Hello all, been lurking here for awhile and this is my first post! This summer while on a trip out west from Florida, we spotted a lifted SMB and was really blown away with the concept. Our family has been driving minivans since the early 90's and currently have a 8 passenger Toyota Sienna. I never really considered a full size van as an option for our family, but now as family has grown to include 7 grandchildren....more seating capacity could be utilized.
The search begins.... I began reading everything I could find regarding 4X4 van conversions and realized that I wanted not only a 12-15 passenger van, but also the 7.3 motor. Starting with my local craigslist, Ebay, autotrader and any other auto sale website, I quickly realized that what I was seeking wasn't going to be easy to find. By using a craigslist search engine called dailylister, I started searching the entire US. Experimenting with different keywords, methodically scanning each ad for the words diesel, 7.3 or powerstroke, and then it happened!
A 2001 E350 15 passenger with.....a 7.3!!! It was priced to sell, but it was in New Jersey! The van had been used be a limousine company since new, but had 280K on it. The company had a team of mechanics on staff and complete service history, so I was ok with the miles. Afraid that it would get sold out from under me, I reluctantly sent a Wal-mart money transfer deposit to the seller and began planning a trip to New Jersey. By the weekend I had secured plane tickets for myself, my wife and 3 grandsons to fly to New Jersey to pick up the van. If buying a van sight unseen wasn't bad enough the only flight I could get put us in New Jersey at 11PM! The seller picked us up at the airport and took us to the limo company (what are we in for?). Pulling into the limo company lot at 11:30PM we were surprised to see a busy place, people washing and cleaning cars and cars coming and going. The van...needless to say it was easy to spot in a sea of limo's...it looked huge! After a quick inspection and drive around the block...we paid the seller and drove away to find a hotel for the night (full tank of diesel included!).
We spent the next day sightseeing in NYC....try driving a beast like this through the streets of Chinatown, not fun! The van drove great on the way back to Florida, loved the rumble of the 7.3 and the 18-20mpg avg!!!! My wife even drove it and didn't seem to mind (needs new padding in the driver seat though!). We made it home with no issues!!!
Now that I had the van, what's next? I spent hours reading everything I could find about 4X4 van conversions and came to one conclusion...you'd be hard pressed to not see the name Ujoint offroad, once or twice:Wow1:! Even though there were other companies out there doing 4X4 conversions, it looked as if Chris was the only one offering a DIY kit. I began to email questions to Chris and to my surprise he promptly answered them!! There something to be said for good "old fashioned" customer service in the digital age! Of course everything I had read about Chris and Ujoint offroad was nothing but positive! I definitely admire the passion he has for what he does and respect the void he has filled in the 4X4 van conversion world.
So, as far as I can tell...I have three options...1. Take the van to a company that does conversions 2. Install the Ujoint kit 3. Fab up my own parts and do all work myself. Well, considering the number of miles my van has I can rule out the type of investment a conversion company would cost. So that leaves me with the Ujoint kit or custom built parts. The Ujoint kit and Chris's videos would make the conversion process a breeze and the price isn't really all that bad. On the other hand I have done a 4X4 conversion before, although it was a 1993 Isuzu Trooper converted to a Dana 44 front axle and custom linked suspension, coils and 38" tires, and not a 7,000 pound van. After looking at the different configurations offered by conversion companies I really like the Ujoint set-up and anything I built would more than likely resemble what Chris has put together (what do they say is the sincerest form of flattery
!). Has anybody here done their own conversion before and if so what roadblocks did you encounter? All in all it seems much simpler than the Trooper I did with my son.
Anyway I will be posting my progress here as I have been truly inspired by many on here and there own projects!! My acquisitions to date are a NV271 transfer case from a 2002 F250, Dana 60 3.73 from a 2002 F350, 10.5 sterling 3.73 2008 F350, and a set of 17" wheels with 33" tires.
The search begins.... I began reading everything I could find regarding 4X4 van conversions and realized that I wanted not only a 12-15 passenger van, but also the 7.3 motor. Starting with my local craigslist, Ebay, autotrader and any other auto sale website, I quickly realized that what I was seeking wasn't going to be easy to find. By using a craigslist search engine called dailylister, I started searching the entire US. Experimenting with different keywords, methodically scanning each ad for the words diesel, 7.3 or powerstroke, and then it happened!
A 2001 E350 15 passenger with.....a 7.3!!! It was priced to sell, but it was in New Jersey! The van had been used be a limousine company since new, but had 280K on it. The company had a team of mechanics on staff and complete service history, so I was ok with the miles. Afraid that it would get sold out from under me, I reluctantly sent a Wal-mart money transfer deposit to the seller and began planning a trip to New Jersey. By the weekend I had secured plane tickets for myself, my wife and 3 grandsons to fly to New Jersey to pick up the van. If buying a van sight unseen wasn't bad enough the only flight I could get put us in New Jersey at 11PM! The seller picked us up at the airport and took us to the limo company (what are we in for?). Pulling into the limo company lot at 11:30PM we were surprised to see a busy place, people washing and cleaning cars and cars coming and going. The van...needless to say it was easy to spot in a sea of limo's...it looked huge! After a quick inspection and drive around the block...we paid the seller and drove away to find a hotel for the night (full tank of diesel included!).
We spent the next day sightseeing in NYC....try driving a beast like this through the streets of Chinatown, not fun! The van drove great on the way back to Florida, loved the rumble of the 7.3 and the 18-20mpg avg!!!! My wife even drove it and didn't seem to mind (needs new padding in the driver seat though!). We made it home with no issues!!!
Now that I had the van, what's next? I spent hours reading everything I could find about 4X4 van conversions and came to one conclusion...you'd be hard pressed to not see the name Ujoint offroad, once or twice:Wow1:! Even though there were other companies out there doing 4X4 conversions, it looked as if Chris was the only one offering a DIY kit. I began to email questions to Chris and to my surprise he promptly answered them!! There something to be said for good "old fashioned" customer service in the digital age! Of course everything I had read about Chris and Ujoint offroad was nothing but positive! I definitely admire the passion he has for what he does and respect the void he has filled in the 4X4 van conversion world.
So, as far as I can tell...I have three options...1. Take the van to a company that does conversions 2. Install the Ujoint kit 3. Fab up my own parts and do all work myself. Well, considering the number of miles my van has I can rule out the type of investment a conversion company would cost. So that leaves me with the Ujoint kit or custom built parts. The Ujoint kit and Chris's videos would make the conversion process a breeze and the price isn't really all that bad. On the other hand I have done a 4X4 conversion before, although it was a 1993 Isuzu Trooper converted to a Dana 44 front axle and custom linked suspension, coils and 38" tires, and not a 7,000 pound van. After looking at the different configurations offered by conversion companies I really like the Ujoint set-up and anything I built would more than likely resemble what Chris has put together (what do they say is the sincerest form of flattery
!). Has anybody here done their own conversion before and if so what roadblocks did you encounter? All in all it seems much simpler than the Trooper I did with my son.Anyway I will be posting my progress here as I have been truly inspired by many on here and there own projects!! My acquisitions to date are a NV271 transfer case from a 2002 F250, Dana 60 3.73 from a 2002 F350, 10.5 sterling 3.73 2008 F350, and a set of 17" wheels with 33" tires.
