motofreak0592
Member
Last year I began looking for some type of vehicle to take camping in the snow since my girlfriend and I really enjoy snowboarding and annually travel the country to ride new spots. I saw some RVs that Ujoint built up and that started the whole rabbit hole effect. I wanted a diesel 4x4 and the ambulance conversions fit the bill perfectly. Being that we would be taking this in the snow, I wanted something that I could stand up in when the weather outside was bad and that started a whole other challenge of finding something with a ceiling height of 6' or higher. After some research I stumbled upon a couple builds on here featuring the Red Cross ERV chassis and that fit the bill perfectly. Diesel, tall box, built stout like an ambulance and to top it all off, they normally have low miles. So I had a plan, Find an ERV, throw a Ujoint 4x4 kit on it and turn it into the ultimate ski trip rig. After about a month of searching nearly every day I found the perfect one, a 1996 (pre smog for us CA folks) ERV with 45k miles on it that already had a sink, bed and camper toilet installed. So I bought a plane ticket to Florida and bought it from a private seller. It had some rust on the front end but I wasnt too concerned since that would be getting replaced when the 4x4 conversion came in. It survived the 3 day, 3,000+ mile drive home besides the muffler falling off in new mexico but I was able to bandaid fix that with a quick stop at the home depot, which turned out to be a great place for a little nap. Here's what it looked like when I purchased it.
The picture is grainy but you get the point. Once I had it home it was time to start collecting parts for the 4x4 conversion. My original plan was to get a junkyard axle, Transfer case, front driveshaft and 4x4 Trans and then install them with the Ujoint DIY kit. I contacted Chris, bombarded him with questions and then purchased the appropriate kit. I found out that the E450s came with a driveline parking brake that utilized a 4x4 transmission to mount it so I didn't need to purchase a new transmission, I just need to remove the parking brake and install the transfer case. I found the Transfer case for $200 at a local pick n pull, the front driveline out of the same truck was about $60 or so and I found an axle locally for $500. Shortly after getting the axle, I crunched some numbers and realized It wouldn't be much more expensive to purchase a fully built axle from ujoint, so I sold the junkyard axle and purchased one from Chris. This generation of ERVs came with 4.63 gears in the rear and since you cant get a Dana 60 front axle in 4.63 I planned to regear to 4.10 and spec the front axle the same but Chris noted that I could run 4.56 in the front since its close enough to the rear without causing any issues and with larger tires my rpms would be brought down to something more highway friendly and that's what I ended up doing. Heres the weight of my ERV in case anyone is curious.
While I was waiting for the 4x4 parts I decided to upgrade the front end to the 08+ style. Honestly its kind of unnecessary but looks nice, in hindsight it would have been fine to leave it.
I purchased the hood, fenders, grille, core support, bumper, headlights and hood latch for $1000 from a junkyard. I had to get a H13 to H5 adapter for the headlight wiring and I found a set on Ebay for less than $10. Once I did this I decided to get new doors to replace the old beat up ones.
They were a pick n pull find for $60 each. I like the way they turned out, Im in the process of attempting to retrofit some heated ford mirrors that I got cheap on craigslist. That may or may not work so we will see, Ill be happy if they do end up working as it would be super helpful in the snow.
Over time I came to the realization that I do not have the space or equipment to properly DIY the ujoint kit so I reached out and found Rock Hound Offroad in Auburn, CA (not too far from me). Im on the waiting list to get into their shop and have the kit installed there, it sounds like Ill be dropping it off within the next month or so. That was a big weight off of my shoulders and after seeing their work, Im stoked to have them do the conversion. I had planned to run 255/85R16 tires which are skinny 33s and will work with the dually rear end without spacers but I couldnt find a snow rated tire in that size, granted most all terrain tires do fine in the snow, I really wanted snow rated tires for peace of mind. I researched and found out that 03-18 Dodge Ram 3500 dually wheels have an 8x6.5 bolt pattern and are 17", which would allow me to get snow rated Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws in 255/80R17 so that was the plan. I found some wheels at yet another junkyard for $125 a piece. The dodge wheels have 6mm more offset than the Ford wheels which I dont see as a huge deal, it may actually improve spacing between the duals. The only hurdle was the hub bore, the Dodge wheels are 121mm and Ford hubs are 124mm so I took the wheels to a local machine shop to have the Dodge wheels bored out to 124.1mm so they remain hub centric as intended but arent too tight on the hub and get stuck. So far they seem as if they will work perfect.
In anticpation to drop the ERV off at rock hound, I pulled the bed and other little things out of the back and now I had the perfect box truck for all of my parts.
Since this picture was taken I received my springs from atlas(after about 6 months) and they fit as well, so all of my parts including 7 wheels fit in there, that was nice to open up the garage space and keep things out of the rain.
I wasnt aware that I'd be waiting so long to get it into the shop but I take it as a sign that they are a desirable shop with a lot of jobs going on so I dont mind waiting for quality work. In the meantime, Im in the process of installing a diesel powered air heater. I originally purchased a cheap chinese heater on eBay but then decided to get one that would work well in high elevation so I got a Lavaner 5kw alpine heater that should self adjust with different altitudes. I also purchased a Bobil vans Air Xchange which I plan to use as an engine preheater, stand by to see how that goes. Heres the heater and Bobil kit in the spot I plan to install them in. I decided to change the mounting bracket to a turret style to keep the combustion intake vented to the outside and give the exhaust pipe plenty of clearance. I still have to wire the whole system up, Im planning to run if off of my Jackery 1500 and Ill post up pictures of the whole setup once its finished.
