2004 e350 5.4L - advice?

[Rascal]

Hey SMB forums!

I'm very new to the game, but have been steadily salivating over your awesome vans for months. Today, I took the plunge. After some consideration, I decided against the bigger (6L/7L) engines and purchased a 2004 e350 5.4L with 148xxx miles on it for $5100. It has only been driven in dry climates (California/Arizona) for most of its life, and has passed a pretty thorough inspection (by me) for any problems, as well as endured several long test drives. I do not plan to do any super rigorous towing or crazy offroading in this van, but I will be living in it starting May of next year.

I would like to humbly ask for any advice you could give me on the following:

0.) Was this a good buy?

1.) High top conversion. (thinking $1000-$2000 tops)
This is probably the first order of business, right? I don't mind getting my hands dirty, and would like to do things as cheaply as possible (I can do the work myself) while still creating a quality camper. I'm 6'4, so I don't expect to stand straight up in her, but would like as much headroom as my money will buy. How hard is it to install a high top? Where would you recommend I look to buy one? Can I build one? Are there any tutorials you recommend?

2.) Refrigeration. (thinking $100 - $400)
I would like to do most of my own meal preparation/cooking, and obviously need a decent amount of refrigerated space to do so. Any recommendations of brands/types of coolers/fridges would be much appreciated.

3.) Power (thinking $500 - $1500)
Solar panel(s), batteries, battery isolator. Would love any recommendations! I don't need much power, just enough to run interior lights, charge the occasional device and run aforementioned refrigeration, as well as a cooking surface.

4.) Other!
Is there anything you wish you'd known before starting your conversion? Anything you would do differently?

Thanks so much for your time and input!
Ras

[dhally]

1) The big cost of a high top is shipping, so it really depends on where you are located. OBTW, it is nice if you fill out your profile so people know where you are located, so we can give better advice...

Anyhow, the most common high top is 24". Fiberine is a major mfg, they are located in the LA area and they also will install it. Finishing the inside of the high top is probably the most challenging part of a DIY conversion. On our first van, we had a Fiberine high top and a Fiberine fiberglass liner, with about 1/2" of EPS insulation sandwiched in. That was quick and easy and give the maximum interior height, but makes it difficult to attach things to the ceiling. Our current van has a 24" high top with an upholstered ceiling (done by Van Specialties). They glued 2x2 lumber to the inside of the top, insulated the void, and then used thin plywood paneling to attach the upholstery. It is a much nicer and quieter finish, but reduced headroom.

Since you got a used van, possilby could find a used high top at a wrecking yard.

Search this forum for how to install...

2) For that price you could get a high quality icebox. Propane and electric RV frig's are 2x or 3x that price.

3) For low cost, use conventional RV batteries, quantity determined by how long you want to run the frig. Most of us use a separator, not an isolator. Surepower is cheaper than Blue Sea. You should also get a fuse panel. Most of us also have an onboard battery charger so when we plug in it charges the battery. There are combination charger/fuse panels available. If you're going low cost, forget solar, just run the engine to charge the batteries, or get a small generator.

Cooking would typically NOT be electric, because that would suck the battery down Fast. Many use a portable butane countertop burner.

Another option is to use propane. The propane system is expensive, but it will run the frig a LOT longer than batteries would. Propane cooktops are also expensive, but once again very convenient and will run a long time on a tank. Also if you have propane then a furnace is a possibility.

4) I wish I would have known how much it was going to cost, before I bought the base van!!! lol

This is just off the top of my head, I'm sure you will gets lots of additional advice.

[boywonder]

0). Sounds pretty good.....where are you located? Also, since you are 6'4" I hope your van is an EB.......

1). As already mentioned, fibrine hi tops seem to be the common choice......you may be able to buy the top and DIY install....or better yet find one at a boneyard and DIY remove and install....it's probably more work than you think.

2.) Look at truckfridges....real danfoss compressor driven 12V (or optional 110V/12V) robust fridges starting at the top of your price range. Front loaders and top loaders. I have the smallest front loader and it works fine. I think it was $499

3.) Pick up a solar panel or two...say 100-200W and a decent controller. I would stay away from the cheap Chinese MPPT contollers sold on Ebay for $40....we out one in my neighbor's RV and it cooked two shiny new AGM batteries......tops of the batteries were wavy with gaskets hanging out....Popular PWM controller brands are Blue Sky, Morningstar, Samlex and a few others that I can't think of right now.

I'd also consider an AGM battery (or two)....as opposed to a flooded wet cell....AGMs do not have to be in a vented enclosure and you don't need to check the water level periodically.

Consider a Surepower or blue sea separator. The blue sea stuff wastes less power than the Surepower stuff since you are not heating a solenoid coil when it is energized. Surepower separators come uni-directional and bi-directional. If you want the solar to also charge the starting battery as well as the house batteries then you'll need a bi-directional unit. The Blue Sea ACR series units are similar $$ to Surepowers. The ML-ACR series is about twice the $$ of the above. The Blue Sea units are bi-directional.

I would avoid an isolator since they have an inherent .7VDC voltage drop due to the diodes inside.....

4). well.....how about a few questions.....

Are you planning on having hot water? Sink? Inverter? Microwave? shore power? shore power battery charging? Stove? heater? These things will drive sizing of battery bank, solar, need for propane, etc?

