2001 Ford e350 extended high-top van.

[debit.servus]

I am currently writing this post inside San Jose Trucking School with an instructional DVD paused about the Air Brakes test.  I am becoming a trucker to earn money and get ahead in life. I expect to have a CDL by the End de February 2017.

I went places of distance this year, more than 500 miles from San Jose. The furthest point away from San Jose was Peace river, AB. I traveled in an climate controlled van, slept on a real mattress, and could start the generator anytime to run the A/C which I did as temperatures were hot and humid (upper 80s).

Las Vegas was inhospitably hot without climate control as usual in the summer months, and 10,000 BTUs took 20-30 minutes to bring the van down to low-70s. My base in Las Vegas was the auto parking lot at Craig Road Pilot truck stop in North Las Vegas. I was in Las Vegas for 9 days, with most of the time spent in the A/Ced van. Every 8 hours I refueled the Honda genset and prematurely woke up for two of the days due to the genset running out of fuel. During the day; I would refuel the genset, start it, let it run for 30 seconds to 2 minutes without load, plug in the van, AC auto starts, wait for the compressor to kick on and switch to eco mode to minimize noise. I wasn't the only van in the truck stop running a generator, I saw two conversion vans and I could hear their generators running, for the same reason I was.

Running the genset from full tank to empty on eco mode had about the same runtime as full mode, meaning there isn't much fuel being saved. The Honda genset has a 1.1 gallon tank AFAIK. 1.1 gallon x 2 (I would say 16 hours a day I ran the genset for A/C) equals 2.2 gallons a day. Say 5-7$ to stay cool each day courtesy of moms fuel subsidy/loan.

Later in the trip I bought an extended run kit from Ebay and it's worth every dollar. It was a long story to acquire it; I ordered it in Dillon Mt on June 28 (My itenerary had just 4 things on it for a 2 month trip) shipped it to Sweetgrass Mt (it arrived on July 2nd) and picked it up on July 4th dog legging it from Redcliff as shipping this to my relatives in Canada would cost a small fortune provided the eBay seller would even ship to Canada. Plus I would rather spend a day picking it up than deal with international shipping hassle (if I had money I would have bought it before I left San Jose).

I can now run the Honda nearly 2 days straight on a 6.6 gallon WEDCO Canadian gas can with the extended run kit. This is how I ran it in BRC. I bought WEDCO gas cans in Calgary after two of the American scepter gas can bounced off the back platform in Calgary and scraped on the pavement, leaking fuel and totaling the gas cans. Tight bungee cords aren't enough. I bought rope to tie the wedco cans down. Canada isn't beaver backwater.

Overall, the van set up evolved throughout the trip, as I lived and traveled in the van. The most prominent mods are:
-a front cargo platform built by Me and my uncle Jake Wolfe. Pictures and how to are coming ASAP.
-Installing boat loops to tie ropes that suspend the back platform like a drawbridge.
-space efficient shelf supports using 3x3" flat iron and 14" steel tube welded at 45 degree angle. Uncle Jake did the welding and I did the drill pressing, installing, and basically everything else. Pictures coming ASAP.
-pipe straps to suspend a king size black sheet to act as a bed canopy.

A lot happens on a two month trip, and this is just a portion of my experience. But what's important is I went places of distance while in reasonable comfort, on my own schedule and while sleeping in my own bed. This is what I spent 5 years aiming for from the day I settled on a van due to the cost and licensing.

In 2017 I desire to go even further. And I am working for it. I am currently in trucking school so I can get ahead via trucking, earning money with every mile while scouting parts of the country that are worth spending time in. I am shooting for Easter 2017 to be back in Canada, so the sooner I am hauling loads the better. I'm not going to be a trucker for the rest of life, it's a job for me not a career.

 

[debit.servus]

I brought the Ford into the shop 10 days ago and turns out Valve rocker arm cap is broken in the 3rd cylinder. A bolt securing the valve cover came loose and broke off on the injector end of the cylinder.
Ben, the mechanic of Woodrim Auto in S. San Jose who worked on the van.
Is saying the only solutions are:
Swap the cylinder head a$$embly with valve cover.
Swap the engine with a New or rebuilt engine
Get rid of van due to the the co$$$$t of the repair.