I just bought a Yakima ski rack that I plan to mount to the back door once I get a chance but that brings you up to speed to where Im currently at. I hope to get it into the shop soon, and Ill update this as things change. I dont post on social media but this is my first time building anything like this so I figured I should document the process and hopefully help others along the way.
The picture is grainy but you get the point. Once I had it home it was time to start collecting parts for the 4x4 conversion. My original plan was to get a junkyard axle, Transfer case, front driveshaft and 4x4 Trans and then install them with the Ujoint DIY kit. I contacted Chris, bombarded him with questions and then purchased the appropriate kit. I found out that the E450s came with a driveline parking brake that utilized a 4x4 transmission to mount it so I didn't need to purchase a new transmission, I just need to remove the parking brake and install the transfer case. I found the Transfer case for $200 at a local pick n pull, the front driveline out of the same truck was about $60 or so and I found an axle locally for $500. Shortly after getting the axle, I crunched some numbers and realized It wouldn't be much more expensive to purchase a fully built axle from ujoint, so I sold the junkyard axle and purchased one from Chris. This generation of ERVs came with 4.63 gears in the rear and since you cant get a Dana 60 front axle in 4.63 I planned to regear to 4.10 and spec the front axle the same but Chris noted that I could run 4.56 in the front since its close enough to the rear without causing any issues and with larger tires my rpms would be brought down to something more highway friendly and that's what I ended up doing. Heres the weight of my ERV in case anyone is curious.
While I was waiting for the 4x4 parts I decided to upgrade the front end to the 08+ style. Honestly its kind of unnecessary but looks nice, in hindsight it would have been fine to leave it.
I purchased the hood, fenders, grille, core support, bumper, headlights and hood latch for $1000 from a junkyard. I had to get a H13 to H5 adapter for the headlight wiring and I found a set on Ebay for less than $10. Once I did this I decided to get new doors to replace the old beat up ones.
They were a pick n pull find for $60 each. I like the way they turned out, Im in the process of attempting to retrofit some heated ford mirrors that I got cheap on craigslist. That may or may not work so we will see, Ill be happy if they do end up working as it would be super helpful in the snow.
Over time I came to the realization that I do not have the space or equipment to properly DIY the ujoint kit so I reached out and found Rock Hound Offroad in Auburn, CA (not too far from me). Im on the waiting list to get into their shop and have the kit installed there, it sounds like Ill be dropping it off within the next month or so. That was a big weight off of my shoulders and after seeing their work, Im stoked to have them do the conversion. I had planned to run 255/85R16 tires which are skinny 33s and will work with the dually rear end without spacers but I couldnt find a snow rated tire in that size, granted most all terrain tires do fine in the snow, I really wanted snow rated tires for peace of mind. I researched and found out that 03-18 Dodge Ram 3500 dually wheels have an 8x6.5 bolt pattern and are 17", which would allow me to get snow rated Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws in 255/80R17 so that was the plan. I found some wheels at yet another junkyard for $125 a piece. The dodge wheels have 6mm more offset than the Ford wheels which I dont see as a huge deal, it may actually improve spacing between the duals. The only hurdle was the hub bore, the Dodge wheels are 121mm and Ford hubs are 124mm so I took the wheels to a local machine shop to have the Dodge wheels bored out to 124.1mm so they remain hub centric as intended but arent too tight on the hub and get stuck. So far they seem as if they will work perfect.
In anticpation to drop the ERV off at rock hound, I pulled the bed and other little things out of the back and now I had the perfect box truck for all of my parts.
Since this picture was taken I received my springs from atlas(after about 6 months) and they fit as well, so all of my parts including 7 wheels fit in there, that was nice to open up the garage space and keep things out of the rain.
I wasnt aware that I'd be waiting so long to get it into the shop but I take it as a sign that they are a desirable shop with a lot of jobs going on so I dont mind waiting for quality work. In the meantime, Im in the process of installing a diesel powered air heater. I originally purchased a cheap chinese heater on eBay but then decided to get one that would work well in high elevation so I got a Lavaner 5kw alpine heater that should self adjust with different altitudes. I also purchased a Bobil vans Air Xchange which I plan to use as an engine preheater, stand by to see how that goes. Heres the heater and Bobil kit in the spot I plan to install them in. I decided to change the mounting bracket to a turret style to keep the combustion intake vented to the outside and give the exhaust pipe plenty of clearance. I still have to wire the whole system up, Im planning to run if off of my Jackery 1500 and Ill post up pictures of the whole setup once its finished.
I just bought a Yakima ski rack that I plan to mount to the back door once I get a chance but that brings you up to speed to where Im currently at. I hope to get it into the shop soon, and Ill update this as things change. I dont post on social media but this is my first time building anything like this so I figured I should document the process and hopefully help others along the way.
