Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/9/16 11:46 a.m.

Having the camera off center and pointing at a slight angle because of the door curvature sucks. I can see getting a different camera at some point. Oh! I could just slap this thing on the receiver closer to the center.

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle Dork
11/9/16 11:47 a.m.

In reply to Petrolburner:

Mount it overhead?

tdrrally
tdrrally Reader
11/9/16 4:48 p.m.

i'm working on a 2003 e350sd, i have been thinking about a raised roof, what sort of MPGs are you getting?

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/9/16 6:43 p.m.

In reply to tdrrally:

10 in the city and 14 on the highway. Went back to the stock tune because the 5 Star tune cost me several MPG.

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/9/16 9:07 p.m.

The 33,000 pound ARB snatch strap is huge. The loop is supposed to go through the center hole, but it doesn't fit. This still works.

Smittybilt Beaver step

Smittybilt Beaver step

Smittybilt Beaver step

java230
java230 Dork
11/9/16 9:14 p.m.

What's the thing in the hitch? I haven't seen that before

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/9/16 9:21 p.m.
java230 wrote: What's the thing in the hitch? I haven't seen that before

Whoops, thought I had posted that already. It's the Smittybilt Beaver step. I was looking at receiver mounted recovery points and came across this. It works as a step, bumper saver, and a recovery point that is really easy to use.

Smittybilt Beaver step

tdrrally
tdrrally Reader
11/10/16 6:38 a.m.

In reply to Petrolburner:

that's not too bad, the stock vans at work get about 14 mpg combined but the oldest is a 2011 my van has a CNG engine that i converted to run on gas.

thank you i may start shopping for a raised roof.

java230
java230 Dork
11/10/16 9:35 a.m.

Ah cool, I have only seen the shackle mount ones.

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/10/16 4:42 p.m.
java230 wrote: Ah cool, I have only seen the shackle mount ones.

Yeah I had intended to get one of those but this seemed even better because it's a step and if someone bumps into the back of my van it's less likely to damage my rig. There's also nothing to steal, since the whole thing is attached with a locking receiver hitch pin. But the bow shackle on the traditional style could be easily stolen if left on. There's also no shackles or anything in order to connect the snatch strap and it's more secure than just a plain old hook.

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/13/16 7:08 p.m.

Hit the road today

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/petrolburner/

java230
java230 Dork
11/14/16 9:56 a.m.

Have a great trip!

Ian F
Ian F MegaDork
11/14/16 10:17 a.m.

In reply to tdrrally:

Agreed. I'd be ecstatic to get 14 mpg in a van like that. Even my old E150 with a bone stock 5.0 EFI could barely manage 17 mpg, driven very conservatively.

These are giant bricks pushing through the air and in my experience, speed makes a big difference in MPG.

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/15/16 4:29 p.m.

In Las Vegas. Decided to throw on a new set of tires. BFT AT KO2. I had the 20k mile Treadwrights rebalanced before I left and they're still terrible and they took a lot of weight. Decided to error on the safe side and just get some new, durable, designed for Baja tires. Wish I would have gotten it done in Oregon to avoid the sales tax but oh well.

java230
java230 Dork
11/15/16 7:11 p.m.

Good call. I'm hating the treadwrights

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
11/15/16 8:41 p.m.

Really smooth at seventy now, and they look badass!

java230
java230 Dork
11/15/16 9:19 p.m.
Petrolburner wrote: Really smooth at seventy now, and they look badass!

Nice!! Drive safe

Lof8
Lof8 HalfDork
12/3/16 5:55 p.m.

Instagram pics are sweet. Trip is looking epic!

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
12/14/16 2:20 p.m.

Driving home into a rather large snowstorm. Heater sucks. Always has. Any ideas? The hot/cold diverter seems to work fine but maybe it's not getting to the fully hot position? Where is it? Can I double check it manually? Next would probably be a heater core back flush.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce UltimaDork
12/14/16 2:45 p.m.

My mom drove her Dodge van for the better part of a decade with the fresh air foot vents on the driver's side open. When I started driving I closed them because my feet were cold and she thought I was a genius. I'd check to make sure all of the available doors are working as expected.

ShawneeCreek
ShawneeCreek Reader
12/14/16 2:57 p.m.

Worst case, what about adding a rear air setup from a passenger version of your van? It should have a separate heater core, fan, and duct setup. It would add more heat to the large cavity that is the interior.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Associate Editor
12/14/16 3:42 p.m.

FWIW, mine has super toasty light-you-on-fire heat. Maybe it's an issue with the vacuum connector above the evaporator (there's an access hatch on the top of the dash). Mine was leaking there once.

Petrolburner
Petrolburner Dork
12/14/16 4:06 p.m.

In reply to ShawneeCreek:

I have all that already. It also blows lukewarm air.

java230
java230 Dork
12/14/16 4:07 p.m.

Coolant temp low?

mazdeuce
mazdeuce UltimaDork
12/14/16 4:21 p.m.

Does it have a vacuum actuated valve that opens when you turn the heat on to let coolant into the system? I'd be checking that to make sure it's operating correctly.

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