New to E-350s and looking to build a family roadtripper

[SuperDutyE350]

New here and looking to learn a lot about the ins and outs of Ford E-Series Vans. I'm not new to full-size Fords as I'm on my second Super Duty pickup (2012 F250 Supercab 4x4, 35s, CM RD2 Flatbed), but I'm just getting into the vans. Basically I'm looking to put together a comfortable and reliable vehicle for our blended family of seven with kids ranging from age 4 to 12. I'm pretty set on what I'm looking for which seems to be somewhat rare, but I'm hopeful:

• 2014 E-350 XLT-Would be willing to go as old as 2009.
• Extended length/15 passenger.
• Not really that wedded to any one engine over another-Wish I could get a 6.2L though
• Black-Black passenger vans seem pretty rare?
• Tow mirrors.
• Cloth interior-Carpeted or vinyl floor...I might even prefer vinyl floor honestly-my pickup is an XL with cloth buckets and vinyl floor.

Those are the basics...here is what I'm looking to do in order of priority aside from normal reconditioning/ensuring roadworthiness:

• Remove the third row three person bench. Move four person bench from very rear to third row to allow rear seating for maximum of ten/spacious rear seating for five with ample cargo room behind four person bench.
• Tint all rear windows to 5%, front side windows to 35%.
• Mount '11-'16 Super Duty Fold down jump seat/console between front seats. I've seen it done before and though the seat is not that functional for anyone besides a smaller child the console is nice to have and what I really want it for. I love mine in my pickup.
• Change out chrome grill(?) and bumpers for black XL grill and bumpers. As far as I can tell the XL grill is a separate pieces from the XL headlight assemblies and will interchange with the chrome XLT grill? Essentially I want the black grill while retaining the XLT headlights.
• Figure out a way to mount 18" Super Duty five spoke steel wheels. I realize the bolt circle is metric on the Super Duty vs. standard on the vans but I have seen spacer-adapters out there that the 4x4 guys use so that they can 8x170 wheels on the rear to match the front. I'm hoping I could do a 2" spacer-adapter on the rear and a 1" spacer-adapter on the front to accomplish this. I'd love to do a 4x4 conversion but its not in the cards right now. I might powder coat the wheels black, but that might be too much...will get them mounted up first.
• Next is tires...I'd love to be able to run a 255/65/18 or so which doesn't seem that much larger than stock? Plus I would imagine the spacers would help a bit with the potential for rubbing at full lock?
• Last on the list would be swapping the front three seater bench for a double Transit seat and single Transit seat with an aisle between them. It would make for a little less direct route to the rear but I’d still have very spacious seating for five and maximum seating for ten.

As you can see, none of these are high $$$ mods to begin with, they'll just require a bit parts hunting and work. The goal is to have a sleek looking black van that will move a lot of people around and look cool doing it I'm very committed to the idea of using Ford parts when I can because I want people to look at it and wonder if it came from the factory that way. It will definitely be used for long road trips but also if we're all just going out for dinner as neither my DD nor my GF's can hold all of us. After we get a couple of trips under our belt I'll start thinking about other camping/overlanding type mods to make us more self sufficient out on the road, but for right now we just need something that can move our crew. I'm very interested in anyone's feedback on my planned mods/would love to hear from others who have done similar things or put together a van with a similar look/goal in mind. Here is a shamelessly stolen pic of the general look I'd be going for minus the color and fact that its got XL headlights:

[boywonder]

.....in no particular order....

Black exterior is out there...esp in passenger vans. The interiors are either grey or tan.....

Passenger vans also have rear heat/AC.....nice feature especially with your gang.

You can add tow mirrors easily. The F-series look like they will fit but they won't, but E-series tow mirrors are easy enough to find. OEMs are typically better than aftermarket......mostly just because they shake less when driving.

Most passenger vans have carpet....not sure about XL trim level...

The 2008 vans have the new front end but the old dash..2009+ have new dash/front door panels too.

The chrome and black grills swap no problem, and you can keep the XLT headlights...although they are pretty average.

Rear wheel adapters no problem, 1" on the front may not be feasable.

There are two common lift kits for 2wd vans; Action Van and Camburg....in case you are thinking of lifting.


With a mild lift you can usually go to 285/70-17's ...265's for sure.

[SuperDutyE350]

Lots of good info-thanks!

Originally Posted by boywonder

Black exterior is out there...esp in passenger vans. The interiors are either grey or tan.

Looking around lately it seems like a variation on the old Henry Ford adage: "You can have any color van you want-as long as it's white!" I'm hoping to find grey cloth but would do tan if that's all I can get. Exterior color is more important.

Originally Posted by boywonder

You can add tow mirrors easily. The F-series look like they will fit but they won't, but E-series tow mirrors are easy enough to find. OEMs are typically better than aftermarket......mostly just because they shake less when driving.

