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Looking at a picking up a van for a camper conversion, and no.. This is not a utopian dream TikTok clout chasing hipster vanlife thing I'm just a 40 year old guy that likes to take a rock crawler out for a weekend that's tired of dealing with stapled together balsa wood truck campers, wants a self contained box that doesn't need to be set up at camp, and doesn't have the financial means to drop 200 grand on a decked out new truck and toy hauler.
So I've been looking at 2000s era E350 cargo vans, and I keep seeing vans listed as commercial chassis. Is this just marketing speak for panel/cargo vans, or is there something actually different about these compared to a non commercial cargo van?
As far as I know there is no difference. Cargo vans are called "van" and passenger versions are called "wagon" or "club wagon" . The only parts difference in E350s I've seen is E350 vs E350 Super Duty.
OK, so most likely the commercial designation would most likely apply to the C&C vans, and the dealers/people applying commercial to the cargo vans are just doing so incorrectly.
Apparently ALL E-Series vans are "commercial" (as opposed to wagons which are not). See a page from the 2009 E-Series sales brochure (attached) which lists all of the vans as "commercial".
A bigger question is what Ford means by "Super Duty". The sales brochure does not list an E-250 Super Duty van but I've seen many of them. Likewise, the brochure only lists the E-350 as Super Duty but Don Ridley (above) mentions E-350 and E-350 Super Duty.
I've compared VINs from Super Duty and non-Super Duty units and there is no difference in the descriptive portion of the VINs.
Does anyone know the actual difference between the Super Duty and non-Super Duty units?
I think you’re mixing ‘commercial’ and ‘commercial chassis.’ Cargo and panel vans are commercial vehicles that cast te shadow of a van. Commercial chassis are built by Ford as a platform with or without cab. Someone other than Ford completes the vehicle for a specific purpose. They’re E-series based vehicles, but most people wouldn’t call a commercial chassis vehicle a van. It will obviously be a box truck or RV or ambulance…
IIRC Super Duty is a marketing term. Some years, all E350s are Super Duty. I have to confirm but I’m pretty sure our E350 passenger van badge says Super Duty. I don’t know if E250s were badged Super Duty. There’s no E250 factory passenger van in later years.
Kudos to your research but at some point your search will pivot to finding to best example for what you’re willing to pay. Even standard length or extended body can take a back seat to condition unless you need the extra room. Same with 5.4 vs 6.8 vs Diesel if it’s an economic decision the way the price of fuel varies. 4-speed vs 5-speed transmission and diff ratio could matter to how you plan to use it. Body length, drivetrain and diff ratio are variables in passenger, commercial and commercial chassis.
Further unrelated to commercial v commercial chassis, pretty much the body has to come off frame for an engine swap. Keep this in mind if you’re considering fixer uppers or have a powertrain swap in mind.
I own one, it's an E250 with an 8900lb GVWR and an empty curb weight of 5500lbs (with driver). Every other E250 of this vintage I have seen on the road also has the SuperDuty badge on it.
Here is what I see on Rockauto for 1997 (first image) and 2000 (second image) Ford vans. Looks like Superduty was not an option or marketing label for the 2000 model year. I have a '97 so I'm careful not to select Super Duty when looking for parts. I have no idea if any parts are different.
I think you’re mixing ‘commercial’ and ‘commercial chassis.’ Cargo and panel vans are commercial vehicles that cast te shadow of a van. Commercial chassis are built by Ford as a platform with or without cab. Someone other than Ford completes the vehicle for a specific purpose. They’re E-series based vehicles, but most people wouldn’t call a commercial chassis vehicle a van. It will obviously be a box truck or RV or ambulance…
Kudos to your research but at some point your search will pivot to finding to best example for what you’re willing to pay. Even standard length or extended body can take a back seat to condition unless you need the extra room. Same with 5.4 vs 6.8 vs Diesel if it’s an economic decision the way the price of fuel varies. 4-speed vs 5-speed transmission and diff ratio could matter to how you plan to use it. Body length, drivetrain and diff ratio are variables in passenger, commercial and commercial chassis.
All I know is that I've seen some ads that read something like "2006 E350 Commercial van", with it obviously starting out life as a full bodied panel/cargo van and SRW axle as opposed to a converted passenger van or conversion van. I.E - full steel panels all the way down both sides, not cut for windows. I would expect the commercial description on a DRW cutaway or box van, just wasn't sure if there was a "regular" chassis and "commercial" chassis in the full bodied vans too, like the years that had the F250 light duty that was basically a F150 with heavier axles, and the very different F250 Super Duty.
The extra room is definitely needed for this, as is a van with the raised roof on it. Though I'm not dead set on the van idea either..part of me is also leaning towards just getting a big box truck on a MDT chassis, and not having to deal with a trailer either when the rock crawler comes along for the weekend. This is just all in the research stage at this point, without yet saying "I want exactly this...."
05-27-2023, 11:01 AM
I'm just a 40 year old guy that likes to take a rock crawler out for a weekend that's tired of dealing with stapled together balsa wood truck campers, wants a self contained box that doesn't need to be set up at camp, and doesn't have the financial means to drop 200 grand on a decked out new truck and toy hauler. 
