flat bed e350 to camper van

[Vanalist]

I found a really good deal locally on a flat bed e350, its basically in mint condition and the guy simply needs some cash and has little use for it. Ive been watching the deals on vans and I think I can really save several thousands by converting the the flat bed into a box or bus body. 

Unfortunately I haven't had any luck searching for any tutorials or guides on how to do this. anyone here have any experience doing this or knows where I can learn how to? perhaps you know of places that do this at a reasonable cost? 

I realize this would be a whole headache but its also a good opportunity to get to inspect the body of the van in ways not possible without the conversion and perhaps do some custom work that wouldn't be worth doing otherwise. 

Any help would be appreciated

I attached a couple of images to give an idea of the vehicles I'm talking about

 

[tx2sturgis]

Thats cool....have you thought about removing the deck and then having a Spartan or Rockport box installed on it?

 

[Vanalist]

Thats cool....have you thought about removing the deck and then having a Spartan or Rockport box installed on it?

The truck is a mid 90s model e350. Do spartan or rockport retailers still work on these trucks? I could't find any pricing information or places that do the conversion. I think with a decent guide, I may be able to do the work myself but without any experience I can't say for sure, im still in the dark on how difficult this would be.

 

[breeze]

That flatbed is HUGE! Cool. You could have a home and a back garage for your motorcycle
: lifted and lowered with a jib crane and a winch, inexpensively and secure (no one is going to climb that monster poking around

The dually rear wheels are nice, but keep an eye on license restrictions from State to State if you need a Commercial license or not (like California :-(

You have the most options of all. But you also have a lot of homework to do just to be legal with all the State DMV's you frequent. I'm jealous. Good luck!

 

[Vanalist]

That flatbed is HUGE! Cool. You could have a home and a back garage for your motorcycle
: lifted and lowered with a jib crane and a winch, inexpensively and secure (no one is going to climb that monster poking around

The dually rear wheels are nice, but keep an eye on license restrictions from State to State if you need a Commercial license or not (like California :-(

You have the most options of all. But you also have a lot of homework to do just to be legal with all the State DMV's you frequent. I'm jealous. Good luck!

the crane idea sounds like a dream! I do have M licence. Thanks for the heads up on the dually DMV restrictions, still havent found a straight answer but still looking. I live in PA. Youre right, lots of homework to do. Right now im focus on seeing if it makes financial sense to convert. seems like it should be, but there is so little info out there on the cost. The more I look at this, the more I think that it would be worth paying for someone to do it. The problem is who? I contacted www.unicell.com/ since they are the only ones that mention installing a box body on a USED truck. We will see what they reply and Ill make sure to post it here for anyone else that ever gets this crazy idea.

 

[highdesertranger]

what's a dually restriction? never heard of that one. I have a line on a U-Haul box I will see if I can find the thread. highdesertranger

 

[highdesertranger]

here it is,

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=20985

highdesertranger

 

[AJ452]

Check out JYDOG on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMDhGKln4h2f-uhjpIY8Mw

10 foot box van turned, and still turning, into a sweet compact little camper.

If I remember right, he slapped the box onto the cutaway all by himself at his home.  Mind you he has some pretty legit seat-of-the-pants make-it-up-as-you-go engineering skills.  He's a handy fella and has a nice set of tools for a home-gamer but he was absolutely not operating out of a professional shop.

If I remember right....  No guarantees!

 

[breeze]

CALIFORNIA
For California:
CDL required for:

• Vehicles with a GVWR > 26,000 pounds.
  
• Vehicles designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 10 passengers (including driver) for hire.
  
• Vehicles towing a vehicle or trailer with GVWR > 10,000 pounds.
  
• Vehicles transporting hazardous materials requiring placards.
  
• Vehicles towing two trailers or trailer and vehicle.
  
• Notes: Recreational not-for-hire travel trailers > 10,000 pounds GVWR and fifth-wheels > 15,000 pounds GVWR require a non-commercial Class A, as do livestock trailers > 10,000 pounds but < 15,000 pounds GVWR operated within 150 miles of the (home) farm to transport livestock.
  
  
  
  

I don't know. It makes my head hurt though.

 

[Vanalist]

here it is,

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=20985

highdesertranger

thanks for the reply, CA too far away. I was thinking of trying to find something a little lighter and in better shape too. Someone else shared JYDOG youtube channel and it seems like its a doable job. Would still love to find a place to do it, I just dont have those heavy duty tools. I have a nice setup for carpentry, can do pluming and am above average on electrical but ive never welded or cut through a chassis before. Still seems doable though, very tempted to pull trigger
thanks for the reply!

 

[Vanalist]

CALIFORNIA
For California:
CDL required for:

• Vehicles with a GVWR > 26,000 pounds.
  
• Vehicles designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 10 passengers (including driver) for hire.
  
