VANifornication - my 4x4 Camper Van project.

VANifornication!

Ever since I saw the Lopes55 Sprinter Van by Sportsmobile a few years ago, I wanted…WANTED one! After reading up on the details and seeing the Sportsmobile.com website and eventually laying my eyes on the 4x4 Camper Vans the focus of my lust changed.

Fast-forward a few years later to this year… I start looking for a suitable van to do a 4x4 conversion. I was looking for a Ford E-Series 350. Regular or extended bed didn’t matter really, but I did want a diesel. Preferably something in color… all I could find was white. Not a cargo van… I wanted windows.

After 3-4weeks of constant searching in the usual places, Ebay, Craigslist, Autotrader... etc. One that peeked my interest popped up on Autotrader last weekend while I was in Vegas… it was local, at a local auto dealer. The ad however didn’t have pictures included, so I figured it was a junker… but dealers usually don’t put junkers on the lot right? It was a 7.3L Power Stroke diesel, white extended bed…those were some of the few details in the ad.

So this morning with the trails closed I ventured up to Tustin Nissan where this Van was. 5hrs of haggling then eventually leaving because we couldn’t come to terms. I had to walk out because they wouldn’t budge anymore on the price… left to go pick up my bike from The Path, and while there, the used car sales manager calls me and asks me come back to the lot… he wants to talk more. I thought to myself… I’ve got this!!! I told him I would return.

Another hour of haggling and me not giving another $0.01 and them just wanting another $100 they gave up and gave me my price…. $6750. Their list price was $9,888. KBB has this at $4988 but I don’t always trust their valuations… but my buddy/neighbor next door runs the 4 Wheel Parts store in Temecula says it’s a good deal. He test drove it when I got back home and he says it runs really well and it’s super clean.

Needless to say I’m super stoked to get this project off the ground
The pics!






First things first on the agenda.
Phase 1 – done by early summer.
Find a diesel mech to go over the engine in more detail. Need this to run reliably as a daily driver.
stereo and new security system… radio and speakers not very good. Not looking to spend a lot of money but these need to be addressed ASAP.
4x4 conversion, wheels and tires.

Phase 2 – over the winter and thru next spring.
Full custom interior – undecided on how to set this up but the sportsmobile website has some nice examples/templates for the vans…

Ideally I'd love to get this done by early fall so I can take take a long-ish road trip to Whistler, but I'd settle for a road trip through SW Utah, Moab and Fruita! We'll see how my budget is as the van progresses.

Any suggestions, ideas or experiences you have and care to share about this project would be welcomed.

 

I was hoping it was a VW Van/Bus.

 

Rad!

 

I know your lust. I have 2 friends with Sportsmobiles. One was a project like yours and the other bought complete. Sooooooooooo nice. Good luck on the project. One day I wil have mine too. BTW, they had a helluva time fnding anything other than white too. The project van is a dark red and was found in Texas.

 

those are cool, but VWs are not my thing. last spring i was in Moab and took the VW Van/Bus up to shuttle Porcupine Rim... I didn't like that ride one bit.
just my opinion but this looks WAY cooler and badass compared to VWs

 

I went for a walk in my neighborhood and came across a whole driveway full of buses. That got me pondering to my gf about finding a cheap one to tool around in.
Chaos, I have a buddy who specializes in diesels feel free to pm me and I can get you in touch if you like. The dude who bought my old stumpy a couple of years ago had a very serious baja style ford van. He used it for camping and surfing.

 

That's a nice lookin' van. Good luck with the switch over. And please post some pics of the updated version. I too was looking real seriously at getting into a 4x4 van about 5 years ago. I was looking on this website: http://www.thundersgarage.com/4x4vans4sale.html and found some really good deals. Came close a couple of times at getting one. It just so happens that a couple of months ago I was filling up with gas at the station and looked over and saw the Lopez sprinter van. Man, that is a really nice van. I wanted to talk to him about the setup he had but he wasn't around.
anyways 4x4 vans are awesome and hope to get into one someday.......

 

found a black van down in San Diego, but it was a V10. my subie already gets bad gas mileage... didn't want to get something that was way worse.

 

will send you a PM. Fatguy1 told me he used to work on diesels as well... gonna hit him up to if he's got some time.

 

check this one out: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=563313

 

wow, he put A LOT of work into that! and the craftsmanship is indeed nice. i certainly can appreciate the effort put into that.
but not my taste in style... so very quaint!

 

I'm only just learning the nuances of diesel, but I'm pretty well versed in RV systems and outfitting. Let me know if you need a brain to pick. This is what I take to races..

 

Awesome project and a great deal, the 7.3 vans are a hard find! The 7.3's are great engines, we have two, my F350 and my wife's Excursion. Not a expert but I do have a lot of experience with them, if your looking to do some reading about Ford diesels check out http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/ and http://powerstrokenation.com/forums/index.php lots of great info. Also if your looking to run it on waste vegetable oil I have a little experience in that too.

 

No northshore bike rack for this beast. Awesome find and good luck with the project!

 

VW made a Syncro Van/Bus that was stock 4x4 with beefier suspension and tires. A lot of people swapped in TDI engines.However, nothing like the beast Chaos showed. I have a student who has built a van similar to that.

Not 4x4, but I always wanted a VW Bus with safari windows, but they go for like $50,000 and up.

 

#1 on the 7.3 :bang: - I have 290K on my F-350 and it purrs while returning a solid 17MPG around town.

I got real lucky and had a neighbor who was a top-notch diesel mechanic (he has since passed away). His biggest mantra was keep it clean - fuel filter, water trap, air filter all can play havoc with the injector system.

I've read about this in several of the diesel forums - http://www.powerservice.com/dk/ The situation is similar to the loss of leaded gas for older cars. Less lubrication for the valve train etc. With the recent switch to the Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel blend for us, it was recommended to supplement with this additive for the older diesels. The only measurable improvement I've seen in my truck was an honest 2 MPG increase in my regular River run. My butt tells me the engine is flat out running smoother too.

Good luck and keep us posted on your project.


The best regular price for the additive I've found is Walmart.

 

Omg I love these van conversions......i want to do a unimog myself

 

Shoot coffeespecial on the boards a message. He does all kinds of stuff like that. And is local. Seen some super clean Jeep stuff of his.

 

Keep it 2WD!

 

Very nice, would love to have something big like that for road trips. Always a hassle trying to figure out who to invite, what cars/cars to take...ect. Van would make thing so easy.

Dean