The Bohemivan ('98 Roadtrek, lifted Chevy 3500 2WD)

[Mat Mobile]

I have been finding it hard... okay to be honest nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find people that are able to help with anything outside the box. Lots of talk but when it comes down to actually doing, even getting a quote and there is no action. I hope you found a group that will do what you want.

I got my Espar installed on the fourth try as the first three said they would but then heard nothing from them. Wanted some other work done but still waiting a couple months later for a quote as they will get right on it, frustrating it is.

Nothing has been delivered yet so you never know but it's a professional shop and the mechanical part is, I think, fairly straightforward. Fingers crossed!

I think Jeep from Overland Explorer could help you out. He's in Red Deer Alberta. He gave me a quote and the price was of professional level (cheap quotes mean cheap work) and was comparable to the one I picked locally. Plus the project evolved so it didn't really work out.

 

[Photomike]

Nothing has been delivered yet so you never know but it's a professional shop and the mechanical part is, I think, fairly straightforward. Fingers crossed!

I think Jeep from Overland Explorer could help you out. He's in Red Deer Alberta. He gave me a quote and the price was of professional level (cheap quotes mean cheap work) and was comparable to the one I picked locally. Plus the project evolved so it didn't really work out.

I got most of my stuff done now or lined up, only a couple small things remaining on this build. The next one I will know better, oh wait I am not suppose to do another one :sombrero::sombrero::sombrero:

 

[Mat Mobile]

The next one I will know better, oh wait I am not suppose to do another one :sombrero::sombrero::sombrero:

No worries, this is my 4th van. Hopefully it's my magnum opus and therefore last one. :victory:

 

[Mat Mobile]

Just some photos of progress. It's looking really awesome. And it's really fun to see my vision come to life. :drool:

Overview of the rack:

On the roof:

From the back:

Steps integrated in the back rack:

Also, the suspension installation was scheduled for Saturday but the garage did not receive the Detroit Locker and Roadmaster rear sway bar so we're pushing it back one week. No biggy... There's still snow here!

 

[Jo_Duval]

very nice!

the snow has melted to 90% here in Ottawa.

quite a lot of details go into building a rack for that van!

 

[Mat Mobile]

Merci Jo!

There is definitely lots of details and also adjustments as you go along. To be honest it's weird for me to not be involved in the fabricating process and only in the design. But they're really good with communications and things are going along much faster than if it was only in my spare time (some of the people on this forum really amaze me!).

Do you have a build thread on this forum?

 

[Jo_Duval]

Merci Jo!
Do you have a build thread on this forum?

Eventually I plan on making one. I lost a lot of pictures on a hard drive failure with the previous computer. Our van is about 80% complete inside, we used it that way last year, I should start working on the inside of it again very soon. Then there will be bodywork, paint, wheels, lift...

 

[TheVagabondMBA]

Wow... It's been a while since I haven't posted!

Our trip to Newfoundland was awesome:
[video]https://youtu.be/J3gV9ZBP_jA[/video]

Here's my favorite picture of our whole trip:

And of course in front of St-John's colorful houses:

This trip was done with the objective of testing the van and making sure our list of modifications was valid. We were pretty much spot on since this is our 4th van and we know our camping style. The major thing I learned is my wife is nervous about fresh water so I will definately need a water treatment/filtration system. I'll work on that next summer.

Fast forward to December 22nd, I finally received my parts from Weldtec designs:

So you can see on there the wheels, leaf springs, bumper, fox shocks, etc...

And the suspension components:

Which kit did you get from weldtec? I'm looking at their leveling kit with fox shox all around.

 

[Mat Mobile]

Which kit did you get from weldtec? I'm looking at their leveling kit with fox shox all around.

I didn't get a kit. I bought the parts separately. I got his 3" lift spindle and Performance leaf springs. I will also be installing 81008 Moog coil springs which are 1 inch taller than the stock 81012 coil spring (more info here).

*Keep in mind this is a 1998! Photos you quoted are stock height. Installation should finally be done next week (we're just waiting on a rear sway bar). I'm waiting for the installation to do a review and another one later this summer once I got a chance to really try it.

 

[Mat Mobile]

A couple of weeks ago, the garage taking care of the suspension picked up the truck from the general fabricator. I went in on a Saturday to participate in the inspection and to help out with the grey tank removal.

Here she is on the lift, just because these are cool pictures:

The garage had a few appointments to squeeze in the following week but started working on the van on Monday.

ELocker installation:

Leaf spring and Fox shocks installation:

The garage already started working on the front suspension but I haven't received any pictures yet. Soon...

 

[java]

Awesome! Should ride much nicer with that!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Mat Mobile]

The Weldtec suspension installation is almost complete:

Those are 285/75R16 tires on 16" Method racing wheels. I love the result! You also have to imagine that the blue will be sprayed with black Line-X paint for protection. Front and rear bumper will be replaced soon. Also, the roof rack is at powder-coating.

For the suspension, all that is left is the alignment (it currently has a very bad postive camber angle but the garage has barely touched it at this point) and the rear sway-bar installation.


Here's some pictures of the actual suspension:




The exhaust also needs replacing.

The cool thing is that the garage let my dad and I work on the sewer Saturday afternoon once they had closed for the week. Working with the van on the lift made the job much easier. And I'm sure the garage is happy not having to work on ABS plumbing. Lol!

 

[gmtech]

dang that's some fancy camper suspension!

 

[GpnAZ]

That is really looking nice Matt, it's great when everything comes together! What gear ratio are you going with?

 

[Mat Mobile]

dang that's some fancy camper suspension!

Well, that wasn't my intention but one thing led to another...

That is really looking nice Matt, it's great when everything comes together! What gear ratio are you going with?

Thanks! It already had 4.11 gears so I'm sticking to that.