soca baja van

baja_van · 07-12-2021, 08:01 PM

hello. newbie here and completely new to the van life/adventure camping.

i picked up this 2005 ford E350 diesel (6.0) 130K miles off of ebay for 16K. it has the barn doors, normal length (fits good in my driveway) and some kind of raised roof. it was a bit hard to measure the roof but i think it is 16"???
it was built for a person in a wheel chair. part of the "kit" for the wheel chair lift had the floor cut out and lowered about 5". so between the higher roof and lowered floor i am able to stand in it.

i wanted the diesel so i can start towing my prerunner truck to baja and other places. up til now, i have been driving my prerunner to all the races, prerun, chase, and home for 30+ years.

I originally wanted a crew cab 4x4 diesel and was just going to put a camper on it. but prices just gotten crazy. so i started to look for a diesel van. i started to get serious about getting something for a road trip this summer after a cruise my daughter and i for the Mediterranean got canceled not once but 2 times because a virus.... this was to be our trip together since she graduated form college with a major (chem) and a minor (Japanese). i know she will be moving on and since i raised her by myself, i did not want to loose the moment so van it was.

anyways, i will start a build/trip thread on here and ask plenty of questions.

marret · 07-13-2021, 03:11 AM

Cool. Congrats and welcome. Look forward to following along.

baja_van · 07-13-2021, 05:59 AM

thank you. I will have many questions mixing my back ground with this and where i want this project to go.

i already did a 2 weekend quick build, loaded up and took off for a 3 week, 12/14 state trip with my daughter. learned a lot and ready to rip out all that i did and start a rebuild.

i will drop some pictures and some highs and lows of our tour.

question..... what thread is generally used for overall builds? i see the show and tell, van body, general.

marret · 07-13-2021, 10:57 AM

Doing a trip like that is a great way to see what works and doesn’t, as you know. Smart to do that. You do bring a wealth of experience and knowledge so it will be neat to bring them together.

For home builds like you are talking, I suggest Homemade SMB - Ground Up Builds forum.
https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/forums/f24/