Dodge Pathfinder Clone Discussion

[stomperxj]

So I'm bringing this back to the top for the sake of some more discussion... I know that the Mopar 5.9 v8 is a gas hog so thats out... the turbo diesel option is viable but I can't fine one around here for a reasonable price and I think they would be too loud. What about doing some brand crossing and dropping in an LS1 or an LS3? I've seen guys put those in XJ's and get around 20mpg with them.... Worth it or not?

 

[eagle1]

you are forgetting one very important thing, you are talking about a brick aero wise you could add a overdrive to the trans because the 727torqueflight is only a 3spd

 

[stomperxj]

you are forgetting one very important thing, you are talking about a brick aero wise you could add a overdrive to the trans because the 727torqueflight is only a 3spd

I'd stick a 4L60 4 speed auto in it to match from a camaro or something... I agree its a huge brick though... still trying to keep the idea alive since i like the Dodge B vans so much

 

[lblampman]

Jess,

Does the fuel mileage really make that much difference for your use? Sure, we'd all like to get better fuel economy and it's a pretty sure bet that gas will continue to rise in cost but getting higher mileage isn't cheap in and of itself.

I've got a 1992 Dodge B350 Roadtrek (about 7,000 pounds); it gets 10 mpg around town and a bit over 12 mpg on the highway. I put about 300 gallons of fuel through it a year, which would be about $1,100 around here at the moment. That means if I had a rig that gets double the mileage I'd take my annual fuel cost down by $500. Even if I double the amount of fuel I pump into the RT per yer I'd still only save $1,000 annually. That's why I still own it. My sister and her husband went another direction and got a Sprinter based Navion Class-C (the older 5-cylinder model) and they'd get just over 20 mpg on the road. That still didn't work out financially since they spent $60,000 to get the better mileage.

I guess my point is that if you spend $5,000 (pick a number) more to get better fuel economy unless you drive an awfully lot it will never pay for itself. I know it really gets to me when I put $100 worth of fuel in the Roadtrek when it's fairly empty and I get that jolt every time I go to the gas station but the annual numbers don't lie and no matter what I do (and stay with the same van camping capability) will cost me more overall in spite of the lousy fuel mileage I get now.

Just trying to add to the conversation here with some food for thought.

I'd sure like to make my RT into a 4x4 so I'm really interested to see what you come up with!

Les

 

[stomperxj]

Jess,

Does the fuel mileage really make that much difference for your use? Sure, we'd all like to get better fuel economy and it's a pretty sure bet that gas will continue to rise in cost but getting higher mileage isn't cheap in and of itself.

I've got a 1992 Dodge B350 Roadtrek (about 7,000 pounds); it gets 10 mpg around town and a bit over 12 mpg on the highway. I put about 300 gallons of fuel through it a year, which would be about $1,100 around here at the moment. That means if I had a rig that gets double the mileage I'd take my annual fuel cost down by $500. Even if I double the amount of fuel I pump into the RT per yer I'd still only save $1,000 annually. That's why I still own it. My sister and her husband went another direction and got a Sprinter based Navion Class-C (the older 5-cylinder model) and they'd get just over 20 mpg on the road. That still didn't work out financially since they spent $60,000 to get the better mileage.

I guess my point is that if you spend $5,000 (pick a number) more to get better fuel economy unless you drive an awfully lot it will never pay for itself. I know it really gets to me when I put $100 worth of fuel in the Roadtrek when it's fairly empty and I get that jolt every time I go to the gas station but the annual numbers don't lie and no matter what I do (and stay with the same van camping capability) will cost me more overall in spite of the lousy fuel mileage I get now.

Just trying to add to the conversation here with some food for thought.

I'd sure like to make my RT into a 4x4 so I'm really interested to see what you come up with!