This is after over miles , a few of them speeding uphill at freeway speed, with overdrive on. I pushed the engine to the limits and beyond it seems, and it's going to co$$$$t.

Ben said that this is a common failure for the 7.3l engine, I believe him.
I am posting this as I want a second opinion on this.

 

[Headache]

Ben is right, this was an unfortunate issue with Powerchokes. You also have a van in the bad years(99-03). I have a 2001 E150 and I can hardly wait until I can sell it. I will not buy another Ford van of this genre.

If money isn't a problem for you then getting that engine rebuilt or swapped out may be a viable solution for you. If you stay on top of the maintenance and such it could easily go 300k miles.

 

[debit.servus]

Mom and dad aren't going to spend one penny to repair the problem until I pay it off and it will be my responsiblilty to pay for it, in their own words.

Thank you mom and dad for saving me so much money by me continuing to be without personal mobility. I save hundreds of dollars a month by grounding the van in the driveway! Everyone should do this!

Seriously, the only reason I am without a car I can take out of the driveway is because I do not have suficcient MONEY to pay for the insurance, repairs and registration. If I had money the van would be in my name and I wouldn't be typing this.

That should change once I am hauling loads for a trucking company as soon as February 2017.

 

[Headache]

Good for you in being proactive despite what's being thrown at you. I have been doing similar and although this(and yours) is a pain in the ass it will pay out in the end.

 

[highdesertranger]

get a second opinion. highdesertranger

 

[TMG51]

Mom and dad aren't going to spend one penny to repair the problem until I pay it off and it will be my responsiblilty to pay for it, in their own words.

Thank you mom and dad for saving me so much money by me continuing to be without personal mobility. I save hundreds of dollars a month by grounding the van in the driveway! Everyone should do this!

Your mom and dad bought you the van you wanted, now you're going to begrudge them not spending more? You have no cause for a passive aggressive attitude towards them. It could be a burned out immobile Dodge in the driveway.

 

[closeanuf]

Welcome to the REAL world !  My dad gave me the privelidge of replacing the transmission in my first car when I was 16.  Now that I'm 68 and have raised 4 kids myself i realize he was doing me one of the biggest favors a person can do for their children.  I hope you look back at this as a great growing experience in the future.  Good luck in your travels and maybe we can swap travel stories sometime.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Congrats on driving school. I went to a driving school back in 08 and got my CDL Class A. At the time I was towing trailers for the company I worked for that weighed over 26k and he offered to pay for the school. I still deliver his construction equipment for him on occasion. Then I did some night time work delivering van trailers from Mass to NY in a day cab and that was pretty rough on the body. Only did that a few weeks and then bounced back into construction as I always do. It's a great thing to have, trucking jobs are everywhere and you can work when you need it and take time off when you don't. Plus you get to see lots of places.

Bummer about the van. Def get a 2nd opinion. Don't be so hard on the parents. If they didn't buy you the van you would have never had your summer adventure. I'm assuming they are also helping you pay for truck school? I think you should take them out for a nice dinner when you get your first paycheck.

 

[debit.servus]

Good for you in being proactive despite what's being thrown at you.  I have been doing similar and although this(and yours) is a pain in the ass it will pay out in the end.

When it came to proactive, it's only when it comes to the trucking school. The van was brought into the shop AFTER this engine problem reared it's ugly head. The van should have been brought in for 100+ point full visual inspection no more than 5 days after coming back from Burning Man. But mom didn't want that because shes still paying for the $2500 repair last May.

This is why if I had money I would have comprehensive visual inspections at least once a year, to check for future problems on the scale of this one. $200 for visual inspection that spots a $2000 problem waiting to happen can be way cheaper than fixing problems as they spring up and I think it's penny wise and pound foolish to not put comprehensive visual inspections on the maintence schedule (an inspection that peers into the cylinders, other engine systems, and transmission with a inspection camera), provided one can afford to be proactive.

Rope is an improvement over bungee cords if you know how to use it but I will continue to advise that you use ratchet straps. At least you didn't loose the generator!

I had 2 bungee cords tight to the gas cans and it wasn't enough to keep the gas cans on the platform when bouncing on a speed bump. I thought of ratchet straps then but will use those on my next trip.

