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AlpineVan - A 4x4 Funhog Mobile

11K views 32 replies 12 participants last post by  highaltitudelife 
#1 ·
After many months of waiting, our Quigley 4x4 van arrived list week. We are grateful to those who have shared there info here and on the Sprinter Forum and I hope to give something back by sharing our build. We will be detailing the build on our web site

https://alpinevan.com

but I will also post and discuss here on these forums.

Here is a quick pic of our new baby!
 

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#2 ·
After many months of waiting, our Quigley 4x4 van arrived list week. We are grateful to those who have shared there info here and on the Sprinter Forum and I hope to give something back by sharing our build. We will be detailing the build on our web site

https://alpinevan.com

but I will also post and discuss here on these forums.

Here is a quick pic of our new baby!
Looking good. Can you share what size tires those are?
Also, I am patiently waiting for my Quigley van but dont expect it until June/July 2017. I have a van build date of the week of March 6th.
I was wondering what your timeline was? Did you custom build the van? Did Quigley do better or worse on their timing estimate?


Building a Ford Transit camervan for adventures.
 
#3 ·
1) Cooper Discoverer A/T3 245/75R16. It the largest that will fit without trimming and the largest that fits in the spare tire spot (barely, with partial deflation)
2) The van arrived at Quigley on 10/27 and they completed it on 12/22
3) Originally, they told me March and the after they got the van, they said late January. I called for an update on Jan 3rd and they told me that they finished it just before closing for the holidays, but had not yet invoiced the dealer. It took another week to get it paid off by the dealer and three more to get it California. I think that their estimates are always conservative.

Yours could be done in early May. Hang in there!
 
#5 ·
Exciting! I remember that day...Last week!

Can't say much about the tires other than the drive nicely on the highway. I have not taken them off road yet. They are getting changed on Friday because I asked for Cooper Discoverer A/TW and they put on A/T3. But I don't expect much difference, except in snow, where the A/TW will be superior.
 
#10 ·
A few more photos...

I'm starting to put together a gallery...

AlpineVan: Initial Gallery

Mostly I'm busy installing the bed while my wife is insulating the floor. A few more blog posts will be coming soon:

- Option selection
- Build plan
- Tire upgrades
- Bed installation
- Floor insulation

If only I didn't have a full-time job! But I can't complain. We've only had the van for a couple of weeks and we are making good progress.
 
#11 ·
Van Options

So after 10 years of flawless operation, the kit-built digital readout on my milling machine quit. So I guess it's time to write another blog post! The next post describes the configuration and options that we chose. It was pretty baffling. I did a lot of reading here and A LOT of study of the order guide. That and some gratuitous hand-wringing got me through it. New members who are still shopping may find this of value. I'm happy to entertain questions about the details of our choices.

Read the full story here: AlpineVan.com: Van Options
 
#15 ·
Getting out there...

We got the bed installed (writeup coming soon) and have been taking the van out. It's tons of fun and the Quigley drives great, but I have run into some QC issues with 4x4 system. I'll write that up after they resolve it. Meanwhile, here is our toy at that top of the pass in between Panamint and Saline Valleys in Death Valley NP.
 

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#18 ·
Meanwhile, here is our toy at that top of the pass in between Panamint and Saline Valleys in Death Valley NP.
I know that spot well. Thanks for posting the picture. Two years ago I did the drive from there through Hunter Mountain and all those little valleys up toward Teakettle Junction and the Racetrack. That is one of the most beautiful drives in the Mojave. Of course Saline Valley, with its springs and canyons, ain't bad either. Enjoy.

Best,

--Frank
 
#19 ·
Just a quick summary on the situation with Quigley:

First Impressions: The system is really quite stout. The driveshafts, T-case. Not a toy. The installation was pretty clean looking. There was some rust on some of the brackets, but there was also rust of Ford's brackets as well. It got driven home over salted roads in the winter. I still can't figure out why the eastern states enjoy destroying their cars with salt.

Driving: Drives like a dream in 2 High / 4 High / 4 Low. No vibration...super smooth. Works just like my Tacoma did (and even crawls slower).

Now for the not-so-good: Quigley finished working on our van on 12/22...the last day before they closed before Christmas break. I believe that some stuff did not get done as a result. I don't think (I hope) this is not typical. Here is what I have found so far:

1) Missing front hub covers (these were added in the Quigley parking lot, just before the van was driven away, someone noticed at the last minute).
2) Front diff breather not connected (discovered on our first weekend trip and fixed by me, subject of "Mystery Hose" thread)
3) Transfer case shift linkage fell off (discovered on our second weekend trip after using 4LO for the first time). I crawled under an shifted back to 2HI directly on the transfer case and zip-tied the dangling linkage.
While I was under there I discovered two more issues:
4) Front driveshaft couplings throwing grease everywhere...a lot of it. Bad boots? That's what they think
5) Folded over (kinked) hose on evap canister (which was relocated by Quigley). This explains why it stops pumping every 10 seconds when I try to fuel it...the pressure cannot escape.

