I would love some opinions on this van please!

[ccbreder]

OP, that van looks good. All my dodges, pickups and vans have been reliable even with high mileage. One thing to check is rust damage on the under carriage. Dodge vans use a type of uni-body construction. I don't like conversion vans, but that shit can be ripped out and a nice living arraignment can be built.

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

Thanks again everyone for the awesome advice and tips. The owner of that van is currently out of town till next week, I have contacted a few others as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the dodge though the more I think about it the more I love it! I will update this thread after I view the van and hopefully purchase it!!! Woooooooooo!

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Thanks again everyone for the awesome advice and tips. The owner of that van is currently out of town till next week, I have contacted a few others as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the dodge though the more I think about it the more I love it! I will update this thread after I view the van and hopefully purchase it!!! Woooooooooo!

Don't buy it yet.  You have a couple of days, the right van might fall in your lap tomorrow, you never know.  It happened to me, I was waiting for a wire transfer to buy a van and one popped up on one of the internet sites, 15 miles away, I went and paid cash ($7500), and am glad I did.  

Five years later, I just now sold that van, 2002 sprinter 400k miles, for $2500.  THAT was a deal!

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

Don't buy it yet.  You have a couple of days, the right van might fall in your lap tomorrow, you never know.  It happened to me, I was waiting for a wire transfer to buy a van and one popped up on one of the internet sites, 15 miles away, I went and paid cash ($7500), and am glad I did.  

Five years later, I just now sold that van, 2002 sprinter 400k miles, for $2500.  THAT was a deal!

I won't HarmonicaBruce I am trying to take my time, I have been searching for months at this point so a few days won't bother me! I am looking at the 94 Dodge RAM 250 Van tomorrow, and also checking out a [font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif][font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif]93 Ford E150 with similar price and mileage.I have still been looking on craigslist and auto trader too at recently added ones hoping for some treasure to pop up. Cheers! [/font][/font]

 

[Canine]

DHD,

Keep us posted. Let us know what made the decision for you, as long as it wasn't emotion or you only had one to choose from and were out of time...

Sounds like you have a couple candidates to evaluate. Make a list of pros and cons of each, get a mechanic to look at your first choice, and try to keep the emotions out of it. Car salespeople use the car buyers emotions to get them to purchase what they probably should not have.

Use that car buying strategy of taking a non-interested party along to help watch you and keep you in check. Have a code phrase or something. Finally, post a picture of your van so we can cheer for you. Then, let us know about your build.

Don't go my route. Fat, old, lazy. Uh, not that route, I mean don't just buy something cause it was close and cheap. i should have looked longer...

D98

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

DHD,

Keep us posted.  Let us know what made the decision for you, as long as it wasn't emotion or you only had one to choose from and were out of time...

Sounds like you have a couple candidates to evaluate.  Make a list of pros and cons of each, get a mechanic to look at your first choice, and try to keep the emotions out of it.  Car salespeople use the car buyers emotions to get them to purchase what they probably should not have.

Use that car buying strategy of taking a non-interested party along to help watch you and keep you in check.  Have a code phrase or something.  Finally, post a picture of your van so we can cheer for you.  Then, let us know about your build.

Don't go my route.  Fat, old, lazy.  Uh, not that route, I mean don't just buy something cause it was close and cheap.  i should have looked longer...

D98

Thanks for the heads up, I do find sometimes if I am in the moment I talk myself into doing certain things. I am trying to approach this differently. I do not have a time limit when I need a van, so I am not in a rush and can look till I find the perfect one. I like your idea of the pros and con list, thats a more realistic way to make decisions than just on gut feeling. I do plan to do a vehicle report, as well as a test drive and I am going to be bringing a diagnostic tool with me to run on the van as well. So hopefully that will let me weed out the lemons. 
You will definitely be seeing a lot of future threads from me, when I purchase the van, and lots of conversions too. I have big plans for the future and I hope they can all become a reality. Thanks for the advice!

 

[DannyB1954]

Thanks for the add listing. I called them and offered them $2500. JUST KIDDING! I am near Las Vegas.  There are plenty of vans already here to choose from.

Before I decided to build a camper for my flat bed truck, I was looking at vans and thought that I would prefer to buy one without a turtle top or whatever you call them. They make them in different heights.  With most of the van conversions you still can not stand up in them. I would have a tall one installed at a later time.  There are youtube videos showing how it is done, and I might find a high top in a wrecking yard. I would only have the existing roof cut out in the middle of the van with the edges then trimmed so they would not be sharp. The reason for this is I would have plenty of shelf space for the light stuff, (like bedding, toilet paper, pillows etc.). If I get the tallest of these tops, I can even make half of the existing top a loft for a sleeping area. Talk about stealth camping, no one looking in the windows would even see me. I would also be certain to install a vent in the top large enough for me to get out of if necessary.

