Vandetta

[Toolman]

Despite the pouring rain, I got an early start today when my friend Mike showed up. We set up an EZUP and got to work. With Chris "Ujoint" on the other end of the phone assuring me that it was gonna go on without a hitch, we got started..
Removed the bumper

Then started drilling holes. I used the magnet angles to guide the drill bit through straight.


Worked my way up to 3/4" holes removed the bracket and primed and painted and started on the drivers side.



More Rain










Some more drilling and we finished the work.. Not really hard just time consuming. Mounted the painted brackets, reinstalled the bumper after notching it fit around the new spring hangers..a couple of phone calls to Chris and he answered my questions.. THANK YOU CHRIS... a quick text message to Chris "DONE"

Chris really made this an easy install. Everything was exactly the way he said it would go.. smooth.





Thanks to my helper Mike and Chris's thorough work on his kit this should be a fun conversion.

[BajaBus]

Thanks for taking the time to share progress pics! You've got a top-notch foundation there...

[ujoint]

Nice work! I bet you're thankful for the easy up.

[Toolman]

I really enjoy this web site more than any other, I look forward to the advice people are seeking and others are giving.. True life R&D. With that being said I have never documented a build in my life.. never kept track of progress, expenses, parts, things that changed along the way... After following many builds on various web sites and many different projects, I felt it was time to keep a detailed journal of my dream build. It will be nice to look back on the entire build when it's done and say.. "I built it" With the help from Chris and all the advice here on the board I know I'm in good hands. So if it seems like I keep the banter going alone, it's because this is my 4X4 Van build journal. It will always be here and it's nice to have the input from anyone willing to chime in. I'm totally open to any ideas anyone has regarding this build.

Thanks for all the help so far guys. I really am grateful. Even though some of you don't know you are helping me, you are.

[RocKrawler]

Looks good - although I noticed you werent using a Snap On Drill during the install, traitor! Did you measure the bumper brackets to see if they were the same as the F series while the bumper was off the truck?

[Toolman]

Ah.. yes, I call it the heater drill, that drill gets so hot that it kept us warm in the rain. Snap-On doesn't make a corded drill. Even though we are authorized to sell other products like Dewalt, I can buy them cheaper from Home Depot.. sad isn't it. Even if SOT made a corded drill I wouldn't buy it.. I don't use it enough to know the difference. Our tools are for the guys that use them everyday, day in day out... I'm just a weekend warrior. I do have the chrome though... love the chrome, best sockets and wrenches out there.. IMHO. I've use the competitors tools, and they don't even come close to the quality.

To be honest I didn't even think to measure the bumper, I was busy staying dry and I wanted to get it done before the real rain started. From what I could tell with the drop brackets installed is that they make the frame wider to match up to the pads on the F350 axle.. Which tells me that with a little fabrication it would probably work. I'm not willing to spend $2k to cut up a bumper "to make it work" The radius on the front or the body of the F350 is going to be different as well, I was at 4WP the other day looking at an F350 and it looks quite a bit different. There are only 4 bolts holding the front bumper on.. I was amazed at how flimsy the bumpers are.

[RocKrawler]

Ah.. yes, I call it the heater drill, that drill gets so hot that it kept us warm in the rain. Snap-On doesn't make a corded drill. Even though we are authorized to sell other products like Dewalt, I can buy them cheaper from Home Depot.. sad isn't it. Even if SOT made a corded drill I wouldn't buy it.. I don't use it enough to know the difference. Our tools are for the guys that use them everyday, day in day out... I'm just a weekend warrior. I do have the chrome though... love the chrome, best sockets and wrenches out there.. IMHO. I've use the competitors tools, and they don't even come close to the quality.

I have a Makita drill myself, works fine for what I do. I had a brand new Makita corded but that got borrowed and conveniently disappeared...

[nely]

Subscribed! Ill be watching and borrowing ideas for my build. I have a 96 powerstroke club wagon, a ujoint 6" lift and the rest to start the swap. Might start mid january I hope.

I have the same issue as I am a lil unsure as what to do with the rear ac unit. I found out its in the way if you find a van conversion seat that folds into a bed like I did. Could take it out or... Which I think I might do is just build a cabinet around it and run the vents along the roof from front to back on the driverside. Much like the heater vents on the lower driverside. That way you can run the ac or heat in the rear when the vans idleing, itll be hidden and should allow room for a penthouse top.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

[Toolman]

Subscribed! Ill be watching and borrowing ideas for my build. I have a 96 powerstroke club wagon, a ujoint 6" lift and the rest to start the swap. Might start mid january I hope.

I have the same issue as I am a lil unsure as what to do with the rear ac unit. I found out its in the way if you find a van conversion seat that folds into a bed like I did. Could take it out or... Which I think I might do is just build a cabinet around it and run the vents along the roof from front to back on the driverside. Much like the heater vents on the lower driverside. That way you can run the ac or heat in the rear when the vans idleing, itll be hidden and should allow room for a penthouse top.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

Congrats on the 6" Ujoint lift.

I wouldn't take it out. The PH tops are nice but you should drive one on the freeway for an hour or two before you cut the roof out of your van. I found them to be much like riding in a soft top jeep. NOISY.
Those aren't vents on the lower drivers side. Those are intake ports for the condensor. (that's where the air circulates into A/C)

I do have a great idea in mind and I will share it is as it comes to life.. but basically incorporate the A/C and vents into a closet and block off the entire back port window.. I have the EB so it may be different than yours if you have an RB. I will probably use the tall portion of the closet for the Hi-Lift and recovery tools, jackets etc..

I wish I had CAD design software for a MAC I could draw it out and really see how it will look to scale. I have some rough sketches as to what I'm going to do but it will be hard for others to understand my scribble.

A rear dinette that will turn into a bed with under floor storage. My main goal is to be able to still fit a full sheet of wood in the back of the van, flat on the floor for hauling material for future projects. I want to keep the functionality of the van as multi purpose as possible. I'm eliminating the factory tube that goes up to the headliner. I have 2" flexible vacuum tube I'm going to run up to roof next to the rear pillar and across the back firing air forward, and along the side build a box that will allow air to travel through and drop down using the factory vents from the headliner.

I should be getting my T-Case tomorrow.
I got my batteries today. I'm using 3 AGM Platinum Die Hard batteries in parallel with a battery brain in between the single engine battery and the 2 coach batteries. This will keep the fridge running and protect the main battery from sudden death.
Next week the rear ARB and 410's will be installed, and hopefully the gas tank will get done. All contingent on the weather. Sunday will be my only day for mods this weekend if any at all.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

[RocKrawler]

Those aren't vents on the lower drivers side. Those are intake ports for the condensor. (that's where the air circulates into A/C)

Odd, thats where my heat is - I can definitely feel the hot air blowing out of the lower drivers side vents at a very good rate when its on high...