The generator was locked to the van and platform with no less than 3 locks, and on top of that two bungee cords. The biggest lock was a krypotnight bicycle U-Lock and a tough-looking chain from a HFT heavy duty equipment lock. One end of the chain was locked to the I had about 12 locks locking the most valuable things on the platform down. Even with 3 dedicated locks for the HONDA genset I still felt it was vulnerable. I plan to build a forced ventalated box to store and run the HONDA genset inside, as I can't afford to lose it.

Your mom and dad bought you the van you wanted, now you're going to begrudge them not spending more? You have no cause for a passive aggressive attitude towards them. It could be a burned out immobile Dodge in the driveway.

What gets me is they think my errands are unimportant and that I can just take the bus. I don't expect them to pay %100 for the van. If I had money I wouldn't be typing this right now.

Welcome to the REAL world !  My dad gave me the privelidge of replacing the transmission in my first car when I was 16.  Now that I'm 68 and have raised 4 kids myself i realize he was doing me one of the biggest favors a person can do for their children.  I hope you look back at this as a great growing experience in the future.  Good luck in your travels and maybe we can swap travel stories sometime.

My mom and dad is giving me the privelege of going to work to pay for the engine repair or another van.

Congrats on driving school.  I went to a driving school back in 08 and got my CDL Class A. At the time I was towing trailers for the company I worked for that weighed over 26k and he offered to pay for the school. I still deliver his construction equipment for him on occasion.  Then I did some night time work delivering van trailers from Mass to NY in a day cab and that was pretty rough on the body.  Only did that a few weeks and then bounced back into construction as I always do.  It's a great thing to have, trucking jobs are everywhere and you can work when you need it and take time off when you don't.  Plus you get to see lots of places.

Bummer about the van.  Def get a 2nd opinion.  
...
I'm assuming they are also helping you pay for truck school?  I think you should take them out for a nice dinner when you get your first paycheck.

I am thinking of doing Long Hauls east and west, so I can scout the eastern seaboard before I get to travel/live there. AFAIK, long haul trucking minimizes being in tight cities like what is required for many local trucking jobs. I am not spending too much time thinking about which trucking company to work for as I am not at that stage yet. Yes this is a great job option to have for the reasons you stated.

I heard somewhere that seeing the country is %1 of OTR trucking, is this true?

I came here asking for a second opinion.
Yes Dad paid for the trucking school, $1700 at San Jose Trucking School, I picked SJ Trucking School as they had the highest rating on Yelp. Thanks dad.

My plans are in jeprady since I went from a running but crippled van before the repair to a inmobile van with an engine block partially dismantled. Coming up in May is a Regional Burning Man event that I don't want to go without mobility & a real mattress to sleep on inside the van. I plan to be back with relatives in Alberta this Easter and Celebrate the Sesqucentennial, on July 1st, 2017 ideally in Ottawa.
That and I don't know whether that will be in FORD van or an 80s carburated gas-engined van or truck*. I plan to upsize to a midsize conventional travel trailer that will fit all my hobbies and life and that will require a 3/4 ton truck or van to pull. I don't know when I can afford these as I don't know what the paychecks will look like.
Mom and dad are not going to transfer the van into my name until I have paid off the van: the initial purchase price, repairs, insurance, registration and possibly the fuel burned in 2016. Dad expects once I start pulling a paycheck through trucking to put at least half the paycheck towards the van, which depending on how many miles I haul loads can turbocharge the payback rate to a few months instead of a few years.

*Provided I sucessfully run both a 4-stroke lawn mower engine and the HONDA genset on vaporized gasoline. Plan B is to run on propane using standard BBQ tanks.

 

[TMG51]

What gets me is they think my errands are unimportant and that I can just take the bus. I don't expect them to pay %100 for the van. If I had money I wouldn't be typing this right now.

"Important" does not equate to financing your every want and whim. Especially when you've shown a poor track record of providing for yourself. Parents have to draw the line somewhere. Their line is much further and blurrier than would be from most.

This is again not a criticism, just perspective. When you support yourself, trucking or otherwise, you may agree with this more.

