New to me 1996 E250 SMB

[MDBergholm]

I didn't think we would find one in our price range but we picked this up as soon as we saw it posted for sale. It needs a few little things here and there but overall is in surprisingly good condition for its age. Excited to start camping in comfort!

I have a lot of questions but I am going to wait until I read through all the obvious stuff already posted on here - Need to start going through and removing all those stickers because I think we are going to get it painted to clean it up and update it some. Also want to freshen up the suspension, steering, and a few other mechanical things to get it ready for a 3-6 month adventure around the US with my fiance (wife by then) and our (small) dog :b5:

It has a Dana 60 rear that I think we are going to add an ARB locker and then try and fit some 33's without lifting it. I want to be able to get to some more remote campsites so I will likely just add some sliders and a winch to get me where I want to go.

 

[Steve C]

MDB, congratulations on purchasing your "new" rig and I hope you have a great break in trip. After a 3-6 month inaugural journey, you should have a much better idea on what upgrades you're willing to spring for. My guess is that a moderate lift and locker will equip your rig to meet 95% of your needs.

 

[Twoxentrix]

excited to start camping in comfort!

Congrats on your Van - I'm sure it will provide you some great memories. Just pack so you have a cup of hot coffee in the morning, a warm sleeping bag, and good company to make every trip(s) enjoyable.

 

[Grampswrx]

You can fit 265/75/16 on a stock van which is a ~32" tire. I really doubt you could fit a 285 (33") without a lift. I have 265's on my van and the look is pretty nice.

 

[bcaine]

Congrats on the purchase. I happen to have a 96 as well and just picked up a full set of factory service manuals. Hopefully you don't need the info, but if you need something looked up, let me know.

 

[MDBergholm]

Thanks everyone! I have some new bedding coming in the next few days - got my heat and stove all working so im pretty much ready for a quick weekend away already.

Thanks @Grampswrx - good to know so I don't buy tires and then realize I have to spend more money on a lift right away!

Mine also came with a full set of factory service manuals, as well as all the original paperwork from Sportsmobile so thanks for the offer but I have it all packed into the van in case I need it along my travels!

 

[Vanimal]

Make sure you post up your renovations and replacement articles here so others can benefit! We have may that do this and it gives others options or second choices on products they may not have seen or heard of.

 

[MDBergholm]

So far I have just been going through and cleaning and testing all the onboard systems. The original sleeping platform was pretty beat up so I went and got 3 pieces of maple plywood and a tri-fold mattress to redo the sleeping platform. I didn't like the way it hung from the ceiling in "camp" mode so I made it 3 pieces that fold up near the back side of the van and give me a shelf/more headroom.

I need to go through and clean/condition the canvas. I want to replace the curtains the previous owner had for the canvas - they are house shades that they just cut the center mechanism out of and put some wood screws through the plastic.

Also planning the rebuild the cabinet on the rear driver side above the furnace. I want to make space for my dometic 50qt on a slideout to allow for shelving storage above it. Also want to just better optimize the space and some of its in kinda rough shape.

I also need to replace the factory lighting with some LEDs. They are a comfortable temperature bulb so I will need to find some LEDs that don't make it feel like a science lab in there. The previous owner replaced some bulbs in the interior with LEDs that look like Honda Civic HID ebay kits. Very uncomfortable lighting. I want to improve our 12v system and add another battery to try and get around 200AH total.

Then I need to figure out roof racks (scared to drill through penthouse!) and get some solar panels mounted and probably a roof box as well. I just want outdoor storage for camp chairs and trash basically. When I start typing it out it feels like the list could be endless if I wanted it to be :b1:

 

[MDBergholm]

I haven't updated my build log here in a while. Since my last post we have done quite a bit. It needed ball joints pretty bad so I did those (not fun) and I did a few other little mechanical things like diff fluid, a few engine sensors, and tune up items.

Also had it painted Toyota Quicksand, Removed the entire rear cabinet from the old fridge, replaced the entire 12v system, installed a 330w solar panel on the roof, repaired and reinstalled the original Fiamma awning, got new wheels and tires, replaced some plumbing fittings, replaced all the interior lighting with LEDs, and probably more that I am forgetting.

Its starting to come along to a point where we can just get in it and go! Time to sell and build another

 

[bigriver-SMB]

That's a bunch of work. Love that color!

 

[MarinBlaine]

Looks like some new headlights too? How are they?

Also what tire size did you go for?

Looking good!

 

[MDBergholm]

Thanks guys! Yeah the headlights were in desperate need of replacement... The new ones make a huge difference in my night time visibility. They were cheap too - something off Amazon.

Tires are 265/75R16 - some minor trimming required but other than that they fit fine.

 

[MDBergholm]

This past weekend we finally started work on replacing the old refrigerator/pantry cabinet. The old one was awkwardly shaped, took up too much space, and didnt fit our fridge correctly.

Step 1 was to tear it all apart - we also removed the wallboard because it had some holes in it and was easy to get to with everything out of the way...

My fiance covered the old blue leather headbumpers with some new fabric to brighten it up and remove some blue from the 90s interior...

My dad and I worked on the cabinet itself. This is just the lower section so far but its a good start. Trying to be smart about storage and use every square inch! The upper cabinet will be all dry food and clothing storage, the lower cabinet above heater will be spare blankets and pillows, and the large bottom area will have the fridge slide. Above the wheel well, behind the fridge slide there will be a hidden storage compartment for spare parts, recovery gear, and other items we don't use all the time.

Next up we will finish the cabinet, stain it, and paint the walls. Getting closer to "finished" for a while anyways... We have been camping quite a bit but also constantly improving and upgrading along the way.

 

[marret]

Nice, looking great.

 

[MDBergholm]

Well we finished our cabinet!

And we went on a 7000 mile road trip. Being COVID times we chose to not go into any restaurant or bars, not to walk around downtown areas, and generally avoid any populated areas. It was a VERY different road trip but we still had a ton of fun! Year one with the van has been incredible!

 

[Twoxentrix]

...not to walk around downtown areas, and generally avoid any populated areas. It was a VERY different road trip but we still had a ton of fun! Year one with the van has been incredible!

Your Pic's sure represent what looks like a good time :d3: Avoiding "populated areas" is kinda a theme for the majority of us, unfortunately even that has become more difficult to accomplish these days as so many are now adopting this strategy.

 

[YoTerryh]

Wow!

And we went on a 7000 mile road trip.

That's a serious road trip. What was your route?

 

[MDBergholm]

We are from the Boston area so we headed west on the 90 out to Chicago, then the 80 out to Denver, then to Moab, up to visit a friend near SLC, then down through Zion, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Petrified Forest, then back east out the 40 through ABQ, up through Nashville, and then out to Shenandoah National Park, up the east coast, and home. We were on the road for 21 days.

We had our fresh water fill burst when we slept around 8000 ft and the temp dropped below zero, and we got water in our distributor somehow when driving through some heavy rains and I had to replace that in a gas station parking lot. Other than that we made it home without much issue. We did develop a vibration that was a bit annoying but turned out to be a bad u-joint that I replaced when we got home. I was kicking myself for not doing it before the trip like I should have. Overall the van did extremely well considering its got over 200k on the 351W.

 

[MDBergholm]

Your Pic's sure represent what looks like a good time :d3: Avoiding "populated areas" is kinda a theme for the majority of us, unfortunately even that has become more difficult to accomplish these days as so many are now adopting this strategy.

Yeah but normally it would be nice to stop and walk around these downtowns, or at least that's what my fiancé tells me... probably saved me a lot of money! I secretly appreciated it... :b5: