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My two cents, stick to an express/savana in any engine config (maybe not the 6 cylinder but it's good on gas) or econoline, whatever is the one in the best shape that you can find. If you want a tall roof, don't just budget 7500 for getting that done, instead get something that's already high roof. And if that's what you want then you're looking at either a wheelchair/handicap van with the lift in the rear, one of the conversion vans like the one with the old TV or a T1N sprinter. If you get a t1n, then you want '04-06 not earlier. And you can get in and out relatively inexpensively as long as you're willing to do some work. For example, I bet this dude will drive out to you. https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/d/tempe-beautiful-2005-dodge-sprinter/7629219907.html And glow plugs are pretty easy, just have to soak them in penetrating oil for a week and then they usually spin right out (unless they don't then you're hosed, but they should). On the other hand, all of this should also be ringing alarm bells in your head where you have to ask yourself seriously about what you're looking for, what's going on in your life and so on that this may not really be the appropriate forum for. Sell the truck, buy a shitbox and a tent and go find a job and build some community. Work on yourself and in a few years come back to this idea and you'll be happier than if you try to solve your problems with a truck. Or a van. Even though vans own.
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Jun 14, 2023 19:30
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An old cube van would be a decent choice if you want to build it yourself. My work has a "cab width" GMC 3500 SRW and its tall enough to stand up in with a bit of room to spare. I guess that depends on how tall you are. I'm a couple inches less than 6 feet. Its no wider than the cab of the van hence the name "cab width". Anywho, its a big box with square corners and square everything. So theres no need to try and even trace the wheel wells to try and make something fit nicely. All that poo poo needs is some 90s and 45s for cuts. Put a bed in one corner, some shelves above it, a few containers to fit underneath. Some shelves on the other wall. etc etc etc.
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Jun 14, 2023 22:42
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wesleywillis posted:An old cube van would be a decent choice if you want to build it yourself. I'd be very hesitant to build out a box truck, especially an older one. They leak. They all leak. They leak from the factory. At the rear door, between the box and the cab, at the corners, through the fuel filler tube pass-through (if so equipped), up through the floor, water, water, everywhere.
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Jun 15, 2023 18:05
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I've had leaky ones before but my experience with several of them is they don't leak that often and I've never had anything bad enough that a caulking gun and tube of silicone can't fix.
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Jun 15, 2023 21:37
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builds character posted:On the other hand, all of this should also be ringing alarm bells in your head where you have to ask yourself seriously about what you're looking for, what's going on in your life and so on that this may not really be the appropriate forum for.  not to turn this into a therapy thread (I mean, aren't we all waiting for our super-deformed anime statue to print out?), and I have been thinking #vanlife thoughts for years and years previous to this but right now isn't the time. First of all, I'm in my mid 40s. Objectively, right now in front of my PC, I may be OK with rolling around in a shitbox and sleeping on a cot in the back, but once I'm in-situ I think that will get old within days. Not to rule out van life at all - I just have to make a shitload of compromises because of my personal circumstances, whereas if I can suffer the truck until I'm working again, I could actually buy what I want. (or fix the truck so maybe its not so lovely  )I could write a novel about my life and why I want to live out of my vehicle, but ultimately its not important and not realistic. I've romanticized the idea of being a nomad IT warrior to myself, but I cannot shake the feeling that I would be much better served by moving back to New Jersey/New York and going back to my old work, and going back to 2x vacation a year and the usual bullshit corporate grind. I genuinely do not want to do that, which is part of why I have been so frenetic in this truck thread - there's a way for me to pull off the nomad IT warrior, but I feel like I'm tunneling through granite when I move in that direction. That said, I have been applying for hybrid roles up and down the west coast and I'm very certain I'll get something, if only because I'm willing to go out to Eugene or Rancho Cucamonga. Once I'm back to work things will be different. Also to add - I'm not necessarily going to be homeless anytime soon. I may be technically homeless in September when my lease is up and I refuse to renew, but that will be a choice (and probably backed up by needing to move somewhere for work.)((Side tangent - I've been remote for 20+ years, and for unfathomable reasons every job I've applied for has a hybrid requirement. None of the poo poo I work on lives on site.  ))so not to be completely schizophrenic, but I've decided to circle back around and focus on getting the truck comfortable. To that end, I followed the advice of the thread and went and picked up stock front and rear shocks for 20 bux, 2" spacers for 40 bux (that will get returned to Amazon asap) and a p. decent napa floor jack with jack stands for 40 bux. Its getting a little late to get started here, but I'm going to crack this out in the morning.
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Jun 16, 2023 00:52
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Wait, what's the difference between #vanlife sleeping arrangements and #overlanding sleeping arrangements? Best way forward still seems to be to sell the truck to an Instagram influencer, and embrace that plush American van life.
