[JGT250]

The last time I posted in here was to sing the praise of John McKee's work at Quadvan. am not rescinding that, but I am cautious about the future.

We drove to an hur away to a little ski hill here in Idaho to meet up with some friends for the day. The drive is relatively flat and not too serious. The pavement was dry on the highway. We hit the snow and popped it in 4 high with no problem. Made it to the skin area, spent day with our friends and then headed home.

On the drive home the highway was covered as a storm was hitting us. We kept in 4 high and proceeded to drive about 45-50 mph. about 20 minutes into our drive we start getting some pretty loud knocking and vibrations from the transfer case below our feet. We stopped to take a look but couldn't see anything as it was dumping and dark. We pushed on a little bit further until it became so bad we thought we might do serious damage. We pulled off and the drive shaft forward of the transfer case was smoking. We called AAA and they said they would send a truck to tow us. We waited for 90 minutes until AAA said we are not sending a truck out to get you because this storm is too bad. During that time I sent John McKee of QuadVan a text and informed him of the situation and let him know he would be hearing from me and the shop the van ends up at. In the meantime, my wife and I had to abandon our vehicle and hitch hike a ride home in rural Idaho in the dark.

I'm kind of at a loss as to what next? Our confidence has been eroded based on our experience so far. It is disheartening to spend $50K on a vehicle that has let us down a second time in under less then a year. I am not a mechanic and never claimed to be but this not right.

In our last experience, Dale Sykes from Newberg Ford didn't want anything to do with our van and told us its a QuadVan issue. However in the process of selling us this van, it was all "No problems" and "you'll be supported". John McKee is busy at QuadVan that he doesn't want to keep working on these issues. As far as we can tell, unless you live 60 miles from QuadVan I would urge you to really consider before doing a conversion. I'm not saying don't do it, just really think it through.

To other members, I ask: What would you do given our history,(see my profile for previous posts) and given our situation?

Thanks.

 

[rene12341]

Thanks for the honest post. Sorry to hear you are having trouble. I'm concerned because I live in CA and Quadvan is closer than Quigley so I have been considering a Quadvan conversion. Please keep us up to date on what the problem is and how it is handled by Quadvan. Pictures if you can would be a big help.

 

[Michael Ophus]

four wheel drive is not built for speeds above about 25 miles per hour as i understand it. (the 1970s and before)

 

[Paul vP]

four wheel drive is not built for speeds above about 25 miles per hour as i understand it. (the 1970s and before)

I don't believe there are speed limitations for 4WD (high setting) in today's systems. That being said, turns should be made gently and the system should not be used on high traction surfaces (dry pavement). It sounds like the Quadvan 4X4 system was used appropriately on snow and at a reasonable speed. Very sorry to hear about the issues.

 

[Byron the Painter]

McKee is busy at QuadVan that he doesn't want to keep working on these issues.

Has that been determined or is it your gut feeling considering he had to deal with it a few months ago?

Don't panic yet, as it might be something simple. Perhaps you should seek out a local mechanic, like an off road shop.

I wonder how many of these he's built? Maybe he discovered a flaw with earlier ones by now? You would think he would have notified you of that. Regardless, the thing to do right now is figure out what's wrong with it. Hopefully that can be done without having to ship it away.

Does his work have a warranty? Sorry with all these question marks but this is certainly a bummer for you...

Let us know what's wrong with it and good luck.

 

[JGT250]

Rene 12341, no problem. When making a purchase of that size, it is something to consider.

 

[JGT250]

Byron,

We were number 4 for QuadVan. The first Cargo van that he did. It was more of a gut feeling. We've already had the van sent back to Portland Oregon once this summer for about a month or so, so it could be repaired. I text John last night and told him what was up.

I know that he read it because iPhone is pretty good about sending read receipts. He never responded back to me. I sent him a follow up text of where he recommended that I take the van to, he said take the van to the dealership. I would hope that he would stand by his work. I would also hope that if they found a system or design flaw that he would have let his customers know.

Right now, we are just trying to get it off of the highway, and towed to a shop.

 

[keweenawbee]

I know Quigley has been doing this for a much longer time, and manufacture some of their own components. I was "kind of" assuming that the parts were the same and that Quad Van was just the "west coast" version. Does anyone know the differences?

He has a **** of a sales pitch…..

 

[morey]

The last time I posted in here was to sing the praise of John McKee's work at Quadvan.

For reference, here is the post JGT250 is referring to.

Byron,

We were number 4 for QuadVan. The first Cargo van that he did. It was more of a gut feeling. We've already had the van sent back to Portland Oregon once this summer for about a month or so, so it could be repaired. I text John last night and told him what was up.

I know that he read it because iPhone is pretty good about sending read receipts. He never responded back to me. I sent him a follow up text of where he recommended that I take the van to, he said take the van to the dealership. I would hope that he would stand by his work. I would also hope that if they found a system or design flaw that he would have let his customers know.

Right now, we are just trying to get it off of the highway, and towed to a shop.

Our Transit 350 cargo was completed around January 29th, 2016. When was your van completed? Trying to figure out if the issues impacting your van could potential be an issue for me.

 

[JGT250]

Morey... we took delivery of our van in April.

Paul vP... The pitch given by Dale at Newberg Ford was that QuadVan uses Ford parts. Talking with John at QuadVan told me that he builds his 4WD systems utilizing F-150/Raptor parts. Something to that effect. So there was no mismatching Ford and GM components underneath.

