I do need to lube the doors. They creak and groan. Silicone spray the way to go?
Thinking about 2nd battery. Those Optimas are pricey. Might get a standard marine deep cycle.
Do you use solar at all to charge / maintain batteries?

 

I fixed my van up as a camper van as well, but I cant get past the fear of sleeping in it in an urban environment like in a wall mart parking or something like that, even though I might have to.

 

Oh, well if it's a cargo van and you don't have any interior lights on / visible you'll have no problems. If I can park somewhere I can camp.

 

Read UPGRADES in alt.ford.truck
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!se...DE%7Csort:date


use the car wash spray gun on hinges then silicone from Wal. The not CRC is better than CRC but smells/prob slightly toxic. 1 or 2x a month. The door gaskets are cleaned and sprayed.


Optima batts are very good. I have a laptop, phone, air pump, fan and 2 Optima plus a replaced Odyssey from the engine compartment.


an E250 should be loaded with abt 130 pounds slightly to right side from partition to rear axle. The batts are right behind the axle. So for no batts add the batts weight.Add 5 gallons of water in passengers footwell if no passenger. Crosscountry, add 4 more gallons between seats.


Is the spare tire under the truck ? Move tire flat onto floor behind passenger's seat. HD Strap down tight with bolts n strap washers.Buy 2 Bilstein shocks for the rear axle. Check the axle shock mounts. best to brush clean and paint with 4-5 coats.

The truck asks for a stagger in tire pressures.More crown on the road, more stagger.


Tire Bolted to the partition os Ok but flat is best.




Using the given weight loads and 4 Toyo 10 ply A/T's ( not on your truck) with a full GT suspension pressures are 65/75 left side...70/78 right side or 63/75...70/
80 if the road is gnarly. For country 2 lane roads.


If beginning service, change fluids...rad, trans, rear axle, brake fluid. Summit has a super brake fluid change system. Lube the brake springs. Fluids changing is on Utube.


Find n read/copy the Ford maintenance schedule.


The locals know who is local and who is not.


There a crime statistics on line try Google Images: Maps crime statistics Cedar Rapids

 

epic conversion but I'm still waiting for the shoe to drop on the mechanical problems. u have tools to drop the transmission in a Walmart parking lot?

 

Sure. I do have tools to drop the transmission in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
I won't be doing that though. It has a 10,000 mile new transmission in it that shifts buttery smooth. Plus I wouldn't want to go through that headache anyway.
I think that would be search for another van time.

 

shifting 'buttery smooth' ? Is there a receipt ?


a $25 floor jack bolted to 2-2x6" with a length to fit transmission base. Cut round or v shapes to accommodate the trans casing. Use cardboard templates from the trans. No guessing.

 

So you never said what the chocolate milkshake was all about from before or did I miss it. Is the van mechanically sound? How hard is it to get that LP filled and what is the mileage of a fillup?

 

Hello.
So I do in fact have a full receipt for the recently (mileage speaking) installed transmission. A Jasper model for an eye watering (my eyes at least) of about $3500 from what I recall. It was very well maintained with a full folder of all the service done to it - by the dealer 90% of the time no less. So it is sound, although something seems a little off in the steering - there is a vibration that could be related to a driver side ball joint (guessing).

The oil cooler failed - the internal seals apparently, and oil fairly rapidly escapes and pumps itself into the lower pressure coolant passing by. The oil mixes with coolant, emulsifies, and makes the 'milkshake'. Not the kind you look forward to in summer. It's a heavy thick glop - not good to rapidly loose your engine oil or rapidly overfill and overrun your coolant capacity either.

The LP / Propane is much easier to get filled than the Natural Gas fuel. Propane is much wider available and much much lower pressure. I think in the 50-200 psi max range vs. 3000 - 3600 psi for Natural Gas. This van is the NGV factory one. I would like to change the fuel back to regular gasoline.

The mileage is not impressive. I got about 11-13 mpg on first tank, I would have to check that (a fair bit of idling in there during diagnosing, milkshake flushing etc...). I haven't been putting a lot of miles on this yet, due to mechanical issues needing to get sorted and the fact that I am not always around this vehicle.

Earlier posted link to the chocolate mess:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...erflowing.html

 

I thought NG was cheaper than gasoline.

 

NG used to be a lot cheaper. Oil prices tanked and now it's the same or a tad bit higher even. I am sure it will be cheaper at some point - say in 1-2 years. But I could care less. It's a pain in the ***. And I don't like having 3000 psi underneath me in older tanks much.
I also know I'll run it out of fuel at some point and then it's a tow job.

 

This is a really interesting thread. You're like the Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris

 

Thanks. Wow I wish. I had MLB dreams all my youth. Was what I wanted to do with my life. All Star player. And then the head game that is baseball took over and I was not as good a player as I had been.
MLB players are freaks of nature - I mean that respectfully of course.

 

Finally got a replacement rear window in. Unfortunately it is not the pop out style. Decided to wait on the solar install (although I know what system I'm getting) until I get the CNG fuel setup out of this van.
I plan to mount an AGM battery under the van and I don't want to get blamed for unlicensed cowboy electrical if I blow up the van with sparks there etc...
Also, waiting on the sunroof until I am sure I can make this actual model work for me.

The small Ikea metro rack on the right works fantastic for a clothes rack. I also have a great variety of plastic bins / boxes that slide right under the bed at the 14 inch height.

 

And I've been now getting about 15.5 mpg on CNG.
For the "CNG Hate Story" "article" I published here Link: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...oportions.html, I actually got 237 miles on (3) tanks full that averaged 18 mpg driving S - L - O - W.

CNG - Compressed natural gas - stinks as a fuel source and is very hard to find sources for fill ups.
(Again, see above thread link and to see something go horribly sideways on a Holiday weekend).
I can only safely go about 200 miles and then I'm out or close to it.

I did fix the chocolate milkshake. A new oil cooler solved all that mess.
I also have (4) American Racing mag wheels on 'order' with almost new tires. There is a local selling me the whole set if I swap my old crap wheels and tires over to his rig for $200. Just waiting for us both to be back to the area for the swap. Excited for new wheels, the stock steelies with dog dish hubcaps are super ugly IMO.

I also got the door trim panels out of that e350 van parts haul, and installed them on the rear doors, and one side door. Looks a lot nicer.
Also got the proper Ford oval logo for the rear door. I guess I need sticky tape to mount it in the 3 holes at rear door.