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Jun 16, 2023 02:22
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Bajaha posted:Best way forward still seems to be to sell the truck to an Instagram influencer  This is the way. I have... ideas... on a foamcore hardsided pop up camper, but there's no reason to chase them on a 5' bed. And although I'm leery to buy another Tacoma again, because of the seating configuration, the 4g Tacoma literally addresses every single complaint I have with the truck, big and small. They even raise the seat two inches  I think I'd also consider Nissan because I've had 3 Nissan trucks and all three of them were fantastic. If I wanted to take the lessons I've learned from this process and try to build a truck camper v2, I would start on a 6' bed without question, although after watching a couple of 4x4 vanlife Youtubes ( Primal Outdoors and ForestyForest) Vans are just so much better at the actual living part, as compared to the off roading part. I'm specifically jealous of ForestyForest's 2016 GMC 3500 van with the Quigley conversion. which kinda circles back around to why i'm trying to keep the truck for now. Accutune said they'd revalve the shocks for free, and I'm somewhat hopeful that I can get through that whole process without spending a penny. If the truck were to ride smooth, than I can deal with the lovely seat. Yes, a van is going to be more comfortable in basically every way... until a 20+ year old van with 100k miles has a major breakdown. If I finish up my truck (by finish I mean get the ride squared away and complete the little projects around the truck, maybe do a very simple interior build) then i could sell it on Instagram for pretty decent cash. Otherwise, I'm either trying to convince a shady used car lot on how they can sell that dream to someone else, or I have to part out everything and get it back to stock-ish for Carvana to take it. If I can be patient for a few more months, I can get exactly what I want. If I have to live in the truck for a month or two while things get worked out, .
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Jun 16, 2023 03:16
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This is a dumb idea. Who gives a poo poo if you hate the ride on the taco? Sell it to someone with all the bells and whistles and let them decide for themselves if they hate the ride or if they get blinded by the bling of all the extras you’ve added. Also, see a therapist. Self care is extraordinarily important.
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Jun 16, 2023 04:22
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Yeah... imagine if I hosed up the Fox shocks somehow, or somehow the truck fell off the jack stand, or at the most basic level - if the revalve doesnt mean anything. Accutune said they'd take the truck for a week in August and tune it for free, so if I still have the truck then I'll do that. for the thread - in your opinion, whats the fastest way to sell the truck? I'd think about just trading it in, because shady used car lots would be the type to take that truck & they seem to have the best selection of vans, but I'd have to assume they would rob me blind. Make an instagram post saying FOR SALE and tag smalltruckcampers? FB marketplace could be ok, but OfferUp or  Craigslist seem like an exercise in frustration. I'm going to make a post on Tacomaworld as well, although the whole site 'd at my complaints about the ride quality (and the guy from Upland Outfitters chimed into the thread to say that they spoke to Fox about the valving, and Fox ended up sending them out Performance Elite to test.) Would autotrader be worthwhile?EDIT I know this is a loaded question, but how many miles is too many? Seems like Ford or Chevy V8s require a timing chain service between 80-120k. Assuming all the service has been done, is a 150k mile van  OK ? (obvs depending on specific van) And another loaded questions - Are Sprinter vans worth it? the super high roof is a big attraction, but there is certainly a #vanlife premium, plus it seems like a lot of models have insane mileage. Also I don't know anything about diesels?
Vampire Panties fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jun 16, 2023 |
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Jun 16, 2023 18:54
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Imo if Toyota tax and problems scares you stay the gently caress away from diesels.
cursedshitbox fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Jun 16, 2023 |
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Jun 16, 2023 19:03
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cursedshitbox posted:Imo if Toyota tax scares you stay the gently caress away from diesels. I think I've driven a diesel on the road exactly once, some lovely delivery van from NJ down to Philly. I understand the mechanical concepts of a diesel, and I'm sure I could figure stuff out, but why. Even the E150/1500s V6 gassers have 500lb+ payload over the truck now, and thats without a 550lb camper shell. A V8 3/4 ton is literally 2.5x the capacity I have now. Also, I'm never towing anything, but I'd think about getting a good hitch motorcycle carrier and picking up something reasonable. I had a DRZ-400 a kerjillion years ago and while it sucked rear end on SoCal freeways, it would be a supreme grocery getter.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:14
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If a one time use ten thousand dollar fuel system on a twenty five thousand dollar engine doesn't scare you then by all means.... I am literally posting with two extremely broken diesels at the moment that's gonna take an injection of kilodollars to get back to operational. Do. Not. Be. Me.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:20
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Vampire Panties posted:Yeah... imagine if I hosed up the Fox shocks somehow, or somehow the truck fell off the jack stand, or at the most basic level - if the revalve doesnt mean anything. Accutune said they'd take the truck for a week in August and tune it for free, so if I still have the truck then I'll do that. Whats the issue with just plastering it everywhere right now? insta, tacoworld, FB marketplace, craigslist. I would definitely do autotrader as last time I sold a vehicle (although admittedly a motorcycle and motorcycletrader) I a higher ratio of serious hits:shitbags from there than elsewhere. Just be direct about what you're selling, take some good pictures of the truck and all the cool stuff it has and DON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE RIDE. Let the buyer figure out whether or not they like it. Sell. The. Truck. Stop overthinking it. Go get a lovely hybrid job you don't want while you're figuring life out and then move on from literally any position other than "soon I will be homeless and I have invested every ounce of frustration in my life into the need to fix this truck and make it work for me." Buy a shitbox. You can sleep in an astro just as well as in a fullsize van if you're convinced that's necessary but otherwise just get the nicest conversion van you can find for the cheapest and go from there. (but don't do this, sell the truck, buy a used prius and figure out where you're going for work before moving on to the next stage of life that involves a sick van buildout).
