Sweet Econoline

[tailgunn]

Trying to convince myself to not go look at this. Been looking for 4x4 truck/suv for hauling toys and the pop up camper to the dirt park, and maybe some very light trails... but I stumbled upon this and I'm quite enamored... I think 4x4 vans rock, but didn't even bother looking for any cause of the expense. Put an LSD in it, pull the toys on the flat trailer and leave the pop up at home? Then in a couple years blow the kids inheritance on a 4x4 conversion! Grandparents had one back in the 80s that I always loved. It's really tall though.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/4881331850.html

 

[underdrive]

If you think this is tall, try putting a hard-sided camper on a 4x4 medium duty truck - when you climb on the roof you can almost see above the tree tops

Jokes aside, if this fits your needs then get it. Do keep in mind this sure looks like the E150 model, which would either have an AOD or an E4OD transmission - neither is all that great for towing, but the AOD is simpler to operate and cheaper to rebuild if the need for it arises. Pretty sure the rear axle would be 8.8" which is stupid simple to drop a LSD in, or rebuild an existing LSD if it has one.

Point I'm trying to make is if you wanna tow a couple of side-by-sides with it you should probably look elsewhere, but for normal camping with say two bikes or 4-wheelers it should do quite alright.

 

[east_tn_81]

I would have a hard time not going to look at that.

 

[tailgunn]

We had a hockey game near there last night but I talked myself out of seeing it. Most I would be pulling is a quad and a dirt bike or two, maybe the pop up by itself. What really fits my needs in my price range is generally not nearly as nice as this. I have never been inside a camper van before- I don't suppose there are sleeping quarters up top? Also, does that backseat come out?

 

[Mwilliamshs]

No sleeping quarters overhead. Just more headroom and maybe a storage shelf. The back seat likely would come out in 5 minutes or less. Most like that have 8 bolts. The back seat folds flat into a 6ish (front to rear) x 5ish (side to side) bed.
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You know expedition portal has a 4wd (& 2wd) Camper Van sub-forum, right?
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It is a half-ton. It'll tow your loads no problem.

 

[tailgunn]

I had not noticed that sub-forum before but I will check it out. I have 3 kids, not sure we could all sleep in that.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

An RB (regular body) van like that one would be tight for 5 folks to say the least. Kids' tendency to get bigger would make things worse and worse as time went by. An EB (extended body) would help a lot by adding 20" to the van's overall length (seam visible behind rear side marker light).

 

[tailgunn]

My ex-wife can get her own van, so that would only be 4. :sombrero: However, my son is 12 and bigger than some adults. He and his sisters will be tall, so yer right. I wish I had never seen the camper van thread... My bank account is in severe jeopardy.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

Sleeping width-wise is really only suitable in any van for those 5'10" and under. I'm 5'11" and just can't get comfortable that way, not to mention that if a window were at my feet I'd be bumping and pushing against glass all night long. I've tried laying across Sprinters too and it's the same poop, different bowl.
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What this means is that an EB, at about 12 feet from back door to rear of front seat, can have a 6' bed made with 6' of floor space left over (maybe two beds?) or an RB could have a 6' bed with 4 feet, 4 inches of room left over.
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There are upper-bunk options too, like Sportsmobile's Penthouse.
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Good luck with your van hunt and you're exactly right, the Camper Van subforum is the perfect place to trade good money for bad looks from strangers.

 

[dwh]

Yea, that's a "van conversion" not a "camper van". A.k.a., a station wagon.

Looks like a nice little people and camping gear (bring a tent) hauler.

That roof-top air conditioner might (very likely does) only work on 120v AC.

 

[tailgunn]

Yeah, the more I thought about it that van won't work. I did just find another 90 Econoline with a mild conversion (no raised roof) for $900 with 15,000 miles on it! But I think for now I will stick with a basic truck, and work towards the van I really want. Thanks for the advice.

 

[underdrive]

In our experience axles and transmissions and such can easily be swapped out as needed later on even in a driveway with minimal use of power tools. It's the body work that gets very expensive very fast, and being from a rust-belt state you should focus most. Down the road you can beef up the axles and do a 4x4 swap and all that. Realistically most vans are essentially weather-proof pickup trucks - they'll haul just as much stuff inside them as a comparable-GVW pickup truck, however you won't have to worry about it getting cold or wet or petrified by the desert sun. But don't expect to sleep the whole family into a van, unless it's one of those extended 1-tons and all you use it for is sleeping. We've met people who do just that actually, they had a 4x4 E350 extended van that they used to tow a "kitchen" trailer with - they did all their cooking and such outside, then packed everything for the night and went to sleep in the van. The idea was for them to be safer from animals (popup camper provides zero protection) and be ready to go on a moment's notice if it became needed. The latter part we actually tested together when some heavy rains or something up in the mountains cause the nearby creek to start flooding the camping grounds in the middle of the night, it was very nice to be able to just turn the ignition key and be on your way to safety in about a minute or two.