Having decided to do the 4×4 conversion, the next decision was how. My inclination was to find the parts and do the conversion myself so I set off to figure out what I would need. Internet researching lead to U-joint Offroad , a company located in Fletcher, NC that specializes in van 4×4 conversion. (As a plus, they had previously done an Airstream B190 conversion!) U-joint Offroad could provide some or all of the parts needed for the conversion. You could save a few bucks by scrounging locally for parts like the front axle or transfer case. Or if you don’t want to mess with that, they can put together a complete kit.
Here are the big pieces you’ll need for the conversion:
- Front axle, Dana D60
- Front axle leaf springs
- Front axle drive shaft
- Transfer case
These are some other things you’ll need to do:
- Shorten the rear axle drive shaft.
- Shorten the fuel tank to make room for the transfer case.
- Change the rear axle gear ratio if you install bigger tires. (I went with 4.56 gear ratio).
- Trim or replace the front bumper if you install bigger tires.
- Rear wheel spacers for the larger tires.
Finally, I opted for some upgrades:
- Larger front disc brake rotors since I often pull a trailer.
- Transmission rebuild with firmer shifting also because of the trailer.
- Heavy duty, billet torque converter.
- Aluminess front and rear bumpers, tire carrier and storage box.
- And of course, some good looking wheels and tires.
Of course there a multitude of smaller items you’ll need like brake lines, shocks, etc. In my case I also needed to replace the fuel tank since we couldn’t get the old one to seal after the shortening process.
Installation
I had set aside late Jan/Feb 2017 for the installation. While I felt competent enough to do the conversion myself, the idea of doing this in the winter, outside, just really didn’t appeal to me. Chris at U-joint Offroad quoted me a very reasonable rate for the installation and was able to do it in the time frame I had set aside. So mid-January we took off for Fletcher NC, left the RV there and then took off (literally) for Hawaii. (Since we live in our RV we were homeless during the conversion. We had to be somewhere, Hawaii seemed like a good place to be.)
Costs
You’re probably curious about the cost so here it is…
- 4×4 parts, transmission rebuild, new fuel tank, about $20k including installation.
- Tires and wheels, $2,500
- Aluminess bumpers, tire carrier, storage box and fog lights, about $6,500
No doubt a fair chunk of change for an RV only worth about half that. However, if you look around at other 4×4 RV/Expedition vehicles you’ll see that our total cost isn’t too bad. And that isn’t including the $200k+ RV’s like Earthroamer or Global Expedition Vehicles.
B190 Expedition 