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Jun 16, 2023 19:59
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DO NOT DO A DIESEL. You're already over your head with a gasser. They're a pain in the rear end on pickups; in a van body they're pretty much impossible to work on. A Sprinter style van will drive worlds better than the typical Econoline or Express, but like anything else snub-nosed, they're a pain to work on. ESPECIALLY the diesel Mercedes-based ones. A modern Ford Transit handles like a drat go cart compared to an Econoline, but they have tons of issues. I used to have to pick up brand new* (had a few hundred miles from being driven for a wrap) Transits, and I was shocked if there weren't at least a TPMS and check engine light when I got them (and if they weren't on when I picked them up, it was only bc the battery had been disconnected - they'd be on by the time I got them to the office). Often a random "door open" warning too. They drive really well for what they are, but they have to be one of the worst built vehicles on the market right now. Transits with the NA 3.5 or 3.7 in particular seem to like making GBS threads out water pumps. Did I mention the water pump is timing chain driven on them? There's a weep hole and even a tiny little tray to direct the coolant to the ground so you MIGHT notice it before it dumps your entire cooling system into the oil pan, but in reality that tray is so hot from the exhaust manifold that it never makes it to the ground. The only engines available on the USDM Transit right now are the 3.5 NA and 3.5 Ecoboost (don't do the Ecoboost - they move decent enough with the NA 3.5, the NA is more reliable as well). I never thought I'd see the day when I'd recommend a Nissan, but a high roof Nissan NV with the V8 wouldn't be a bad idea for #vanlife. Yeah, they're discontinued, but most of the mechanical parts are shared with the Frontier and Titan. The 4.0 V6 isn't bad either, but it's pretty slow even when empty. They're kind of a pain to park thanks to the long nose, but they pretty much have the nose from a pickup - they're as easy to work on as a pickup. They were the most reliable vehicles we had at the last place I worked with vans; 2017s with >200k miles were running circles around brand new Transits with <3k in terms of repairs.
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Jun 16, 2023 21:33
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UPDATE Truck is listed on Instagram, Offerup, etcI'm detailing the truck this weekend and will post purdy pics of it Mondayish. randomidiot posted:I never thought I'd see the day when I'd recommend a Nissan, but a high roof Nissan NV with the V8 wouldn't be a bad idea for #vanlife. Yeah, they're discontinued, but most of the mechanical parts are shared with the Frontier and Titan. The 4.0 V6 isn't bad either, but it's pretty slow even when empty. They're kind of a pain to park thanks to the long nose, but they pretty much have the nose from a pickup - they're as easy to work on as a pickup. They were the most reliable vehicles we had at the last place I worked with vans; 2017s with >200k miles were running circles around brand new Transits with <3k in terms of repairs. Personal anecdote, but I have beaten the absolute loving poo poo out of Nissan light trucks and they were all fantastic.* I'd heavily considered getting a 4th Frontier before this Tacoma, but in TYOOL 2019 they were still on the 2005-2021 generation, and I wanted ~eXtRa fEaTuReS~.On the NV, not sure if I would go with the V6 or the V8. Reliability seems to be excellent with both engines, although I know the nissan V8 is a gas guzzler, and I'd have to assume the V6 is one sad loving panda on a highway grade in the mountains. Weirdly the NV2500 is rated with a 3klb+ payload either way. Alternatively, that Ford Econoline linked earlier itt (https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ctd/d/corona-ford-econoline-hi-top-raised/7627482442.html) is literally half the price of a comparable NV with similar mileage. its at least 10+ years older than any of the NV models I looked at, buuut at 88k miles on the odometer... its not like it sat in a field, and really any used model I'm looking at could be a leaky piece of poo poo. I could buy this Ford, learn how to build a van in-situ, and then if #vanlife suits me, I could sell it for a minimal loss and upgrade to a Nissan. *somewhere there is footage of me driving my Hardbody in the local fairgrounds Mud Bog. Out of 300+ trucks, I drew 7th place and 4 quit out before me. IIRC the trucks who actually went before were a propane-injected Dodge diesel, a F-150 ranger on 35s, and some crazy rear end mud buggy jeep. They all made it through in <1 minute. My 4" lift with 31" tires Nissan got buried up to the axles in the 1st second, and then spent  seven minutes at full WOT crawling through that mud pit. I had to turn the heater to full blast in the 1st minute to keep it from overheating, and every temperature gauge on the dash was redlined when I touched the finish line. I washed the truck off, changed the oil, and it was fine for years after that.
