Slim's Adventure Van

[partsflyin]

Hello again gang ,
Starting out here basically seeking approval of you folks here to start a thread . I'm a long time member and spend a lot of time here on Expo. The reason I am seeking approval before getting to far along with a thread is a follows :

I am doing a build on my 2010 E-250 . I have no intention of building a full on expedition rig , however some of you may get something out of my build and hopefully offer advice and ideas . But I'm looking to do something else with this thread .

I've been building trucks for years , mud trucks , rock crawler's , then on to a couple of minimalist camper vans and a highly capable DD/Overland pickup. In my mid twenties I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and it has been progressing ever since. I am now confined to a wheelchair . This has put some limitations on what I am able to do , however my love for the outdoors is as strong as ever. Couple this with a closet van lover and what do you get ? A guy with a strong desire to build a capable DD/Adventure wheelchair van. About 2 years ago I began my search for a van. I went to the internet every chance I got studied , read , studied and read some more.

There were a few things I was sure of:
Dead set on a E-Series Ford.
Needed a wheelchair lift, 6-Way power driver seat for transfers and a full "dropped" floor
Needed 4x4.
Needed something that would tow decent. (I have a "mini" toy hauler/camper 14' , just big enough to fit a 50" 800 RZR)(Loaded up comes in under 5k lbs)

12 Months of searching told me one thing , it was VERY unlikely I was ever gonna find a turnkey rig with everything I wanted. I was just gonna have to put one together myself. Here's where it got confusing, and finding information on the best way to go about this was so hard to come by. All this is why i wanted to start a thread , I would like to share what I found , what I have learned and mistakes I have made (some expensive). If I can provide a little insight to others looking to do the same thing, it would be great.

So what say ye ??? Mind If I do a build thread here for an off road capable , DD , road trip, wheelchair friendly machine thats not a full on Expedition ready ride ?

 

[B-Excurgin]

Love it get wild. good luck man.

 

[ober27]

I would love to see what you do with it.

 

[bbbthreat]

Do it!??
I am pretty much doing the same thing you are, minus the build thread. I will have to compile my pictures and info and actually, like, contribute.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Looking forward to your build. Go for it.

 

[mitchn06]

git r’ done


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bikersmurf]

Hello again gang ,
Starting out here basically seeking approval of you folks here to start a thread . I'm a long time member and spend a lot of time here on Expo. The reason I am seeking approval before getting to far along with a thread is a follows :

I am doing a build on my 2010 E-250 . I have no intention of building a full on expedition rig , however some of you may get something out of my build and hopefully offer advice and ideas . But I'm looking to do something else with this thread .

I've been building trucks for years , mud trucks , rock crawler's , then on to a couple of minimalist camper vans and a highly capable DD/Overland pickup. In my mid twenties I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and it has been progressing ever since. I am now confined to a wheelchair . This has put some limitations on what I am able to do , however my love for the outdoors is as strong as ever. Couple this with a closet van lover and what do you get ? A guy with a strong desire to build a capable DD/Adventure wheelchair van. About 2 years ago I began my search for a van. I went to the internet every chance I got studied , read , studied and read some more.

There were a few things I was sure of:
Dead set on a E-Series Ford.
Needed a wheelchair lift, 6-Way power driver seat for transfers and a full "dropped" floor
Needed 4x4.
Needed something that would tow decent. (I have a "mini" toy hauler/camper 14' , just big enough to fit a 50" 800 RZR)(Loaded up comes in under 5k lbs)

12 Months of searching told me one thing , it was VERY unlikely I was ever gonna find a turnkey rig with everything I wanted. I was just gonna have to put one together myself. Here's where it got confusing, and finding information on the best way to go about this was so hard to come by. All this is why i wanted to start a thread , I would like to share what I found , what I have learned and mistakes I have made (some expensive). If I can provide a little insight to others looking to do the same thing, it would be great.