Les

Very good points Les... It's hard to justify building a whole new vehicle to only gain a few mpgs. I was thinking in terms of a daily driver (12-15k miles a year) but realistically I don't think I'd drive one of these every day. Lets say I put 5k miles a year on it and it got 3 mpg better than my current rig (say from 11 to 14 mpg) it would take 20+ years to pay for itself with a build cost of $8k... You are right... doesn't make much sense. I guess I was just caught up in the mpg stuff just seeing if there was a way to get around 18-20 mpg out of a camper van but that's sounding more and more like a fantasy with weight, aerodynamics etc.. I guess if you could get somewhere in the teens with it (13-16) that would be good enough... My fear is going through the process of building a 4x4 camper van only to get 8 mpg or something...

Post some pics of your van... I'd love to see it.

As far as the 4x4 conversion part of things, I took a tape with me to the salvage yard and found this info:

Dodge B van Rear 1/2 ton WMS = 66.375"~


76-77 Ford f150 D44 66-67.5" ish
1993 Dodge D60 axle is 67.5"
1972 Chevy D44 was 67.5"

So it would require both axles to be swapped from a donor or dealing with a little different track width. I think that using the radius arm setup from a Ford pickup would be the easiest to adapt. You'd have to make the coil buckets and there would be some fab but I think you'd end up with a little better ride than with leaves. I think the transfer case is open to whatever fits on the transmission you have. For your Dodge a NP231HD from a Ram pickup would be plenty unless you are mud bogging or rock crawling with it

Thanks for chiming in Les.

 

[GNTY]

Just came across this Dodge Pathfinder for sale in Utah, not to far from you and thought i'd pass it along.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=4819721

 

[stomperxj]

Just came across this Dodge Pathfinder for sale in Utah, not to far from you and thought i'd pass it along.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=4819721

Wow thanks! Super cheap but I don't know if I can justify 800 miles round trip for it...

Thanks for the heads up though...

 

[lblampman]

As far as the 4x4 conversion part of things, I took a tape with me to the salvage yard and found this info:

Dodge B van Rear 1/2 ton WMS = 66.375"~


76-77 Ford f150 D44 66-67.5" ish
1993 Dodge D60 axle is 67.5"
1972 Chevy D44 was 67.5"

So it would require both axles to be swapped from a donor or dealing with a little different track width. I think that using the radius arm setup from a Ford pickup would be the easiest to adapt. You'd have to make the coil buckets and there would be some fab but I think you'd end up with a little better ride than with leaves. I think the transfer case is open to whatever fits on the transmission you have. For your Dodge a NP231HD from a Ram pickup would be plenty unless you are mud bogging or rock crawling with it

Thanks for chiming in Les.

Hi Jess,

The front and rear track on the Dodge van aren't the same to begin with. Many Roadtrek owners add 1" spacers to the rear wheels to get them out at the same track as the front. It's something that came standard on the Pleasure-Way conversions.

I keep meaning to go to a wrecking yard and look over some Dodge vans for ideas. Like I hope to find a van pretty stripped of parts where I can really get a good look at the underside (there's way too much stuff on the RT to make that convenient).

I'll have to find a photo of the RT.

Les

 

[stomperxj]

Hi Jess,

The front and rear track on the Dodge van aren't the same to begin with. Many Roadtrek owners add 1" spacers to the rear wheels to get them out at the same track as the front. It's something that came standard on the Pleasure-Way conversions.

I keep meaning to go to a wrecking yard and look over some Dodge vans for ideas. Like I hope to find a van pretty stripped of parts where I can really get a good look at the underside (there's way too much stuff on the RT to make that convenient).

I'll have to find a photo of the RT.

Les

Good point Les. I guess I do remember seeing narrower rear axles on some vans before. I guess if a guy came up with a set of axles that were even 2" wider WMS to WMS you could make that up with some deeper backspacing on the wheels..

Thanks for chatting about vans. Its good to get all this in one thread so I can come back to it after I forget all this stuff

Just for kicks... Here's some more 4x4 Dodge pics