And now the moment you didn't know you've been waiting for...Atl-Atl's 4x4 Ford E350 RV documentation thread!!
- Thread starter Atl-atl
- Start date
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Ive been having a discussion on another forum about the height of the rig so here is the info from that conversation.
I finally put a tape measure on it. Previously I had been going off Thor's claimed height of the stock rig at 11'6" and added the amount I got from the lift which was just shy of 12" for a guesstimate of 12'6". Weve gone about 2000 miles on our trip and it has definitely settled some. The front spring eyelet heights have actually settled 3" since the lift went on. Either from added weight of the rig or the springs settling or both. The top of the front corner of the "box" is 10' and the top of the rear corner of the "box" is 10'5". The AC unit on the roof is the tallest object at 14" so grand total height is "only" a max of 11'7" which Im incredibly happy about considering I thought it was 12'6".
Id love to have a better AC unit that is lower profile and works on a thermostat. My current one is plenty powerful, in fact its too much. It only has high and low setting which are both insanely loud and just run, they dont monitor the temp. On the low setting it hits 70 decibels in the sleeping area and 90 right at the air output. Only good thing about that is it drowns out all but the loudest noises outside. There are low profile AC units that are only 8" tall. It would be nice to get my overall height down to about 11' even but that probably wont make much difference in the real world.
I finally put a tape measure on it. Previously I had been going off Thor's claimed height of the stock rig at 11'6" and added the amount I got from the lift which was just shy of 12" for a guesstimate of 12'6". Weve gone about 2000 miles on our trip and it has definitely settled some. The front spring eyelet heights have actually settled 3" since the lift went on. Either from added weight of the rig or the springs settling or both. The top of the front corner of the "box" is 10' and the top of the rear corner of the "box" is 10'5". The AC unit on the roof is the tallest object at 14" so grand total height is "only" a max of 11'7" which Im incredibly happy about considering I thought it was 12'6".
Id love to have a better AC unit that is lower profile and works on a thermostat. My current one is plenty powerful, in fact its too much. It only has high and low setting which are both insanely loud and just run, they dont monitor the temp. On the low setting it hits 70 decibels in the sleeping area and 90 right at the air output. Only good thing about that is it drowns out all but the loudest noises outside. There are low profile AC units that are only 8" tall. It would be nice to get my overall height down to about 11' even but that probably wont make much difference in the real world.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
UPDATE TIIIIIME
Where do I even begin, things are going incredibly well. We're at the end of our 4th week already. There have been a few hiccups but nothing major, other than frying the Starlink because water somehow got inside the mount. We have learned a ton and have had a lot of fun. There is nearly nowhere to wild camp once you get East of Texas Hill Country. We've boondocked a few nights at Bass Pro Shops which has turned out to be a really nice place to stay, nicer than some of the RV parks we've paid for ha. Speaking of paying for things. We did not expect to be paying for nearly every night that the rig is parked, so that has been an adjustment. There are actually a lot of RV parks in places you wouldn't expect such as the heart of downtown Austin and 4 blocks from Bourbon St. in New Orleans etc.
Weather was the biggest annoyance of weeks 2-3. There were relentless severe storms across the south that had us zigzagging backroads literally missing tornados and forcing us to rearrange plans a number of times. Its scary when there are Tornado sirens and your house isn't bolted to the ground and doesn't have a basement to go into. Things you dont think about when you live in the desert and never have to consider the weather, let alone natural disasters. Our grand plans for the trip involved mostly riding our bikes and walking places outside. When its a torrential downpour for weeks on end you have to get really creative about timing and finding stuff to do. You get sick of 100 square feet really quickly. When you couple the weather with the humidity in the south and the inability to do laundry whenever you'd like, you and your house smell like musty nasty wetness all the time. It has taken some getting used to...
