Fred the Van. The More We Explore's Adventure Van Build Thread
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
Steve just watched and hour or so of youtube the Fred interior rebuild. You need some 8020 extruded aluminum http://www.ebay.com/bhp/80-20-10-series The garage sale has cheaper prices, for random lengths http://stores.ebay.com/8020-Inc-Garage-Sale Then you can reconfigure Fred as needed. For some 8020 inspiration http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/building-an-adventure-van.715683/
derjack
Adventurer
GP relais shouldn't be to hard to get to. On an IDI it sits closest to the fire wall - first to get to after opening the dog house. PSD can be different thought. On an IDI the GPR gets Power (~40A!) from the starter relay, which makes sense as this is a circuit with high power (to the starter) running.
In my case #7 fuse is popping, though it this fuse is related to 3 different things (mpls, pcm, ?). If mpls is not working correctly, ignition switch will NOT send power to starter (suggesting trans is not in P/N) therefore starter relay gets no power, therefore no GP, etc etc
Not sure if this helps for youre case. I personally would not mess with the GP circuit and bring it back to stock conditions! Who cares if they circle for 5 sec? This is pseudo “I know better than Ford engineers thing“ IMHO. The amount of GP wear is not just reflected to quantity of circles but mainly to heat. GP heat is related to amps/ohm.
My 0.002ct
In my case #7 fuse is popping, though it this fuse is related to 3 different things (mpls, pcm, ?). If mpls is not working correctly, ignition switch will NOT send power to starter (suggesting trans is not in P/N) therefore starter relay gets no power, therefore no GP, etc etc
Not sure if this helps for youre case. I personally would not mess with the GP circuit and bring it back to stock conditions! Who cares if they circle for 5 sec? This is pseudo “I know better than Ford engineers thing“ IMHO. The amount of GP wear is not just reflected to quantity of circles but mainly to heat. GP heat is related to amps/ohm.
My 0.002ct
sixstringsteve
Explorer
As much as I'd like to trick this out with 80/20, I don't have an unlimited budget. 
plus none of the walls are very straight. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to use a lot of 80/20 like the high dollar builds here, but it simply isn't in the budget.
plus none of the walls are very straight. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to use a lot of 80/20 like the high dollar builds here, but it simply isn't in the budget.
Kneeboarder1025
Observer
I'm curious how you have liked The ST MAxx's on the van. I've got a E-150 that is my family hauler - this van will never see a 4WD conversion - the most it will see is a locker - and that's only if I find that tires and the factory LSD aren't enough. You seem to favor the ST Maxx - just wondered what you reasoning was, and if it has held up your expectations. I'm trying to get our van ready for a trip to Colorado next year that hopefully will see some mild jeep roads
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
sixstringsteve
Explorer
I LOVE my ST MAXX tires. They're my favorite A/Ts (though I'd be fine with KO2s as well). There are only 2 or 3 A/T tires that have a true 3 ply sidewall. I use my sidewalls a lot when offroad, and I wanted to make sure they could stand up to the abuse. I've been very happy with these tires. I put these tires on my last 3 rigs and I really like them in all conditions. They're heavy and a little bit loud, but they're great in sand, snow, rock, dirt, and pavement. They've been wearing quite well for me, traction is great, and they've never left me stranded.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
I swapped the trapezoid headlights for some sealed beam LED headlights and I LOVE the look and the improved visibiltiy.
tmo2460
Observer
Looks great. That same swap is on my list, yours turned out really nicely. With the black bezels/grill I think it really fits the look of the rest of the van.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
Thanks. Yes, we'd like to travel to more of Canada in the future. The limited data plans there make working tough, so we're a bit limited by that. If I can find an economical way to work from Canada, we could easily spend an entire year there. We loved Canada.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
Our latest trip had some good 4-low action. This is the roughest stuff we've had the van up yet. It did great.
Hyperdrive
New member
Nice! That is my commute home, I love that drive. And yes, the worst year for bugs I can ever remember. If you get to Stanley or hit McCall again, look me up. I would love to show you around.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
Cool, will do. We are in salt lake now, but we will be heading up there again.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
No, but we will be attending Outerbike in Moab in October.