So, i bought another van. Not a surprise to those of you that know me I'm sure. I've come full circle I think. We really enjoyed our family trips in vans with the kids years ago but now life has changed. It's just the two of us and after various experiments with truck campers, overland Jeeps and a few other ideas we have both agreed that for us there is nothing like a van.
So, a little backstory. October of 2021 I ordered a new AWD Transit (cargo) with every option we would ever want. Supply chain issues slowed this down and eventually killed it though, Ford eventually cancelling the order on me. I was/am not willing to wait another year to see if they can come through. During this time giving it a lot of thought I've sort of come back to the idea of an E-series after thinking for years that I had probably owned my last one. Nothing wrong with them of course but they are old school, no fancy sound systems, 360 cameras or safety and comfort features like we have gotten used to in our other cars. There are other benefits though. They are tough, durable and proven. Also, built properly they are capable. Far more capable than any Sprinter or Transit will ever be.
As the people multiply and the public lands shrink we want a rig that will get us further. Further than anyone, preferably. The boxes I wanted to check were few but specific. The newest E-series I could find was paramount, meaning 09-14 to get the new body and dash. Secondly, V10 with 5 speed was near the top of the list. Other things I personally wanted included almost any color but white (just our personal preference, no offense) and the 4wd conversion already done. Also, I wanted a wagon/passenger instead of a cargo. I don't have as much free time as I used to so I wanted more of a usable interior to build from and 4wd from day one. Also, I like the windows. Another biggie was no rust, and by this I mean NO rust. I've played this game before. I have no interest in dealing with it again.
So, I narrowed my search to a V10 Quigley/Quadvan and waited patiently. Luckily, it only took a couple of months. I found several good candidates in the $30k range which I was willing to pay and was just starting to feel a little stagnant when one popped up at a Ford dealer in Page, AZ. Oddly, at a dealer, it was not on ANY of the Autotrader/Cars.com type sites. When I found it he said he had it listed for the past couple of months and got no interest. I asked him his price and did a double take. I was on a plane a day later. The poor guy didn't know what he had.
Well, here it is. 2011 E350 Quigley V10 passenger sold new from an LA dealership. It lived in Montana North Dakotah for a time but mostly in AZ. It is supposed to have a factory limited slip and full float rear per Quigley but I fear both of these are wrong. It definitely doesn't have a full float rear but it does have factory 4:10 gearing. Oh, 95,000 miles.
Moving on with this novel I flew out to Pheonix and got a commuter to Page AZ, did the deal with the dealer in about 15 minutes and was rolling back east 8 hours after leaving home in Tennessee. The van came with a cracked windshield, some missing interior trim, a non functioning driver mirror and the general lack of routing maintenance you get from people who plan to sell a car soon. In other words, it badly needed a tune up and the tires aren't great.
First Walmart I came across for wipers and some groceries:
2011 E350 by
Arendale, on Flickr
Driving 65-70 home I got about 12.5 but that didn't bother me. What bothered me was how sluggish it was for a V10. I'm fine with doing the maintenance on new-to-me vehicles so I know it's done right but man, I was starting to get the feeling the PO was pretty lazy.
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