OLDSCHOOLFOOL

Ok, so that was you dealing with the "chip tar" and such? I like to call it "peanut butter paving". The wife and I are planning on a trip in the future to Yellowstone but don't really have any real details worked out quite yet. We sort of plan to cut across TN, maybe thru NM and hook right up thru UT in a general sort of path seeing what we see. The KOA cabin thing sounds like kind of a good thing to mix in. Hadn't really thought of those. I was thinking Futon mattress instead of foam. Foam tends to be too soft for me and kills my old back. Air mattress tends to be the same way.

Here's one that is likely to move up on my list in a year or two. Perhaps not so much traditional camping per se, but road tripping I guess. What year and style is your van? Sure would like to see what it looks like.

Thanks a million Don! This is PRECISELY the info I was looking for. ? A custom bezel for the light fixture would solve that issue, but it really does look like it was made to fit in there. Concealing the other mounting holes doesn't look like it would be too terribly bad either.

If I didn't know any better (and I don't) I'd say this opening is just about a perfect match for the dome light. One of the things I have in mind is to move the existing cargo light fixture to the center just behind the seats and rewire in parallel with the dome light. What this will do is give me the option to turn it and the dome light completely off when I want and not have it come on every time you turn the engine off or open a door. Turn it back on when I want it to come on automatically.

Do you by chance have any photos of the entire thing removed? Of course I would like to do what no one else would do and that is to remove it completely. It serves no particular function to me except as storage for things I never want to find again. I'd like to get some kind of visual before taking it out and then have to put it right back because something unexpected is under there. I would have to remount the dome light and I'd lose the assist bars, grab bars if you will, but I don't see either of those as any big deal. To me the thing is just a big ugly piece of plastic that I would like to get rid of. By George I think I found it!. I will be going back to check out more of your photos to be sure.

I have some similar ones on my pickup and overall I like them but at about 75mph they start sounding like D string on a bass guitar. Harmonic governor perhaps.

Thanks for the pic. What year and package is that? I've seen some of your posts and there's a lot to like. What are the top 5 things that YOU like about your van?

Not looking for white bumpers or bumpers of any kind really. That was just a random sort of comment. Just would like to know top 5 things you like about YOUR van. Not what someone else may like about it, just you. And it is not a contest to see who has the best van either. Not a survey either, I'm not going to tally anything up. I'm just a curious sort of fellow.

I want to expand the hardboard panel setup to the ceiling and other places in the cargo area and paint them. Simplicity being the major attribute. Looking to retire end of next year (hopefully) and I'll have more time to work on it.

Excellent! Thanks for the link.

I have never seen any cargo TC with white bumpers. If they exist here in the states I would like to see a picture of one.

I rarely use the AC, not because of cost but I just like the windows down. Gas mileage is what it is and I don't really pay that much attention to it. I do get the wind buffeting but it helps to open the passenger window. Its very understandable running the AC for the animals and I would too regardless of cost.

I am curious about what people like most about their TCs so I thought I would start this thread as a place for people to list the things they like most about their vans. Figured a list from 5 to 1, with 1 being the one thing you like most about your van. Just a brief description of why could be helpful too. It could be factory feature but it could also be something do did to enhance it like a paint job or something or most anything really. Just whatever it is that you LIKE about it. It could also be a TC that you used to own but don't anymore, but make it about your van not one you wished you owned. Please state the year and the type and if possible post a pic of the van so we can all see what it is. Not all posters may know what a 2011 SWB cargo TC may look like. Not necessarily asking to post a pic of the particular feature just a look at the van itself. You can if you like cause I like pics. It could be a pic you have posted in some other thread. Mine is. My top five list: 5. Power. For a 2.5l 4 cylinder it has a lot of pep. Sometimes I even find myself spinning tires a little when taking off. 4. Cargo bay. Floor is relatively low to the ground and with the sliding doors on both sides and the swinging doors on the back, I can load most things into the van unassisted. And do it easy. 3. Handling. With the stock factory tires on it handled pretty good for a van, not the typical top-heavy feeling. With wider tires that I put on it the van now seems to drive more like a sport sedan than a truck. 2. Size. I can put this van ANYWHERE. Tight spots no problem. But big enough to haul things when I need to. 1. Looks. The TC just doesn't look like every other vehicle on the road. I like the general uniqueness of the van. 2016 XLT LWB Cargo

Seems naming vehicles is more popular than I originally thought. Apparently 25% of owners in the UK name their cars or trucks. There are car name generators online, which should be of no surprise since there is an app for everything these days. One guy I knew sawed the back off of an old 70s Econoline van turning it into a pickup truck and named it the "Vuck".

Pretty much spot on brother. Except I think Clinton wanted to let the private market keep their fingers in the public pie.

There are basically three kinds of people in this country. The have-nothings, the have-a-littles and the haves. The have-nothings are screwed from the beginning since they have nothing. The have-a-littles spend their lives trying to hold on to what little they have. The haves have no interest in the have-nothings because they have nothing the haves want to have. The haves' only interest is in having what little the have-a-littles have. The greatest medical technology in the world means nothing to the have-nothings because they have nothing to have it with. This technology is only of interest to the have-a-littles if they have enough to have it or if they have employment which allows them to have health insurance. If the have-a-littles lose that employment that they had and then need the greatest medical technology in the world, they soon move to the ranks of the have-nothings. The haves have it and couldn't care less who else has it. Universal healthcare is long overdue in this country.

One of the sweetest cars of all time.

35-12.50s are a pretty good size tire and larger tires can be harder to balance. Along with not having the right tech for the job, they may not have had the right equipment either. I've mounted a few tires (by hand and by god I never want to do another one) but like you I have never balanced one.

I'll say it is, I'd rather drive 100 miles just to AVOID driving thorough a big city. To each his own, but there isn't a thing there for me. Too rushed, too dirty, too noisy. On a hot summer night, I want to sit on my front porch and listen to the cars rust.

Pine tree pitch battle..best solution Chainsaw

Corny or not, shows you thought about it. In my book that's good. I don't really name my vehicles but I do refer to my pickup by the man we got it from. He's been dead now five years and we have had the truck 13-14 years and I still refer to it as if the truck was still his. Always will.

This is a new one on me. Not suggesting to anyone NOT to do it, but I have never heard of this as part of regular maintenance.

Don't let it harsh your mellow, we like to modify EVERYTHING.

If I'm going to ride a pig, at least let her be a little pretty.

The 17x7.5 Fusion wheels should have a +55 offset in effect pushing the inside edge of the wheel 18mm closer to the suspension. If the wheel clears the brakes okay (and it should) this shouldn't be an issue. The scrub radius will go -6mm which might be noticeable but I kind of doubt it. The tire itself really doesn't change much with 215/50r17 being only .2" larger in diameter than 215/55R16 and the cross section will barely increase due to the increased wheel width. A good setup I'd say.