So what say ye ??? Mind If I do a build thread here for an off road capable , DD , road trip, wheelchair friendly machine thats not a full on Expedition ready ride ?

I wish I was close enough to lend you a hand. I’ll do whatever I can from here. At one point I was told I had the early stages of M/S... turns out it was nerve impingement in my neck. Surgery made a huge difference... but it come back in new ways. I sympathize with you, having a love of the outdoors and the road less traveled.
I’ve also worked on power chairs and custom wheel chair seating systems. Send me a message if there’s anything I can do to help... I’ll do what I can.

 

[partsflyin]

Super excited to see the positive feedback ! I'll believe I get started then. The first year almost will be lacking in photos , I hadn't planned to do a build thread at first . All the challenges I have encountered motivated me to try to create some sort reference that others might find while searching the web with all the questions I have dealt with.

I'll slip in a quick pic of my baby, its the picture that sucked me in.....


Took me near a year to find it. 2010 E-250, 5.4 , get this..... 10,500 miles !

 

[partsflyin]

So as I was saying , In a perfect world I'd would've been able to go out , find a 4x4 Wheelchair van and buy it right ? No deal , basically unpossible .....

One of the first things you have to decide is :
Is a wheelchair van really right for me ? Is it what I need ?

As my mobility had decreased I had gone from a Nissan Frontier , to a Chevy Trailblazer. The Trailblazer worked well for me . 4 Doors , strong 6 cylinder engine, automatic sport utility. Wheelchair fit well in the back , stayed out of the weather and for a while I could actually load and unload the chair myself. I know that probably sounds funny to most , but for the first 10 years or so my MD was predominantly isolated to my legs . My upper body kept above average strength (per my Dr's) for many years after my legs began their decline. So I could roll up to the Trailblazer in my chair, pop the hatch and stand up. Next I would sit down in the back , reach out and grab my chair and drag her in . Then i'd stand back up and wobble around to the driver door, hanging on to the side of the car as i worked my way around. This worked good for a year, maybe a year and a half. By then i was having more and more trouble loading and unloading the chair alone. Most always I had help around so i worked it out.

Rewind to not long before I got the Trailblazer, I had picked myself up a Polaris RZR 800 to get me in and out of the woods . It was and is great ! This thing truly helps me stay sane by being my legs these days. Not long after getting the rzr , as my confidence grew , I soon realized my feet just couldn't keep up with my driving style any longer and to keep from wrapping myself and my new machine around a tree I decided it was time to try out a set of hand controls. To the web I went and I ordered a set of Sure Grip hand controls. A few tweaks here and there and I had them installed.

Now I could get a little more aggressive ......

About halfway through ownership of the Trailblazer I was forced to convert it over to hand controls as well . I had really grown to love the "push-rock" style that I had installed in the rzr, so that's what I went with in the Trailblazer. It was quite the eye opening experience when I had the hand controls installed in my street driven vehicle. I hadn't realized how stressful driving had become to me , always leaving extra distance between myself and the next vehicle just to make sure i could get my foot on the brake in time. Once I had the hand controls installed , driving felt normal and safe again.

 

[partsflyin]

After I got the rzr my wife decided that getting outdoors was not so bad.....and she started going out with me on trail rides . It was great ! Since the decline began in my legs , it had put a damper on my outdoor activities . I've always been an outdoor guy . Now me and the wife were getting out together and enjoying ourselves. I had a 5x12 utility trailer for rzr hauling duty's and the Trailblazer handled it well . As we got out more and more I began to crave overnight stays wherever we might be going. The wife had never been a big fan of camping so I had to find a compromise. This turned out to be a camper. Camper = the next hurdle. If we're towing a camper , we can't tow the rzr too. What now? Toy hauler ? When I hear that term I still automatically think of some huge , shiny , huge, ugly , poorly built, expensive , huge, trailer with a bunch of junk inside it that I am actually trying to get away from when i go camping. What to do ? Back to the web for more research. After months of looking around I found a place would do a custom size build. Smallest package I could get was a 14x7 . After tons of measuring and worrying we decided we could get the rzr to fit inside this unit, while retaining just enough amenities to keep the wife happy.

