Van life

Rick Flair

Domari Nolo
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
6,556
Location
Ozarks
Anyone own or have built a van into their camping/towing rig?

I’m going down this road and want to pick up a E350 Ford van, do the full ujoint off-road 4x4 conversion and build it out to camp and tow my Jeep.

I’ll grab a V10 but would prefer to just go diesel and 6.0’s are cheap due to reputation and easy enough to bulletproof.

most of these are 100-150k to buy done, I think I can be $30k doing the work myself.
Found this one, think it’s a great start.
https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/ctd/d/portland-2007-ford-econoline-e350/7126598063.html
I used to build RV’s back in the day so that part is easy, any advice?
 
Can't give much advice but think it's a cool idea, esp if you build it out yourself and make it work. Got a buddy of mine thinking about selling his house, buying one of those Winnebago Revels and hitting the road so he's been texting me pics/ideas on the same subject.
 
One of my friends built an E350 2wd 7.3 into a 4x4 hauler for his dirt bikes. Has a huge roof rack and fold down bunks inside. Stripped a conversion van at Pick N Pull for the interior parts, so its plush now too. He said it wasn't too hard, lots of conversion parts online, and forums to gain info from. He did some engine mods, it reasonable fast for a big heavy beast. Think he is on his 3rd or 4th tranny though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rick Flair
I helped a buddy of mine turn an E350 into his motorcycle trackday machine. Had space for his two VFRs, a craftsman roll-away, compressor, generator, ramps, etc. We bolted up a nice roofrack for cargo & awnings on both sides, had everything he needed in one tidy package with no need for a trailer.

I always thought these things are under-utilized. We used to have one at work, it was a telemetry van with all our equipment that we used to link up to whatever aircraft tests we were doing at the time. You can fit all kinds of shit in there. Keep us posted if you go that route, it's always interesting watching people's builds no matter what they are!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rick Flair
It’s a good idea if you don’t already have a truck. If you have a truck I’d consider a good tonneau and a rack with rooftop tent. I’m currently going the truck route and will be doing the RTT, tonneau and fridge slider in my truck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rick Flair
Seems like a great base to build from- A friend has a business maintaining about 70 hydro dams around the country and these are his work horses. He holds onto them until they have 300K miles on them with very little mechanical issues. His work vans all started out with passenger seats so we would reinstall enough seats to haul High Adventure Scouts to trip destinations (Such as Ouray CO area) and we would pull a 20' enclosed trailer with supplies. His are all gasoline burners. You can pick them up cheap and get a lot of value out of them. Wheelbase is not going to get you far into high clearance trails however.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rick Flair
Anyone own or have built a van into their camping/towing rig?

I’m going down this road and want to pick up a E350 Ford van, do the full ujoint off-road 4x4 conversion and build it out to camp and tow my Jeep.

I’ll grab a V10 but would prefer to just go diesel and 6.0’s are cheap due to reputation and easy enough to bulletproof.

most of these are 100-150k to buy done, I think I can be $30k doing the work myself.
Found this one, think it’s a great start.
https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/ctd/d/portland-2007-ford-econoline-e350/7126598063.html
I used to build RV’s back in the day so that part is easy, any advice?
Looks like a good canvas to start with and you do have the experience to do it. This will be interesting to watch. I have a 23' class B+ motorhome same make and model as that van but with a V-10. My wife and I go all over in it, and tow all kinds of stuff with it, has plenty of power. Nice to have all the comforts of home inside, for good weather and bad. I'll be watching.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rick Flair
Thanks all for the advice and experiences.

I do have a truck, and yes it makes sense to do a bed rack and RTT cost wise. But I have kids and my wife, she wants to do extended remote camping in a little more comfort. We do the RTT thing now and our longest trip was 10 days and 1000 miles of back country. It was fun and no issues.

I do follow Primal Outdoors, have for a long time since he’s about 2 hours from me and I’ve camped near where he is usually at. Even following him and he actually got me looking at the van and seeing some of the Sportsmobiles during overland expo.

I’ll keep everyone in the loop. I also really enjoy the “build” part of these things, maybe why I’ve been through so many off-road rigs. Lol.
 
get to building

63B01783-CBEC-4562-B9BC-BE81F66C16B6.jpeg