New Build The "RDV"

T1NMAN

Member
First off I would like to thank all for the wealth of information on this site.My wife would not express the same gratitude. (LOL) So a quick intro to how it begins , Sitting in a lawn chair in front off my Diesel Pusher in yellowstone this spring ,I enjoyed a cocktail and admired the 8 or so similar rigs in view. As I sat there it dawned on me "dear god what have I become" I would regularlly snicker and laugh at "those people" during my cabover/superduty days. Thoughts exploded in my head ,sticking to pavement,mass parking/called camping/hookup unhook the damn tow car,kids whining dad can we go back to the "Beast" as they have named it, nintendo,videos,generators........ something is gonna change. Get home and start thinking about how to resolve all these issues.Summer- grab wore out E350 we retired from work to pack kids/bikes around.Few days in I find I am driving that the most and really enjoy it ,with one exception my daily driver is a suburban on 37's. So my wheels start turning and start looking into 4x4 vans . Yea right , everything close was in my opinion way to much money. Fall- Annual 9 day steel head trip tell the fam to set out all they want loaded night before. They got home and I had everything loaded in the burb and the boat!:)I get the what gives ? A whining 2,8 and 30 something (wife) and here it is again "What about the generators,videos,nintendo, blah blah blah." Those that didn't want left got in after 9 days in a wall tent this nov. on the salmon river no one cares about all the Blah Blah Blah . And was one of the funnest family trips we have had. So get home family can do without the Blah so "Hmm can I convert the one I have"? Couple hours on the net and Wow I know what I need to do. Funny been an portal member for awhile but had never looked at this forum. So dig into the 97 I had and way to rusty.
Current
Look at craigslist and bam a van 15 min away , Little negotiation, bam van in shop.
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2007 E350,EB,5.4,ton of miles,but was transit authority commuter all but 10k miles of its life.
 

T1NMAN

Member
So after many a few more nights of interneting induced comatose I had a Plan . Need Axles again craigslist,30 mins later had a complete set off 4.30 ,99 superdutys in the back of the truck.
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Man can it be this easy. Gave Chris @Ujoint a call the week before christmas . Christmas was good!!!!
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And as it is often mentioned on this forum Chris is first class.
 

T1NMAN

Member
So I start thinking man I really want a Fixed hightop but had concerns as I am often moving lower hanging branchs out of the way for the yakima box on the top of the suburban . After some thought hard top it is .Gave a few calls around looking for a used one with no luck. Not Easy.. So here comes the thinking again "why not metal?"..
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1/8" aluminum
So I will say this now I am not a Professional Fabricator and not a very good welder,Have some really good guys in the shop,but this one is all me. And as I said not very good at welding so don't expect a bunch of beauty pics, But I am pretty crafty with a grinder so I ensure you I can make the ugliness go away.:)
 

T1NMAN

Member
Pretty good start on the roof.
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Hope it is a nice tight fit.
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Front has been a challenge but is coming together.
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Light Bar mocked up my thoughts are to put a fixed oval window behind the light .Thoughts?
Better view
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Waiting to be finished. Plans include rack,ladder,solar,yakima box,couple more leds,rear view camera,and paint.
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CrabbyMcNab

Adventurer
Your plan is coming together nicely. I appreciate how a family has gotten to the roots of having fun and "unplugging".
Can't wait to see what develops next.
 

ober27

Adventurer
Wow! That high top is looking great. How will it be attached to the roof? Will van still fit through shop door after conversion to 4x4?
 

T1NMAN

Member
Sure hope it will fit out the door . Thanks for the comments guys . The top will be bolted on from the inside. Got a bit done on the top today but moving on to getting it up on the axles this weekend . I am stoked to get it sitting on its new rubber.
Have not tried these yet so figures I would give them a try . Plus I am tired of looking at Toyo's (love em) .
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Like this
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Any one that's ran them feel free to give your honest opinion .


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T1NMAN

Member
Up on the axles few things to finish up then back to the top,bumpers, and other fun stuff.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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