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Jun 17, 2023 20:43
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Vampire Panties posted:UPDATE Good for you.
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Jun 20, 2023 23:14
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Vampire Panties posted:On the NV, not sure if I would go with the V6 or the V8. Reliability seems to be excellent with both engines, although I know the nissan V8 is a gas guzzler, and I'd have to assume the V6 is one sad loving panda on a highway grade in the mountains. Weirdly the NV2500 is rated with a 3klb+ payload either way. I know the V6 NV can hit 105 on a flat road when lightly loaded, and still had a little bit to give. I wouldn't want to take it through the mountains in the van body though. I can attest to the V6 being thirsty as hell, I usually saw ~12 MPG in my work van (3500 V6, 6 speed auto IIRC), though that was doing delivery duty and wasn't shut off at all the entire day (so lots of idling). It was constantly hunting between the top 2 gears at typical highway speeds here (~80ish).
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Jun 21, 2023 01:57
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builds character posted:Good for you.  Tiny update - I spent the last few days selling random stuff instead of cleaning. Also there are two minor things I need to deal with before I get to the detailing stage. Specifically I need to fix the wiring to the license plate light and the 3rd brake on the tire carrier, and I have to finish up the drivers side grab handle installation. Truck is 100% for sale and I will get a sign posted on it today. BoundForNowhere just listed their 2019 Tundra with a FWC camper for 100k (  )Their truck is less built and has way more miles, so asking for 50k for my truck feels right. randomidiot posted:I know the V6 NV can hit 105 on a flat road when lightly loaded, and still had a little bit to give. I wouldn't want to take it through the mountains in the van body though. I had the V6 / VQ33e in a 2004 frontier. It was a good motor, although the timing belt / interference engine bit always spooked me  . It too got absolute poo poo gas mileage. A buddy of mine had an 04 Titan with the V8, and it got trash gas mileage as well, but he used it as a tow rig while he lived out of a 24' travel trailer for 3ish years and ran it up to 220k miles (IIRC).Did some serious trolling on FB marketplace last night and I keep circling back to a Nissan NV2500 with a V8*. Pricing/availability for other high top vans is all over the place - there are certainly less expensive high top vans out there, but they're significantly older, and the vast majority of them are handicap vans. There's probably some value to be recouped in selling the lift equipment, but I read this article about how actual handicap vans are becoming rare because they keep getting bought up by #vanlife people. If I could avoid doing all of that I would. There's also a lot of people selling their failed #vanlife project, which seems to have vacuumed up the used work vans. There's the oddball passenger conversion vans from the 90s that Grandpa let sit in the yard for 20 years. I've seen some real values there, but none of the raised roofs on those are really tall. Transits, Promasters, and anything less than full sized are non-starters for me. Seems I can find a 2012-2014 NV2500 with a V8 for $15kish private party with ~100k miles., but I'm going to put the van hunt on hold and focus all my energy on getting the truck sold. *Stupid redneck reason to like Nissan -  it will fit a 280/70r17 tire stock 
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Jun 21, 2023 17:31
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Buddy of mine has an Xterra with a rooftop tent he uses for camping in Joshua Tree / Sierras when rock climbing and honestly that plus an electric gravel seems like a nice setup for getting further into the parks for hiking et c
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Jun 21, 2023 18:00
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luminalflux posted:Buddy of mine has an Xterra with a rooftop tent he uses for camping in Joshua Tree / Sierras when rock climbing and honestly that plus an electric gravel seems like a nice setup for getting further into the parks for hiking et c I really like Xterras and test drove both generations, but ignoring SMOD, they're really small on the inside and their isn't much aftermarket support. I thought the 1st generation was comparable to an XJ, and the 2nd gen is smaller than a 4runner / about the same size as a JKU. I've owned a 4runner AND a JKU already, and both of them are too small for what I want to do. If I wanted to go that route I could keep my truck - there's nothing demanding that I