Looking for: E350 EB 4x4 SMB Penthouse Diesel (and some community advice)

DT

Dtrav

New Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2025
Posts
9
Location
Triumph, ID
We've been searching for a minute and I figured it couldn't hurt to post what we're looking for in case our unicorn is out there and I haven't come across it in my obsessive searches. We'd also love some advice from the community on price ranges— we've only been looking for about a month so we're slowly learning along the way and would love expert opinions on our price range.

Looking for:
  • e350 EB-50 layout (my husband is 6'5" so EB is a must, bed in the RB is just too short)
  • 4x4
  • Electric Penthouse (also necessary for my part-sasquatch husband for head height)
  • Diesel (prefer 6.0 bulletproofed, or 6.0 not yet bulletproofed but priced accordingly)
  • Furnace
  • Solar (not a dealbreaker, we can get this installed if it's not already wired)
  • We're located in Idaho and prefer something within 1000 miles (ideally, not a dealbreaker)
Vans under consideration:
  • Partially bulletproofed 2005 w/ 144k miles $65k obo - needs a little work (ac, batteries, solar)
  • Not-yet-bulletproofed low mileage 2004 68k miles $78k - in great condition and has everything we want...but it's gonna need (we're guessing) $15k to get it bulletproofed. it's been sitting on the Sportsmobile site for a while, so our gut is it's overpriced considering no bulletproofing.
  • Low-mileage 2002 7.3 80k miles $89k- has almost everything we want, would just need to install solar. Above our price range so we're watching to see if the price drops.
  • Wildcard...2014 v10 110k miles $83k. I don't think I can convince the husband on a gasser given we drive over mountain passes towing a trailer, but it's loaded and 2014 sounds nice...

Pricing: Here's where we would love advice - I've been tracking pricing to try and gauge what things end up selling for, and want to see if I'm anchoring myself to the right price points. Do these ranges seem realistic? I've included listings from similar-ish rigs that I'm basing these ranges on. If I'm off, I'd love advice to set us straight. I want to be sure that we're making respectful and realistic offers when talking to sellers.

For a Bulletproofed 6.0 with 60-140k miles $60-$70k
For a not yet bulletproofed 6.0...we haven't seen a ton of these, but I'm guessing you'd want to factor in about $15k of work to get it bulletproofed, and the price should reflect that.

For a 7.3 under 150k miles $75-85k...we're seeing some listed for quite a bit more and understand why these are 'holy grail' (my husband has a '97 f350 7.3), but we've seen a few slash prices after sitting for a while. I'm not sure if these are outliers or where the market is today.

Final piece of context: we had thought we found our van and sold our Four Wheel Camper, but the SMB sale fell through (if anyone wants a RB, it's a unicorn, but we realized--after losing our security deposit, doh--that we need EB ). So...we're motivated to get into something this summer rather than spend the next year searching, so having realistic price expectations is important so we can jump at the right opportunities. Not ideal to have a shorter timeframe, but neither is spending the year without a camper.

Any advice or leads are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Danielle

(sorry for the novel, but figured more info would be helpful)
 
Last edited:
Hi @Danielle - Nice succinct post.

I own this van:

Just shot you a PM to discuss. Van was originally a penthouse and now has a brand new Fiberine top on it. I am biased of course, but at your husbands height (6'5) my $0,02 is that if you do not need to worry about HOA, et etc of a lower roof van, the hightop is hard to beat. I have had both (penthouse RB, penthouse EB and now fixed top E:cool: and I would never go back to a pop top.

Adios!
 
I have a 2005 with less than 140 K milles, awesome truck, in decent shape, not bullet proof, I do not adhere to the idea of bullet proofing, instead I do great maintenance and avoid abusing my truck..
Just made a trip back from Baja 1700 miles home with comfort and confidence, it is EB Baja sand color, with electric penthouse etc..

Poing me if interested, located near you in Nevada
 
Dtrav said:
We've been searching for a minute and I figured it couldn't hurt to post what we're looking for in case our unicorn is out there and I haven't come across it in my obsessive searches. We'd also love some advice from the community on price ranges— we've only been looking for about a month so we're slowly learning along the way and would love expert opinions on our price range.

