stop the truck. If you pump it twice or more it firms up and feels the way it should. Im hoping theres just air in the master cylinder and it needs a more elaborate system(vacuum bleeder) than the old fashioned "one guy opening and closing the bleeder screw while a second guy presses on the brake pedal."
• The alignment is definitely off but thats a given. I drove it home 20 miles but that was about its limit. Its toe'd way in and the steering wheel is slightly off. It drives and brakes in a straight line which are the most important considerations. All in all its not too bad. I can probably align it myself.
• The transfer case was leaking a tiny bit from the front output shaft seal. It seems to have sealed up after driving about 20 miles. Fingers crossed but not holding my breath. Its a brand new factory t-case so there better not be an issue.
• The trans is leaking...A LOT. At first it looked to be just a slight seep from the output shaft seal. After filling it with 10 quarts and letting it sit for a few days it would have a couple drips on the ground. Then I got the truck to the point that I could fire it up and shift the transmission through the gears to get the solenoids filling back up with fluid. Then there was a little more fluid coming from the trans/t-case union. So I drove it around the block a couple times hoping the seal would expand with a little fluid to expand it, nope. Now its really leaking. Its possible the leak is actually from the transfer case but I suspect its not. Problem is the same fluid goes in the trans and t-case so I dont know for sure which one is leaking. I haven't pulled the t-case back out because I need to push on with other things on the list.

Test fit of the bumper looks great. Not sure if Ill be able to cram 3 bike trays on like Im hoping, itll be close. Left enough room to access the door for the hot water heater. Just barely fits inside the tail lights.



These Ford V10s dont take well to messing with the stock exhaust and dont make much more power by using aftermarket exhaust so cutting out the stock cats and relocating them to clear the new drivetrain is the name of the game. This is how we cut up and patched in the stock cats and O2 bungs with some prefabbed exhaust pipe from the internet.


Since the driver side cat is now on the passenger side the O2 sensor wires had to be elongated to reach over the top of the trans from the wiring harness.


So heres a bunch of pics of the exhaust and driveshafts installed.





Aaaaand here is trans fluid all over the rear axle after I got it home

 

[Atl-atl]

Midweek update. Ive driven it a few times over the last few days and things are getting better. The trans is still leaking and the brakes are still weird but Ive been slowly ironing out all the little details and its making a noticeable difference. Starting with a driveway alignment. When I drove home from my buddies house it was horribly toe'd in. To the tune of over 2 inches. Once that was fixed and I aired the tires up to a proper 55F 60R it drives like a completely different vehicle. Its no longer scary to drive above 40mph!! ?

Not much aligning can be done on a leaf sprung vehicle. Set the toe with some straight edges stuck to the tires and then adjust the drag link to make the steering wheel straight. I was aiming for 1/8" toe-in but I think I wound up at 3/16" and Im happy with that. One more turn of the tie rod would have sent things nearly into toe-out range. This aint no auto-crosser.


I also bolted in a "temporary" exhaust fix. Since we didnt have the means to finish the exhaust how I wanted at my friends house, I decided to pick up one of those flexy pipes from the parts store. The only 3" one they had was somehow literally the exact length I needed and it had an obvious welding hole from someone that returned it. I got it for a few dollars and bolted it on. Surprisingly it looks halfway decent and works perfectly. We shall see how it holds up after some more driving.


Next up the cut template for my t-case shifter finally showed up so I got that all taken care of. Had a little scare when the wrong bolts were in the mounting holes for the shifter and I thought I had stripped the transmission case. After a hole saw and some creative cutting with an oscillating saw all was well in the end.


Shifter location inside the cab is decent for a vehicle that was never 4wd from the factory. I tested out 4HI and 4LO and everything shifts easily and works correctly.


Got a sweet little 4WD indicator light and mounted it in the dash. I was hoping to install it inside of the gauge cluster but that turned out to be more of a project than I can deal with right now. Picture turned out fuzzy for some reason but its actually a crisp clean green LED that only looks slightly aftermarket. Only lights up when the shifter is in 4H or 4L, pretty slick. Ill post a better picture tomorrow.


The final install of the day was my front hitch. This unit is made by UJoint and integrates into their FB002 front bumper. The same bolts that mount the winch to the bumper/winch plate mount this hitch so I went to the local hardware store and picked up some longer grade 10.9 metric bolts and got it all mounted up. Ujoint rates this hitch at 400lbs so I should be good to have my spare up there. Total weight with the spare+mount is about 100lbs. Also I have the option of putting the spare on the rear hitch if the front comes to be an issue, for cooling or sightlines or whatever. It will only make access to the rear storage box more of a PITA. For now I think it looks rad, kind of a retro van/RV vibe.



These pictures make it look kinda funny. Not sure if its the angle or the fact that it was dusk or something else but the straight on shot makes the tire looks HUGE and the side shot makes it look tiny. Real life is somewhere in between which I think looks just right.