move into a vehicle, Accutune said they'd tune the suspension for free in 6ish weeks time, and moving to get another job would be exactly that - moving. Setting aside the idea of living in the vehicle and my personal employment situation, thats not really want I want from a vehicle I want something that is very comfortable on the freeway, with limited off-roading capability, that I can take out to the wild parts of North America for 5+ days at a time, in as much reasonable comfort as possible. My truck, an Xterra, another JKU - none of those would really be considered freeway champs and they're not really comfortable, although the 4x4 performance is great. Without writing a big novel about payload and bed size, I don't think anything midsize is going to work for me. Fullsize or bust. I had been really interested in the NV2500, buut it seems that getting anything for the rear end is (almost) impossible - gears, limited slip, or a locker are simply unavailable for anything but the NV3500, which shares the same rear end as the comparable year Titan XD, so in theory I could swap in Titan parts. I should put airquotes around in theory twice, because I couldn't find anyone whose claimed to do it, let alone a youtube video explaining the process. Spending an afternoon putting in a <$1k locker is an essential part of my build plan, because I'm not going to buy a 4x4 van or convert it to 4x4 anytime soon. Since the NV2500/3500 already commanded a premium over a comparable Econoline, I can't justify the Nissan in any way. At a certain level, a F250 single cab long bed 4x4 could fit literally any truck camper off Facebook et el. and have more room than a van. My brother has an F250 so I'm familiar with them and I've drove them for quite a few miles, they're not necessarily what I would call comfortable but they're very predictable. This would be a reasonable turnkey solution, in that I could find a truck and a camper thats ready to go and hit the road, but I'm not sure if its the best option. Most notably, I kinda want the van-ness of having the open interior behind me. Truck cabs are claustrophobic. So despite CSBs ongoing F'ed On Race Day issues, I'm very inclined towards a Ford Van. The aftermarket support is insane, and there's a ton of high top options to choose from. Seems like there arent as many Chevy/GMC vans available, there is much less aftermarket support, and I've rarely seen any with high tops. also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U7EC60U9-4&t=477s I've driven my truck over those exact same ruts at the exact same speed (I think in the Fiesta Island video I linked). If a van can do that, there is zero reason for me to keep my truck.
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Jun 21, 2023 23:42
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Please do not do the f250. If anything csb has shown physically and practically how inadequate most truck frames are for in bed campers especially when your going off road. You'll have the same issues, torsning the frame and rip in the middle of nowhere.
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Jun 22, 2023 14:41
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350 gasser. Pick your poison if you want an econoline or super shitter. The cutaway econolines get a better frame. The E550 literally sits on a F550 frame with the entire running gear of one. They're old and rare now. I'm not getting into pushrod fords for they come in obs and older. These imo are unsuitable for a tc unless it's a f-superduty(F450). Considering I own a 350 from that period with a 'wide' frame that's been broken 7 times and the transmission is hilariously destroyed. 5.4(underpowered) | 6.2 | 7.3 (eats cams, swap with aftermarket) The 4.6 is unsuitable for this application. the 2V won't hold its plugs and the 3V won't let them go. There's tools for dealing with both. Get them. The 6.8 V10 is a turd. 5R110 | 6R140 The 4R100 is long in tooth. The 10R140 is junk The 10.5, Dana 80, Dana 110/130/135/300M are all fine rear axles. The Dana 50 front is weedy, opt for the 60. The wide track super 60 is better yet. *************** Do not exceed the payload/gvr of the loving vehicle Ford publishes TC/Slide in weights for their smaller trucks. This specific rating is sometimes lower than its published payload. Stick to its loving ratings. Superduty 'wide' pickup frames are heat treated. Do Not gently caress With Them. The 'narrow' cab chassis frames are not. The de-rate for a slide in is due to the duty cycle and how the load is spread on the frame. TCs are a big heavy immutable box that puts sharp dynamic loads on the frame. *************** None of this poo poo will ride good unless you opt for a 2005.5+ Super shitter. Keldermann and liquid spring has you covered. Lastly Driver Returns On Foot.
