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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 3
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2003 - E-250 Adventure Van For Sale - $30k
Well….. The time has come for us to list the Groot Van for sale. I would almost certainly never sell this van, but we are moving to the east coast, buying a house and starting a family all in the next year or so. We’ll need the $$ since house prices are bananas, and I can’t justify not leaving this van to a home where it will continue its life exploring the mountains, deserts and backroads of the west. I’m going to start with $30k as asking price, and hope it makes its way to a good home. Please text at the number in the bottom of this listing with any questions - I don't check email as often, but am almost always available via text. You can also reach me @grootvn on instagram
This van is quite possibly the ultimate adventure van with a list of features almost never found in this size and style of van. We have owned it for 6 years, and have driven up and down the west coast from mountains to deserts, Nevada, Utah, Baja, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and beyond. Snow, mud, dirt, gravel, back roads, interstate and everywhere in between, this thing is at home and puts a massive smile on our faces any time we jump in to take a trip. No, it isn’t a luxurious Instagram influencer, van life, full time living, type of van, but it does have a lot of the same creature comforts they do, and it serves the purpose of being everything you could possibly need in an adventure van for weekend trips as well as multi-week adventures. It is also just as at home as an around town surf van with the short wheelbase and surfboard racks, and has served its purpose as a hauler as well with the bed/couch fully folded up out of the way and massive cargo area. With a slide out desk it has been a work from home machine during covid, and the we-boost cell booster has allowed me to work remotely with fast enough internet off my phone whenever I needed. To use the cliché – it is the swiss army knife of vans that will fit into whatever mission you are looking to accomplish with a van.
We’ve put almost 40k miles on it in 5 years, and I’d jump in and drive this thing across the country tomorrow. It’s an old school, simple, gas V8 that is easy to work on, has parts that you can find at your local automotive store, and since like 973 bazillion of these were sold as work vans, you can find easy fixes to anything that might go wrong with it on youtube or forums with a quick google. It’s easy and fun to work on if/when necessary, or can be serviced by any automotive shop anywhere in the country. It gets 13.5-15.5 mpg on the highway on regular unleaded, and has a 31 gallon tank for a range of almost 500 miles. I know there are those that doubt that this thing would have enough power with just the 5.4L v8, and I had the same reservations when we ended up buying it. However, I’ve come to see the 5.4 as perfectly adequate for the job. it will do 75-80 on the interstate easily, and goes uphill well and accelerates well due to the lower gear ratios. At altitude, it will still do 65mph up 395 at 8k feet all the way up to Mammoth, and we find ourselves still passing other vehicles all the time. It doesn’t pull like the diesel vans of the same age, but we’ve found a way to have a lot of fun with the $50k we saved in purchase price from some of those diesel van builds. Not that you’d need to, but you could replace the motor in this van for the same cost of some of those diesel services.
While it isn’t a 4wd, I have never once been in a situation where I thought I needed it. With a rear locker and more ground clearance than most wranglers, this van has literally gotten us into every single camp spot we have ever had the guts to try to get into. With the 7.5k lb. unloaded vehicle weight and locking diff on BFG all terrains, I have never spun a tire, and I haven’t missed the low range gears since we don’t do any serious crazy rock crawling in it. We’ve driven it in heavy blizzards in MT, across the backcountry byway in Utah, to the top of mountains in the eastern sierra, and down deserted desert roads in Baja where it seems only the donkeys/mules belong. Our mission was always to get away from it all and find awesome camp spots in the middle of nowhere, and the GrootVN has gotten us there and back every time.
I keep seeing sprinter/transit builds from $80k, $100k, $150k and up and I just can’t really see that cost really being worth it for us. In our view, these vans are meant to be used, camped in, lived out of, driven down narrow trails with overhanging branches and cactus, and aren’t meant as a glamour or design competition. Take the dogs, throw the gear inside when its dirty, and hose it out when you get home. While it’s clear this van isn’t as pretty as some of those sprinters or transits, it’s a utilitarian adventure van that serves the purpose better than most. I think if you were to try to build a van like this now you’d be well over $50k to get something even close in an e series type build, and well over $125-$150k on a sprinter or transit chassis. Do yourself a favor and save that money for some adventures and give this van a shot.
