BlueWolfFab
Running Behind
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
Not sure if you're on IG but saw this page and thought of Fred
Ford Build Thread: FrED the Ford. '98 E350 7.3 4x4 The More We Explore's Adventure Van
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Cool, thanks. We are on ig.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
A few more video updates.
[video=youtube;jI0zHgi20xk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI0zHgi20xk[/video]
[video=youtube;_XR9KMBk97c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XR9KMBk97c[/video]
[video=youtube;8wPRulYdNPo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wPRulYdNPo[/video]
[video=youtube;jI0zHgi20xk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI0zHgi20xk[/video]
[video=youtube;_XR9KMBk97c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XR9KMBk97c[/video]
[video=youtube;8wPRulYdNPo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wPRulYdNPo[/video]
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Getting the high top installed (sorry, no video of the actual install)
[video=youtube;RjcklVISxjM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjcklVISxjM[/video]
[video=youtube;RjcklVISxjM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjcklVISxjM[/video]
BlueWolfFab
Running Behind
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
I live vicariously through you guys 
sounds like you have something pretty cool lined up for bumpers, if there's any plasma cut brackets or anything you need, let me know.
sounds like you have something pretty cool lined up for bumpers, if there's any plasma cut brackets or anything you need, let me know.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Thanks. We don't have any ideas about the bumpers yet. I need to get that spare out of there. I'd really like to mount it underneath, behind the rear axle. I'm afraid having it on the bumper will make it too easy to jackknife the trailer. I suppose I could move the empty battery box and propane mounts on the Airstream, but that's really going to hurt resale one day, and I want to do that as a last resort.
BoostedRNR
Active Member
- Location
- Logan, Ut
I totally agree on driving in California! I was always terrified till I actually experienced it. People look out for each other and make it a lot less stressful than most people think.
BlueWolfFab
Running Behind
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
Ive only driven there once (Sacramento) and I felt like they were a little crazy yet very efficient at the same time. I was doing about 10-15 over the limit and I was getting passed by pretty much everyone. But I agree on the sign situations, but with that many people it seems like a must.
BoostedRNR
Active Member
- Location
- Logan, Ut
Yea! Very aggresive, yet aware of their surroundings.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Someone on YouTube explained it well:
"it seems here [in CA] we are a group of fish trying to get to a spot together quickly and efficiently. In Utah it's all people for themselves and then you end up on traffic jams because of one dick weed that wants to prove a point. Pay attention, they are fast paced, but they drive like your a team. not a one man marathon"
I'm not sure if CA is unique in this or not; it's the only place I've driven where I've experienced that teamwork feeling while driving. Colorado was close, in that they didn't view other drivers as enemies, but they didn't particularly function as a team either. My experience was that in CA, people will be looking a quarter mile ahead, they'll anticipate someone else's lane change 10 seconds before they put their blinker on to change lanes, they let them in, when they change lanes they accelerate so the person they pulled in front of doesn't have to brake, they don't tailgate because they realize it is unsafe, harder to read other drivers, and adds to traffic. It feels like everyone on the road is playing on your commuting team (not against you). If you're a less attentive, less aware driver in California, you're going to get honked at. It's their way of saying "hey, we've got a good thing going with this team, you're not paying attention, and your bad driving is screwing it up for everyone." It's not a hateful honk of the horn, rather a quick correction. At least that's how I saw it when I lived there.
I think Californians get frustrated when they go to other states because they expect other drivers to have an equal level of situational awareness. There's simply a different culture, and when those cultures clash, everyone thinks their culture is right and the other is wrong. Maybe it's because I grew up with the California driving culture, but it sure felt good to be back there where people drive like I do. I remember taking a week long road trip to northern ca with LOTS of driving. At the end of the week, my wife and I reflected on how I didn't get frustrated even once with another driver on that entire trip. It must be because I was back in the driving culture I grew up in. I wish I could go a week... or even a day in Utah without getting frustrated by other drivers on the road. I realize that says more about me than the other drivers, but it's been an interesting observation as I travel to different states.
Now... when you add snow and winter driving to the list of skills, CA drivers fall miserably short (which makes sense since they've never experienced true winter driving before).
"it seems here [in CA] we are a group of fish trying to get to a spot together quickly and efficiently. In Utah it's all people for themselves and then you end up on traffic jams because of one dick weed that wants to prove a point. Pay attention, they are fast paced, but they drive like your a team. not a one man marathon"
I'm not sure if CA is unique in this or not; it's the only place I've driven where I've experienced that teamwork feeling while driving. Colorado was close, in that they didn't view other drivers as enemies, but they didn't particularly function as a team either. My experience was that in CA, people will be looking a quarter mile ahead, they'll anticipate someone else's lane change 10 seconds before they put their blinker on to change lanes, they let them in, when they change lanes they accelerate so the person they pulled in front of doesn't have to brake, they don't tailgate because they realize it is unsafe, harder to read other drivers, and adds to traffic. It feels like everyone on the road is playing on your commuting team (not against you). If you're a less attentive, less aware driver in California, you're going to get honked at. It's their way of saying "hey, we've got a good thing going with this team, you're not paying attention, and your bad driving is screwing it up for everyone." It's not a hateful honk of the horn, rather a quick correction. At least that's how I saw it when I lived there.
