05 Pleasure Way Excel

b. rock · 10-24-2023, 10:49 AM

With the pending move to CA, the future of the Cummins van is largely uncertain and is on pause. In the mean time, for less than the price what we were quoted for a basic interior build out, we picked up a 2005 Pleasure Way Excel TS, V10, 97k miles, from WA (but was living here in CO). The thought being that it's 50 state emissions compliant, KOA/RV park compliant, and we were able to use it immediately.

I've seen Chinooks get some love on here, but not much for these. I had looked at a Tiger and a similar vintage SMB and the build quality on this is 5x of what those were. The body is entirely fiberglass which is great for insulation purposes. It's built on the van chassis, not the cutaway, so the gas tank is still midship, they use one of the barn doors as the side entry, and it still has both rear doors. It's been widened 6" and is about 5.5" longer than an EB (measuring from rear wheel arch to end of rear bumper) so exterior dimensions a 7'3" wide, and 20' bumper to bumper. Inside it feels massively bigger than an EB however. Neither of us were keen on having a bunk above the cab, so this is a bit more aero than the class C options and has a huge couch/bed area in the back.

For our needs, a mobile office & dog home is #1, mountain bike home base #2, off road credentials is #3. So the extra 5.5" rear overhang isn't ideal, but for our needs, shouldn't impact the use too much. The grey water drain pipe is the lowest thing on the underside, so that might get rerouted before too long.

We have taken it out for quick weekend trips but will be taking it out for 3 weeks including both remote work time and pleasure time (pun intended) to stretch its legs.

Uploaded a couple images - the day we got it home, an enclosed bike carrier we grabbed for it (which I'd like to get a little more elevated), and the oddly gaping hole where the propane tank used to be. The PO relocated the tank for some weird reason so now we have a great spot for a potential battery bank while still keeping the generator.

Floor plan and spec list included as well for those curious.

Honestly not 100% sure what the long term plan is but it's nice to have something usable while we slowly make changes. Might do a Baja Grocery getter kit and call it good. Might put the MG kit on it. Or, might just leave it as is and do some slightly more aggressive tires. I had immediately wanted to demo the bathroom since we have never had one in any of our camping setups, but I have been talked into letting it ride for now and re-evaluate after the first trip. There's also a few different ways I have in mind to make it more off-grid friendly and update it a bit.

Anyway, thought I'd post it up and see if anyone has dabbled with one of these.

vandiesel · 10-24-2023, 07:09 PM

Everyone I’ve known that’s had a pleasureway swears by them. Good snag.

clicker44 · 10-25-2023, 01:19 PM

A few weeks ago I saw an immaculate Pleasure Way that was U-Joint'ed on 37's and it was absolutely nasty. Beautiful rig. Nice score for you!

b. rock · 10-25-2023, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clicker44

A few weeks ago I saw an immaculate Pleasure Way that was U-Joint'ed on 37's and it was absolutely nasty. Beautiful rig. Nice score for you!

The couple pics of converted Pleasure Ways on their website are part of what tipped my wife over to being in favor of the idea. I just picked up a project in SLT, so hopefully I'll see that rig when I'm over there!

yonah · 10-25-2023, 09:46 PM

I've always like Pleasureways as well. Great form and function. Excellent find.

I've seen a few of the UJoint Pleasureway post-build videos on Youtube and the rigs always look great. Very well proportioned.

blair · 10-29-2023, 01:40 AM

Inclined to believe Pleasure Way UJOR will be my next vehicle.
tfpu

Colo_Vanman · 11-03-2023, 11:04 AM

@b. rock Congrats on your PW. I too recently scored a PW Excel TS with a v10, it's an '03 but basically the same rig. My previous van was an '03 GMC Savana AWD conversion but I'm looking to go full time in '24 and the PW Excel is the rig I found that meets my needs after looking at many options. Similar to RoadTrek, but better imo and the wide body is great. PW build quality is top of the line. Canadians take pride in craftsmanship that is not found in the lower 48 anymore. Sure luv mine so far. My son an I did a week in Yellowstone with it and it was the bomb!

Here's some pics.

btw, where'd the PO move the propane tank to?

b. rock · 11-03-2023, 11:50 AM

Nice grab! Yours actually looks a little cleaner than mine, but I have plans for the parts that need replacing anyway, so it was win-win.

The propane tank is now right in front of the spare tire, with the fill/vent connections on the rear bumper. Not an ideal spot for even a mildly rocky road. I'd love to switch to an aquahot system and compressor fridge and cut propane use to just the stove...but those aquahots are $$. Fridge will happen sooner than later though.

I'm about to head out in it for 3 weeks, and the wet bath is allowing us to crash in some campgrounds that will be very handy for work purposes, even if not IG worthy. Edit: the RVIA certification helps too I think.

I was eyeballing the Roadtrek 210s as well for the 6.0 engine + IFS. Didn't like that seemingly every floorplan had an extra seat (not needed for 2 of us) and anything new enough to have a 6 speed trans was 1.5-2x the price of what we got the Ford for, and I like the V10 + 5 speed well enough.

I did find out that the PO apparently wasn't great at winterizing, so now we have this to contend with right before the trip. Both lines are burst, they're the lines going to the sink. Doing a temporary repair, but it'll get fixed for real when we get home.

Colo_Vanman · 11-03-2023, 01:55 PM

The one I got has some overall interior heat damage to the burlap-type wall covering cloth material from baking and shrinking while in storage in the AZ sun that caused it to crack/split in numerous places. That's on the repair list but it's only cosmetic. You can see on interior photo by zooming into wall by back doors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by b. rock

The propane tank is now right in front of the spare tire,

Interesting they would move the propane tank there. Mine has the 24g freshwater tank there between the diff and tire. Where'd your water tank go? Bummer if they jettisoned it for moving the propane tank there. Doesn't make sense at all to me. Propane was good where it originally was imo. Some peeps dont know "If it ain't broke - Don't fix it!"

b. rock · 11-03-2023, 02:13 PM

Oh, the water tank is still there. They just sandwiched the tank in. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Might be a slightly larger tank that didn't fit? Could have been a shadetree fix?