[86Scotty]

0. Yes, a great buy. Change the transmission fluid sooner than later. If this van was even halfway maintained it will last a long, long time.

1. Lots of possibilities here. You're out west so that helps. Get a cheap fixed top from a salvage yard and install it yourself with a couple of friends. It's not hard. Read up here in the home builds section and over at Expo in the vans section. Lots and lots of do-it-yourselfers can help you out.
example: http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...hale-4242.html

Have you seen this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fiberglass-C...25.m3641.l6368

2. TruckFridge.com - Quality true 12 volt DC compressor refrigeration with freezer - Georgetown, KY Exit 129 next to Piolt Truck Center - many models to choose from.

3. Seems doable. 200 watts of solar, a decent controller, 2 good house batteries (in addition to your starting battery) and a cheap inverter so you have AC power when needed and you're done. Endless options and writeups here on that subject.

4. I wish I would've gotten a van sooner.

Welcome!

[mikracer]

1) There is a member here that is working with a manufacturer to build new high tops as a cost effective option. I can't find the thread though, but will post it up when I find it. I think they were about $2,000 shipped to your door.

2) I have a Truck Fridge and it works great. http://truckfridge.com/tf51.html

3) Ford mounted batteries on the frame of all diesel vans and some gas vans. You can buy new take offs on ebay. They're a good option to keep things clean, but the downside is that they are made for a Group 65 battery which maxes out at 75Ah so running 2 would be a good idea and there's room to do it.

4) Read through as many build threads as possible. Get an idea of what you like and go from there.

[vwteleman]

Originally Posted by mikracer

1) There is a member here that is working with a manufacturer to build new high tops as a cost effective option. I can't find the thread though, but will post it up when I find it. I think they were about $2,000 shipped to your door.

Here it is:http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...ops-17695.html

Cheers,
Brent

[Rascal]

Thank you guys so much for the awesome replies! I spent the last week climbing in Southern Idaho, and I was definitely wishing I had my van outfitted and with me the whole time.

dhally, that sounds awesome! How much did you spend for your 24" hightop installation? After looking into propane, I'm thinking that's actually the best way to go for refrigeration/cooking. High upfront cost, but super efficient and reliable once it goes in. Side note... why are fridges so expensive?! :O

boywonder, I'm currently living in Portland, OR. My van is an E350 XL, not sure what an EB is, exactly. I've looked into the fiberine camper tops, and they look awesome! I might just have to bite the bullet and grab one of those. And to answer your questions: hot water - yes (solar water heater?), sink - yes, microwave - sounds like a good idea, inverter - what are the advantages of getting one of these?, stove - yes (propane?), heater - maybe.

86Scotty, change transmission fluid, got it! I'll throw that on the agenda for tomorrow (I'm guessing it's not too complicated?). Holy crap, that beluga whale thread sucked me right in! What a sweet build! Would be nice to have a giant warehouse to work in.... I'll have to settle for the rather damper conditions of my driveway. Also, that camper top on ebay looks sweet! Or rather, the price looks sweet!

mikracer, it's awesome that someone is trying to make camper tops more affordable! Hightops for everyone! Re: truckfridge - do you go on many longer trips? 2 cu ft seems pretty tiny, but I guess it's all about organizational skills, right?

Cheers!

[boywonder]

RB=regular body EB=extended body

An inverter makes 115VAC from battery (12VDC) power. You'll need one to run a microwave unless you just want popcorn when plugged into shore power. So if you want to use any 115VAC appliances you'll need an inverter for remote camping like coffee makers, coffee grinders, etc.

Many things like fridges, etc are available in 12VDC. Microwaves are pretty much 115VAC.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Rascal

86Scotty, change transmission fluid, got it! I'll throw that on the agenda for tomorrow (I'm guessing it's not too complicated?). Holy crap, that beluga whale thread sucked me right in! What a sweet build! Would be nice to have a giant warehouse to work in.... I'll have to settle for the rather damper conditions of my driveway. Also, that camper top on ebay looks sweet! Or rather, the price looks sweet!

mikracer, it's awesome that someone is trying to make camper tops more affordable! Hightops for everyone! Re: truckfridge - do you go on many longer trips? 2 cu ft seems pretty tiny, but I guess it's all about organizational skills, right?

Cheers!

Changing tranny fluid, if you want to get it all changed the proper way, is not exactly a quick and simple job like an oil change. Depending on your skill level, tools, etc. and your free time you might consider having a shop do it. It's not that hard, though, just messy and time consuming. Still, I recommend it. The one 'mid life' item most Ford vans need is a tranny. The vans themselves will easily go a half million miles but trannys more often than not don't go past 150-200k. You can lengthen that with a full fluid change.

Changing ATF Fluid in a E4OD and 4R100 transmission - Ford-Trucks.com

As for Truckfridge, they make many models. You don't have to settle for the 2cf dorm fridge size. I was very happy with my 4cf model I put in my former van. I'm now using one of their bigger chest fridges in my current van.

[boywonder]

Trans fluid change is pretty straightforward........buy 15 quarts of fluid (In many cases Ford Dealer is cheapest), a short piece of 1/2" hose and a 5 gallon bucket.....

I did it at the trans cooler...no dropping the trans pan or anything.

Follow the directions on the link above from 86scotty