All,

I met with Sheriff's dept. this morning as they called me about my van.... Finally got it towed to the Ford dealership. A little backstory, they have been forecasting a major winter storm (1-3 feet) in our area. When I got to my van this morning I could smell burnt components from the transfer case area.

While meeting up with the van, my wife got Dale Sykes from Newberg Ford (the dealer that sold us the van and on the QuadVan conversion) on the phone. She told him what was going on and just like last time he expressed extreme reluctance. We explained how our local dealership won't even bother to look at our van for an oil change because of the Quadvan conversion and that he shouldn't be selling these things to people under the guise that its all good and you can have it serviced at your local dealership. Our local dealer does not want anything to do with it. She finally talked him into calling the dealership here in Idaho to explain that the nature of the Newberg Ford/Quadvan relationship. Dale called our dealer and then called us back. He said "you're right, they are reluctant." He finally got our dealer to agree to look at it and told him that John McKee at Quadvan will be in touch with them and that it will be covered under his warranty.

At this point I don't know what is going to happen with our van as far as getting it repaired. The irony in all of this is that my wife and I were headed to Portland, Oregon to visit family for Christmas next week. Which is unfortunate because I could have had John look at the issue.

When i concluded my last drive line/angle issue this summer with John McKee at QuadVan I thanked him and he asked if I wouldn't mind writing up about my experience in this forum as he knows that this is a small community and that a lot of his business is word of mouth on these forums. So this is why I need to let the community know.

I would urge that if you have a quad van conversion and or have bought from Newberg Ford or are considering, I would contact Dale Sykes at Newberg Ford or John McKee at Quadvan, let them know you are reading this and want to be assured that your investments are covered and backed up no matter where you live.

 

[Tonwagen]

Perhaps you should seek out a local mechanic, like an off road shop.

My feeling exactly. Find a local off-road/driveline shop and have them figure out what's wrong. Knowledge is power. Good luck. Best, --Frank

 

[Paul vP]

Keeping my fingers crossed that you will be back on the road/snow again with your QuadVan in the very near future!

 

[JGT250]

I just got a phone call from my Ford Dealer and they did confirm that the front drive shaft C.V. joints went bad and so John from QuadVan is shipping them out to Idaho today.
The Ford dealership tech. at first suspected it could be the angles that they are using on the conversion. If all goes well, we should have the van Monday or Tuesday.

Again, I want to credit John McKee at QuadVan for being on top of it standing by his word and willing to work for a solution.

 

[keweenawbee]

Glad to hear the good news. I think I will be keeping the tremendous power of my Ecoboost in reserve when I can, I seem to be trending in that direction anyway. Better for Giubo!

 

[rene12341]

Glad you got it sorted. CV's are a simple fix. It will be interesting to hear if there is an angle problem. Do the half shafts meet the knuckle with any angle in the fore/aft direction? There is always an angle up/down but a fore/aft angle, if excessive, can put the CV at its limit in a max turn.

 

[Zak]

Keep us posted on what kind of solution they come up with. I just bought a 2017 Transit from Newberg, with Quadvan conversion included (scheduled for next summer), and now I'm a bit worried.

 

[tahoebear]

Called Quadvan today and got on their conversion list for next August. Picked up my used 2015 over the weekend and will get snow tires for it for this winter. I still have my 4x4 GMC Sierra to drive when the snow gets thick up here in Tahoe. Definitely need 4wd overall, but will drive the transit carefully this winter without.

 

[JGT250]

Update...

John at QuadVan was pretty helpful. He got the part out to the local ford dealer here in Idaho and they got us up and running. I will say that if there are kinks to still work out, John has no doubt maintained his pledge to stand by his work and keep us on the road, and happy customers. Ive been doing plenty of driving in snowy and icy conditions to go up to the local pass and do some backcountry skiing. The 4X4 has been working smooth and it is really nice to stand up inside (i'm 6'2") and put on all of my ski gear and take it off as well.

The local Ford dealer was extremely hesitant to work on it. It took us having to have both John from QuadVan and Dale from Newberg Ford to call them and convince them just to look at our van. I don't know why they are so scared to turn a wrench on the van. They have always been like that, even with simple routine maintenance. My personal belief (this time) is that they were concerned about the finger pointing between us, and QV and Ford when it came time to for the payment. But, it was all covered by QV's warranty.

On a sad/happy note...My wife and I are expecting our first child and are considering selling our conversion and going back to driving a super cab truck. Our van might be popping up on QuadVan's website here soon. John said he would honor the warranty for the next owner which is pretty sweet. He also said he is about a year out right now with regard to new conversions. I'll keep you guys posted. Would hate to see it go because it is super fun, but...new priorities are on the horizon. PM if you might be interested in the van.

 

[morey]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you're back on the road.

Any idea what caused the front drive shaft C.V. joints to go bad? One off problem or do you think all the Transit QuadVans could have the same problem?

 

[JGT250]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you're back on the road.

Any idea what caused the front drive shaft C.V. joints to go bad? One off problem or do you think all the Transit QuadVans could have the same problem?

Well, the Ford Tech. thought they were too close to the Cat. Converter or he thought it could be the angle. Speaking with John yesterday he wasn't sure. He said both CV boots were missing. He also said that their is a plastic component near the cat. converter (in close proximity to where the CV boot was) so he ruled that out. It could be the angle...even though it is well within the limit. He has driveline guys working on it. He assured me that if it is a design issue, that he will get the van back to PDX to have it corrected.

So far so good though.

Morey I'm curious as to how often you are running it in 4WD?