Hey Guys, wanted to share this project, been working on it for two and a half years. Just about finished. I have gotten some good ideas from looking at some of your builds, so thanks for sharing the information.
The Van began as a 1999 One ton, 7.3 diesel with 170K miles. The 4wd Kit is 4" lift from U joint (Chris is a great guy to work with), everything else is custom. I added some has some cool features like an Espar Diesel Hydronic heater that is mounted inside the frame rail and heats the interior through a heat exchanger, hot water for the sink, shower and the engine coolant loop. Also installed two large deep cycle batteries and a inverter / charger on a ML Battery switch and a voltage sensitive switch that activates a fan to evacuate the gasses during charging. I added a instrument cluster from a 2001 Excursion 7.3, so I have a tachometer and 4wd light...very cool. All the cabinet work is 3/4" birch ply, the floor is 3/4" ply with a heavy duty laminate floor. Lots of insulation throughout. Fiberglass topper is from Summit, a very nice top at a good price and not too heavy. The bed is just under queen size, and the wood for the kitchen counter came out of a 150 year old barn in East Tn. and is laid up with epoxy. I still need a front bumper, finish the overhead rear and front cabinets, some minor trim and then off to the paint shop. Hope to hit the road this fall for an extended trip.
So far, the van tips the scales at 8200 lbs, not bad considering all I have added. Finished weight loaded should be less that 10K.
More pictures in my gallery.