I think Californians get frustrated when they go to other states because they expect other drivers to have an equal level of situational awareness. There's simply a different culture, and when those cultures clash, everyone thinks their culture is right and the other is wrong. Maybe it's because I grew up with the California driving culture, but it sure felt good to be back there where people drive like I do. I remember taking a week long road trip to northern ca with LOTS of driving. At the end of the week, my wife and I reflected on how I didn't get frustrated even once with another driver on that entire trip. It must be because I was back in the driving culture I grew up in. I wish I could go a week... or even a day in Utah without getting frustrated by other drivers on the road. I realize that says more about me than the other drivers, but it's been an interesting observation as I travel to different states.
Now... when you add snow and winter driving to the list of skills, CA drivers fall miserably short (which makes sense since they've never experienced true winter driving before).
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sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Funny story. We're here in Tucson, AZ right now. My wife and I went hiking on Saturday. There's a big mountain here, Mt. Lemon. They have a ski resort that's open 20 days a year. Well, it's a 45 min drive up the mountain road to get to the ski resort.
It rained a lot on Friday night, so they got a little bit of snow up top at the resort. We wanted to go hiking in the area, so we drove to the trailhead. As we approached the road, 20 miles before the summit of this moutnain, the police had barricades closing the road. It was 65* outside. As we approached, they motioned for us to stop. Here's how the conversation went...
They took a look at us in our giant solid-axle 4x4 van on 35s and said:
"road's closed."
how far up?
all the way. the entire road is closed.
We were hoping to go hiking just a mile or two up this road
Well... the road is closed unless you have four wheel drive... do you have four wheel drive?
It cracked me up, because they were expecting me to say "no, my van doesn't have 4wd." Obviously they didn't know much about vehicles. Granted, they should still check if a veichle has 4wd and not assume, but it was funny how they didn't expect me to say my van was a 4wd. Maybe it's because it's AZ and most people don't have 4x4. Maybe they just know nothing about cars. Regardless, I got a chuckle out of it.
It rained a lot on Friday night, so they got a little bit of snow up top at the resort. We wanted to go hiking in the area, so we drove to the trailhead. As we approached the road, 20 miles before the summit of this moutnain, the police had barricades closing the road. It was 65* outside. As we approached, they motioned for us to stop. Here's how the conversation went...
They took a look at us in our giant solid-axle 4x4 van on 35s and said:
"road's closed."
how far up?
all the way. the entire road is closed.
We were hoping to go hiking just a mile or two up this road
Well... the road is closed unless you have four wheel drive... do you have four wheel drive?
It cracked me up, because they were expecting me to say "no, my van doesn't have 4wd." Obviously they didn't know much about vehicles. Granted, they should still check if a veichle has 4wd and not assume, but it was funny how they didn't expect me to say my van was a 4wd. Maybe it's because it's AZ and most people don't have 4x4. Maybe they just know nothing about cars. Regardless, I got a chuckle out of it.
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sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Here you go.
[video=youtube;YcAznO9rwUs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcAznO9rwUs[/video]
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
Loving the last few videos Steve. Fred looks awesome. I'm stoked to see how your bed build turns out.
I grew up in UT and had only driven here until I was in my 20s. Last year we went to visit family in LA. I rode my DR all over the north west end of LA and up the PCH. I feel like I'm competent on a motorcycle but riding there was a little intimidating for the first day. After that I was in the zone and having a blast. People were always aware of me when I came up on them and I never felt like I was going to T bone a car pulling out of a side street like I often do here.
Funny you mentioned how scary splitting lanes looked. I felt the same way but people look at you funny if you pull up behind a car at a stop light. I was stuck in traffic on the PCH for about 20 minutes just north of Malibu and my bike was starting to get really hot. I had watched multiple bikes cruise by splitting lanes. So when the bike got too hot I went for it. It's kind of like driving into your garage between your cars at 25 mph. It was nerve racking but it got me through 5 miles of traffic fast and back to Topanga canyon. I highly recommend Topanga canyon on a motorcycle!
Anyway, thanks for taking us along.
I grew up in UT and had only driven here until I was in my 20s. Last year we went to visit family in LA. I rode my DR all over the north west end of LA and up the PCH. I feel like I'm competent on a motorcycle but riding there was a little intimidating for the first day. After that I was in the zone and having a blast. People were always aware of me when I came up on them and I never felt like I was going to T bone a car pulling out of a side street like I often do here.
Funny you mentioned how scary splitting lanes looked. I felt the same way but people look at you funny if you pull up behind a car at a stop light. I was stuck in traffic on the PCH for about 20 minutes just north of Malibu and my bike was starting to get really hot. I had watched multiple bikes cruise by splitting lanes. So when the bike got too hot I went for it. It's kind of like driving into your garage between your cars at 25 mph. It was nerve racking but it got me through 5 miles of traffic fast and back to Topanga canyon. I highly recommend Topanga canyon on a motorcycle!
