Trust a 1989 van with rust on it?

[hennaLisa]

I've been looking for a 4x4 diesel van or bus for my family to take on a multi-year trip through rural parts of the Americas. My husband is not a mechanic-type, so we will most likely have to take it to a shop if anything breaks down or needs replacing. I found someone near me selling a used 4x4 diesel E-350. They say they think the 80,000 miles are original and correct so it hasn't been driven all that much. But there is rust on it. The seller says he would trust it. I would obviously take it into a mechanic to get a look too, but can I even expect that a van that old could hold up? Or will all sorts of things be going bad just from the age of it?

[RR1]

Rust is a pain to deal with, plus depending on how bad it is, there could be numerous other things wrong with it.

I would look for a vehicle from the South Western or Southern States.

Could always find a "perfect" 2WD van and do a UJoint conversion. Usually the 2WD used market aren't as abused as the 4WD ones.

http://www.ujointoffroad.com/

[hennaLisa]

That's a neat idea! How much do you think the cost would be to do a 2wd to 4wd conversion (if I don't do any of the work myself)?

[RR1]

That's a neat idea! How much do you think the cost would be to do a 2wd to 4wd conversion (if I don't do any of the work myself)?

Depends...I would shoot Chris at UJoint an email and he could give you some rough estimates.

http://www.ujointoffroad.com/contact.html

[ujoint]

Thanks for the plug!

Rust is terrible......my enemy (besides mosquitos). Is it body rust? Chassis rust?

[RR1]

Thanks for the plug!

You're welcome, you do outstanding work.