Almost went a little too far in the van.

This was the destination. I didn't actually go through this one since it was only a 50 foot walk to the river. The darn trees and bushes were fighting us all the way. Well fighting me anyway. Darn sportsmobile sits a little tall and the trees like to bite. Getting some really nice Arizona pinstriping though.
This was the snafu of the trip. The road wasn't in good shape and then I took a somewhat wide line, then the road gave way more. Glad I have a lot of weight near the floor. This is about as leaned over as I ever want to be. Luckily I was able to drive out of it very slowly. Assuming the camera is basically level that's got to be 35 to 40 degrees. We ended up rebuilding the road to get everyone through and back out again.

Nuts and Bolts Pictures of the Front Suspension

I've had some people asking specific questions about how the front end went together. Here are a few not so hot pictures with short descriptions that may help.
Front left. Was hoping to get the steering tubes up higher.
Steering linkage and crossmember "adjustments".
Front right lift block and bump stop.
Front right. darn digital cameras and lighting.

Nuts and Bolts

Front right.
Front left. Crossbar mount and steering arm. Lift block.
Lift block and bottoming pad with rubber stopper.
Rear trackbar? mount. Sorry, maybe not up on all the lingo.
New transfer case crossmember mount.

Nuts and Bolts

Front Drive shaft
Rear Drive, fuel tank, transfer case.
Front left side. New bracket installed to mount cross bar. I think that's what it's called. The bar that keeps the axle from shifting left and right.
Spacer under the front spring. It's hollow and bolted down.
Top of transfer case in front. Shows some of the trimming on the crossmember. That's it for now. Hope that helps some of you guys out a bit. Send me email if you need more.

Tom.

Van update, working great.

So how is that sportsmobile doing? Very nicely thank you. I'm still completely satisfied with the van. Here are a few pictures from elk scouting on the mogollon rim, AZ in September. I really should keep track of the days I spend in this thing. Seems like at least a third of my life is in the van. Elk scouting late September, camped on Mt Lemon last weekend, this week living in the van at work, next week elk hunting, after another work week I'll be at Glamis dunes for 4 days, then back to work for a week in the van.

The inverter has been working fine since it's recent repair. Surprising how little I use the thing. I finally got around to taking the van to the transmission guy. He found a small pinhole in an adapter that he made. Took it off, welded it up, and good to go. Makes me feel silly for not taking it in for so long. The tire shimmy turned out to be an easy fix also. I finally got around to balancing the tires. Turns out I never had them balanced, just forgot it in the build. Had them balanced and what do you know, no more shimmy. I also installed a two shock steering stabilizer just for extra peace of mind.

Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco, Mexico)

Here is one of the main reasons to own a 4x4 Sportsmobile. 3 days maybe 10 people seen.

One of my favorite van pistures to date.

Some Problems with the van.

Well I guess it's only fair to talk about the not so great parts of the van. I guess those Baja roads are catching up to me.

My inverter died the other day. I looked into new ones and found a replacement cost of around 2000 bucks, ouch. I decided to look into repair options. I found a great place in Tucson, AZ that was able to track down a broken solder. It cost me 315 bucks, but opposed to 2000 I was a happy camper. These people were great to deal with. It's called RV MD 520-270-9922 kind of a mom and pop place.

I'm starting to get a steering shimmy. At certain speeds especially in turns my steering wheel will sometimes shake. I'll have to invest in a steering damper and I'll take it in for a re-alignment. Based on some of the potholes I hit in Mexico this is not a surprise to me.

I've got a good transmission leak developing. I had seen wet spots before, but looks like it needs to be addressed now. My transmission was rebuilt for the conversion so it should be under warranty. I'll check for loose connections first then probably take it in.

That's most of it for now. Lots of time spent driving and sleeping in this van. I'm using the heck out of it. Always a bummer to have things break, but considering the usage I'd say it's holding up well.

Some More Pictures of the Van

Square Sub made by Kicker. Fit nicely in the bench seat.
360 Watts of solar power is what powers all of the electronics. Since I installed them in late 2007 I have not turned off the fridge. Lowest I've seen the voltage is 12.6 in the morning before the sun comes up. The real test will be the Arizona summer heat.
Paper towel rack Austin and I made. Good central location, and doesn't take up counter space.
13" Flip down monitor. Found one that rotates 270 degrees. This allows for a good mounting location, while also putting the screen as far back as possible for rear viewers. I had to move the overhead lights forward, and also move the infra red sensors to the back of the monitor. My stereo allows independent rear and front playing. Kids have their own rear remote and can play movies, music, fm/am, tv, or even plug something into the aux port like xbox.
Two 500 watt amplifiers help push the music around. One Farad capacitor works well with the subwoofer too.
Operations Center: Solar controller, aux input for stereo, 110 outlet, and inverter controls.
Shot of the left rear cabinets. Shows starcool A/C system and fridge. Sure wish the fridge was a bit larger. Probably first on the list for far future upgrades.
Couldn't help it, got a new license plate.
A popped up picture. Many of you probably haven't seen this yet.

Options on the Sportsmobile

Some people have been asking about the Sportsmobile so I decided to list all of the features here so everyone can see.