• Vehicles towing a vehicle or trailer with GVWR > 10,000 pounds.
  
• Vehicles transporting hazardous materials requiring placards.
  
• Vehicles towing two trailers or trailer and vehicle.
  
• Notes: Recreational not-for-hire travel trailers > 10,000 pounds GVWR and fifth-wheels > 15,000 pounds GVWR require a non-commercial Class A, as do livestock trailers > 10,000 pounds but < 15,000 pounds GVWR operated within 150 miles of the (home) farm to transport livestock.
  
  
  
  

I don't know. It makes my head hurt though.

its a real pain to figure out. thanks to the format of the info, I was able to find the equivilant page for the PA DMV

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1. Who must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL)?[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Anyone who drives a commercial motor vehicle. The definition of a commercial motor vehicle is:[/font]

• a combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, provided the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds; (OP: will be less than 10k gvwr)
  
• a single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds; [size=small](OP: will be less than 10k gvwr)[/size]
  
• a vehicle designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; N/A
  
• a school bus; or N/A
  
• any vehicle that is transporting hazardous materials and is required to be placarded in accordance with State and Federal regulations.

 N/A
From what I can tell, your average 15ft moving truck is 9500 GVWR and I dont plan to tow something. Seems like I'm in the clear? 

 

[Vanalist]

Check out JYDOG on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMDhGKln4h2f-uhjpIY8Mw

10 foot box van turned, and still turning, into a sweet compact little camper.

If I remember right, he slapped the box onto the cutaway all by himself at his home.  Mind you he has some pretty legit seat-of-the-pants make-it-up-as-you-go engineering skills.  He's a handy fella and has a nice set of tools for a home-gamer but he was absolutely not operating out of a professional shop.

If I remember right....  No guarantees!

weird, I thought I replied to you... now the post is gone. perhaps I didnt click the "post" button

anyways, I was comming to share 2 videos, one happends to be from the youtuber you mentioned lol

here are the links in case it helps someone out there 

 

[rm.w/aview]

Not sure if this article would provide help, ideas, or relevant contact info. Basically made a pick-up into a flatbed, then added a camper. https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off.../putting-together-a-flatbed-truck-camper...

 

[Schwoebs]

Perhaps research Tiny Home construction? You could build one on top of the flatbed. Just a thought.

Bob has a video on a truck camper tiny home build on a flatbed:

 

[mr_elijah_gardner]

Perhaps research Tiny Home construction?  You could build one on top of the flatbed.  Just a thought.

Bob has a video on a truck camper tiny home build on a flatbed:

Here's a thought. Build a tiny home for the flatbed. Then put heavy duty jacks like a slide in camper would use. You could drop off and pick up your house at will.

 

[bullfrog]

Why build with 1950 methods when light weight sandwich pannels are so much stronger. The lighter the shell the more you can carry inside! Tiny houses are beefed up traditional buildings that put a huge strain on beefed up trailers which are usually only moved once or twice with a large truck. Nothing wrong with a large truck as long as it doesn't sit for long periods of time. So why not build lighter and stronger and pull it or put it on something you can drive daily?

 

[Vanalist]

Not sure if this article would provide help, ideas, or relevant contact info. Basically made a pick-up into a flatbed, then added a camper. https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off.../putting-together-a-flatbed-truck-camper...

Why build with 1950 methods when light weight sandwich pannels are so much stronger.  The lighter the shell the more you can carry inside!   Tiny houses are beefed up traditional buildings that put a huge strain on beefed up trailers which are  usually only moved once or twice with a large truck.  Nothing wrong with a large truck as long as it doesn't sit for long periods of time.  So why not build lighter and stronger and pull it or put it on something you can drive daily?

I agree, if i do go through with this, my plan is to even build lightweight furniture using this kind of method . I don't plan to use fiberglass but just plywood and the insulation sandwiched.

So I finally called unicel and they gave me pricing. it would cost aprox 8k installed for a 15ft body, sliding door on the side and the double doors on the back https://www.unicell.com/van-bodies/aerocell/
How much do you think a 95 econoline 350 Quigley 4x4 with a 7.3 disel engine (200k miles) AND a unicel 15ft body installed is worth??
I want to figure out if i decide to bail, would i be under or over if I try to resell it???

 

[NeedAnEscape]

If you are going the custom body route, and want 4x4 why not use a 4x4 pickup chassis instead? Factory 4x4s will be much easier to get parts for than any 4x4 converted van. Personally, I won't touch a 4x4 van since the 4x4 conversion on my old van caused the frame to crack.

How much do you think a 95 econoline 350 Quigley 4x4 with a 7.3 disel engine (200k miles) AND a unicel 15ft body installed is worth??
I want to figure out if i decide to bail, would i be under or over if I try to resell it???