2005 Chevy Express Explorer Van Progress Thread

Howdy Van Fans-

I'm creating this thread to document the progress/updates that I make on my Chevy Conversion Van. If you're interested in following along, read on! (I can't really call it a build thread, because I'm mostly making mild upgrades, not doing a true build).

I just picked up my first van, a 2005 Chevy Express 1500 with an Explorer Van Conversion. I traded in my dream truck, which was a 2021 Ram 3500 Dually. I hated to sell the truck, but I have a 4th child arriving soon, so I needed more seatbelts for the kids.

Here's a picture of the truck that I traded in:

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When I first started shopping for vans, I made a trip to Classic Vans in Hayward CA. This is a dealership that has been around for along time, and sells all kinds of new and used vans, including Class B's, conversion vans, etc. It was cool to be able to walk around the lot and sit in 10 different vans over the course of an hour. I was disappointed in the quality of their inventory however. All of their vans, (aside from the brand new ones) were very well worn, and in rough shape. Even the Explorer vans with only 40-50k miles on them were falling apart inside, the leather seats were flaking and peeling, etc.

I went there to look at one van in particular, because they had an AWD 1500 Explorer. Unfortunately, it was in rough shape inside, and had considerable rust underneath. They also wanted about $50k for it.

I stumbled across a 2005 Explorer van that was for sale at Vacaville GMC. I looked it up online, and saw that it was a one-owner van from Marin County, (Where I live), and it looked exceptionally clean. Here are the original listing photos from the dealership:

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I drove out to the dealership to check it out, and it was in great shape. One owner, only 25k miles. It drove great, with the exception of a front-end shimmy at 65 mph. I told the dealer to fix it and I would be back, and they ended up re-balancing the tires. I came back the next day, and the vibration was gone. I traded in my truck to the dealer, and drove the van home.

The purpose of this van will be mostly for road trips and nearby trips with the kids, and possibly as a tow vehicle for a small travel trailer. Unfortunately this van is only RWD. I would have loved to find an AWD or 4WD to buy, but this one was too good of a deal to pass up. I figured that I'll dip my toes in the van world with this one, and if I like it, I'll trade up to a 4x4 van down the road. (Ideally, I would love to get a new 3500 Savanna Conversion Van with the 6.6 liter V8, and get a Quigley conversion, but it's not in my budget at the moment).


While researching these vans, I noticed that there aren't a lot of youtube videos on them, aside from some dealer videos from some of the larger van dealers, like Dave Arbogast and White Bear Lake superstore.

So, I am planning on making some YouTube videos to document what I do to the van, so that hopefully it will help others who are interested in doing the same thing.

Here's a link to the introduction video of the van, including an inside and out walk-around/tour:



More to come soon!

-Angus
 
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Here's a loose to-do list that I will modify as I make progress:

- New stereo and speakers
- New TV and TV speakers
- Tint windows
- Find window shades (done, see video)
- Install trailer hitch
- Remove TracVision satellite dish
- Add solar panels to roof
- Find 12v cooler
- Find electric power station/generator
- Replace wheels and tires
- Find floor mats
- Replace windshield wipers
- Set up sleeping arrangements (done, video coming soon)
- Possibly remove ground effects body kit?
- Add grill guard
- Add front lighting
- Remove front lower valance with driving lights
- Add window vent visors and bug deflector
- Go exploring!
 

Choff

Adventurer
Have a van sim. to yours, have had it 14 years, bought it with 43,000 miles on it and now have 249,000 miles and running great.
Love to see those vans are still out there fully loaded, take care of it and it will bring you many years with kids and all the stuff life brings to put in a van!!
KEEP ON TRUCKING
 
I picked up some sunshades for the van. I found a set from high end motorsports .com


I was very impressed with the shipping... they arrived in less than 48 hours.

I went with the 3-piece set for the front windshield and two front windows. (They have sets available for each window, including side windows and rear windows).

The 3-piece set was $99. I opted not to get the rest because my van has window shades that pull up for privacy in the rear already.

