Honduras Bound

[spearwarrior]

06 E350 Diesel 10 passenger van. $400 inspection, $5k purchase 8/31/12, $300 flight, $400 fuel/road trip(Irving, TX to Inland Empire, CA) home

04 excursion axles 4.10 gear ratio`70k miles $700 for both

NV271 manual shift T-case 110k miles, $350
Add $150 fuel cost to pick up axles and t-case

9/20 8" Ujoint kit(complete?) balance deposited fender flares, Bilstein 5160 front & rear

As the van made it from Dallas to California without so much as a hiccup I'm going to do the 4x4 conversion prior to making the 6.0 reliable. I was quoted $3k to install the kit from 2 local shops which is out of my budget and means I'll be doing the conversion.

axles will get paint, new ball joints, and brake pads(rebuilding is not in budget)

I need the van to be capable of doing 25mph on bad central American roads, Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala. I visit couple times a year and need reliable transportation no matter the season. I've been bugging Chris for couple of years now and lurking on the forum for past few months. Thanks to all who post here for the gems they have imparted.

 

[bknudtsen]

Welcome! Look forward to seeing this come together.

 

[NLPRacing]

:lurk:

It's funny that you bought a van in my backyard while I have been eyeing a few in your backyard. Good luck on the build!

 

[murryconst]

When Honduras take a trip to Roatan
I love it there, was better tell the cruse ships and golf course came
South end has less people still

 

[Toyotero]

Awesome looking rig. That's going to be awesome if it gets 25 mpg. What does it get now?

What gets you down in C.A. multiple times per year?

 

[spearwarrior]

I have family in Honduras, Belize, & Guatemala but mostly go to my beach house in Honduras. In order to export a vehicle to Honduras it has to be less than 10 years old, I also need time to do the 4x4 conversion, and wanted the conversion to be as bolt on as possible, and finally budget were all guiding criteria for my purchase. I escape the pressures of life's certainties as often as possible.

 

[spearwarrior]

Rims & tires:

Whats the best functional rim/tire combo? I am getting the 8" lift kit to avoid having to cut the crossmember. How to decide rim & tire size? Thanks in advance

 

[bknudtsen]

Well, since you mentioned unimproved roads I would think that traction and durability would be of higher concern than quiet on-road characteristics. Here are some factors to consider;

D rated vs. E rated- D rated will have better sidewall flex, but at the cost of load capacity. E rated had stiffer sidewalls which will give you higher load capacity and stronger sidewalls, but they don't air down well for traction and off-road compliance.

17", 18", 20" wheels- IMHO the bigger the wheel you go, the more you pay for tires and the less performance off-road you get. 17's will give you the most sidewall, but tires are mostly D-rated. 18's are mostly E-rated. 20's are not really an option for what you want to do, in my opinion.

Steel vs. aluminum wheels- Steel is cheaper and easier to repair in the field, but usually has a lower load rating than aluminum and is usually only available up to 17". Aluminum is lighter thereby reducing unsprung weight, but usually cannot be repaired in the field as they tend to crack. Aluminum, especially forged, will have a higher load rating.

35's or 37's will be just fine. 35's might look a little small on an 8" lift, but they will cycle into the wheelwell with no issues if you will be flexing the suspension out a lot. 37's will give you more "real" lift under the axle, which in turn, will help on rutted out roads. The 4.10s should be fine with 35's, 37's will want a higher gear, but it's not undoable. I wouldn't go wider than a 12.5" tire. Also, what brands will be available in country in case you need a replacement?

So, it all depends on what your priorities are...

I like Goodyear Duratracs for all around, all weather, on/off road use. BFG All Terrains have notoriously weak sidewalls and are prone to tearing in rutted out trails with heavy root systems, but they offer great mileage. Goodyear Kevlar MTR's are tough as hell, but made primarily for rocks. Mickey Thompson MTZ's would be a great choice for tough off road usage as well, and they come in a high load capacity in a D-rating. You really couldn't go wrong with the combo that Chris from UJOR is doing for V4.

Hope that helped.

Brad

 

[loren85022]

Nice looking future Honduvan.

 

[Jeffh555]

Steel vs. aluminum wheels... Aluminum is lighter thereby reducing unsprung weight... Aluminum, especially forged, will have a higher load rating.

Lots of good info in that post. Just one caveat to be aware of, not all aluminum wheels are lighter than steel wheels. I have found some, usually cheaper cast, aluminum wheels are heavier than the same size steel wheel. I find most steel wheels tend to be about the same weight.

Jeff

 

[spearwarrior]

Thanks for the info. I'll be going with 17" rims, 35" tires. other details in regards to the rims and tires will depend on what prices I find.

 

[hobietony]

Rims & tires:

Whats the best functional rim/tire combo? I am getting the 8" lift kit to avoid having to cut the crossmember. How to decide rim & tire size? Thanks in advance

Getting an 8" lift will be awesome, but getting it just to avoid cutting the crossmember is a little bit of tail-wagging-the-dog. That will be a pretty trivial part of the operation, IMHO.

As far as tires/wheels, for your use I would go with something stock, whether steel or aluminum, for direct replaceability. No bling. Definitely E rated, with toughness valued over ride quality. Biggest ones you can fit on a stock rim, I assume 35's. Agree no wider than 12.5. For that matter, I would lean towards 6" lift, since they come with crossover steering now, and get over needing to cut the x-member.

More this

than this

 

[spearwarrior]

Main reason for 8" lift is not cutting but also for water crossings in Hondu

what is this? complete systems seems to be there. I wonder If I can use it...

 

[brettf]

^Fleet management tool.

 

[spearwarrior]

On the drive home from Irving I had to stop at wallmart and purchase a pillow to sit on because the drivers seat foam was missing. What upgrade options are out there that don't need major mods to replace the ford seats? I'll be searching the local junkyards for suitable replacements this weekend.