2001 Ford E-350 7.3L Diesel 4x4 Sportsmobile

Ford Factory Options include:

Heavy Duty Alternator

Power Steering

Front Airbags

Dual Batteries

Air Conditioning

Dual Electric Horn

Power Door Locks

Remote door entry with alarm

Key in ignition warning chimes

Power Mirrors

Power Windows

Cruise Control

Tilt Steering

10,000lb Tow Hitch

Tinted Glass Throughout

Console Engine Cover

Engine Block Heater

Full Floating Rear Axle

Sportsmobile Factory options include:

In 2001 it was the RB52 package, today it's closer to the RB34

Wall panels with insulation

Commercial Loop Pile Carpet with padded Subfloor

Curtains

Windshield Curtains

Overhead Cab Module

Door Panels Upholstered

Van Door Compartments

Table

Fire Extinguisher

Floor Mats

110v Exterior Inlet w/25' Weatherproof Cord

110v Electrical Panel 30amp System

30amp Power Converter and Charging System

GFI Protection

Electrical Cord Adapters

110v Wall Outlets

2 Extra 12v Batteries (upgraded to Deka Glass Matt Sealed Deep Cycle in 7-07)

Battery Isolator

Oscillating Fan

12v Outlet

12v Electrical Panel

Lights – Hi/Lo & Swivel (5)

Light, Cab Ceiling

Carbon Monoxide Detector

Norcold 2 Cubic Foot Fridge

Sink, Faucet, Fresh Water System

10 Gallon Water Tank

12v On Demand Water Pump

Waste Water (grey) Holding Tank

City Water Hookup w/Pressure Regulator

2 Burner Stove with Heat Shield and Cover

Propane System with 28lb (6 gallon) Tank with auto safety stop fill, gauge and 2 stage regulator

Propane Detector

Recessed Wall Panel (makes Goucho 3” wider)

3 Slider Windows with Screens

Coat Closet

Starcool Air Conditioning System

Porta Potti with 6 Gallon Storage Tank

Trace 2000 Watt Inverter

Microwave with Seperate Circuit

Two Way wiring for Van Entertainment System

Privacy Curtain to Partition Interior

Under Rear Floor Storage Compartment

Hinged Counter Top Extension

Awning 7' x 10'

Exterior Light with Inside Switch

Penthouse Expandable Top with bed

Matching Paint for Penthouse

Other Items

4X4 Conversion

Coil Spring Front Suspension

Dana 60 Front Axle with 3.73 Gearing

Locking Hubs

Cross Over Steering

Upgraded Braking System (F-350)

Rebuilt Transmission with 4x4 “short shaft”

Rancho Shocks

New Front and Rear Driveshafts

NV271 Transfer Case

46 Gallon Fuel Tank

New Rear Axle Gearing 3.73

Rear ARB Air Locker

Extreme Air on Board Air Compressor (100% duty cycle)

5 Mickey Thompson Classic II Wheels 10 x 17

5 BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A Tires 285/70-17 (33” tall)

Rear Wheel Spacers for True Tracking

360 Watt Solar System with Blue Sky 2000e Controller

Custom Rear Bumper with Swing Out Spare Tire and Storage Box

LED Backup Lights

Backup Camera

40 Channel CB Radio

6” LightForce Front lights

ScanGauge II

Flex Shades for Front Windshield

Weathertech Window Louvers

12'000lb Mile Marker Winch just Purchased, will be installed with a custom front bumper soon.

Entertainment System

Valor Mobile Multimedia System including:

DVD Player with in Dash Screen and Additional Rear 13” Monitor and Surround Sound

FM, AM, and TV Tuner

Plays all CD's or DVD's CDRW, DVDRW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, etc.

ScanDisk Reader

Bluetooth

High Resolution TFT Monitor Front and Rear

Front Monitor is Touchscreen Controlled

Dual Zone Function (listen to FM in front, watch DVD in rear)

500 Watt Rockford Fosgate 4 Channel Amplifier

500 Watt Rockford Fosgate Single Channel Subwoofer Amplifier

1 Farad Subwoofer Capacitor

Kicker L7 10” Extreme Square Subwoofer

Sirius Ready

Touchscreen Navigation with Voice Prompt and Re-Routing

Ipod Controlled Through Multimedia Interface

4 Infra Red Stereo Headphones

Aux Input in Rear for Xbox, Movies, Music, Etc.

First big van test, Baja for Christmas.

In mid December we left Tucson for a trip to Baja. We got to the ferry in Topolabampo in one day and arrived in La Ventana Mexico before noon on the second day. We spent 3 weeks playing in Mexico before driving the long way around (no ferry) up the peninsula back to Tucson. If you don't want to read all of my rambling, the short version is that the van did really well on the trip. I expected to have a few minor, or maybe even a major problem with this being the first long range test. No problems to note, but a few improvements planned.


The van and trailer make a real dust storm on a dirt road.



We really didn't do any 4 wheeling, in fact I only locked the hubs in once on the whole trip. We did however go several places that we would not have gone without the 4x4.



Here we are arriving for some camping on the beach. Didn't need 4x4 here either, but wouldn't have been on the beach without it.




Improvements will include something in the rear to help with heavy loading. With the van fully loaded, the trailer tongue weight, and my 8 million pound bumper, the back end was sagging a bit. I really don't want to go with the air bag option because of the complications involved. I'm looking into putting in an extra leaf. I'll post what I end up doing.

The bump stops worked like a charm. We bottomed out once when a washout on the main road caught us off gaurd. It wasn't bad at all, the stops worked as advertised. I won't be changing a thing in this department.

The roads in Baja are not the best quality. They don't take the time to level properly which gives you a lot of up and down action in any car. The van never had any handling issues, but we sure did the tuna boat thing a lot. If the rear spring doesn't help, I'll look into more heavy duty shocks.

Lastly I wasn't impressed with the mileage we got. I'm going to call it an average of 11mpg for the whole trip. Best being 13 and worst 9. Once again those roads are a killer and towing the trailer doesn't help. Sure hope I do better around home without towing.




This video shows how narrow the roads are