It is difficult to judge the condition of any vehicle from pictures. The best would be to have someone knowledgeable look at it for you. Even if you had to pay them. From what I see the price looks average.  Friends are much more valuable than machines. If a friend says it looks good, and it breaks in a week, don't get sore with your buddy, they did their best and sometimes stuff just happens.

On the half tons like Chevy 1500 or Ford 150, be careful.  As a camper you could be carrying a lot of weight. 20 gallons of water weighs 167 lbs. add the weight of cabinets, mattresses, food, stove, refrigerator, toilet, etc, and you will soon be at your maximum weight. The brakes in a half ton vehicle are designed to stop a half ton. I  personally would prefer to have the brakes that are designed to stop 3/4 of a ton. Yep I will pay for it in gas consumption, but better that than paying with my life.


I wish you the best with your project.

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

UPDATE: I went today to check out the Dodge van, drove an hour and a half there and an hour and a half back. When I get there the lady asks me if I mind waiting while she moves some stuff around. About 5 minutes later this guy come walking up and shakes my hand, he leads me to the van. He explained they just got back from vacation and the van didn't start when they tried to start it today. So it was plugged into an electrical battery charger to give the battery some extra juice so it would start. After awhile, he said okay fire it up, nothing happened. So we tried charging the battery again. He swore it started and ran fine before they left to go out of town. 30 or so minutes later we give up, he says well the story of this van is that the guy I got it from said a rat had chewed some of the electrical wires, so I took it in to get a few things rewired and its worked perfectly since then. We decide to try a different battery, so we take a brand new battery out of his truck, set it up in the dodge. The lights were working inside the van, dash was dinging when I put the key in the ignition,but when I went to start it, absolutely nothing. The engine didn't even click or try to turn over. So he gets his friend who is a "mechanic" to climb under the van with a wrench to look for the starter or the solenoid or something to make sure the wiring isn't loose. At this point I was doubting this van and ready to go. After another 30 minutes of tinkering. Nothing. The man says well how about this, ill pressure wash under the van to clean everything up and get it running and call ya Wednesday and you can come by and pick it up. I politely said I am going to have to go home and do some research and will be in touch after I get some advice on this. Shook his hand, and now here I am. Kind of bummed. I though this was the one, time to keep looking!

 

[DannyB1954]

UPDATE: I went today to check out the Dodge van, drove an hour and a half there and an hour and a half back. When I get there the lady asks me if I mind waiting while she moves some stuff around. About 5 minutes later this guy come walking up and shakes my hand, he leads me to the van. He explained they just got back from vacation and the van didn't start when they tried to start it today. So it was plugged into an electrical battery charger to give the battery some extra juice so it would start. After awhile, he said okay fire it up, nothing happened. So we tried charging the battery again. He swore it started and ran fine before they left to go out of town. 30 or so minutes later we give up, he says well the story of this van is that the guy I got it from said a rat had chewed some of the electrical wires, so I took it in to get a few things rewired and its worked perfectly since then. We decide to try a different battery, so we take a brand new battery out of his truck, set it up in the dodge. The lights were working inside the van, dash was dinging when I put the key in the ignition,but when I went to start it, absolutely nothing. The engine didn't even click or try to turn over. So he gets his friend who is a "mechanic" to climb under the van with a wrench to look for the starter or the solenoid or something to make sure the wiring isn't loose. At this point I was doubting this van and ready to go. After another 30 minutes of tinkering. Nothing.  The man says well how about this, ill pressure wash under the van to clean everything up and get it running and call ya Wednesday and you can come by and pick it up. I politely said I am going to have to go home and do some research and will be in touch after I get some advice on this. Shook his hand, and now here I am. Kind of bummed. I though this was the one, time to keep looking!

 

[DannyB1954]

When you said you turned the switch and nothing, If you meant the lights in the dash and everything went blank, then it is probably a bad connection from the battery. Maybe the ground connection on the engine block, or at the starter power terminal. Probably not at the battery connections as you have been redoing these.

