rockbender
Adventurer
standing by for photos! How hard was the swap?
Barn doors or sliding door on Van. Pro/Cons
- Thread starter AUTO360
- Start date
standing by for photos! How hard was the swap?
It actually wasn't too difficult!
1. Remove slider
2. Cut off step at bottom with a sawzall and I put in diamond plate/though it is steel when you cut step off.....barn doors dont have the step/the slider bottom arm slides in the step
3. Cut off top slider setup and weld in flat steel.
4. Barn doors exact dimension of slider door ( on 1991 and early anyway would think later models are the same but I haven't checked it)
5. Had very strong brackets made to support barn door hinges and the door itself (stronger than anything ford made)
6. Voila! well after fitting them!
7. Hardest part? Filling in the groove....use steel pipe same dimension as groove cut in half and weld it in (MAKE SURE you or whoever welds it knows what he is doing if you overheat that big side panel it will ripple....which happened to me.....a good body man -make that 2 one working outside and one inside got rid of ripples)
Last remember if you throw enough money at it you can do anything! LOL....cost well I had my van repainted so cost just for that.....maybe 2 grand....was it worth it....to me YEAH! I hated that damn slider! doing it yourself doors maybe $400...steel another $150....
1. Remove slider
2. Cut off step at bottom with a sawzall and I put in diamond plate/though it is steel when you cut step off.....barn doors dont have the step/the slider bottom arm slides in the step
3. Cut off top slider setup and weld in flat steel.
4. Barn doors exact dimension of slider door ( on 1991 and early anyway would think later models are the same but I haven't checked it)
5. Had very strong brackets made to support barn door hinges and the door itself (stronger than anything ford made)
6. Voila! well after fitting them!
7. Hardest part? Filling in the groove....use steel pipe same dimension as groove cut in half and weld it in (MAKE SURE you or whoever welds it knows what he is doing if you overheat that big side panel it will ripple....which happened to me.....a good body man -make that 2 one working outside and one inside got rid of ripples)
Last remember if you throw enough money at it you can do anything! LOL....cost well I had my van repainted so cost just for that.....maybe 2 grand....was it worth it....to me YEAH! I hated that damn slider! doing it yourself doors maybe $400...steel another $150....
Barn doors
My van is a 2003 the slider doors are 1" smaller than barn door and all the door seals. Seal in different locations. so i had to remove the B piller And C Piller and fill in where the slider is on the out side of the van. I have about 60 hrs in just the door barn Modification not counting body work and paint . I will try to post some photos again
My van is a 2003 the slider doors are 1" smaller than barn door and all the door seals. Seal in different locations. so i had to remove the B piller And C Piller and fill in where the slider is on the out side of the van. I have about 60 hrs in just the door barn Modification not counting body work and paint . I will try to post some photos again
Alex Boxhorn
New member
Extensions for pivoting Lever
Hi, do you know where I can buy the extensions for pivoting lever for Chevy Express sliding door???
Hi, do you know where I can buy the extensions for pivoting lever for Chevy Express sliding door???
Phomollient
New member
2005 E350 Sliding door modified to clear 35x1250s and Sterling Axle
I spent months trying to find the answer. Eventually I was forced to solve my own problem. I ended up extending my pivot arm (not a straight extension, it has to be angled) and modifying the pivot arm's mounting plate where it attaches to the door. I fabricated an extension for the door side of pivot arm that allows the arm to be mounted further BACK (towards the front of the van) within the door. I made my door-side bracket extension so that the factory door mounting holes are used. Because the door-side bracket now sits farther back (towards the from of the van) I also had to notch the door at the pivot arm opening. If you didn't know what you were looking out you could not tell it was not factory. Only took me ten tries and and a month's worth of weekends and late nights to figure it out.
That was 10k miles of hard wheeling ago. Works great and clears my Bushwacker flares just fine.
email me if you need help.
I made a jig on the final rendering and a template for the bracket extension just in case I had to do it again.
I spent months trying to find the answer. Eventually I was forced to solve my own problem. I ended up extending my pivot arm (not a straight extension, it has to be angled) and modifying the pivot arm's mounting plate where it attaches to the door. I fabricated an extension for the door side of pivot arm that allows the arm to be mounted further BACK (towards the front of the van) within the door. I made my door-side bracket extension so that the factory door mounting holes are used. Because the door-side bracket now sits farther back (towards the from of the van) I also had to notch the door at the pivot arm opening. If you didn't know what you were looking out you could not tell it was not factory. Only took me ten tries and and a month's worth of weekends and late nights to figure it out.
That was 10k miles of hard wheeling ago. Works great and clears my Bushwacker flares just fine.
email me if you need help.
I made a jig on the final rendering and a template for the bracket extension just in case I had to do it again.
Attachments
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mgmetalworks
Explorer
Yep, that's what it takes. Nice work!
slider extension
Nice work on the slider. I'm about to by another van and the one I'm considering is a slider. If I pull the trigger can you still make another one?
Also, looks like you're running an action van or weldtec suspension lift. What do you think?
Thnx
Nice work on the slider. I'm about to by another van and the one I'm considering is a slider. If I pull the trigger can you still make another one?
Also, looks like you're running an action van or weldtec suspension lift. What do you think?
Thnx
illking
Observer
I have 2 vans with slider and barn doors. The barn doors are way more convenient. Sure if your parking in a compact car spot you may have trouble getting out the side but the purpose of camper vans is to get out of the parking lots. I also have a walk through floor plan so i can always exit out the back barn doors if im in a real tight squeeze. Midnight piss's dont wake the miss's with the barn doors also, the slider is clumbsy shakes the van and loud. Also the added storage and flip out counter space the barn doors provide is really useful.
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
I posted in this thread 7 years ago post 15 but got tired of waiting for a slider/tire interference solution. This is what I did and may work for some of you not wanting to clear huge tires. 2002 E350. Lower inner sheet metal of door hit tire but outer sheet metal is where the seal was so that's not a problem if your carful. Solution was to a hammer and work the inner sheet metal in to clear the tire. I only need a couple inches and the door is really thick there. Tap the sheet metal a little at a time. After a couple hundred taps it clears great and the door seal still seals. Not for a beginner with a claw hammer or faint of heart but go slow and just keep working the metal untill you get it to clear. It's been great for me and if you only need an inch or two then it's hammer time. You can't see it unless you crawl under the tire and look up so don't sweat that it does not look "finished".
