Ford E350 V10 4x4 Build

BajaBus

Adventurer
I saw that van on ebay it is very sharp. I asked the previous owner who built it but he did not know who did it. Either way it appears they did a really nice job with the top and 4wd conversion. The first thing I would be concerned with would be fuel the range sucks on these things with the smaller tanks. I also agree with who ever said I would use it on a trip before making major altercations unless you owned a van in the past and know what you want. Making small changes as you use it will give you a better overall result and less money wasted from doing things twice.
Welcome to the portal.
Derek

Thanks Derek! Javier (the previous owner) probably didn't want to tell you that it was done in Tijuana by some guy who works on chase vehicles. I will tell you that I've taken the van to all the offroad shops and fabricators in town and they all, along with my Baja buddies, marvel at the workmanship and quality of welds, etc. So apparently it's put together well!

I have travelled alot in my 1990 Suburban but only used it for camping with my 13 yr old son. I do have experience with "roughing it" in a 4x4 vehicle but this is my first van. You guy's advice is well-recieved. I'm not going to go overboard until our first shake-down trip when we'll know alot more about what we need. :sombrero:
 

BajaBus

Adventurer
Just got her back from the welder who fabbed up a very nice frame for sleeping on. What do you think?

post-959-0-99280100-1291681670.jpg
 

Maximus Ram

Expedition Leader
Thats a start. I would go to the hardware store and see if you could find some plastic or rubber plugs for the open ends there, though.
 

Photog

Explorer
Is that frame height designed to fit a certain size container (Pelican cases, Rubbermaid, etc.)? It looks really tall; but that might just be the camera angle playing tricks.
 

BajaBus

Adventurer
Is that frame height designed to fit a certain size container (Pelican cases, Rubbermaid, etc.)? It looks really tall; but that might just be the camera angle playing tricks.

It is taller than what I would normally choose, but the height allows for the maximum width of the sleeping deck. If you'll notice, it goes right to the top of that little "ledge" below the window. Why is this important? I am 6' 4" and every inch is gonna matter on some of those long winter nights. While not designed for a specific container, the added height will be nice for storage.
 

BajaBus

Adventurer
Thats a start. I would go to the hardware store and see if you could find some plastic or rubber plugs for the open ends there, though.

Though it doesn't look like it, the guys ground it down nice and smooth and as far in as they are, it would be real tough to get hurt on them. If I can find something to cap them with, I certainly intend to!
 

McZippie

Walmart Adventure Camper
McZippie, thanks a million man. I'm going to print your post out and try to wrap my head around it. I had no idea about the existing holes on the frame rails - excellent news!! :wings:

So if we're staying on a beach for a couple of nights, running an ARB fridge, lights at night, charging laptops, etc. do you think we'd need to go with a foldable solar setup at all, or will this system be okay? I figure for about $700 I can get the 62 setup and really send some juice to the battery bank. What do you think? Yes, I contemplated the hi-output alternator or small generator as well but I sure like the idea of a notebook-sized solar setup. Opinions?

Your rig is positively mouth-watering. Just called the wife and kids in here to see and they are as amazed as me. Wow!

The more I look at your Rig the more I like the orange!

When planning our Rig, went around and around on the whole solar stuff. Solar work best if camping in one spot for a while. We are more into touring rather than camping. We seldom camp for more than 2 nights in one location so solar would add little benefit. It's expensive and has very limited battery charging when compared to engine alternator and/or generator charging.

AGM battery tech is a game changer. Traditional batteries 'wet' (deep cycle/starting) are limited to a charge rate of 1/5 the amp hours of the battery bank. So a traditional wet 100 amp hour battery should be charged at 20 amps. AGM batteries can handle a charge rate of greater than the battery amp hour rating.

With AGMs we 'want' to design charging systems that have very high amp (fast) charging rather than very low amp (slow) with solar charging.

My Rigs 3 AGM battery bank have a total amp hour rating of 225 amps. Only half of that is usable to prevent damaging the batteries and then round it down more to compensate for the 80-90% charging rule to 100 'usable' amps hours.

If there was an alternator or battery charger that put out 500 amps continuously, my depleted AGM usable 100 amp battery bank 'could be' in theory, recharged in 12 minutes. With my rigs 265 amps alternators it takes about 1/2 hour, until the engine fast idle cuts off, indicating that my batteries are about 80-90% charged.

Traditional 'wet' batteries at 1/5 amp hour limit would take 5 hours to charge.

