Its New Years eve and I gotta admit...

[steamjam1]

I gotta admit it... I converted my Dodge van to 4x4, and doing it was really pointless. Highdesertranger will prolly feed me a slice of "I told you so" cake. I spent so much time on it making sure even completely obsessed  to replicate EVERYTHING pathfinder did to build them down to mimicking every poor weld, and down to the EXACT MILLIMETER every measurement... I even got the "Van charger" fender emblems, NOS 4wd activation light for the dash, and a reproduction Van Charger Shift select decal that is supposed to be on the engine dog house. I wanted to make darned sure that no van charger aficionado could tell it was not a van charger. I thought it would be like a world-class faking of a jackson *******... 

Only to never actually stick the van in 4wd for any reason and buy a RV van that can do everything I wanted the 4x4 van to do with just an LSD.

 

[rvpopeye]

You use LSD in your van???????????

 

[TMG51]

But... It was cool right? And who doesn't put it in 4wd now and then just for fun?

 

[steamjam1]

You use LSD in your van???????????

Haha no I haven't had a convo with my steering wheel on the philosophy of life.. haha LSD was fun when I was 19...

 

[DannyB1954]

You use LSD in your van???????????

I think they were referring to a Limited Slip Differential, ( a type of driveshaft rear end).

 

[SternWake]

Donuts are extra fun on ice in 4 wheel drive once initiated correctly.

Especially on LSD.

 

[steamjam1]

But... It was cool right? And who doesn't put it in 4wd now and then just for fun?

I'm glad for the experience, but the 4x4 is mostly useless. The suspension articulates much like a cinder block, and isn't much use for anything other then mud.

 

[rvpopeye]

Yeah Danny , I know. But THOSE are so expensive!

Steamjam
I heard you should stay away from the brown stuff,,,,,,,,,it's a bummer man !

 

[Ballenxj]

I gotta admit it... I converted my Dodge van to 4x4, and doing it was really pointless. Highdesertranger will prolly feed me a slice of "I told you so" cake.
<---snip---->
Only to never actually stick the van in 4wd for any reason and buy a RV van that can do everything I wanted the 4x4 van to do with just an LSD.

This is interesting. What is your normal terrain? Wouldn't you feel even more confident having both LSD & 4x4?
You know why I'm interested after reading my thread about traction.  

 

[steamjam1]

This is interesting. What is your normal terrain? Wouldn't you feel even more confident having both LSD & 4x4?
You know why I'm interested after reading my thread about traction.  

It's funny. I built this 4x4 1-ton van to be this "ultimate van dwelling expedition vehicle" only to realize my old Toyota Corolla had better suspension articulation. 4x4 is worthless (Unless your in mud) if the suspension can't flex and twist to a certain extent to climb over things. I'm pretty sure that I'll end up completely redesigning the front end, and downgrade to 3/4 ton rear springs. I'm really kicking myself for this obsession I had to re-create Pathfinder's dumb system, which I knew was dumb.

 

[Ballenxj]

I'll end up completely redesigning the front end, and downgrade to 3/4 ton rear springs.

So it sounds like I'm on the right track with my van after all with my 3/4 ton and the Eaton Tru-Trac I installed? YAY!

 

[highdesertranger]

nope not going to bust your b*lls. it takes a big man to admit when they make a mistake, for that I admire you. I would hope in the future you would share what you have learned with others. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

after spending to time with the old chevy unibody frame? if i wanted a 4x4 van i would get a 4x4 truck with a proper frame and swap bodies,i can see myself breaking my rig in half if to aggressive with off road driving

 

[hepcat]

Having been a 4WD guy for forty years... and still having a Jeep Rubicon for my towed with my bigger moho I can tell you with great certainty that the ONLY thing 4WD does for you is makes the places you get stuck a LOT more expensive to get towed out of.

4x4 expedition vans are just cooler than ****, but I would never buy one; at least not to use in CONUS.

 

[Ballenxj]

Having been a 4WD guy for forty years... and still having a Jeep Rubicon for my towed with my bigger moho I can tell you with great certainty that the ONLY thing 4WD does for you is makes the places you get stuck a LOT more expensive to get towed out of.

Yeah, I've been into four wheeling for quite a while too, starting with a 1972 Chevy Blazer many years ago. The lineup was a couple Blazers, Suzuki Sidekick, Jeep Cherokee, then back to Suzuki with a little Samurai. Now I just have a Subaru Legacy. I've been places that if you got stuck, you were pretty much on your own. My favorite toys were still older Muscle cars though.  
I must admit I'm a bit envious of your Rubicon. Those are definitely nice.

 

[hepcat]

Yeah, I've been into four wheeling for quite a while too, starting with a 1972 Chevy Blazer many years ago. The lineup was a couple Blazers, Suzuki Sidekick, Jeep Cherokee, then back to Suzuki with a little Samurai. Now I just have a Subaru Legacy. I've been places that if you got stuck, you were pretty much on your own. My favorite toys were still older Muscle cars though.  
I must admit I'm a bit envious of your Rubicon. Those are definitely nice.

I LOVED the '92 Suzuki Sidekick I had, and it was a competent little off-roader to boot.   I traded off an '07 FJ 'Cruiser for the new Rubicon.  I had to drop the driveshaft of the 'Cruiser to tow it behind the moho on a dolly.  The Rubicon can be flat-four towed easily.  It's a working Jeep tho... I use it to launch and recover my sailboat and I have a small Kubota that gets towed 30 miles each way for snow plowing and doing lawns.   I probably could have gotten by with a Dana 30 in the front end, but I like the Dana 44.   AND I bought it new for the price of a used, two year old one with 30k miles.  Coming from the FJ 'Cruiser I was prepared to be disappointed, but I am really pleased with it.   It's a 6pd manual, BTW, as was my FJ.

Here's the height of off-road foolishness that I've done for a while...  thank God for good hi-traction drive tires on the duals.

20150825-DSCF8732-Edit (Large) by Roger H, on Flickr

 

[Ballenxj]

I LOVED the '92 Suzuki Sidekick I had, and it was a competent little off-roader to boot.  https://flic.kr/p/EtsT1v

Mine was a 93, so just about the same. Yup, worked great off road.  
Coincidentally, I just plowed snow a couple days ago on a Kubota 2660. 

 

[hepcat]

Mine was a 93, so just about the same. Yup, worked great off road.  
Coincidentally, I just plowed snow a couple days ago on a Kubota 2660. 

Ya mean, a Kubota 2660 like THIS? 

2010 Kubota BX2660 by Roger H, on Flickr

 

[Ballenxj]

Ya mean, a Kubota 2660 like THIS?  https://flic.kr/p/PBh6Fz

Yeah, but without the cab and snow blower.

 

[squatting dog2]

I've had and loved a lot of 4x4's, but my old stretched bronco framed falcon had to be my favorite.