I'm just so used to the wide view I get from them in my truck and the ability to scan the entire highway behind me while driving. I hate driving vehicles with regular sized mirrors.

Originally Posted by boywonder

The 2008 vans have the new front end but the old dash..2009+ have new dash/front door panels too.

Yes-definitely prefer the 2009 and up dash and door panels because they have more of the feel of an '11-'16 Super Duty.

Originally Posted by boywonder

The chrome and black grills swap no problem, and you can keep the XLT headlights...although they are pretty average.

Good to know. I know that the XLT lights aren't great-they're probably not too different than the '11-'16 Super Duty lights which aren't great either. In any event they're better than the sealed beams in that I can at least try some different LED bulbs plus I just prefer the look.

Originally Posted by boywonder

Rear wheel adapters no problem, 1" on the front may not be feasable.

I was wondering about that-if its not possible I wonder if 2WD Super Duty hubs would swap onto E350 spindles?

Originally Posted by boywonder

There are two common lift kits for 2wd vans; Action Van and Camburg....in case you are thinking of lifting.

I will definitely check them out-thanks for the tip as I was not sure if there were any lifts available for 2WDs. Not sure if I want to go that route but good to know that its an option.

[boywonder]

I upgraded to the tow mirrors and love them.....you can find both OEM and aftermarket pretty easily


Yes there are a zillion white vans....other colors can be tougher to find, but easier in passenger van config. Black exterior will likely have grey interior.


Member redoval on here sells headlight upgrades, and the old style/XL headlight is upgradable for less $$ than the XLT style. There are lots of folks around here that have the upgrade and like them. His company is called Vantage Optics.

[SteelheadJones]

Weldtec also has a 2wd lift, the “Baja grocery getter” kit.

https://weldtecdesigns.com/product/w...er-fox-shocks/

[E-350]

That’s similar how I started: toy hauler and then lifting, painting, doing this and that :-)

I wrote a bigger thread on my Weldtec lift with pros and cons.

In terms of flooring: I love my rubber flooring (coin, diamond, whatever). You can more or less lay it over the carpet and have a waterproof/ easy to clean surface. My 180$ roll from Home Depot reached from the very back till right behind the driver/ passenger. Kept up against “abuse” like sliding tree rounds over it, pushing all stuff around during trips,…

18” wheels means you’re more staying onroad?
I’d personally choose smaller wheels for offroad as more rubber provides additional suspension/ damping.

Guess you’re not in CA when you want to tint front windows? :-)
I tinted all rear ones with Gila Automotive 5%. 100$, worked great and not a single bubble after 3 years.

[SuperDutyE350]

Originally Posted by E-350

18” wheels means you’re more staying onroad? I’d personally choose smaller wheels for offroad as more rubber provides additional suspension/ damping.

For the most part-I'm in the Northeast (NJ) so there's not too much real "off-roading" to be had here. We will probably do some dispersed camping in PA state forests or up in New England that but that's all easy stuff. The first thing I'll probably do is put some Bilsteins or other quality shock on all four corners.

Originally Posted by E-350

Guess you’re not in CA when you want to tint front windows? :-)

The front windows on my truck are 35% and I've never had an issue in the five years I've owned it. I even got stopped because I had forgotten to renew my registration after Covid and the officer never mentioned it. I feel as though unless its absurd (like having 5% on your fronts) or you're just being an ass to the officer they're not going to make an issue of it.

Originally Posted by E-350

I tinted all rear ones with Gila Automotive 5%. 100$, worked great and not a single bubble after 3 years.

I'll get mine done by a pro because I'll end up getting a bubble or two and will kick myself for the rest of the time I own it. Finally, with regard to a lift-I'm not really interested in lifting the entire thing, but I would like to level it. I attached an example of my dream van which has a slight forward rake. I think I read somewhere that there are heavier springs available for the front which will level the stance. My 2012 F250 has the snowplow prep package so the fronts are a bit heavier and it sits dead level, so I'm hoping that maybe I could achieve a similar effect on the van.

[chainsaw7vent]

Get the rubber flooring asap. You will be happy about that. I never did and I now just simply need to replace the carpet.
I’ve owned vans. 1999 15 seat Chevy express 3500 rear bench removed for cargo space. A 2006 Ford E350 RB 12 seater w/ 6.0 diesel.

On long road trips stuff gets dropped or spilled and ground into the carpet.
Have someone service replace the rear AC flap and motor (left lower side behind the plastic) so it doesn’t fail on the road and cost big bucks.

By the way. Make sure your boys when they use bottles to pee in, throw the bottles out. Otherwise when they are thirsty and looking for something to drink while tires , that bottle on the floor looks really good and doesn’t get the inspection check….