akrvbob said:
Agent X, I understand how you feel about your van, it kind of cuts you in the heart to part it out. It's been very good to you and deserves better.
With your permission I can put it up as a blog post which hopefully will get it in someones hands who needs it. It will help if you sit down and write out the answers everyone who is looking for a used van might ask. I'll also need contact info to put in the post.
Let me now if you are interested.
Bob
Thanks for taking the time to post and offer your assistance. I wish I had such a great group of people to identify with when I was out there. I stealth parked almost the entire 5.5yrs outside of Philly PA (horrible place) I was living in a car then this van. Its easy to start feeling VERY alienated.
About this van. This van is a fourth generation Econoline 250 built 03/92. VIN:1FTHE24Y0NHA92459 it has the 4.9L inline 6 with an automatic transmission. OD reads 150K. I fired it up and took it out on the road today. This is the best engine ever build by Ford. Super reliable. It is running very strong and oil and coolant temps during and after an hour of running are all good. The transmission feels strong with no indication of slipping. The power steering works well and has new lines I installed recently. Most of the brake lines I replaced recently. It brakes good and holds a hard petal.
For the $1000 purchase price I will put in a new heater core, tune up and fix anything that might be a safety or reliability issue including any body rust. (there is non-structural body rust along the bottom edges. There is no frame or suspension etc rust). I'll even paint it if you prep it. If you want to take it, as is, you can have it for $700.
I purchased it from a plumber in 2008 to live as I have been living in my car for 6 months or so (hell on earth). See above posted sob story.
I emptied it out and encased the back in sheeting then 2.5 inches of iso insulation and filled all the gaps with spray foam. The avg R value should be about 20R. (It was January and I was freezing to death in my car, so I had easily staying warm on my mind). During the deep of winter I would run a propane heater for 5mins tops, then go to bed. My body heat would keep it comfortable the rest of the night.
Then I covered the insulation in carpeting. The carpeting improved sound reduction and it's really convenient as a layer of Velcro. I put Velcro (hook side) on the back of everything like pop-lights, lighters, carbon monoxide alarm, clock, etc and just stuck em to the walls and ceiling as was convenient, including a string of led Christmas lights. It was great to be able to reposition everything at will.
Then I build the bed, shelves, and counter inside. Having everything build inside the insulation shell eliminates conductive heat loss and condensation. As you can see from the pictures I never finished painting or put on the counter topping. The red webbing nicely keeps everything on the shelves while driving. There is a hanging open closet next to the bed if your into such things.
The shelf over the bed that is pictured previously, is disassembled and sitting on the there shelves. I'm 6'4" and it was just not working for me.
I kept a emergency toilet under the counter top. The sink would drain into a 5 gal jug. The other large space under the counter is were I kept the heater tank and a camping stove top.
The floor and bed top is covered in that interlocking rubberized padding that you can buy at harbor freight and everywhere else.
That pad is all I ever slept on. I never used a mattress of any sort. Now I can't sleep comfortably on any mattress. Go figure. I still sleep on a 1/8" pad.
Under the bed panels are storage compartments.
The 3rd light cutout was converted to the primary vent.
There is a solar panel, controller and wiring. I only used it to run led lights and a fan during the summer. You'll have to get batteries if you want to run it.
I never got crazy with the electric as I found that less is more. I don't watch TV etc so I have no need to run all that stuff. The food I ate didn't need to be refrigerated so no worries there. I also had a cubical job at the time so I was able to keep a lot of stuff, battery charger, and a fridge etc at work.
OSB and carpeting concerns. After 7yrs the off-gassing is minimal (cant smell it anymore). A countertop and latex paint on anything else exposed would all but eliminate any minimal off-gassing if there is any at all, in my opinion, if it's a concern.
The cab interior is exactly as I bought it. I figured that if I left it looking crappy people would leave it alone. Used parts are easy to come by, so I can get a passenger seat and other things no problem if you want them.
X
additional pictures.