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Jun 22, 2023 16:02
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Vampire Panties posted:
Hey there, seems like you're experiencing project creep already! May I please suggest once more buying whatever it is once you've sold your truck and then putting an air mattress in the back and just going? Then take some notes. No. More notes than that. Most of the trails I've seen on the internet absolutely require some caution and clever driving but I suspect you will have bigger issues than 4wd/locking rear diff and you just won't know what those are until you've tried living in a van for a few days. (it's bathroom, shower and cooking). OK, I spoke too soon. What about... this!  https://www.facebook.com/commerce/listing/595883809193776/ builds character fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Jun 23, 2023 |
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Jun 23, 2023 19:01
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Legit didn't think that was a Chevy, thought it was a Freightliner ambulance conversion
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Jun 23, 2023 19:40
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Vampire Panties posted:
The NV got the VQ40, which used a timing chain. Remember, the NV is (loosely) based on the Titan, not Frontier. Most of them were close to 200k, I think mine was the lowest mileage NV we had at maybe 140k (mainly bc it was cursed, that thing spent more time in the body shop than on the road). They're a lot more comfortable than a Ford Transit or Econoline too. I spent 12+ hours a day in it, it just just kinda hard to get in and out of for me bc of how high up the 3500 is (arthritis). Cloth seats and carpet up front too, vs vinyl in the Transits. The Transits got better mileage and scooted better, but of the two companies I worked for that had Transits, both had to keep a couple of spare vans (at least 1 or 2 were always in the shop, but part of that is the fleet company they both used took 2-3 weeks just for a drat oil change, god help you if you sent it in for tires - I think we had 8 in the shop at one point). The company that had both NVs and Transits had the NVs serviced at an indie shop, they had much better turnaround. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jun 24, 2023 |
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Jun 24, 2023 20:42
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May as well update this. So truck hasn't sold. Literally zero meaningful offers, even after cutting the price substantially. Since Accutune had offered to take the truck for a week and revalve the shocks for free, and the truck hadn't sold, I decided to take them up on their offer (also secretly hoping they could fix the issue)  they made the suspension STIFFER. Also burned half a tank of gas joyriding my truck for the week. Thankfully I didn't pay those guys anything, I would have lost my mind if I had gone through all the work+cost of taking the shocks off and having them revalved+rebuilt. I have to because its so frustrating, I'd been emailing their main sales guy for months, supplied Youtube videos, had a very earnest 45 minute conversation with him explicitly about what I was expecting from the truck, contacted them in the middle of the week to confirm they found the issues, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand all those dumb fucks heard was "race car truck? race car truck!  ". Fwiw its probably the best handling 3rd gen Taco with a giant camper in existence, but that's loving meaningless to me. Maybe you could take a GFC camper fast through the dirt, but my camper will obviously shake itself apart. EDIT I played a hunch and drove over speedbumps at 30mph and it was smooth*  Truck's cursed, there's literally nothing else to be done, I'm going to start tearing it apart tomorrow and trade it in this week to Carvana or Cargurus for whatever I can get for it. I may just not have a vehicle for a while & let the karmic stink of this whole debacle air out. Honestly I'm not sure what I did wrong here, but sometimes things just don't work out *i dont have anything in the bed, but I'm assuming that anything stored in the bed would still bounce around like normal, so if I were using the truck for its visible purpose I couldn't actually go faster over speedbumps 
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Aug 12, 2023 00:21
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I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I have to vent this somewhere. As a complete, utter, last-ditch attempt to try and figure out this truck, I called Accutune today and spoke with the owner/lead tech. Tl;dr - he blamed me for everything, and its one of the most aggravating phone calls I've ever had. gently caress that guy.  I started with what I kept reiterating through the call - I originally bought the suspension because I wanted on street comfort. I don't care about performance, on road or off. I need the truck to be comfortable to drive on the freeway for hours so I can go visit national parks. I said specifically that I wanted the truck to ride like a pillow, but I may as well have told him that I wanted the truck to transmogrify into a loving T-rex. That dude has literally zero comprehension of what I wanted from the truck at all, or any comprehension of what I tried to explain on the call. First he said that I needed to set everything on the DSCs to wide open and that I'd grow to like the tune if I gave it a few days "once you get it going at 75 on the freeway you'll see " (  I could write an entire rant about this specific statement but I'll put it simply - what the gently caress will the truck suspension do, loving ripen? Whats the point of the DSCs if I have to set them wide open for daily driving? also finally I don't go 75mph on the freeway. Honestly I'm grinding my teeth and sighing trying to type out all the different reasons I don't speed on the freeway, especially in a 6000lb truck with 5.29 gears, and how that has never, ever, EVER been an expectation, so I'll move on*) The dipshit also heavily insinuated that I needed to drive the truck harder which  The truck camper is put together with glue and screws, what in the everloving gently caress does this idiot think