The van is for sale. 6-3-12

The van has been sold to a really nice guy in Germany.  I hope he continues to have many adventures with it.  



It's been a great vehicle.  As you can see by the blog, many adventures.  A few mishaps here and there too.  Nothing to hide.  The price is $44k.  93k miles.  contact me by email. tok2tom@gmail.com
Pictures after the descriptions.
Tom.

I'm the second owner, bought it with 40,000 miles on the odometer. Maintained by myself
based on the requirements in the owners manual. It was professionally converted to 4x4
by Crossed up OffRoad in Tucson, AZ. The four wheel drive components are from an F-250
which had 22,000 miles on it. It now has 93,000 miles. I'm the sole operator of the
vehicle and know it very well. In the 5 years I've owned it I've had one major
mechanical problem. The rear pinon seal went out. The vent tube was blocked with dirt
causing the failure. Other than this one incident the van has been rock solid, always
starting and running like a top. This is a very dependable van. Everything works as it
should. The only negatives this vehicle has are minor flaws here and there from normal
wear and tear. I've kept a blog since getting the van. It is unedited and a true account of owning the van. http://www.sportsmobile4x4.blogspot.com I still have a few items I'd like to finish before I show including refinishing the pop top. The listing is starting a little early due to the emails I've received after posting to TracyAZ. I'm somewhat flexible on the price. It's tough to know how to price these based on all of the options. Many more pictures on request.


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 (New 2011)

Battery Isolator

12v Outlet (extra added in the rear)

12v Electrical Panel

Lights – Hi/Lo/LED & 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

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

Manual Penthouse Expandable Top with bed

Matching Paint for Penthouse

Swiveling front seats




Other Items

4X4 Conversion

Coil Spring Front Suspension

Deaver Springs Rear

Dana 60 Front Axle with 3.73 Gearing

Locking Hubs

Cross Over Steering

Upgraded Braking System (F-250)

Rebuilt Transmission 4R100 (40K) 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

New Toyo AT Tires 7000 miles (33.8” tall)

Full sized spare with matching wheel

Rear Wheel Spacers for True Tracking

240 Watt Solar System with Blue Sky 2000e Controller

Custom Rear Bumper with Swing Out Spare Tire and Storage Box

LED Backup Lights

Backup Camera

Auxillary Refridgerator fan with thermostat

Forced air furnace

Water filter

Outside window cover for front doors and windshield

Removable Thule roof rack

Indoor outdoor thermometer

4" turbo back exhaust

Bully Dog performance computer

40 Channel CB Radio

6” LightForce Front lights

Flex Shades for Front Windshield

Weathertech Window Louvers

12'000lb Mile Marker Winch

Custom Front bumper with compartments, one locking

Fantastic fan mounted vertically

Rear shelving

New vehicle batteries 2011




Entertainment System

Kenwood DNX8120 Multimedia System including:

• 6.95” Color Touchscreen Display
• Built-in Garmin Navigation With USA, Canada, PR, Alaska, Hawaii Mapping
• Built-In Bluetooth Technology
• New GUI with Changeable Skin and Customizable Start-up
• Fastest Access to iPod Audio/Video with High-speed iPod Control
• 5.1 Decoding/Playback with (5V) RCA Preouts (L,C,R, LS,RS,Sub)
• 2 Relay Control Outputs for garage doors, lighting, trunk, etc.
• SAT Ready (Requires CA-SR20V + Sirius SC-C1 Tuner or KCA-XM100V + XM Mini Tuner)
• HD Radio Ready
• Remote Control Included

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

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

Card Reader

USB input (play your music directly from your usb stick)

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

Center channel speaker with seperate Amplifier

Speakers upgraded to infinity, component up front

1 Farad Subwoofer Capacitor

Kicker L7 10” Extreme Square Subwoofer

Touchscreen Navigation with Voice Prompt and Re-Routing

Navigation system is by Garmin which enables the ability to use topo maps with terrain.

Ipod Controlled Through Multimedia Interface or remote

2 Infra Red Stereo Headphones

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

Another way to convert a Ford van to 4x4

Finally finished getting my van converted to 4x4. Now it's time to share the experience and maybe help those who may do the same.
I've had motorhomes for many years now, starting with Volkswagon Vanagons. I eventually built my own by putting a custom top onto a chevy blazer. This got me closer to my ultimate goal of a small capable camper, but the whole time I've been eyeing the sportsmobile. Until recently I couldn't come close to being able to afford one. In fact I still can't afford one, at least not a new one ordered from the factory. Hence this post, I found a way to have my cake and still be able to afford a glass of milk to go with it. Buying a relatively old (2001) 2wd sportsmobile and doing my own conversion allowed me to get what I ultimatley wanted without breaking the bank.
There are 5 ways that I know of to convert a Ford van to 4x4. You can order a new one from Ford and have Quigley do the "factory" conversion. Order a new sportsmobile and have sportsmobile west do the conversion. Go to Salem Kroger in California, or go to Quadvan in Oregon. Or........ find the parts, someone who can weld way better than me, and make it happen. I have spoken extensively with both Eddie at Quadvan and Craig at Salem Kroger. I had originally planned on having one of them do the conversion for me. Unfortunately, they are both expensive, and many hundreds of miles from my home. As I researched more and more I soon learned that although not easy or straightforward, one could do the conversion themselves at about half the cost.