Tight squeeze , but it fits ! Just what I wanted , smallest package I could get with enough room for the rzr , and a few things to keep the us comfy.

So, as always , overcome one hurdle and create another . The mini hauler weighs in at 3650lbs dry , just under 5k loaded up. Too much (in my opinion) for the Trailblazer to safely handle. I was going to have to get a bigger tow rig.

 

[partsflyin]

I picked up a Nissan Armada to replace the Trailblazer . It was a nice vehicle , good power , towed well . A little soft in the rear suspension when towing , but it got the job done. After owning the Armada about 6 months , one day while trying to get in I took a pretty good spill . Hyper extended my left leg pretty good. At this point I was already at the borderline of being able to climb in and out of the vehicle alone . This spill turnedit into a near impossible task to do alone. I had to rely on someone to be around when I got in the vehicle and someone to be at the destination when I arrived there. Not cool at all..... Time to buy a wheelchair van and regain some independence.
Why a van ? I had grown to love the attributes of the "sport utility" . Multiple doors, lots of room inside , etc... I also needed something with enough ****** to handle the mini hauler . I had already owned (2) Quigley E-series in years past and just like Ford vans .
Ford E-250 fit the bill !

 

[partsflyin]

So lets take a little break from the boring stuff, its time for a new cell phone . Camera is broken on the old unit , so I conned my boy into taking some pics of the van in its current state.

When I brought her home the chrome front bumper has a tweak in it so on to my first official mod . I have big plans for this van , but starting out i was just unsure on what I wanted for a front bumper . So I decided for the time being just stick with stock . I hit Amazon and picked up an aftermarket unit. I got over chrome many years ago so I picked up a plain steel one with primer finish. I knew that sooner than later I wanted some larger rubber on the van so I trimmed a couple inches off the ends of the bumper for clearance. Next I sent it over to the local Linex place and got it coated . When I got it back and was checking it over I decided why not add a little extra lighting up front , the factory slot allowed for install of a 30" led bar. All the while keeping it protected.

When I reinstalled the bumper i left off the lower whatchamacallit fascia plastic piece just to see if i liked the look without it. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to put it back. Feel free to offer up opinions here.
I definitely love the black finish over the chrome...

 

[partsflyin]

I have always preferred the look of the super duty mirrors on these vans and after towing the hauler a few times , i was ready to upgrade .

These are aftermarket units and so far I am well pleased . Major improvement while towing and they just plain look better. The original mirrors were power as are these and the harness was plug and play.

 

[partsflyin]

Next to go were those terrible fiberglass molded steps . I thought about just removing them and going stepless , but the wife nixed that idea . She needed a step of some description to get in. I had long thought I wanted some Aluminess steps and started to order a set but every time I talked my self into pulling the trigger the Aluminess were on backorder . I started looking around and found some that I liked made by N-Fab. Not a lot of info or reviews of these on the web , but for a few hundred less than Aluminess and in stock I ordered up....

 

[partsflyin]

It didn't take long with the black bumper on the front and I was ready to do something out back. Same story here , I picked up an aftermarket unit in primer . I talked a friend at work into helping me plasma cut out a hole in the new bumper for the trailer plug. Sent her off to Linex and got it coated.

Two things here driving me crazy , first the super lo hanging exhaust and the nearly as bad low hanging hitch.... Both of these are amplified due to the "body lift" installed on the van by the handicap conversion company . This is done to allow for the "lowered" floor in the van that allows for extra headroom when someone in a wheelchair enters the van.

Anyone have suggestions for a hitch that fits much tighter up to the frame ???? A friend has offered to help me modify this one , but I'm not opposed to finding a "bolt in" unit that fits as high as possible against the frame.
I have plans for the exhaust , will get to that later....