If the dash lights and all stayed on, but the starter did not engage, then it could be several things. The first I would check is the neutral safety switch. On a stick shift it is attached to the clutch, ( which must be pushed in ). On an automatic, it is attached to the gear selector, (must be in park or neutral).  When these start to go bad, you can usually put it in neutral instead of park, and it will work for a while. Other than that in order of probability, I would say starter solenoid or Dodge used to use a relay on the firewall, or the starter, or the ignition switch.

All in all probably a minor problem, but until it runs, you should only pay scrap metal price for it. Often people will try to tell you, Oh it just needs a tune up. I don't buy that. Ask them if they will pay for any repairs that a tune up doesn't cure. They will certainly say no, because the truth is it could need a valve job, head gasket, piston, camshaft or probably a half dozen other things. Tell them to tune it up and when it runs good you will buy it.

If they get it running good and you still want it, have them compensate you for your first trip out. I bet it cost you the better part of a hundred dollar bill in time and gas.

 

[highdesertranger]

good advice from Danny. higdesertranger

 

[Canine]

Good analysis Danny.  I agree that if he had interior lights and dings and it was definitely a good battery then it's a connection.  If the connections were good, even a low battery would at least "click" the starter or solenoid. No anything to the starter should be a ground or rusted/loose contact.

Pressure wash the underside? Yeah, that will sure help a loose connection, faulty ground or bad wire... His mechanic buddy is top notch...

If t won't even start, it's a the price reduction the next time he sees it, "just cause".  Just shows you can't be wed emotionally to a van from pretty pictures.  Find one closer so that these time waiting trips don't occur again. I'd recommend to not go back out... Even if they reimburse you the fuel. Likely just siphoned it out of someone else's vehicle...



"It was running just last week, I swear it..."

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

We had tried to start the vehicle in Neutral as well with no luck :/ , he said he just had some new wiring done, but I did not see a single new wire. With what I mentioned previously, and the amount of rust I saw. Sadly, I have to pass on this one and keep searching. When I did a vehicle report on the VIN it said the van came out of production in Canada, so I am thinking it stayed up north for the majority of its life. I am looking at another van locally on Wednesday and hope for the best. It is a daily driver so I know it will at least turn on and drive lol thats a step up!!

Once again, I really appreciate everyones help and advice. It has been soooooooo helpful in my searching and I have learned a lot. Ill update soon!

 

[Canine]

That's where the Carfax style reports are helpful. If a vehicle has come from the north or northeast, it's rare to not have rust issues. I believe it's already been posted but the G20's and all Dodge vans were unibody so rust can render them unrepairable. If there is a frame you can hang replacement sheet metal but if the unibody is compromised, it's a goner. Most of those vehicles rust out before their drive trains ever wear out. Rust converter and welding can only do so much.

Well it's Wednesday tomorrow, actually in about 2 hours, so hope to hear how you did with the next candidate.

D98

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

Got a vehicle report on the van I was supposed to look at today. Has been in Georgia all its life, but the man had to reschedule with me for this weekend unfortunately. I love the van from the pictures, in great condition, 2 owners and very well maintained. The only downside is that it might be a little smaller than I first though. It is a 1993 ford e-150 conversion van. No hi top, and from comparing it to other hi top conversion vans it seem stop be almost half the size. With a v8. So I would be getting the same gas mileage as a huge conversion van. Not sure if I should go this weekend to look at it anyways, or keep searching for something with more room. I do not have any time limits on when I need a van so I don't mind waiting it out till something bigger is for sale, I am just so ready to find the right one!

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

Just came across the guy, a little out of price range, but it looks so cool, and has a dropped floor so you can stand up in it still. Does anybody know anything about these? Reliability? Thanks!

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/rvs/5108993159.html

 

[LeeRevell]

Interesting old Class B, though limited by no stand up height.  Wonder how hard to 'raise the roof'?  If it's fiberglass, shouldn't be that hard.

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

Interesting old Class B, though limited by no stand up height.  Wonder how hard to 'raise the roof'?  If it's fiberglass, shouldn't be that hard.

He said in the ad it has a dropped floor so a 6 foot tall person can stand up inside. I contacted him about it but he sold it wednesday. :/ I am looking at this ford van this weekend. We shall see how it goes! 


http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/cto/5144664643.html

 

[LeeRevell]

At six foot four......  no stand up.  Also don't favor standing in a narrow ditch.  Size fifteen feet don't do well there.     

With my height, I have to be more choozy than most of inside heights, bed lengths, etc.  I sometimes envy short people.......   until I need to change light bulbs......  

 

[Vantastic]

good deals out there...this looks really solid!

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/5149084921.html