E350 4WD Camper Van Build

[tommonta]

This forum has been a source of inspiration, ideas and entertainment. I have been lurking on this site for a while and thanks to what you have all posted I bought this:



2006 Ford E350, V10, 77k miles

And now we have this:


Installed:
4" Lift Ujoint Offroad Kit
Front axle built by Chris at Ujoint
285/70R17 BFG ATs
Pro Comp alloy wheels
Aluminum bumper

And here is what happened in between:

All of this great stuff arrived from Ujoint Offroad





Back half getting installed, although this is way less than half the work:



Shock compressor:



Not the look I was going for:



Starting on the front end:



Jack stands made in the USA:



The garbage is taken out:



And that is the limit of 10 files per post.

 

[tommonta]

The good stuff going in:



This is the closest you are going to see my welds, they are fat and ugly, but they are also strong:



The axle going in:



Back on the ground:



Shown here with my commuter vehicle:



And back to where I am now:



Ready for Ujoint fuel tank and transfer case installation. This should happen in the next week or two.

Tom

 

[dcguillory]

Sweet!! Looks great. I love the Mad Max style front bumper. Maybe some spikes coming soon? Did it used to be a river rafting tour bus?

 

[Deleted member 1276]

Awesome!

 

[tommonta]

The van came from a bicycle touring company.

No spikes planned for the bumper, but not a bad idea. This is the Solidworks CAD model of the bumper:

 

[bknudtsen]

Nice job! Looks great. Welcome!

 

[mgmetalworks]

... Solidworks....

View attachment 188061

another CAD geek among us....

eepwall:

 

[tommonta]

This is the full CAD model:



Roof tent on top sleeps four. Not sure about putting spare tire on roof rack, but it looks like the factory spare tire mount can be modified to hold a 33" tire. I would prefer to keep the back doors unobstructed and we need room to carry four mountain bikes.

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Nice job. Anticipating the tent!

 

[ujoint]

Looks great!

 

[Google it Research]

That is a really nice setup. That RTT was a awesome surpise.. I never considered that idea, but I must say I like the original rack.

 

[Funrover]

Awesome!

 

[DjDrewDigital]

Nice bumper! What size tubing did you use? I'm working on a design for my rear bumper using a similar approach. I think I should use 6"x2" tubing but my dad thinks 8x2 would be better. Just want to get an idea of what it'll look like.

 

[tommonta]

The bumper is made from 10" aluminum channel: available here at online metals

 

[cavakilla]

What brand was the roof rack in the 1st pic?