will happen to it if I drive this truck hard? what does he think will happen to the contents inside? I say the settings were wide open when I left their shop and I drove it that way for a half hour, and the ride comfort was worse then when I brought it to them. I said that I used to be able to tolerate the truck for about an hour on the freeway, but even the half hour ride back from their shop made my lower back hurt. He ignores that (because that's how narcs work) and then said the truck was too heavy, and that because I had such heavy springs (700lb coils in the front, Deaver Stage 3 in the rear) that "I basically have a 3/4 ton truck now and it rides accordingly" I say the truck's heavy, but all the extra crap is (just) within payload range. Then he blamed me and said that I had unrealistic expectations, which I countered with saying that they had made the truck worse by bringing it to them,and circling back to what I said at the beginning of the call, I bought the suspension because I wanted the truck to ride smoother on the street than the factory suspension, which he countered with saying that they had to stiffen up the suspension, because "the way the truck had been, it was unsafe to drive on the road and we couldn't let it go that way" I told him that was what the heavy duty sway bars were for, and that I'd had this complaint since the first day, and I'd drove the stupid truck for over 2 years that way, and at one point even added 200lbs of loving sandbags to the back as ballast, and then the guy started to spin into the weight balance of the truck shell and the cabover (the shell weighs 550lb total, and 80% is in the bed) so I hung up on him. Honestly this rear end in a top hat may as well have read straight down the narcissists prayer. Like I said in my previous post, performance but its not. I've drove/rode countless other performance vehicles, from crazy sports cars to SAS monstrosities, and here's one thing they have in common - YOU DONT FEEL BUMPS ON CITY STREETS. I drove/rode in my buddies KOH Jeep and that thing would literally drive 20mph over rubble smoother than my truck drives in a parking lot. The handling on the truck stays flat through turns because I have Hellwig front and rear sway bars, not because of their loving "tune". The best way I can describe the truck street performance is a 90s civic that was lowered by cutting the springs. Truck was pretty bad before, but its literally loving worthless now. The one thing that I genuinely didnt think could happen, happened. That means that literally every time I've taken this truck into be serviced, its gone in the opposite direction of what I have wanted.   Every time I had vacation money i spent it on an upgrade on the truck, thinking "oh at least I'll get to enjoy this all year". I never enjoyed this truck on a trip. Not once.I dont have words for how mad and upset I am about this whole thing (why I'm posting here ). I drive this truck like a sedan. I told them over and over and over that I dont take the truck off road, I dont care about performance, all I cared about was ride quality, and a bunch of assholes took my money and built a piece of poo poo. The ride quality issues have clearly been the Accutune shocks this entire time, and its now apparent there isn't a single loving thing I can do about them. I'm going to capture some gopro footage tomorrow, and then I get to begin the wildly unenviable task of undoing the last four years of work on the truck so I can loving sell it to Carvana *one note - I never re-calibrated the speedo. What this mongoloid thinks is 75mph is actually 81mph. The truck has 5.29 gears. its doing 3k RPMs at 75/81mph. The truck may as well flash "DEAR GOD NEVER DRIVE ME THIS FAST" signs on the dashboard. The guy mentioned a particular bump about 10 minutes on the freeway from their shop, so my truck has pointlessly had its neck wrung for the last week and which also explains how they burned a half tank of gas
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Aug 15, 2023 06:26
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Hellwig swaybars? I didn't know the ultimate warrior made away bars... That's probably the problem. They're too roided out for the truck.
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Aug 15, 2023 15:04
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Ambassadorofsodomy posted:Hellwig swaybars? the part that kills me - the truck does ride smooth , if I drive 10-15mph above whatever the posted speed limit is. Maybe they think I drive like an rear end in a top hat everywhere? So its entirely possible that the truck could be tuned perfectly for exactly what I want, I just have to find someone who is willing & knows how. As CSB said I could head out to King of the Hammers and find a Fox sherpa, buuuut thats five months away at a minimum. Thinking about it, its the shocks that are bad. All of the other custom work to the truck is fine*. The shocks can be fixed or replaced, and while there are things I don't like about the truck, All Cars Are poo poo, and it would be  to start over on something else. Plus I know a shitload about Tacos know . Most importantly I dont want to be intellectually wrapped up in selling this truck/finding a replacement/building that out for adventure/using it when I have so much other life stuff I should be doing. The Accutune dude swore that I would like the truck if I put some weight in it and gave it some time, so I may as well do that and just focus on other stuff for a few months. I really want to move out of Socal permanently, so that would mean either SF or NYC (or beyond), and I dont know if I'd want a vehicle in those scenarios. I started this whole build because I was bored out of my mind during COVID and wanted to get back out to national parks, but my real life changed and I'm not in a position to go loving around in the back country for a few months (or I'd have a shitload of money so I could just get a 4x4 Sprinter or start over in a Gladiator). *the Accutune guys mentioned the UCA bolt to the spindle has a lock washer on it? I haven't looked at it yet, but they made it sound highly irregular.
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Aug 15, 2023 16:49
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Dude, why aren't you driving a minivan?
