Looking at a 4wd van, need some advice
- Thread starter ert01
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volcomsurfer
Adventurer
awesome! Where'd you get the window if you don't mind me asking. I'm looking for that exact one. It shouldn't require any kind of support on the inside right? Oh and I hate you for making me second guess on what color I'm going to paint my rig.
I am in Canada (Edmonton, Alberta) and there's a CR Laurence warehouse only a couple hours away in Calgary... So I called them to order it but they said they don't do retail sales. Only wholesale through other companies. So I asked who in Edmonton carries their products and they said they can't disclose that information to me... That I would have to call around to find one! So after calling probably close to 20 glass shops and having them all think I'm crazy (they've never heard of CR Laurence before apparently), I found a local company that was at least willing to look into it for me.
They called me back the next day and said they could have the window to me in a few days.
It was a bit of a runaround, but I'm happy with it in the end.
No support required on the inside. This window comes with a trim piece that goes on the inside of the van... The window and the trim piece kinda clamp the window to the sheet metal of the van.
And yes, I love this color too! Haha
They called me back the next day and said they could have the window to me in a few days.
It was a bit of a runaround, but I'm happy with it in the end.
No support required on the inside. This window comes with a trim piece that goes on the inside of the van... The window and the trim piece kinda clamp the window to the sheet metal of the van.
And yes, I love this color too! Haha
Last edited:
volcomsurfer
Adventurer
Thanks for the info. I was able to find it on amazon with the part number. I just couldn't find a place to even start. They all seem the same price so shopping isn't going to save much money at all. I wanted to have something that has a bigger opening though. I want something that has a screen of like half that window. MORE BREEZE! 
350outrage
Adventurer
Got bored at home yesterday so we loaded up the kids and headed to the mountains last night. Spent the night in our family cabin and then did a little exploring in the van.
This is usually when we would use the XJ but it was a good excuse to test the van on some trails... So the XJ sat at home while to van got a healthy dose of Rocky Mountain pin striping.
The highways were a little slick and it was nice have 4wd for the trip
Exploring the foothills and trails
The road in to Ogre Canyon
Hiking up inside the canyon
More from in the canyon
If you follow the canyon in a ways, you come to a series of frozen waterfalls that are decent for ice climbing, but they hadn't built themselves up very good yet this winter so we didn't go too far. Maybe in a month or two they will be better.
One thing I really noticed on this trip is the lack of suspension travel on the quigley system. I need a bit more travel than the 2" it provides.
Also, the front coils are woefully soft and so are the shocks. Even going rather slow over some dips in the road bottomed the suspension and induced more sway than I'd like.
Time to boost it up a couple more inches and get some stiffer suspension under it!
sounds like you're getting ready to discover that you want a UJOINT "De Quiglification"! Btw, love your pics and vacationing in that area is exactly why we converted our van! Best to you guys!
I have thought of de-quigly'ing the van but I think I can actually do a lot with the Quigley system. It just needs a bit of tweaking. The parts are all there, it's just poorly set up and executed.
I'm thinking of building some adjustable control arms with Johnny joints (to be able to push the axle a hair forward and adjust caster). Also would like to try and turn the knuckles to set the caster better.
I'd also like to tweak the turning radius... It isn't hitting the stops on the axle at either end so I think a longer pitman arm would help there. Then I'd have to adjust the stops after that. The tires are nowhere near touching the control arms yet so I think I can get a lot more travel out of the steering system if I spend some time on it.
If I go with the RIP kit from agile, the progressive front coils and shocks should help the travel... Then I just need new leafs for the rear.
It may sound like a lot, but it's not really that bad. I like doing this sort of stuff. I'd rather tinker and tweak than spend money to get someone else to do it.
I'm thinking of building some adjustable control arms with Johnny joints (to be able to push the axle a hair forward and adjust caster). Also would like to try and turn the knuckles to set the caster better.
I'd also like to tweak the turning radius... It isn't hitting the stops on the axle at either end so I think a longer pitman arm would help there. Then I'd have to adjust the stops after that. The tires are nowhere near touching the control arms yet so I think I can get a lot more travel out of the steering system if I spend some time on it.
If I go with the RIP kit from agile, the progressive front coils and shocks should help the travel... Then I just need new leafs for the rear.
It may sound like a lot, but it's not really that bad. I like doing this sort of stuff. I'd rather tinker and tweak than spend money to get someone else to do it.
Yeah it came with a truck program on it... I guess the vans need a different program. I sent it back to get programmed properly (no charge for it... the TS guys are great).
I still need to talk to XDP and tell them to update their website and put in a checkbox or something on the checkout page for that chip... there was no option to specify that I had a van when I first purchased it. It simply said for Ford 7.3, auto
I still need to talk to XDP and tell them to update their website and put in a checkbox or something on the checkout page for that chip... there was no option to specify that I had a van when I first purchased it. It simply said for Ford 7.3, auto
depark
Observer
I wish I had of seen this post the other day. Edmonton is where I am from. Anyway you could get CR Laurence from Shoppers Home Health:
4619 91 Ave. NW
AB, T6B 2M7
Tel: 780-468-4002
Hope this can still help.
Cheers
Darryl