So far we have been through New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. Our two favorite spots so far have been Bentonville(specifically the MTB trails and Crystal Bridges museum, even though I hate what Walmart has done to the mom-and-pop store model in this country at least they are giving back to their home town) and Asheville(literally everything in this town and its surrounding area is incredible) and an honorable mention goes to Austin because its cool but its too big and expensive to actually be cool anymore, its also too hot and humid to be cool... In fact we have been enjoying Asheville so much that we are staying for about 10 days. Previously the longest we've stayed anywhere has been 4 days. Im typing this post from a really crunchy coffee shop in West Asheville while the wife is on a conference call in the RV. The weather has finally calmed down and we have really been able to relax. We're staying in our first hotel of the trip this weekend. Other than 2 nights at a friends place in Georgia we've been in the RV every night. Whats crazy is we will have stayed in essentially every type of place here in Asheville; campground, wild camping, boondocking, RV park and hotel.
As for the rig, other than the aforementioned destruction of our starlink, things have gone well. We spent one day at a Camping World getting some things repaired/replaced that I just didnt have the patience to do myself. We also stopped by the original UJoint Offroad which is in Fletcher NC, just outside Asheville, and got to meet the crew, show them the rig and have them make a couple minor repairs. It was very nice to be reassured that everything looks good and was done correctly.
Its impossible to keep up with forums and social media when on the road, especially on longer driving days. We have actually decided to slow down a little and spend more nights at each place we stay. Driving more than "around town" multiple days in a row got really old really fast. Thankfully this is much easier done as you go East and the states are so small. Even with my wife doing most of the Instagram stuff its tough just to stay alive and sleep somewhere safe. We've avoided the interstate at all costs because its boring and dangerous. The result is taking longer to get places but it keeps things interesting. You drive through all the little towns nobody sees and thats the best part of the trip. Most of them will never make it into a trip report like this or an Instagram story but thats ok, those places should stay that way.
Ive taken hundreds of pictures and so has the wife. Most of them wind up on Instagram or not used but here are some randos since pics for clicks.
Downtown Austins finest
There is a cold spring park in downtown Austin that is right on the river and part of a huge greenway that cuts through the city. Its a true oasis with a view of the city skyline and the best part is its topless and plenty of people oblige
The pool is 67 degrees year round(which is amazing at the end of a long bike ride or run) it ranges from inches deep at one end to about 10 feet at the other end and its hundreds of feet long. With grassy hills to lay in the sun and tons of huge shade trees. Its one of the most incredible places that exists in the center a city.
Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville AR is incredible. Its walking distance from main street Bentonville and free to the public on the Walton families property. It even has a Frank Lloyd Wright house on the grounds that was deconstructed and moved from its original location in New Jersey and rebuilt on the grounds of the museum for you to tour, its insanely cool.
Destin FL
I miss the desert
Albany GA, dont swim there.
Mammoth Caves KY
The original KFC is a must stop. True american success story.
Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville, a couple days before the Canadian wildfire smoke ruined the view.
Asheville is literally a never ending maze of rivers, creeks, streams, waterfalls and forests that look like rainforests with black bears ha. Such an incredible place, we will be coming back.
Where do I even begin, things are going incredibly well. We're at the end of our 4th week already. There have been a few hiccups but nothing major, other than frying the Starlink because water somehow got inside the mount. We have learned a ton and have had a lot of fun. There is nearly nowhere to wild camp once you get East of Texas Hill Country. We've boondocked a few nights at Bass Pro Shops which has turned out to be a really nice place to stay, nicer than some of the RV parks we've paid for ha. Speaking of paying for things. We did not expect to be paying for nearly every night that the rig is parked, so that has been an adjustment. There are actually a lot of RV parks in places you wouldn't expect such as the heart of downtown Austin and 4 blocks from Bourbon St. in New Orleans etc.
Weather was the biggest annoyance of weeks 2-3. There were relentless severe storms across the south that had us zigzagging backroads literally missing tornados and forcing us to rearrange plans a number of times. Its scary when there are Tornado sirens and your house isn't bolted to the ground and doesn't have a basement to go into. Things you dont think about when you live in the desert and never have to consider the weather, let alone natural disasters. Our grand plans for the trip involved mostly riding our bikes and walking places outside. When its a torrential downpour for weeks on end you have to get really creative about timing and finding stuff to do. You get sick of 100 square feet really quickly. When you couple the weather with the humidity in the south and the inability to do laundry whenever you'd like, you and your house smell like musty nasty wetness all the time. It has taken some getting used to...