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I'm happy with the quality, and with how they fit. The front windshield cover is a little tight around the rear view mirror, but not bad. The front window shades came with suction cups for mounting, but I found that they fit in the windows so well that they stay on their own with no need to secure them.

I made a short video if you want to see more details:

 

bcaine

New member
Congrats in the new van!

Keep us updated about what you end up doing for the TV.

I have nearly the same van (2004) and one channel if audio isn't working. I finally traced the problem - the rear audio pulls from the headphone output on the TV, then a line driver to boost the signal before the Amp. My TV has one channel of audio that isn't outputting through the headphone jacks.

My workaround has been to use the audio output from the TV, but there are tradeoffs.

Share links when you start finding some options.
 
Congrats in the new van!

Keep us updated about what you end up doing for the TV.

I have nearly the same van (2004) and one channel if audio isn't working. I finally traced the problem - the rear audio pulls from the headphone output on the TV, then a line driver to boost the signal before the Amp. My TV has one channel of audio that isn't outputting through the headphone jacks.

My workaround has been to use the audio output from the TV, but there are tradeoffs.

Share links when you start finding some options.

Thanks!

That's a helpful tip. I started digging into it yesterday, but didn't get very far and I don't really understand what's going on with the wiring. I've installed car stereos before but nothing like this, and it's confusing... I may just take it to my local stereo shop and ask them to unf*ck it for me.
 
I haven't had time to do much with the van yet but I have a few little projects under way.

I found a nice set of 17" Chevy take off wheels from a Silverado. They should work well to replace the 20" wheels that it came with. They were listed on Craigslist for $400 but I was able to snag them for $250, which I was stoked about.

I just need to pick out some tired now. I'm planning on a 245/70R17. I was thinking about some K02's to give it a beefy look, but since this is mostly going to be a highway cruiser I'm leaning towards the Michelin Agilis CrossClimate. Any feedback is appreciated if you've used them before.
 

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bcaine

New member
it's confusing... I may just take it to my local stereo shop and ask them to unf*ck it for me.
Our systems aren't identical, but maybe this will help.

I have a VHS player where you have a storage compartment for your remotes. I also have a PS2/satellite box in the rear upper middle storage area.

There are rca inputs above the back seat for the PS2/satellite. A cable runs from this upper area down to the center console and into the audio input on the VHS player. So if my VHS is off, then no audio/video from ps2/satellite. There is a sticker in the rear upper compartment that says this, but I didn't notice it at first.

From there, my audio cables run up to the TV inputs on the back of the TV. The DVD player runs directly into the back of the TV. In other words, two input channels of the TV are used. One is from the DVD and only the DVD. The other is from the VHS, but this also carries the satellite/ps2 signal. This is the end of the bird's nest for video, but just the start for audio.

None of the audio comes through the TV speakers because the Van's rear audio all starts at the headphone jack on the TV. By using the headphone jack, the TV speakers are automatically muted. There is a short cable that is 1/8 headphone male to RCA male. This takes the low signal from the TV headphones and uses it as an output for the audio system. Since this is a low signal it has to be boosted and so the 1/8 to rca cable plugs into a line driver. This boosts the signal so that it can be fed into the Amp.

From that point, I think the system is pretty standard and once you find the pieces (amps/speaker wires) things will feel familiar.

The trim panel by the TV is really easy to remove and will expose the headphone output from the TV.

Good luck and keep updating!
 

sourdoughben

Well-known member
I got the complete Heat Shield window set for my E250 window van. It has the same rear window pull blinds but the shields make a night and day difference. I have converted mine into a simple window campervan. I do not camp during the extreme weather months.
 

JamesReddish

Active member
I just need to pick out some tired now. I'm planning on a 245/70R17. I was thinking about some K02's to give it a beefy look, but since this is mostly going to be a highway cruiser I'm leaning towards the Michelin Agilis CrossClimate. Any feedback is appreciated if you've used them before.

Nice van!

I have those tyres on my van, no complaints so far in ~2 years. They have not struggled in wet grass/light snow that I have encountered. Quiet on my van too. Only done ~10kish on them but no considerable wear yet.

My only problem is I would prefer ko2's or the new trail terrains for the look. But in every practical measure so far so good.
 

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