With Solar panel charging and all their dirty little secret inefficiencies, I won't even go into the math, but you'd be hard pressed with your roof full of solar panels, to recharge a depleted 100 amp hour battery bank in one day.

To answer your question, forget the solar, and up grade the battery bank to 3 AGMs and you'll be able to power 'your' usage for about 2+ days. Add in the after-market alternator and 'your' depleted 3 AGM battery bank will be recharged in about a 1/2 and hour.

You'll be amazed at the relatively low costs and how everything works in the background with no monitoring of batteries and also never have to worry about a dead batteries.

Tomorrow or later this week, I'll list source links for for all the battery charging gizmos and hardware.
 
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BajaBus

Adventurer
Add in the after-market alternator and 'your' depleted 3 AGM battery bank will be recharged in about a 1/2 and hour.

That sounds pretty tough to beat, Zippie! The savings from skipping solar would go toward the battery and aftermarket alternator costs, not to mention I wouldn't have to worry about the solar panels getting stolen. Highly anticipating your additional info!! :sombrero:
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
Where did you put your extra battery, Stumpalump? I read reviews on the ARB and everyone recommends them. I ordering one up this morning. It'll make a nice little beer cooler for parties too. :sombrero:

Basically the battery is on the floor in a box. They can be deadly projectiles not to mention the acid so bolt it down well.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Here's some real world numbers from solar that recently got posted to the net.

This guy had a Xantrex C-35 that he replaced with with a Rogue Power Tech MPT-3024 (a really good charge controller). Two Kyocera 135w PV modules flat mounted on an RV roof.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lAsuwHaXHEs/TOmf07_1D8I/AAAAAAAABKY/Rkun0nH5tS8/s640/Rogue controller2.jpg

The modules start to see enough sun to start producing around 0700, but they don't really put out much until around 0900. They peak at around 1200 at 158w.

345 amp*hour battery bank, which starts out about 50ah depleted. It takes almost 70ah generated by the PV to get the batteries back up to full charge. The batteries are finally fully recharged by 1600.

Yes, that's correct - 158w peak out of 270w worth of "name plate" rating. Also correct - it takes 70ah to replace the 50ah you used.

For November in Arizona with flat mounted PV modules - his system is performing exactly as would be expected.


Fold up PV modules are very expensive for the actual watts you end up stuffing into your battery. 60w to a camper battery is almost not enough to bother.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
Based on my real world van use (I have solar but agree that it is overkill) I would say skip the solar, add the 2 batteries in the stock frame rail location and if you still find you have needs then add another battery.
If you are going to be moving every couple of days....which is what is great about Baja, then solar just isn't the deal for you.

On the same note, look carefully at your fridge choices, ARB makes a great unit, I love my National Luna as it has won both the Overland Journal Fridge test as most efficient and then there are the dirt cheap fridges that have a much higher amp draw. Sure they work well but it would kill your batteries sitting for too long.

I run my fridge 24/7 and keep it in the van, however it would be interesting to design a setup that would allow you to pull the fridge easily and use it at home as a garage/beverage fridge :)

Dave & Diane at Aluminess are great people and can do custom stuff, but there off the shelf solutions for Vans is very impressive.
I have beat on my bumpers and they hold up great.

My suggestion would be a tire carrier on 1 side and the biggest box on the other for max lockable storage.
 

BajaBus

Adventurer
Here's some real world numbers from solar that recently got posted to the net.

This guy had a Xantrex C-35 that he replaced with with a Rogue Power Tech MPT-3024 (a really good charge controller). Two Kyocera 135w PV modules flat mounted on an RV roof.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lAsuwHaXHEs/TOmf07_1D8I/AAAAAAAABKY/Rkun0nH5tS8/s640/Rogue controller2.jpg

The modules start to see enough sun to start producing around 0700, but they don't really put out much until around 0900. They peak at around 1200 at 158w.

345 amp*hour battery bank, which starts out about 50ah depleted. It takes almost 70ah generated by the PV to get the batteries back up to full charge. The batteries are finally fully recharged by 1600.

Yes, that's correct - 158w peak out of 270w worth of "name plate" rating. Also correct - it takes 70ah to replace the 50ah you used.

For November in Arizona with flat mounted PV modules - his system is performing exactly as would be expected.


Fold up PV modules are very expensive for the actual watts you end up stuffing into your battery. 60w to a camper battery is almost not enough to bother.

You're confirming what almost everyone else is saying and I really appreciate the input and data, dwh!
 

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