Most of the parts come from a 2005 Super Duty F250. I located a complete vehicle with rear end damage only. The truck had 26000 miles on it so components are in good condition. I bought the 4wd drivetrain complete (which was a mistake). This includes a dana 60 axle complete, all steering parts except for pittman arm, springs, shocks, driveline, pinard, track arms, etc. A couple of points to consider here. Make sure the vehicle has low miles, make sure it's not from the east (rust), and you will probably get a much better deal than I did if you buy components individually.

What I learned: The dissasembly guys don't really care if all of the nuts and bolts go with the parts. My conversion guy lost two days finding and ordering specialized oem ford bolts and misc parts. The shift linkage was not included and it took 5 hours to mock up a replacement. The transfer case had the wrong spline count for my transmission. Luckily the salvage yard let me trade it back in for the correct one. I did not use the shocks, springs, driveshaft, or sway bar. May have saved some bucks leaving those behind.

Other parts needed for the conversion:

The fuel tank will need to be shortened to make room for the transfer case. I had a 35 gallon tank which would have been cut down to 29. Assuming it would cost 500 dollars to chop the tank, I elected to put that money towards a new transflow 46 gallon tank which is made to fit the 4x4. If you order one of these, make sure you get the made for 4x4 model or their Quigley model. The tank cost just under 900 dollars.

Wheels are Mickey thompson Classic II 17x9 inch with a 5 inch backspacing. You have to use a 17 or larger wheel to fit over the new larger front rotors. Tires are BFG All Terrains. 285/70-17 I believe. They come out to 32.8 inches tall. Unfortunately they are only rated "D" loading instead of E. I thought I was getting E's when I ordered. The D rating is 3190 per tire (or very close to that number) so should be adequate, but my next set of tires will definitely be load range E. I bought tires and wheels from http://www.tirepackage.com/ and was very happy with their price and delivery time. The load range mistake was all me. Van wheels bolt pattern was 8 on 6.5, the new axle is an 8 on 170. That means either two seperate sets of wheels, or wheel adapters. I contacted Fred Goeske at http://www.wheeladapter.com/ and had steel adapters made. The adapters or spacers go on the rear axle and change the bolt pattern to match the front while also pushing the rear wheels out two inches to match the track of the front. Make sure you have Fred make a lip on the stud side of the adapter to match the inside of your wheel. This gives an extra safety margin, and will keep the wheel from moving on the adapter.

Driveshafts were custom made by my conversion guy. Transmission adapter must be installed to mate up with the transfer case. The transmission is a tricky part of the conversion. My transmission is a 4R100. With a 2wd there is a long output shaft on the 4R100. You can either buy a bracket (from quigley?) and keep the long transmission shaft which makes the transfer case sit farther back. Not sure how this will affect the fuel tank situation. What I did was change the output shaft on the transmission to the (4x4) shaft. You can then use the standard Ford adapter to mate the transmission to the transfer case. When the shaft is changed the whole transmission must be torn apart. They found a bad bearing in mine when it came apart which added another 1000 dollars to the bill. Better to find it now and not half way down the Baja penninsula I guess.

One of the more difficult parts of this conversion was figuring out how to make the speedometer work correctly. I was thinking old school, who cares if it doesn't work for a while, we will eventually figure it out. Wrong, the speedo gives signal to the computer which then tells the transmission when to shift. Post conversion test drive found a van going 20mph with a speedo reading 50mph and shifting into overdrive. The problem comes from the speedo pickup which was located on the tail cone portion of the transmission. Since my tailcone is now gone and replaced by the 4x4 adapter I have a problem. The pickup wire does plug directly into the new adapter, but unfortunately the signal is way off due to the different sized tone ring inside. The solution is a little magic box called a transmission ratio adapter. I used the Electronic Ratio Adapter from Abbott Enterprises. The adapter takes an incoming signal and converts it to the correct ratio to make your speedometer accurate. It can be adjusted for any tire size in the future. The down side is that if this part fails, you are stuck in second gear until it is repaired or replaced. The pickup is also on the transmission side rather than the output of the transfer case so the speedometer will be all messed up whenever you are in low range. Should work fine unless you try to go 40 in low range.

ABS:

Darnit, it was there when I started, I really want it to work when I'm finished. So far I'm having issues with the ABS system. It works great until you drive about 5 miles then the light comes on. We are currently testing the old sensors vs the new ones to see if we can figure it out. I'll get it going and post the solution soon.