So far we have been through New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. Our two favorite spots so far have been Bentonville(specifically the MTB trails and Crystal Bridges museum, even though I hate what Walmart has done to the mom-and-pop store model in this country at least they are giving back to their home town) and Asheville(literally everything in this town and its surrounding area is incredible) and an honorable mention goes to Austin because its cool but its too big and expensive to actually be cool anymore, its also too hot and humid to be cool... In fact we have been enjoying Asheville so much that we are staying for about 10 days. Previously the longest we've stayed anywhere has been 4 days. Im typing this post from a really crunchy coffee shop in West Asheville while the wife is on a conference call in the RV. The weather has finally calmed down and we have really been able to relax. We're staying in our first hotel of the trip this weekend. Other than 2 nights at a friends place in Georgia we've been in the RV every night. Whats crazy is we will have stayed in essentially every type of place here in Asheville; campground, wild camping, boondocking, RV park and hotel.
As for the rig, other than the aforementioned destruction of our starlink, things have gone well. We spent one day at a Camping World getting some things repaired/replaced that I just didnt have the patience to do myself. We also stopped by the original UJoint Offroad which is in Fletcher NC, just outside Asheville, and got to meet the crew, show them the rig and have them make a couple minor repairs. It was very nice to be reassured that everything looks good and was done correctly.
Its impossible to keep up with forums and social media when on the road, especially on longer driving days. We have actually decided to slow down a little and spend more nights at each place we stay. Driving more than "around town" multiple days in a row got really old really fast. Thankfully this is much easier done as you go East and the states are so small. Even with my wife doing most of the Instagram stuff its tough just to stay alive and sleep somewhere safe. We've avoided the interstate at all costs because its boring and dangerous. The result is taking longer to get places but it keeps things interesting. You drive through all the little towns nobody sees and thats the best part of the trip. Most of them will never make it into a trip report like this or an Instagram story but thats ok, those places should stay that way.
Ive taken hundreds of pictures and so has the wife. Most of them wind up on Instagram or not used but here are some randos since pics for clicks.
Downtown Austins finest
There is a cold spring park in downtown Austin that is right on the river and part of a huge greenway that cuts through the city. Its a true oasis with a view of the city skyline and the best part is its topless and plenty of people oblige
The pool is 67 degrees year round(which is amazing at the end of a long bike ride or run) it ranges from inches deep at one end to about 10 feet at the other end and its hundreds of feet long. With grassy hills to lay in the sun and tons of huge shade trees. Its one of the most incredible places that exists in the center a city.Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville AR is incredible. Its walking distance from main street Bentonville and free to the public on the Walton families property. It even has a Frank Lloyd Wright house on the grounds that was deconstructed and moved from its original location in New Jersey and rebuilt on the grounds of the museum for you to tour, its insanely cool.
Destin FL
I miss the desert
Albany GA, dont swim there.
Mammoth Caves KY
The original KFC is a must stop. True american success story.
Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville, a couple days before the Canadian wildfire smoke ruined the view.
Asheville is literally a never ending maze of rivers, creeks, streams, waterfalls and forests that look like rainforests with black bears ha. Such an incredible place, we will be coming back.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Pup loves it! She has graduated to being able to walk around while we drive which makes her much less restless and less annoying for us, mostly.
As for parking, its been great. Only once or twice have we tried a spot that was just plain too short and we had to move. We have had quite a few spots where the rig takes up 100% of the area but hey, if im in the lines im in the lines hahaha!! Weve even managed to parallel park it quite a few times so Id say all is going exactly to plan.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
I did not unfortunately but Ill be in Colorado in September so Ill have Justin @UjointoffroadCO take the forks to it and I’ll report back afterwards.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. Weve been having a great time. After Asheville boondocked 2 nights in the parking lot of Snowshoe Mtn resort so I could mountain bike. Of course it poured rain and the trails were a mess. Still had fun even though I dont own a big enough bike for that place. We were treated to our 2nd impromptu fireworks display.