Looking for:
  • e350 EB-50 layout (my husband is 6'5" so EB is a must, bed in the RB is just too short)
  • 4x4
  • Electric Penthouse (also necessary for my part-sasquatch husband for head height)
  • Diesel (prefer 6.0 bulletproofed, or 6.0 not yet bulletproofed but priced accordingly)
  • Furnace
  • Solar (not a dealbreaker, we can get this installed if it's not already wired)
  • We're located in Idaho and prefer something within 1000 miles (ideally, not a dealbreaker)
Vans under consideration:
  • Partially bulletproofed 2005 w/ 144k miles $65k obo - needs a little work (ac, batteries, solar)
  • Not-yet-bulletproofed low mileage 2004 68k miles $78k - in great condition and has everything we want...but it's gonna need (we're guessing) $15k to get it bulletproofed. it's been sitting on the Sportsmobile site for a while, so our gut is it's overpriced considering no bulletproofing.
  • Low-mileage 2002 7.3 80k miles $89k- has almost everything we want, would just need to install solar. Above our price range so we're watching to see if the price drops.
  • Wildcard...2014 v10 110k miles $83k. I don't think I can convince the husband on a gasser given we drive over mountain passes towing a trailer, but it's loaded and 2014 sounds nice...

Pricing: Here's where we would love advice - I've been tracking pricing to try and gauge what things end up selling for, and want to see if I'm anchoring myself to the right price points. Do these ranges seem realistic? I've included listings from similar-ish rigs that I'm basing these ranges on. If I'm off, I'd love advice to set us straight. I want to be sure that we're making respectful and realistic offers when talking to sellers.

For a Bulletproofed 6.0 with 60-140k miles $60-$70k
For a not yet bulletproofed 6.0...we haven't seen a ton of these, but I'm guessing you'd want to factor in about $15k of work to get it bulletproofed, and the price should reflect that.

For a 7.3 under 150k miles $75-85k...we're seeing some listed for quite a bit more and understand why these are 'holy grail' (my husband has a '97 f350 7.3), but we've seen a few slash prices after sitting for a while. I'm not sure if these are outliers or where the market is today.

Final piece of context: we had thought we found our van and sold our Four Wheel Camper, but the SMB sale fell through (if anyone wants a RB, it's a unicorn, but we realized--after losing our security deposit, doh--that we need EB ). So...we're motivated to get into something this summer rather than spend the next year searching, so having realistic price expectations is important so we can jump at the right opportunities. Not ideal to have a shorter timeframe, but neither is spending the year without a camper.

Any advice or leads are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Danielle

(sorry for the novel, but figured more info would be helpful)
Click to expand...
Not sure what people have told you about bullet proofing the 6.0 but in my opinion it’s not the magic cure all for those ridiculous engines. Not to mention just by design alone a simple injector replacement can be hours upon hours of labor to replace. If you absolute have to have a diesal I would go for the 7.3….if I was to buy another myself I would highly consider the V10 gas. Yes I know they can all have issues at some point but the cost and frustration level of the 6.0 is simply not worth it to me. Now if money and time while I travel wasn’t an issue maybe I would consider a very well maintained 6.0 but I’m still at an age yet where I don’t have the luxury of being able to sit waiting for repairs while I’m on the road.
Just my opinion on these. Good luck on your search.
 
TraceyAZ said:
Not sure what people have told you about bullet proofing the 6.0 but in my opinion it’s not the magic cure all for those ridiculous engines. Not to mention just by design alone a simple injector replacement can be hours upon hours of labor to replace. If you absolute have to have a diesal I would go for the 7.3….if I was to buy another myself I would highly consider the V10 gas. Yes I know they can all have issues at some point but the cost and frustration level of the 6.0 is simply not worth it to me. Now if money and time while I travel wasn’t an issue maybe I would consider a very well maintained 6.0 but I’m still at an age yet where I don’t have the luxury of being able to sit waiting for repairs while I’m on the road.
Just my opinion on these. Good luck on your search.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I really appreciate it! This is a really helpful perspective.
 
Just chiming in but I love the torque and milage of the 6.0 psd in my 10,000lb rig. That said, it's more of an engine for an enthusiast who understands the nuances of diesels in general. Cummins and Duramax are not without their issues as well.

Also keep in mind that bulletproofing is an easily thrown around "sales" term and ideally it starts with headstuds and ends with an aftermarket EGR cooler.
 
I own a 6.0 and a 7.3, they are both amazing but I do all my own maintenance and repairs.
'Bulletproofing' is not necessary, that is something they started doing on the trucks before they identified the actual cause of failure. Routine maintenance and ensuring that the cooling system remains operating properly prevents all the failures that 'Bulletproofing' addresses.

Having said that, I wouldn't recommend either to a non-mechanic. They are just too old and there are few mechanics that know how or are willing to repair and maintain them.