Anyway, thanks for taking us along.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
I'm LOVING this van. Adding the high top has completely transformed the vehicle.
We're headed back to Utah Valley on Saturday to get some work done on the van. It's going to be a busy month as I try to get all of the following together. Here's my giant to-do list.
Mechanical
- replace (or at least turn) front rotors
- maintenance - oil change, fuel filter, tweak glow plug relay
- replace the clockspring
- install rigid dually lights
- replace rear diff sensor
Exterior
- paint the high top
- touch-up paint a few spots
- repaint the frame/axles/undercarriage
Interior
- Peel n seal floor (insulation, sound deadening)
- install a vinyl floor in the back (easier to sweep out when it gets dirty)
- clean up bike mounts (which are working really well)
- build a bed for over the bikes
- install some interior lights (TBD what we go with here)
- rewire the inverter (current wires are too stiff, replace with welding cable)
- consider tweaking the sliding drawer and rear storage solutions
- patch the floor under the spare (where the old HVAC unit was)
- wire in a 12v distribution panel (for fantastic fan, inverter, interior lights, solar one day? possibly a 20A shore power connection?)
- install a fantastic fan
If there's time (and budget)
- upgrade rotors
- build a roof rack
- install a Helton Hot Water Heater/Shower
- install a better passenger bench seat and seatbelts (still trying to decide what this will look like)
- install a locking fuel door
Stuff we won't have time for, but I'd love to do one day
- install a solar panel or two
- install a few house batteries
- install a solar charger
- trim out the interior
- install windows in the high top
- extend the fender flares to go back another 3" so the tires don't rub at full stuff
- install an aux 55 gal fuel tank behind the rear axle
- get power lock wiring working perfectly (it's intermittent)
- replace tint with limo tint
- upgrade headlights to something high-power
We're headed back to Utah Valley on Saturday to get some work done on the van. It's going to be a busy month as I try to get all of the following together. Here's my giant to-do list.
Mechanical
- replace (or at least turn) front rotors
- maintenance - oil change, fuel filter, tweak glow plug relay
- replace the clockspring
- install rigid dually lights
- replace rear diff sensor
Exterior
- paint the high top
- touch-up paint a few spots
- repaint the frame/axles/undercarriage
Interior
- Peel n seal floor (insulation, sound deadening)
- install a vinyl floor in the back (easier to sweep out when it gets dirty)
- clean up bike mounts (which are working really well)
- build a bed for over the bikes
- install some interior lights (TBD what we go with here)
- rewire the inverter (current wires are too stiff, replace with welding cable)
- consider tweaking the sliding drawer and rear storage solutions
- patch the floor under the spare (where the old HVAC unit was)
- wire in a 12v distribution panel (for fantastic fan, inverter, interior lights, solar one day? possibly a 20A shore power connection?)
- install a fantastic fan
If there's time (and budget)
- upgrade rotors
- build a roof rack
- install a Helton Hot Water Heater/Shower
- install a better passenger bench seat and seatbelts (still trying to decide what this will look like)
- install a locking fuel door
Stuff we won't have time for, but I'd love to do one day
- install a solar panel or two
- install a few house batteries
- install a solar charger
- trim out the interior
- install windows in the high top
- extend the fender flares to go back another 3" so the tires don't rub at full stuff
- install an aux 55 gal fuel tank behind the rear axle
- get power lock wiring working perfectly (it's intermittent)
- replace tint with limo tint
- upgrade headlights to something high-power
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sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
anyone have any great 12v distribution ideas? I've got about 5 leads going straight to the battery, and some of them are upwards of 50A. I'd love to see some ideas of how to tie in a bunch of 12v systems to a battery in a clean and expandable way.
I have the following electronics. Currently I don't have a dedicated house battery, but I'd like to in the future:
- stereo amplifiers
- fridge
- inverter
- ham radio
- auxilary lights
- fantastic fan
I have the following electronics. Currently I don't have a dedicated house battery, but I'd like to in the future:
- stereo amplifiers
- fridge
- inverter
- ham radio
- auxilary lights
- fantastic fan
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rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
Did you not see the way I have all my lights wired this last weekend? Very simple and clean
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
does your setup use a bunch of relays? What's the max voltage you can run?
BlueWolfFab
Running Behind
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
Ford makes a relay (same size as the 35 amp ones) that is rated to 70 or 75 amps. I have one at my house, I've opened it up and it has way bigger and heavier duty internals and it also uses 3/8" wide spade terminals instead of the 1/4" wide ones like on the 35 amp relays. If you'd be interested I could get you a part number.
rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
Texted You
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
It's so hard to upload pics here from my phone, but I'll be keeping my Instagram updated throughout this week. @themoreweexplore
Over the next few days we hope to have the new floor in, then we can start building on top of that.
Over the next few days we hope to have the new floor in, then we can start building on top of that.