 

[debit.servus]

I am planning on going to trucking school 4 days a week instead of 3 days a week so I can move through the course quicker. As I can't afford to spend 1/3rd of 2017 holed up in Mom and Dads house with no van mobility and next-to-no money.

 

[debit.servus]

Being holed up in mom and dads house during the rainstorms and hitching rides with them is making me crazy. So I am looking into getting financing for a Chevy Geo Metro, the cheapest car I know of in terms of acquisition, maintinence and running costs.

 

[debit.servus]

Good news. I bought a 1996 Geo Metro to get around town, which should save mom and dad tons of time and not cost them $0.01 to insure, maintain, or register.

 

[bpeck]

This is a weird thread. Not sure I'm following along but the only feeling I get is that you should be more appreciative towards your parents

 

[bullfrog]

Let me introduce you to the recruiter was what my son heard from me when his wants and debts over took him at 19 years old. Maybe you could see the world in a different way if you enlisted? Just a thought, have a great day doing your errands free as a bird.

 

[ArtW]

I think I knew a guy once who used to camp out of a Metro

 

[debit.servus]

I think I knew a guy once who used to camp out of a Metro

The Geo Meteo is the only thing I have right now and if it comes to it I will have to buy a plywood board and turn the passenger side into a bed and live out of the Geo Metro this summer. I will have to use an 5 gallon indirect evaporative cooler to keep cool and idle the engine to keep warm. Or bolt the HONDA generator on the roof and remove the left side back window to install a 5000 BTU window A/C. If I camp out of the Geo Metro, it will be because I have no other choice.

I have made the passing grade on CDL practice tests and planning to go to the DMV again to take and pass the written test. Upon passing the written test, I will get to train with qualified instructor behind the wheel of San Jose Trucking Schools trucks.

We are two months to easter and following the motto of affordanything.com "you can Afford Anything, but not everything." will need to cut some experience in favor of more valuable and time-sensitive experiences. So going back to Alberta for Easter 2017 is out in favor of Canadas Sesqucentennial, and because I plan be in Ottawa for Canadas 150th birthday will be with family in Ontario instead (The last time I was in Ontario was over 11 years ago).

 

[debit.servus]

I'm falling down and moving forward at the same time. I continue to cost mom and dad money & I'm making progress towards trucking. I have only 1 test to go with two chances to pass before I earn a commercial learners permit. I've passed Class C retest (California DMV requires you to take the Class C test when taking the Class A tests), air brakes & General knowlege in that order.

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Making-back-of-2015-Ford-Focus-SEDAN-flat-for-sleeping?

Why I have a 2015 Ford Focus to use is because Mom cared for me that I didn't drive a car without current & valid registration (the 1994 geo metro has expired tags from 2015), so we went to a local sales event and she picked a pre-owned 2015 Ford Focus SE (39,000 miles) which was over $14,000. When we went I told her I didn't want this and instead wanted the geo metal fixed to pass smog so it can become fully street legal. She has worked enough for me and I kept reminding her on that fact, and tried to show her used Geo Metros in great condition & passing smog before she went into the deal room. She went her way and bought the 2015 Ford Focus SE, in my name AND hers. I can't complain as I have a car to use until I'm pulling my own weight as soon as 1 month from now.

Because she bought this car she wants the Geo Metro and the Ford van sold so the proceeds can pay down the loan.

Please keep all discussion pertaining to me that isn't about rear seats of the 2015 Ford Focus sedan in this thread.

In other news I took a trip with my aunt Susie where I had some hands-on experience coupling and uncoupling a tractor trailer, along with riding in her truck from California to BC. I even shifted with my left hand from the passenger seat & slid trailer axles in COSTCO's distribution center in Langley, BC. After she dropped off her load we spent the next 1 1/2 weeks at her house as she quit Royal City trucking company, and I was on her last Royal City run.

I will have to miss UnScruz regional Burning Man event this year as there is a next year for that unlike Canada's sesquicentennial & Ringling Bros final planned tour. Still these are in jeopardy as here I am middle of April and still not trucking! Trucking for me is income multiplication and once I'm working as a trucker everything else falls into place. I need to get ahead in life and trucking the job that will get me there.