After that we were in DC for four nights visiting family. I actually got to ride twice in and around DC which was surprisingly cool. Tons of green space and trails that you would not imagine exist in DC.
Georgetown campus
Rando car spotting in DC is pretty good. Lots of rich folks. Countless 6 figure cars parked on the street neglected and covered in pollen/sap/leaves etc. Also saw a brand new M3 pulling out of a 1 car garage that had a lift with an M1 above it. I was on my bike and unfortunately couldnt turn around in time to snap a pic.
After that we were in DC for four nights visiting family. I actually got to ride twice in and around DC which was surprisingly cool. Tons of green space and trails that you would not imagine exist in DC.
Georgetown campus
Rando car spotting in DC is pretty good. Lots of rich folks. Countless 6 figure cars parked on the street neglected and covered in pollen/sap/leaves etc. Also saw a brand new M3 pulling out of a 1 car garage that had a lift with an M1 above it. I was on my bike and unfortunately couldnt turn around in time to snap a pic.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
You could easily fit two, maybe 3 bikes hanging vertically, youd have to be willing to turn the handlebars though. Dims are 54” long, 30” wide, 80” tall. I would never do that though, having a shower is the best part of this RV. Plus I wouldnt want to bring mud, bugs etc. inside.
10-4. I'll kick that around. I'm sure after a big ride a shower is pretty valuable. Could also be a bike wash though! (kidding, obviously)
I have been noodling around some other bike storage ideas on the back. Mounting a self contained box on a lifting moto carrier is one of them, or fabbing up a bracket like yours where your gear storage is, but for bike storage. I'm close to pulling the trigger on one of these, just trying to dial in bike plans since that was a big factor of our current van (they're sideways inside right behind the rear doors).
I have been noodling around some other bike storage ideas on the back. Mounting a self contained box on a lifting moto carrier is one of them, or fabbing up a bracket like yours where your gear storage is, but for bike storage. I'm close to pulling the trigger on one of these, just trying to dial in bike plans since that was a big factor of our current van (they're sideways inside right behind the rear doors).
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Totally understand, inside storage would be ideal. Its a pain taking the cover off and putting it back on every time I want to ride. But man, there is nothing better than showering right after a ride. When we decided on this size rv we sacrificed storage for ability to park in normal spots, drive through cities etc. A longer rig would make it a lot easier to fit bikes but a lot harder for everything else. Maybe making an access door from the exterior would be a better solution than having the bikes inside.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Cant believe its been 3 weeks since my last update. Its still raining on us every single day. We are at a total of 4 days in 9 weeks that it didnt rain in a 24 hour period. Unreal. We havent been doing much car related stuff other than driving the RV on thousands of miles of amazing roads...for a sportscar. Im starting to think we made a huge mistake on this trip! 😂 We did stop at a family members amazing compound in Vermont that included "some car related stuff" which you will see below, it did not disappoint, other than the weather being horrendous and not getting to go for a ride.
We recently discovered an app/website called Harvest Hosts(cant believe I hadnt come across this before) that has turned out to be the best find of the trip. Pay a small annual fee and you get to stay for free for a night at a time at wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, museums etc. that are part of the program. It has been so rad to fill in the random nights between camping and RV parks with wine filled sunsets and stinky farm animals.
As for the rig, its holding up pretty well. No complaints other than the front suspension is breaking in a little too much. To the point where I need to figure out how to book some time at Alcan Spring in Colorado to get a few hundred pounds worth of support added to the front leafs. It has become a little too bouncy at speed and the front axle has bottomed out(axle meets frame) while off road which is a bad sign.
Anyway, we're currently in Cleveland for a couple nights visiting friends, then probably Cinci for a night, maybe Indy for a night, then Chicago for 3 nights before hitting Grand Rapids for a night, Northern lower Michigan for a night and the UP for 7-10 days. If anyone actually reads this far and wants to meet up in any of those areas over the next 2 weeks, hit me up. We will also be back in Chicago for a solid week at the end of August because its my home town and the wifes grand parents are there as well. Lots of people and Cubs games to see.
