Hyozan Build

[johnamullins]

Finally found the right vehicle and right opportunity to start my build. CarMax had a great deal on a 3400 mile 2012 E250 cargo with remote access and chrome facia, and I jumped at the chance. Bought it yesterday, June 6, 2013, so this is day 2 of my "Hyozan" build!



Smells like tortillas...seems CarMax bought a fleet of Mexican food delivery vans from AZ...20 more under 10k miles exact replicas of this available in the LA area CarMax dealers as of today.



Already installed a temporary 2nd row used seat from FamVans Parts in Santa Ana. Need to transport the kiddos until the build is done...



Ideas welcome!

John

[UJOINT]

Very nice!

[Pschitt]

It looks brand new!

[warholic]

nice ..

what is your build going to be? Can you list it here?

warholic

[johnamullins]

Thanks for your comments on solar on the other thread war. I need to think more about what I will put in the van and how much load that will require.

I have three primary uses:

1) daily driver for me
2) tow/support vehicle for my track day car and trailer (1900lb car + 850lb trailer) with over-nighting
3) occasional camping and road-trips with the family

This is the current plan:

- manual penthouse with bed scheduled for install June 24th
- no 4x4 for now
- no propane, etc
- two more windows, tbd
- solar, tbd
- small refrigerator or cooler for drinks mostly
- small microwave & Coleman type stove
- sink & external shower head with fresh and grey tanks
- seating and sleeping for 4, layout tbd
- front and rear tow hitches already ordered
- multi-media head unit with GPS, remote, backup camera, external monitors already ordered

I plan to do most of the work myself, not just for the cost saving, but for the fun and education as well. As always, input and advice very welcome!

John

[BroncoHauler]

John,

Some half-steps you might want to think about; pre-wire for solar, pre-wire (if possible) for electric penthouse in case you change you mind, and as you add to the load on top of the penthouse.


Herb

[warholic]

I see ... and you're welcome

This site is invaluable to help you figure out and make smart choices. People make things too complicated but once you figure out how to filter the information, you can make smart choices.

From your list it doesn't sound like you need solar now, but I will add that it can be looked at like insurance. It's nice to have for future expansion, but it creates complexity and it's expensive. However, that extra source of power available even when you're at home ... the grid goes down or some other longer term disaster, you have solar power and a MW - and it's mobile - that's not too bad. Most of your neighbors won't have that safety net.

Herb has a good point ... if you prewire for the panel, the extra battery and the controller before you start finishing the interior, then adding at a later date will be easy.

warholic

[larrie]

Having recently added solar to my 89 E150 I can definitely agree with pre wiring for anything you can possibly think of. Doing any wiring after the fact is very difficult and tile consuming.

[86Scotty]

It blows my mind that a Lotus Elise is only 1900 lbs. Truly sweet little cars, and quite the autocross machines.

Welcome to the forum!

[johnamullins]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

It blows my mind that a Lotus Elise is only 1900 lbs. Truly sweet little cars, and quite the autocross machines.

Thanks! I'm excited about getting in to the design and build of this van, its going to be a great tow and track support vehicle.

The Lotus Elise is indeed an exceptional car and very light with its extruded aluminum, bonded chassis. I've supercharged mine so power at the wheels is 350hp. My power to weight ratio is among the best in the world for street cars at a 10th the cost for similar performance (but comfort-wise its much better to tow it to the track than drive it!).

Trailex aluminum trailers also get some credit for overall towing weight: an 850lb trailer with 4100lb capacity is pretty impressive too...