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High roof express work van project

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Old November 7th, 2015, 1:42 AM
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Default High roof express work van project

I've been looking for a larger work vehicle. I'm replacing my 03 2wd extra cab ranger. I thought about buying new, and test drove a lot of vehicles. Then I stumbled across my express 3500 high roof wheelchair van w/86k at an auction. The lift didn't work and there's some body damage on the driver's side. So only two of us were bidding, I finally won at $3400(including auction fees).

Here's what it's replacing.
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After driving it 180 miles home, the first thing I did, was pull out the 2nd and 3rd factory rows, wheelchair lift, folding 4th row of seats, interior panels, and the headliner (hoping for more interior height).

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Last edited by Hondakilla98; November 7th, 2015 at 2:55 PM.
Old November 7th, 2015, 1:45 AM
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Then I tinted the back windows 5%, and the front doors 25%.

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Fixed the wiring for the two rear most rv lights, swapped led bulbs into the 6 RV lights, and removed the floor vent from the rear heat/ac unit. Here's the day after I sold the ranger. I just piled everything into the van.

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Put on some aluminum Silverado 2500HD take offs.

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Here they are with the black caps from the stock steel wheels. I wanted to see how it looked. But decided to go with the chrome caps instead.

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I pulled the small system out of the ranger and I'm in the process of swapping it into the van. It consists of a Pioneer DEH-X8600BT deck, Alpine KTP-445U amp for mids, Sundown SD-2 10” sub in .5 cu ft sealed box, Massive audio N2 sub amp, Focal Polyglass 6.5” separates, and Focal Access series 5x7's.

Last edited by Hondakilla98; November 7th, 2015 at 2:53 PM.
Old November 7th, 2015, 3:06 AM
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I Installed Hella E code H4 headlights, with 55/60 Hella bulbs. They're much brighter, but I see a harness and 80/100 bulbs in my future. I put in a suburban front dome light with map lights, and swapped in led bulbs.


I've Ordered a Curt class V hitch and wiring harness. Factory diesel 2nd battery tray. Found an Interstate MT-78 second battery on craigslist. I'll be using the 2awg wire with 100 amp breaker (from wheel chair lift) to connect the two batteries together.



Coming soon, alarm with remote start, shelving, front brakes, and front seats with arm rests.

Last edited by Hondakilla98; November 7th, 2015 at 3:56 AM.
Old November 8th, 2015, 6:02 PM
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Looks great... The wheels are a nice improvement.
Old November 8th, 2015, 6:09 PM
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Originally Posted by greenfire
Looks great... The wheels are a nice improvement.
Thanks. They're about 50% tread like the tires that were on it. But they look so much better. And at $250 for the set, I couldn't pass them up.




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