vans

[mike s]

I just bought a ford E350 15 pass. van to haul 2 bikes in and was wondering what would be the best flooring.It has nice factory carpet now.The game plan is 2-3 bike shoes,garage carpet on top of the factory stuff,front curtain(for gas smell),some kind of rear vent(the factory air runs all the way to the back). Anyone have any good ideas and pictures.WTB bike shoes.

 

[MRRMX]

I would not use carpeting over the factory carpet. I would get one of those bed mats for pick'em up trucks. It would not allow oil and dirt to seep through
as carpet may do. Clean up would be a breeze. Whats the game plan for mounting the bike shoe?

 

[MN KDXer]

I have the same van ('93) and I made a nifty front wheel chock + tie downs bracket which clips into the seat brackets. Currently, the bracket is for two bikes, but could easily have another wheel chock added for the 3rd bike in backwards.

I don't have any pics of the bracket at the moment, but I'll try to get a pic this weekend and scan for you when I get the pics back.

I also designed and built a two-bike rack for the receiver hitch with a hitch mount, so I could haul my four whler plus bring the small pop-up camper. Those E350's have some SPRINGS! :cool:

BTW, I have not yet added any floor liner (but need to), nor wall curtain (bike smell is a non-issue so far). I have left the roof air and floor heat in place; it gets hot AND cold up here.

Overall, the van seems to be a good idea, and I see more & more of the 15 passengers at the races. :)

 

[MRRMX]

I have a conversion van and a small trailer to haul 3 scooters with. This is the best set up for me. The bikes are outside and I have plenty of room for gear coolers and riders. Te back seat is a bed so over nighters are a snap. its insulated somewhat so the road noise is cut way down compared to a stripped
van. The TV is what gets me .... seems like everyone is drawn the tv in the van.Its a older van and needed some work to it. but If I get sand in it no biggie, its not like its a 20,000 new van.

 

[Budda]

I have a E-150 cargo that came with a thin factory rubber mat. There are aftermarket ones made also. A friend of mine got the aftermarket one, which is quite a bit thicker, more like a pickup liner. Maybe you could order the factory one through a local Ford dealer. The aftermarket one was ordered at a local parts store.

 

[HiG4s]

Get a piece of light canvas and have it cut to fit (8in longer than the bed and 8in wider) and sewn up in the corners so it sits in the back like huge 4in deep canvas drip pan. After you get it cut, any upholstery shop should be able to sew it up for not too much.

Keep it sprayed with silicon tent sealant (the cheap stuff from K-mart or Target camping dept.) and no matter how muddy the bike is after you unload the bike, you pull the canvas out on to the driveway to clean it and the van stays like new.

Once it is cleaned, you just roll it up and store it until next weekend.

 

[mike s]

Well the bike shoes did not work out, they rocked enough that the bars would hit the windows and the bikes would rub.Back to tiedowns.

 

[Patman]

Why not fabricate a mount that uses the factory seat mounts in the floor? Then it's solid to the floor, removable, and doesn't tear up the floor. I'm sure a local welding shop could put the pieces together pretty cheap if you needed them to. As far as the carpet, isn't there a seam behind one of the sets of seats? If so I'd totally remove it and put down the rubber mat or better yet get some Herculiner and roll it out and up the sides 4" or so.

 

[MN KDXer]

Quote:
"Why not fabricate a mount that uses the factory seat mounts in the floor? Then it's solid to the floor, removable, and doesn't tear up the floor."

VERY good idea.... that's exactly why I made one three months ago!!! :)

 

[Kawierider]

photos

hey, dirtbike, or dirt rider ( i cant remember which) ran a one page article a year or so back on a van they customized for motorcross. They included some photos of the conversion which included benches, cabinets, tools and parts storage, room for two bike i beleive and a place to change.....it got the imagination going. Im sure i can do some digging and find it if your interested in ordering a back copy from them.
Tim
ps, does anyone think it would be cool if the major mags included articles on custom rigs for the average motorcrosser and trail rider like vans and pickups?

 

[mike s]

Kawierider that would be great.I am back with the bike shoes. Just two this time mounted on a 3/4-2-5 plywood bolted to the second seat bracket.The back 6ft is a separate 1/2 plywood.I am going to tile the middle 3ft and carpet the outside edge.I found that just the tile was transmiting rattles from tools/ramps so Iam going to carpet the side 10in.The tile will be easy to clean .All this removes and the seats bolt back in.I also have a five bike enclosed trailer.

 

[Scott in the Mojave]

Dirt Rider article

Mike S,

I did a little research before modifying my 97 dodge extended cargo van. I think the article Kawierider is referring to is from Jul 99 Dirt Rider (pg 66). They did a nice job building a cabinet into the right hand inner wall between the rear fender well and rear door opening. They also had a bench/box-like surface extending from the rear fender wells forward to the partition on both sides. Also, it looks like they used a rubber truck bed liner to cover the floor.

Good luck,

Scott