The V10 is a solid, reliable engine that can make really good power. It will never get the same mileage as the diesel, but the difference in cost of ownership can pay for alot of fuel.
 
I’m biased because my van is a V-10, but it is a great engine. Thirsty, yes. But cheap and easy to maintain, smooth and powerful. And I just put it up for sale in the classifieds (not listed anywhere else yet). 2005, EB50, manual penthouse, SMB 4x4, 78k miles. I’m the second owner (my brother bought it new).
 
Dtrav said:
We've been searching for a minute and I figured it couldn't hurt to post what we're looking for in case our unicorn is out there and I haven't come across it in my obsessive searches. We'd also love some advice from the community on price ranges— we've only been looking for about a month so we're slowly learning along the way and would love expert opinions on our price range.

Looking for:
  • e350 EB-50 layout (my husband is 6'5" so EB is a must, bed in the RB is just too short)
  • 4x4
  • Electric Penthouse (also necessary for my part-sasquatch husband for head height)
  • Diesel (prefer 6.0 bulletproofed, or 6.0 not yet bulletproofed but priced accordingly)
  • Furnace
  • Solar (not a dealbreaker, we can get this installed if it's not already wired)
  • We're located in Idaho and prefer something within 1000 miles (ideally, not a dealbreaker)
Vans under consideration:
  • Partially bulletproofed 2005 w/ 144k miles $65k obo - needs a little work (ac, batteries, solar)
  • Not-yet-bulletproofed low mileage 2004 68k miles $78k - in great condition and has everything we want...but it's gonna need (we're guessing) $15k to get it bulletproofed. it's been sitting on the Sportsmobile site for a while, so our gut is it's overpriced considering no bulletproofing.
  • Low-mileage 2002 7.3 80k miles $89k- has almost everything we want, would just need to install solar. Above our price range so we're watching to see if the price drops.
  • Wildcard...2014 v10 110k miles $83k. I don't think I can convince the husband on a gasser given we drive over mountain passes towing a trailer, but it's loaded and 2014 sounds nice...

Pricing: Here's where we would love advice - I've been tracking pricing to try and gauge what things end up selling for, and want to see if I'm anchoring myself to the right price points. Do these ranges seem realistic? I've included listings from similar-ish rigs that I'm basing these ranges on. If I'm off, I'd love advice to set us straight. I want to be sure that we're making respectful and realistic offers when talking to sellers.

For a Bulletproofed 6.0 with 60-140k miles $60-$70k
For a not yet bulletproofed 6.0...we haven't seen a ton of these, but I'm guessing you'd want to factor in about $15k of work to get it bulletproofed, and the price should reflect that.

For a 7.3 under 150k miles $75-85k...we're seeing some listed for quite a bit more and understand why these are 'holy grail' (my husband has a '97 f350 7.3), but we've seen a few slash prices after sitting for a while. I'm not sure if these are outliers or where the market is today.

Final piece of context: we had thought we found our van and sold our Four Wheel Camper, but the SMB sale fell through (if anyone wants a RB, it's a unicorn, but we realized--after losing our security deposit, doh--that we need EB ). So...we're motivated to get into something this summer rather than spend the next year searching, so having realistic price expectations is important so we can jump at the right opportunities. Not ideal to have a shorter timeframe, but neither is spending the year without a camper.

Any advice or leads are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Danielle

(sorry for the novel, but figured more info would be helpful)
Click to expand...
PM'd you!
 
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who was so generous with their knowledge and advice. We found our rig! 2006 e350 eb50 with 6.0 psd (thanks @SMBE350 we are so stoked!). We can't wait to take "Norm" out on a maiden voyage for Memorial Day.

Excited for the learning curve and contributing back to the community as we get to know our van. This forum is the kindest place on the internet, I love it!

1000007595.jpg
 
Well then, the journey starts! Congrats!

FWIW: Did you sleep in the van the first night? May want to do that once before you head out - penthouse beds are not the
Most comfortable, so many have added some sort of additional ‘padding’…from blow-up air mattresses, additional comfort foams, and my favorite is the ExPed Megamat duo (medium size fits better between the cross-bars).
 
Congrats on the purchase!

Another vote for the Exped mat on top of the penthouse bed. The self-inflating DeepSleep Mat Duo is thin enough to leave it in the Penthouse while it’s closed and lowered

DeepSleep Duo - Mat | Exped

Lightweight, compact camping mat with maximum sleeping surface for two
www.exped.com
 
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