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Aug 15, 2023 17:21
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casque posted:Dude, why aren't you driving a minivan? Minivans are out. As a single guy in my 40s I'd feel permanently awkward driving one, regardless if its something awesome like ryranrs's van. If I'm going van route, full size cab-on-frame or bust - which is still completely on the table. Any kind of van would potentially be more comfortable and could better gas mileage, but a full size van has the parking+offroad drawbacks of a full sized vehicle for 20% more room. As noted upthread, I've ran the van idea down pretty much and I could get a Chevy Express / GMC Safari 2500+ with the 350 and decent mileage for 18k+, with a huge selection of relatively newer models if I'm willing to go to 25k. I could pay any local suspension shop to turn my truck back into a frog, trade it into Carvana, sell the freshly-removed truck parts, and probably have just enough cash to pay for the van outright. Thing is, I wouldnt have any money whatsoever to start building it, which may be OK? Seems like they'll clear 285/70r17s on stock suspension. I could get any local shop to put lower gears and some sort of posi in the rear and it would most likely go anywhere I want ( if I get genuinely stuck and need recovery though) also I would defer to CSB on this, but in my experience there are basically two kinds of overlanding spots. For lack of a better term I'd call them low water and high water - low water means anything with AWD, low gears, locker, 6"+ of ground clearance etc. could reach it. Most outdoor camping in the US West is like this, but this also means you're competing for the best spots with anybody who drives a Subaru, 2wd truck, aforementioned AWD Sienna and #vanlife, or anyone who isnt afraid of the gas pedal. High water spots are more rare, but they're only accessible by something with 4 wheel drive / really low gears, so theyre more likely to be available. https://i.imgur.com/Zmf3sEt.mp4 Here's an example - Valley of the Moon is what I'd call a high water spot Its a weird quasi-paved track up a giant hill to a valley thats right on the border to Mexico. You couuuuuld get a Subie up there, and I've seen Youtube clips of people up there in their Sprinters, but thats during the middle of summer and its dicey AF. Not to brag, but my truck made it up in a snow storm without breaking traction. 5.29 gears and 4-lo (plus the rear e-locker) made it ez pz.  As an example of a low water camping spot, this is the road to Shadow Mountain (which was full  ) More and more of the car camping / dispersed sites are being restricted because of the crazy influx of vanlifers and overlanders. (Although tbf this isn't the bestest example because there isn't more camping available up a 4x4 trail or anything, which AFAIK makes the Grand Tetons the exception not the rule). This pic is from the first (and furthest) national park attempt I've done in the truck, back when the suspension was stock and I had the weird aluminum work topper This trip was hugely influential on the build today - as I mentioned we didnt get a campsite, so I had to sleep in a rest stop which meant I could't/wouldn't sleep with the tailgate down, so I was stuck sleeping diagonally across the wheel wells, which meant there wasn't enough room to sit up at all. Also later in that trip we got stuck in crazy holiday/wildfire traffic and spent 12 hours ( ) driving from Las Vegas to San Diego, which is where I got the idea of having a camper that was large enough to sit up straight, because I wanted to take a break but it was like laying in a smoky coffin. More than anything I just dont want to gently caress with vehicles right now / awhile. I realized last night that I had a window of time to make this happen and enjoy it, and I blew it. The call yesterday was really validating, because I did everything right , except go to Accutune. Now that its settled, and this whole thing is effectively at a dead end, I'm genuinely struggling to care. I'm just so loving burnt on this entire project that its hard for me to imagine starting over on something else and being happy with it. I dont know if I can even be happy with a car project anymore; i mean mechanic work = therapy is a meme here, but this entire process (arguing with narcissists, being gaslit about the truck performance, hands on mechanical work) has played directly against my biggest mental illnesses/weaknesses, and I honestly don't really think I'm better for it. It may make more sense to ditch the truck completely and get a van, but if I move anywhere east of the Mississippi then I'm ditching every vehicle, and I don't want to lose the money from selling two cars. I'm going to give the Accutune dude the benefit of the doubt and load up that 250lb in water ballast again and see what happens, but mostly I'm going to focus on passing a bunch of loving Cisco tests so I can get my career back on track and hopefully just ignore the truck until then. I've already missed out on 2 years of events and poo poo, I can knuckle down for a month or two and get my wits together and then make an educated decision* * my childhood dream is to sail around the world; faffing around with expensive overlanding builds aint it. If I can step off the truck into a beater and a sailboat on the ICW, i would never look back
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Aug 15, 2023 21:10
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OP: I hate this truck! It is ruining my life. Well-meaning Goon: Hey you should replace that truck with something designed to address all your concerns with it. OP: No, I will replace this truck with a slightly different truck that I definitely won’t hate for all the same reasons. Me: Yes, do that for sure and keep posting about it.
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Aug 15, 2023 21:53
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WTFBEES posted:OP: I hate this truck! What kind of suspension do you think a full sized van has?  edit in that same line of thought - I could've taken a Sienna or an Express to either of the chucklefucks I've been working with and been just as screwed. I have.. complaints against the truck, but I've never perfectly loved any vehicle that I own. honestly I'm just done. I'm done thinking about this truck, I'm done working on it, I'm done posting about it. I may use it in its current incarnation, I may drop the cash to replace the loving Fox shocks, I may sell it. Its my decision. Vampire Panties fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Aug 15, 2023 |
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Aug 15, 2023 21:57
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