82 OCTOBER 2019 FOUR WHEELER fourwheeler.com
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TRAIL’S END
BY JERED KORFHAGE [email protected] PHOTOS: PETER MACGILLIVRAYMobile Mansion Built
for Iceland Exploration
of a corporate office, including a telephone,
fax machine, stereo, navigation system, and
CB radio, among other things. After folding the
tables and stacking the cushions like Tetris
blocks, the rear of the van seamlessly con-
verted into a spacious sleeping area dressed in
blood-red leather.
In order to take these luxuries with him on
the trail, Eggert needed the Econoline to pull
with all four wheels. He lifted the front Dana 44
and BorgWarner 1345 transfer case from a
Ford pickup, knowing these parts were easily
compatible with his van. The frontend got a
dose of traction from an ARB Air Locker while
Ford F-250 leaf springs and Rancho RS7000
shocks handled suspension duties. The van’s
6.9L diesel V-8 didn’t need much help in the
power-generation department, but the Banks
turbocharger and intercooler Eggert added
certainly did not hurt. The remainder of the
driveline was comprised of a C6 transmission
and a Ford 9-inch rearend, which housed
4.88:1 gears and a limited-
slip differential. Eggert
reported no struggles from
the van while hauling five
adults, a snowmobile-laden
trailer, and a cargo area
stuffed with camping gear.
Though the 44-inch Dick
Cepek Fun Country tires
and 15x14 Weld Racing
wheels rarely necessitated
its usage, Eggert stashed a
Warn 12,000-pound winch
behind the custom-built
front bumper.
Eggert’s van took him
and his cohorts to the
backcountry of Iceland
in search of good times
and off-road fun. Where
have 4x4 vans taken you?
Please tell us your story.
Send an email to editor@
fourwheeler.com along
with high-resolution photos
to satisfy our converted-
van craze.mansion. Accommodations included a minibar,
refrigerator, microwave oven, hot and cold
water on tap, and a two-burner gas stove.
Passengers described the two front seats with
luxuriously reupholstered leather as being remi-
niscent of your grandpa’s easy chair. Within an
arm’s reach of the driver were some trimmingsJ
ust before writing this story, we had
recently been in Moab, Utah, where
we wheeled with Tiger LeBrun. Tiger’s
4x4 ’65 Chevy van graced Trail’s End
earlier in the year, and he was pilot-
ing yet another lifted Chevy van through the
Moab trails. Shortly after, we journeyed across
Arizona on Four Wheeler’s Overland Adven-
ture, arriving at the 2019 Overland Expo West,
where lifted 4x4 vans seemed to swarm the
show like cicadas after a 17-year hibernation.
That’s right, we have 4x4 vans on the brain—
which explains why when we flipped through
the December 1990 issue of Four Wheeler,
the pages mysteriously fell open to Eggert
Sveinbjornsson’s van.
Eggert hails from Reykjavik, Iceland, and
when he wasn’t distributing Zebco fishing
equipment, he was pursuing his passion for
playing outside—in style. Eggert’s ’83 Ford
Econoline E-150 was host to a set of oversized
tires, and the interior had been outfitted like a“AFTER FOLDING THE
TABLES AND STACKING
THE CUSHIONS LIKE
TETRIS BLOCKS, THE
REAR OF THE VAN SEAM-
LESSLY CONVERTED INTO
A SPACIOUS SLEEPING
AREA DRESSED IN
BLOOD-RED LEATHER.”