 

[Atl-atl]

Here are some better pics of the 4WD light. Its really small and fits in nicely. I really wanted to put it below the fan speed switch but there is a circuit board below the knob so you cant really drill a hole there.

 

[Atl-atl]

The cushions are done!!

So far the only thing I have outsourced 100% was the upholstery of the cushions. I simply haven't had the time and my mom happens to be a seamstress and incredibly talented upholsterer who loves helping with my projects whenever she can so off they went and came back flawless. I wanted to do something a little different with the fabric and wound up choosing this camel brown vinyl that has a pattern stitched into it and is insanely soft/real leather feeling. It should be for nearly $50 a yard. Also ordered this stuff over 6 weeks ago. I was slightly concerned my trip would start without the new fabric, then the trans started leaking hahaha. There is some concern that my dog will ruin the cushions but oh well. We made them double sided so they can be flipped over if they start to wear or get damaged. The reality is they will probably have towels or blankets covering them most of the time.




Also cleaned up the interior and started installing a bunch of misc. stuff. Ive got some concern that the cook top is too close to the bathroom wall so I installed a sheet of stainless steel and mounted a magnetic knife holder onto it. Looks good and should provide some protection from the burners as well as keeping cutlery close by in a kitchen with nearly zero counter space.


Also mounted some hooks around the place to hang whatever. Added some latches to the drawers in my "custom" dresser. Started installing a bunch of other storage items and also swapped the cabinet handles from black to a satin champagne color to see how it looks. Think Ill probably keep them. Its really coming together.

 

[klahanie]

Its really coming together.

Is it ever !!

It's looking dynamite.

Great job, great thread.

 

[BuckinghamBuilt]

Is it ever !!

It's looking dynamite.

Great job, great thread.

@Atl-atl Nice, I'm interested in the drawer turn style locks you're using to keep those drawers from flying open. Where did you purchase them?

 

[Atl-atl]

@Atl-atl Nice, I'm interested in the drawer turn style locks you're using to keep those drawers from flying open. Where did you purchase them?

 

[Atl-atl]

Weekend update tiiiiiime

The brakes are fixed!!!

So, Im an idiot. Last week when I was trying to figure out why the F the brakes dont feel correct I was having a conversation with my buddy Justin at UJoint Offroad Colorado and he casually mentioned in a text "make sure to bleed the outers first, then the inners" to which I paid about 10 seconds of attention, figured he meant "start with the farthest away caliper" like normal. Well that isnt what he meant. He meant that the front calipers have 4 goddamned bleeders per caliper. I didnt notice this until after I looked back at old pictures to verify and then promptly went outside and pulled a wheel off. Sure enough, there are 4 effing bleeders per caliper for the front SSBC 8 piston monsters. About 10 minutes later I had my wife sitting in the driver seat helping me bleed the brakes again. Sure enough the pedal is now perfect. Sometimes I just need to slow down and think things through. What a mess I created for no reason at all.


After that was done I decided to try on the center caps that came with my KMC wheels. I think I like it better with the caps on, but it looked pretty cool before too. The fronts are pretty nifty, the ring comes apart from the whole piece so it fits around the front hubs. It's not a snug fit but it's at least more finished and covers the screw holes. Think I'll leave them on.



Took her for a spin over to my favorite parking lot. Brakes feel great, I feel great, everything is great.


Except for the trans, which is still leaking like a sieve and I barely have a plan for. And the rear bumper which I was told would be done today but is now going to be done on Thursday. So I moved on to cutting up an expensive piece of equipment because why not.

This is a Star Mount Systems flat mount for the SpaceX Starlink. Its pretty rad but its definitely way overpriced for what it is. And it has a few minor flaws that piss me off. I swung for it because I didnt know what the etsy knockoffs would be like and there arent many other options besides mounting the dish 2 feet in the air on its normal pedestal and base like an idiot screaming for someone to scramble up onto the roof and steal it. This is stealth mode and that alone is worth the cost of entry. Not for the faint of heart though.


You cut the back off your starlink dish, or dishy as people like to call it for no apparent reason.


Then you stick it inside the new mount.


Then you stick it to your roof and get lucky enough to find a spot where there is a hollow wall and you can run the wires inside to wire it all up in a super clean and hidden way and stash the router under the seat with all the other secret stuff that makes it super easy to plug it into the inverter that doesnt support the router so you have to buy a new one and wind up down a rabbit hole that ends in an entire solar setup. More on that later...?

 

[jonnypage]

Man what a project! My only suggestion is a Magnetic knife holder in a moving van is a terrible idea! I assume you'll only put knives there when you are stopped?
As for the Starlink have you considered a 12v swap?

 

[Atl-atl]

Well I have a ton of updates but for now this is all you get...via starlink