Maniak's 4x4 Van Tow Rig...

[Maniak]

...What about the van being ready for the "Tow Rig Run"..??..

Its pretty much ready for that. Heck I haven't even fixed the body damage I did to it on the last tow rig run. Body damage is always lower on the priority list (if it gets fixed). Since its the tow rig, no LS or lockers for that.

Oh yea, its not going anywhere near Shows hill.. (sp?).

I just noticed I didn't post the vids of van in the 2009 tow rig run in here...





~Mark

 

[Maniak]

Answer to the million dollar question....

How many amps does the Taurus Electric Fan conversion use? Here is your answer.. I tested it tonight..

The spike looks to be over 60 Amps with a continuous draw of just over 30 amps. I believe the spike appears to peg the meter because I'm using an ammeter with a shunt. The meter is actually reading the voltage drop across the shunt as for a split moment its got a large voltage drop. From watching the meter it appears it starts to settle down around 60 Amps which tells me the inrush of current is over 60 amps...

Soo, here you go...



~Mark

 

[Freshmeat]

This van is entirely too cool and I absolutely want one, now. I wonder how hard it'd be to find one when I finally sell my station wagon.

 

[Maniak]

Thunders Garage is the best place to find them.. Craigslist works too, but they are rare.. ebay, they are usually overpriced.

http://www.thundersgarage.com/4x4vans4sale.html

~Mark

 

[WV_02L2]

I took a drive up to the Phoenix area last night and picked up some tires..

265x75r16 Hercules All Trac AT Load range E

Brand new, out the door was $440, plus about $25 for Gas (used a friends pickup and combined some other errands last evening)..

Hate to bring up an old thread.... anyhow: I've been looking for new tires for my F150 and found the All Trac A/T's. How have these performed over the last couple years?

Thanks!

 

[Maniak]

Poorly. I only have 1 left on the rim and it is now the spare. I've broken/slipped the belt on 3 of them. I run them at 60psi up front and 70psi in the rear. I was well within the weight and pressure limits BUT the carcass just doesn't hold up. They were great for the first few trips to truckhaven etc. but they quickly started to cause steering/shaking issues.

I should have known they wouldn't last when I noticed that the center of the tire was bulging out (crowned) at the top of the tire. I just chalked it up to the way "these" were made and figured it was normal with these tires. Even if it is normal, the tires just didn't hold up.

They were cheap, but they just aren't worth it. They may have not had issues if I didn't run as much air in them but I specifically bought E rated tires since the Van is 6000 lbs and I was towing most of the time (the van isn't used much otherwise (not at low teens for highway mileage). Total I'd say there were 7000 or so miles if that on last tire I took off the road.

~Mark

 

[XPLRN]

Thanks...........

Thanks, Mark, for sending me the link to this thread, I'm bumping it up with this response. I have really enjoyed reading this build thread, how many miles have you put on the van to date and are you happy with it??

Many years ago, 2007 IIRC, I had seen this 4x4 van for sale on Craigslist but due to the location I didn't go down and look at it. We/Mark and I were both on the Yahoo 4x4 van page and I noted where Mark had ended up buying that van. We had communicated briefly about it back then and talked about doing the single track bar installation.

Ironically I ended up buying the exact same vehicle with a bit different body configuration, later on in 2007 up in Payson, Arizona. Unfortunately it had received a really poor paint job in it's previous life before the seller had gotten it. However due to all the great mechanical upgrades/modifications that the guy that was selling it had done I figured it would be a great place to start!! It is a 1978 E-250, 460/C6/205/Dana44Front/Dana61Rear with the Chateau package.

This build thread has given me some great ideas, the electric fan for one, on modifications to my van. Also glad to get your review of those tires, sorry they didn't work out for you as planned :-( . When going thru this thread I liked look of them when you first got them and it got me to thinking they might be something I'd be interested in.

I've finally completed an extensive rear suspension re-build with some 1ton+ springs that should handle the heavy tongue weight expected with the travel trailer we will be towing in the future!!

These images are thumbnails, the full sized picture can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnail.

 

[Josh P]

XPLRN, welcome to this forum. I love the power of a 460 but my wallet can't handle it's drinking habit.