Van Running/Chassis:
-2023 Ford E-250 - 145k Miles
-Fiberine Van tops – fiberglass Cruiser 20” aerodynamic top - Standing height up to 6'2"
-5.4L Triton V8 - 2wd
-6” lift kit installed (Action Van Ultimate Suspension System)
-Dana Spicer Re-Gear to 4.10 (#708125-5)
-Dana Spicer Trac-Loc Diff - (#707427X)
-5 American Racing Wheels 16” – New April 2021
-5 BFG All-Terrain TA/KO2 – 285/75/16 – E Rated, Three Peak Mountain Snowflake version
-new April 2021
-Full time dual view rear camera in place of rear view mirror
-Kenwood Unit with Apple CarPlay, wireless phone audio etc.
-Upgraded stereo with 400w amp, 4 speakers, tweeters in the door and compact 8” sub behind driver’s seat – turns those long road trips into true jam sessions
-Ceramic tinted driver/passenger window
-Scan Gauge vehicle monitor
Van Exterior:
-Aluminess Front Bumper with internal storage
-Aluminess Rear bumper with tire swing out and storage box as well as internal storage
-rear box is original style with space for two bike racks on top.
-Aluminess Ladder for roof access
-Driver side rack for 4 surfboards or two large paddleboards
-Baja Designs LP6 Pro on Aluminess Front bumper – running lights and blinkers wired in
-Updated LED headlights which are 100x better than stock
-Reverse bumper mounted fog lights – switch controlled
-New Hi-Lift Jack
-Windows on all sides of the van and large window in sliding door. All screened sliders for solid ventilation
-Fiamma full length awning - F45S
Van Camper:
-Complete interior build with Fridge, Marine Toilet, Convertible couch/bed, desk, sink, AC, solar, shore power, shore water/sewer hookup
-Marine Toilet with Black Water tank – 5 gallon
-Grey tank – 5 Gallon
-20 Gallon Water storage – plumbed for hot and cold water, recently replaced water pump
-City/campsite water hookup
-spigot mounted on exterior drain for water tank for exterior water access
-ACUVA UV Water Filter for drinking water
-Full shore power hook up
-2000 watt Xantrex inverter
-Battleborn 100 AH LifePO4 LI-Ion self heating battery for use in sub freezing conditions
-Victron 12/12 - 30 amp DC to DC charger for charging off alternator – and isolating house from vehicle battery
-100W solar panel with
-Victron Solar charge controller – charges nearly 5 amps per hour, runs fridge, laptop, lights cellphone charger without drawing down house battery when in full sun
-Victron BMV712 Battery monitor/controller
-All Victron units are controlled and monitored through Bluetooth/app on iphone
-allows for monitoring of charge state, current draw, cumulative AH draw
-Dometic rooftop AC runs off shore power, or small honda generator, can also be operated off generator while driving – we put the generator on top of the aluminess storage box when this is needed driving through the desert
-Dometic AC/DC fridge, runs off shore power when plugged in, or battery
-Fully fused RV style electrical panel for shore power, AC fuses etc
-Electrical switch control panel for easy on/off of all powered devices
-6 - 2 outlet - Household style AC outlets
-4 DC outlets
-We Boost Cell Booster
-Waggle temp monitor monitoring interior van temp when away (for dogs)
-Full bug screens for slider and rear doors
-AirMaxx fan mounted in center of van with remote
-Three position folding bed
-Full Size Bed
-Couch with backrest
-Folded all the way up for cargo
-Shower drain in floor for internal shower or drain for wet gear
-Shower quick connect near rear doors
-Van has set up for propane hot water system (we don’t currently utilize this setup)
-we use small propane Camp style water heater when we use to shower
-Sportsmobile swivel passenger seat
-Seat covers with molle rear panel storage compartments
I am most likely leaving a significant amount off here, but I am available to answer any questions via text as needed. 404-993-32three-won
Side story on the name of the van - GROOTVN - "Groot Van" - we named the van Groot when we bought it. It is an affectionate nickname based on the Marvel character from Guardians of the Galaxy - Basically, he's big, tall, brute, and he is badass and basically saved the world. After we got the plates to match the name I've had a few people approach me to ask if we named it in Dutch or Afikaans - apparently Groot means big or tall in both of those languages. I never really though I'd nickname a van, but it stuck.
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