Current status: getting used
We drove to the Easternmost point in the US, The West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec Maine, for no reason at all.
View attachment IMG_6873.jpeg
I saw the first Tacoma possibly in existence with a 5th wheel hitch, actually pulling a 5th wheel trailer albeit a small one but still. I didnt know anyone made a 5th wheel hitch for a Tacoma. They shouldnt.
Camped next to a sprinter with a good sense of humor. They actually noticed our "One Less Sprinter" sticker and cracked a joke about it before I noticed their plate. 😂
Only in Vermont. They should give the state a new slogan "More Volvos Than Sweden" because the percentage of Volvos here is insane. This one being a fine example of a vuck.
Aforementioned family rides. Jag is a 69 with 25,000 original miles. Had a repaint and a reupholstery but is otherwise original including the entire drivetrain. Drives it about 1000 miles a year. The keen eye will know the car on jack stands is a 1956 Austin Healy 100. The Healy is just about done with a ground up resto, was converted to 100M spec and has a hard top so it can be driven as frequently as possible.
Healy
We recently discovered an app/website called Harvest Hosts(cant believe I hadnt come across this before) that has turned out to be the best find of the trip. Pay a small annual fee and you get to stay for free for a night at a time at wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, museums etc. that are part of the program. It has been so rad to fill in the random nights between camping and RV parks with wine filled sunsets and stinky farm animals.
As for the rig, its holding up pretty well. No complaints other than the front suspension is breaking in a little too much. To the point where I need to figure out how to book some time at Alcan Spring in Colorado to get a few hundred pounds worth of support added to the front leafs. It has become a little too bouncy at speed and the front axle has bottomed out(axle meets frame) while off road which is a bad sign.
Anyway, we're currently in Cleveland for a couple nights visiting friends, then probably Cinci for a night, maybe Indy for a night, then Chicago for 3 nights before hitting Grand Rapids for a night, Northern lower Michigan for a night and the UP for 7-10 days. If anyone actually reads this far and wants to meet up in any of those areas over the next 2 weeks, hit me up. We will also be back in Chicago for a solid week at the end of August because its my home town and the wifes grand parents are there as well. Lots of people and Cubs games to see.
Current status: getting used
We drove to the Easternmost point in the US, The West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec Maine, for no reason at all.
View attachment IMG_6873.jpeg
I saw the first Tacoma possibly in existence with a 5th wheel hitch, actually pulling a 5th wheel trailer albeit a small one but still. I didnt know anyone made a 5th wheel hitch for a Tacoma. They shouldnt.
Camped next to a sprinter with a good sense of humor. They actually noticed our "One Less Sprinter" sticker and cracked a joke about it before I noticed their plate. 😂
Only in Vermont. They should give the state a new slogan "More Volvos Than Sweden" because the percentage of Volvos here is insane. This one being a fine example of a vuck.
Aforementioned family rides. Jag is a 69 with 25,000 original miles. Had a repaint and a reupholstery but is otherwise original including the entire drivetrain. Drives it about 1000 miles a year. The keen eye will know the car on jack stands is a 1956 Austin Healy 100. The Healy is just about done with a ground up resto, was converted to 100M spec and has a hard top so it can be driven as frequently as possible.
Healy
I didn't look thru all the pages. ..
But first thing I would do is get some "g series" full steel cases tires on that thing. LT tires in 16"...MAKE me nervous. It may be light but TALL. Full steel cased are stiff and run at high pressure . I generally convert to railroad 19.5" rims if you can find them. There were a few higher end tire makers selling 16" gull steel cased tires. But ALL 19.5" are. "Singled out" red ambo is running on 4 rims/tires now instead of 6. 19.5" are far superior.
But first thing I would do is get some "g series" full steel cases tires on that thing. LT tires in 16"...MAKE me nervous. It may be light but TALL. Full steel cased are stiff and run at high pressure . I generally convert to railroad 19.5" rims if you can find them. There were a few higher end tire makers selling 16" gull steel cased tires. But ALL 19.5" are. "Singled out" red ambo is running on 4 rims/tires now instead of 6. 19.5" are far superior.