They have been really responsive and apologetic and have promised to get it sorted out immediately. Right now I am waiting for them to get back to me with a the name of shop that I can take it to. They were closed yesterday due to the blizzard. They will Fedex the parts (including a new front driveshaft w/ couplings). I could take to the dealer, but I am would rather take it to a good independent that knows 4WD systems. If anyone has a recommendation in SoCal, let me know.

My biggest concern is not getting it fixed, but wondering if anything else got forgotten. I am asking them to send their QA checklists and have the mechanic do a complete system inspection. I will also repeat the inspection (to the degree that I can).

I'll come back with an update when I have a resolution to the issues. I have not heard any similar reports from other Quigley owners, so may be I'm just the unlucky one.
 
#20 ·
Just a quick update with some more info from Quigley:
Regarding #1 : They talked to the guy who put the that hub cover on at the last minute...they said it was only one (not two) and it had fallen off (not installed tightly enough), rather than forgotten
Regarding #2 : They reviewed their QA checklist and a found that their was no check for the diff breather hose, they have added that items to the list.
Regarding #3 : The shift linkage is pressed onto a plastic grommet, they think that it was just not pressed properly. Not sure why it's not a bolted
Regarding #4 : They still think it's a bad boot...no grease should be visible. Will replace front driveshaft with joints on both ends as an assembly.
Regarding #5 : They said they have had no reported problems with folded evap hoses before and thought that it might have been due to combination of heat and material from the end of the roll of hose (where spool diameter is small and can flatten the hose). In the future they will not use the last 10 feet of the hose. They have also designed really nifty bracket (they sent pictures) to hold the hose with a nice radius. In the last two days, they've designed the new bracket, fit checked it and fabbed 20 to put on units currently in build. I'm sure that current owners could get one, but may not be worth it, if you don't have an issue with your hose.

There are going to have me take it down to a (sort of) local Ford dealer who is a Quigley stocking dealer and has worked on these before. They are putting together the parts kit and the repair / inspection checklist and hopefully the work will be done next week.

Although, I'm disappointed that I had these issues in the first place, I will say that they have been very responsive and focused on both solving my problem and improving their design and process to avoid future issues.
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the heads up, since I just dropped mine off there I may benefit from your experience………thanks?????

BTW……Does yours have the 4x4 indicator light right above the auto transmission shifter? Just curious how recent they made that change. Todd Quigley (namedrop) told me why they did that but I forgot already, it was too close to something else under there I believe.
 
#26 ·
I am working hard of the roof rack now, but I thought I'd take some time to document the bed installation that we did a few weeks ago. It's been field tested and it works great. It uses combination of 80/20, other aluminum stock and Ikea slats and mattress.

See the full writeup here: AlpineVan Bed Installation

Do you still like your slat bed setup? Would you change anything if you did it again. thank you
 
#24 ·
Quigley Follow-up

I just wanted to follow up on my "teething pains" for my Quigley transit. Everything is taken care of to my satisfaction. The folks at Quigley sent parts and instructions to a (somewhat) local Ford dealer who was a Quigley stocking dealer. They did all of the works and billed Quigley directly. The Quigley customer service people were very responsive and dedicated to getting my issues sorted out ASAP. I'm leaving for a 9-day trip next weekend and I'll give it all a good workout!
 
#25 ·
I just wanted to follow up on my "teething pains" for my Quigley transit. Everything is taken care of to my satisfaction. The folks at Quigley sent parts and instructions to a (somewhat) local Ford dealer who was a Quigley stocking dealer. They did all of the works and billed Quigley directly. The Quigley customer service people were very responsive and dedicated to getting my issues sorted out ASAP. I'm leaving for a 9-day trip next weekend and I'll give it all a good workout!
Glad to hear. My van is supposed to get on the Quigley lift April 13th.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
 
#33 ·
The conversion was done by Quigley in PA, with the new van drop shipped to them. The recent warranty work was done by Fritts Ford in Riverside PA. They are a Quigley stocking dealer. Quigley service was great, Fritts...not so much. They kept stringing me along about when it would be done, could not get a straight answer.

Quigley can convert your used van if it has less than 60k miles, but you need to get it to Eastern PA and back.

Greg
 
#30 ·
I have been taking care of my mother for the past 10 years and now she is in hospice, terminally ill. I have wanted out of California for years now but could not abandon my mom so I've stayed. I have many fishing buddies that live in the Carson City, Minden, Dayton, Gardnerville, Reno and Sparks area that are retired who have been urging me to come up there so it looks like I'll be able to finally do that. I've visited the area so many times I often get asked if I'm local so I figure it's about time I change that answer from no to yes.
 
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