New to Forum and purchased 93 Ford e150:

[michaelf2780]

Hello all.  Iv been a lurker for past year but only a few weeks ago made my first post.  

I am excited to start a new life style and purchased a 1993 Ford e150 a few days ago but am now having second thoughts.  I will be taking the Van into my mechanic to do a thorough test and thinking of fixing it up and selling it to recoup at least some of my cost.  If I sell it though I want to fix it up so it will work for the next owner as I like the Van and it would be a shame if it is not used.

My goals is to travel the WSOP circuit in 2021 and other poker series in the future.  So from end of May 2021 (if Covid allows) to beginning of July 2022 I plan on living on the road and trying to do so as cheaply as possible.  Overall I expect to live on the road for 2 years but if I love the life style I will gladly extend that.

I like the style of the 93 I bought but after doing some more research I think I jumped into something I shouldn't have.  I should have got some more advice on which van to pick for what my plans are as the more I look into it the more unlikely I can achieve my goals with this van.

• Travel 40,000 miles a year (I know I will likely have to replace the engine and transmission and it is in my budget).  
• Stay in some very hot climates (Las Vegas in summer) so I will need AC.   Budget for AC is $6000 to build it but want to lower my monthly bill as much as possible so I can increase it if needed.
• Boondock almost always but does not need to be stealth.  I will find places I can legally park and camp out.
• I will work while in my Van so will need the AC a lot.
• After I stop living on the road I plan on using the Van to continue going to the Casino and to special poker events.  So will be a long term investment and my goal is 5 years to have saved enough from not staying in hotels to even out what I put into it.  2 years of living on the road and 3 years of casino travel part time.  

The issue I am running into with the Van I purchased is the weight limit.  I have not taken it to get weighed yet but I GVWR is only 6700 lbs.  Not sure but I think my plans for AC and living in it will mean I need to find a different Van.  A rough estimate for solar, generator, and batters plus fuel to run generator is 600+ lbs.  I will go to get the Van in its current form weighed but after adding my living space I am concerned I will be to heavy.

For $20k what would you build if you wanted an older style Van that is very reliable and not prone to breaking down.  I budgeted $10k of the $20k just for rebuilding the engine, transmission and getting the Van in great working order.  Would you suggest i budget more?  What type of Van and which one?  The interior I will do myself but the mechanical portion I will hire out and if anyone knows a really great shop that specializes in Vans I am willing to drive across country to have them do the work.

 

[user 423]

Your van weighs about 5000 lbs:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=1993+ford+e150+weight

Removal of the rear seats will reduce the weight by about 200 lbs. so that will increase the payload capacity a bit.

Since it only has 125k miles and depending on how well it was maintained, it may not need a rebuild for a long time. American V8's can easily go 200K + with good maintenance. I have the same van with 137K on it and expect it to go quite a bit more.

IOW: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

A rebuilt engine doesn't guarantee a trouble free future. Some rebuilts just aren't that good and there's also the matter of a warranty. If you're going to travel a lot a good nationwide warranty is needed.

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Michael to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

highdesertranger

 

[nature lover]

I only bought a rebuild once in my life. My garage recommended Jasper. It was a good choice. I don't mean to be nosey but you seem to have the budget for a newer van than 93. Wouldn't it be better to put your rebuild engine and tranny savings into a newer van with less potential for problems? Oh I get it, your a gambler. When you say older style I assume you don't like the euro style like sprinter, ram, and transit. Look at GM and Chevy - the have not gone the euro route yet.

 

[michaelf2780]

I plan on doing the WSOP circuit and Vegas stay for the WSOP in 2021.  I am not looking to stealth camp as I will drive out to the BLM or find another place I can legally park and sleep.  I also love the older style vehicles and the big windows of the E150 looks great.  When I stop traveling I have plans to still use it or if I fall in love with living on the road I will "upgrade" into something a little more unique.  Since this van will likely not meet my needs sadly I will begin looking for another.  Depending on type of van it turns out will determine my budget.

Out of the newer models I like is the Sports Mobile Classic because of its off road capibilities but they are out of my price range.  Max I can budget is 50k and if I spend that I want something very unique and weird looking.  For a normal van my budget is 20k.  6-wheel is 25k (maybe 30k).

I do not like RV parks in general as I feel they are to expensive for what they offer.  I have very high reward cards from certain hotel chains that I can likely stay at nice hotels cheaper than most RV parks.  As it is I plan on spending some nights in hotels when I can for the right price for the bonus points and in an emergency I should have enough points pooled to get a week or two for free at even better hotels.  Points rock.

Slow2day thanks for the info about the 93 van.  5000lbs and the AC system I designed should run over 600 lbs.  Add 200 lbs for the 35 gallon tank and my heavy weight plus food I should have less than 700 lbs to work with (please do not do the math and discover my weight   ).  AC is very important to me but so is my bed.  What I am going to do is get 8 inches of pure latex (not sure what type as I hear charcoal is good for cooling). and this is heavy then add in the frame.  Plus all my other loose ends and I think I can be under the 6700 lb limit but it will be close.

I have never attempted something like this though so I am going to use the Van as my gateway van.  I will use it to figure out how to fix things on my own and have a mechanic backing me up.  The door does not work so I will fix that myself.  Some of the electronics does not work so will attempt to fix it also.  I read there may be a house battery somewhere inside and I want to fiddle around with it.  Maybe attempt to insulate it.

Depending what the mechanic says will depend what work I put into it.

PS:  I am a poker player (gambler) but I am far from being a degenerate player.  My normal budget is $60 a week and when I travel that budget will only increase to $200 a week which should get me in the special tournaments and if I win I can increase my budget as long as I never go over the $800 a month.  I may end up lucky and get first place (I get first place locally but the big tournaments are much harder).

 

[user 423]

Wouldn't it be better to put your rebuild engine and tranny savings into a newer van with less potential for problems? 

This is good advice. It's probably better for most people to buy the newest, lowest mileage van you can afford up front.  

Old vans are OK if you're able to do a lot of the work yourself or if you just turn out to be lucky.

I bought my van 3 years ago and knew I was gambling on it. I've spent about $6k on it but do the majority of the work on it myself. If I had needed to pay shops to do all the work, the repair costs would be a LOT more.

 

[LERCA]

Where are you from? Have you spent time just in a car in the desert in the summer? Good lord even with air conditioning a van in Las Vegas or the desert Southwest in the summer is deadly. I remember an argument on Trip Advisor with some poor British lady who wanted to rent a car and drive through Death Valley In August. Some Dutch tour guide was arguing with us locals. He knew better. I just gave up. I hope she’s still with us.