September 19, 2012 Quigley Factory Tour
I love my Quigley 4×4 van! I spent a long time trying to find a Ford van with the Quigley 4×4 and 7.3L diesel engine for a reasonable price. In the end I purchased a high mileage, 236,700 miles on the odometer, one owner ’02 Ford E350 EB Sportsmobile that met my needs.The Quigley system uses mostly factory OEM parts and retains the rear leaf and front coil suspension setup. This makes the van easy to service at any Ford dealership and ride really smooth on the road for everyday use. With almost a year of travels under my ownership and LOTS of highway miles with some quality off-road excursions the Quigley system has been good to me. With the high mileage of the van I have needed to replace quite a few parts in the drive line, but that is to be expected with a heavy high-mileage rig. Quigley has been easy to work with and seems to have very reasonable prices for their stocked parts.
I was recently on the East coast for some events (ECSC, Gauley Fest & VA Overland Rally) and managed to squeeze in a visit to the Quigley factory in Manchester, PA. I first want to say that these guys and gals LOVE what they do and love to share that passion with their customers. The hospitality was amazing as I got a full tour of the facilities, was introduced to many of the key employees and was surprised with a quick diagnostic checkup on the 4×4 system on my van. After checking the alignment, torqing some loose bolts and weighing each corner of the van my rig got a good bill of health. I won’t mention how much the rig weights, but lets just say it needs to go on a bit of a diet!
’11 was best year in Quigley’s history despite the down economy. Orders from overseas, government agencies, utilities and businesses that need the safety and capabilities of a full size 4×4 van are what keep Quigley busy. As a third generation private family business that has been building 4×4 systems for full size vans since 1974 Quigley has made a name for themselves through design excellence and quality. The company does 4×4 conversions for Ford, GM and just recently Nissan full size vans. As the Ford E series is phased out over the next year or so and the new Transit is introduced Quigley will be building a 4×4 conversion for this new entrant into the North American market as well.
Quigley also does some really cool special projects for customers. One recent project was a large order for 4×4 vans for the Antarctic. Because the vans had to have such huge tires they required rear full floating axles to handle all that spin weight. Quigley normally ONLY offers the factory semi-floating rear axles on their vans, but with a big enough order and for the right price they can accommodate almost any customers needs.
I’m looking forward to many more on and off-road miles in my Quigley 4×4 van. The 4×4 system has already gotten me out of many muddy, snowy and sandy situations. It really is amazing the capabilities that a 10,000 lb van has off-road! Many more off-road excursions are “just a shift away” in the Exploring Elements Sportsmobile:)
