Got me a Race Van

When mounting the Pit Bull Trailer Restraint is there any need to add a plate or anything underneath or is the van floor substantial enough on its own?

 

We added some kindorf beneath the floor so when you bolt the restraint down it's not supported solely by the sheet metal floor. You can buy kindorf at home depot it's basically pre-drilled aluminum angle.

 

Thanks! I did the same and it seems to have worked out well!

 

Did my first track day with the van this past weekend and it worked out well. Drove out to Summit on Sunday, slept in the back of the van, and did the track day on Monday. Better part of 500 miles round trip and the van did pretty good. Anyone know of a simple way to power the internal van lights / stereo / TV with my genny rather than the battery? I’d like to be able to do it without disconnecting the battery. I’m envisioning a plug in deal with a switch by the battery, but don’t know if something like that exists?

 

Just bought an 02 E150 with 106k for steal. Going down to JGP this weekend so won't have time to really prep it for the time being.

Looking back at all your mods, anything you would do differently?

 

Move the PB TRS further forward so the weight of the bike is more balanced. Other than that, no.

 

I'll probably mount the trs under the bike so I can throw the bike in the forward or backward position.

Any problems with the suspension or spray can insulation behind the paneling?

 

when I win the powerball tonight, I'm buying a sprinter, and this: http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2014-Play-Mor-8187C-111991506

 

nice - and the color of my truck :up:

want.

can you buy me one , too?

 

Ummm, when I hit the PB tonight, I'm gonna dream slightly bigger and something more accommodating than that^^^, much more accommodating w/ a matching 16' hauler that can be used for any sweet ride I choose, 2 or 4 wheeled.... Nice to dream, eh?

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2014-Newmar-King-Aire-4584-112066142

 

Everyone's talking about power ball, and I'm over here clueless. Is it up super high right now or something? Maybe I should start paying attention to this crap.

Never mind, I just looked. $500,000,000 I've got too many teeth to win that much. You know bubba's going to win and have it spent in no time.

 

That thing is sweeeettt!!:up:

 

I think dreaming too big is what gets lottery winners into major financial trouble.

If I had won last night, I would have kept my fucking mouth shut about it. The wife and I would pay off our house, pay off my student loans, and then do our best to pretend it had never happened. When friends and family think you have money, they want to borrow money.

It would surely be nice to have a diesel pusher, but to me that would be like wearing Armani suits when Joseph A. Banks "3 for the price of 1" serve my purposes just as well... I would definitely own 50 bikes, but I doubt any of them would be worth more than $8k.

 

Ha ha ha, I remember you saying that none of your bikes would be new either!
Out of principle or something

 

I've got some American Racing Cyclone's that I bought for mine.
I'll never use them if you're interested.

 

more info on these? What vehicle are they for?

 

2003 Ford 8 bolt

 

Alright so here's the plan with the van. I need to tackle the rust issues first, so I'm going to tear it apart and see what I'm dealing with under the carpet.

Next, I think if I use a spray on bedliner(to cost the steel so moisture doesn't get to it from the inside, hopefully even with condensation) then I can use the hard spray on foam insulation in the van and overfill all the cracks and crevices out to 1"x2" wood ribs I will install into the van, then cut those clean to the face of the wood.





I've read so much about the fiberglass vs the foam and I'm not sure what to do. Both seem like they could trap moisture for rust, but if I spray the bedliner everywhere, then even if there is moisture, it shouldn't rust the interior metal of the van. After that, I'll put up some plywood or paneling, cover with some lamina or carpeting.

The van gives a little more than 120" in the rear space, my bike is 80", which leaves 40" for a seat! I'll have racks for pitbull stands above the ground, plus a hitch carrier. And if possible, mount a piece of wood for a flat shelf(with a stop for nothing shoots forward above the motorcycles using etrack for more storage. Get to the race track, unload everything, turn the shelf into a table, take the seat out so we have somewhere to sit, and blow my air mattress up inside

 

Alright, well I decided against the expensive spray liner. I didn't have much time to prep the van before I had to leave back to college so I managed to hang some curtains up to keep wandering eyes away and install a pitbull TRS(which was a way bigger pain in the butt than I thought it was going to be).

This photo was the weekend after I moved in, I had some boxes to take home but the bike was there with me!


The bike needs a new engine yet again so I have some down time to pimp the van out. Here are some details:

2002 Ford E150 Approx 110K Miles 4.2L v6
It's not pretty on the outside, there's rust and it's bad(I live in Michigan too). If the van lasts me 3+ years I'll be happy, but I'm not going to pour tons of $$$ into it unless it's stuff I can take out later and save. I want to be able to transport 2 bikes plus all the gear and such.

I had to replace a lot of rusted stuff, including some beefier shocks. I think I definitively need to get some of the helper springs. GVWR should allow me around 2000 lbs, but when I helped a friend pick up a pallet of 40(50lbs each) sand bags(2000lbs) and had it placed in the center of the cargo area in the back, the top of the rear tires were in the wheel hub and the front end was in the air. I drove 10-15mph home on that trip.

2 bikes @ 425 lbs
Fuel, wheels, tires, genny, cooler, canopy, tools, gear and such ~500 lbs?
2 people ~400lbs
misc bs to get to the magic 2000lbs mark

And there it is, the van is immobile and probably won't move more than 15mph again. I haven't gotten a second bike in there yet, but I am worried for when the time comes. It doesn't seem to squat much with one bike plus gear and a person.

Any ideas? Replace the leaf springs with some ones I find at the junkyard or order some(not sure how expensive they are?)?

 

We have V6 E150's Molesters.
Use really good front shocks,(Ford front ends suck)
Out back we used air shocks and put the valve in the l/r with a mini compressor, when its loaded just air it up level.