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So we set out in my '88 E250 on June 17th to visit family in Texas. We drove a total of 2996 miles round trip. It is about 1300 miles each way along with a week of site seeing. Passed through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
Overall the trip went well. The only mechanical issue was a dead alternator about 8 hours into the trip. It is a lifetime warranty unit, so I was able to find an Autozone and replace it in the parking lot. It definitely convinced me of the need to swap to a 3g and to go with a new unit instead of a rebuild.
Ended up averaging 16.37mpg for the trip there and back with the cruise set at 70mph. Not too bad for a barn on wheels. Best tank was 17.55mpg (twice) and worst was 15.26mpg. I was able to maintain CC at 70mph on all but a couple of inclines in the Ozarks.......the same ones had an extra slow lane added for 18 wheelers that would lose quite a bit of speed. With just cruise I would drop to 65mph and hold there. No black smoke etc. If I gave it a little more throttle I could stay at 70mph or even speed up. EGT's never got above 1000*.
I did notice that the Texas heat/humidity affected performance some (high 90's vs low 80's). Mostly it was just added black smoke during harder acceleration prior to the engine getting up to operating temps.
I set up the van to give us the most interior room possible. I removed the middle bench seat and built a platform to go over the brackets. This left the back bench, 2 captians chairs and the 2 front seats.
I used a hitch mounted cargo carrier for our luggage. That meant that inside we only had our coolers, pillows, blankets etc. Made it so we didn't have to spend money on a hotel on the way down. Pulled into a WalMart and parked with the other RV's. My 3 boys slept on the back bench and on the floor. My wife and I spun the front seats around for our feet and laid the middle captains chairs back. Like sleeping in a recliner. Only thing I forgot about was that it was still 85* out at midnight in Texarkana. We had a battery powered fan to help, but it was still pretty warm. If we did it agian I may make an AC out of a cooler and run it off my 12v jump starter.
I added a phone/gps holder to the cupholder I had already built. Allowed easy access to view gps while still keeping an eye on the road. Also used it to stream Pandora during the trip. I purchased a Bluetooth Cassette adapter so I could stream the music through the vans tape deck.
Setting off at 5am
I ripped a bunch of movies on to a USB. This kept us from having to carry a bunch of individual DVD's. The boys got to kick back in front of the TV to pass the time.....and yes, my son on the right wears his head phones that way so he doesn't mess up his hair. Gotta love teenagers.....
We used a battery powered camping fan in the window for air circulation. We only had the 1. Using a couple more would have been better.
In the future if it is going to be hot at night I plan on building one of these. I will use a 12v fan that can run off the jump-starter I carry around or off a house battery once I get it installed. My biggest concern with it is space, so I would need to be able to use the ice chest for more than just the AC. Maybe storage of dry goods while not in use. Then use frozen water bottles during AC duty so I don't have to worry about water when the ice melts.
Last year when I did my trip down south with my club wagon to go get body parts, I did that ice box fan AC unit trick. Really does help! I was alone in the van, so I made a 2x3 wood frame 14" off the floor, to put my air mattress on in the back, and have room under it for the spare tire, and all the tools I had to take apart vehicles in U-pull it yards under the bed.
Last year when I did my trip down south with my club wagon to go get body parts, I did that ice box fan AC unit trick. Really does help! I was alone in the van, so I made a 2x3 wood frame 14" off the floor, to put my air mattress on in the back, and have room under it for the spare tire, and all the tools I had to take apart vehicles in U-pull it yards under the bed.
Having an air mattress in back would be great. Having 2 or maybe 3 people sleeping in the van would be easy. For the 5 of us it was kinda cramped. I wouldnt want to do it for more than a night or 2 at a time.
When you did the ice chest AC, what kind of fan did you use? What did you use to power the fan? Did you use frozen jugs of water or bags of ice? How long did the ice last? Just trying to figure out the details of how i would set it up.
I used a dash mount 12V fan (same type used in trucks and commercial vehicles) it had a cigar lighter end I cut off to expose the wires, and I C-clamped the wires on a car battery, and it ran all night and I'd charge it during the day driving.
I just used bags of ice, they last the night, but would melt during the day as my AC doesn't work in my van, so it gets pretty hot in there if I'd stop somewhere for abit.
I just used bags of ice, they last the night, but would melt during the day as my AC doesn't work in my van, so it gets pretty hot in there if I'd stop somewhere for abit.
I will have to try it out. How well did it cool overnight? Some of the info i read claimed to produce 50-53*F air. Thats pretty good. Did it flow enough to keep up with the temps?
It kepted me nice and cool throughout the whole night, but I had the cooler right beside me shooting on me, and I was alone in the van so it worked very good!
It kepted me nice and cool throughout the whole night, but I had the cooler right beside me shooting on me, and I was alone in the van so it worked very good!
07-01-2016, 05:34 PM
