2013 Ford E250 STD Cargo
Van Name: Vandit
Intro: So it begins again! This is my 4th and our 3rd (my wife and I) vehicle build, but first van, so should be interesting. This thread will be used to help document our process, as well as hopefully get some collective knowledge working through any issues we come across. I figured I would start by giving some background, and then dive into the actual plan and build.
Background:We have officially caught the van bug and decided to really jump head first into it! It started about 2-3 years ago, but here's some background for how we got here.
About 7 years ago I had built out a 2003 Land Rover Discovery II (Build Link). I basically did everything you could to it including 35” Nitto Trail Grapplers, front and rear air lockers, custom axles, custom suspension, custom bumpers and the list goes on. It was a very off-road capable vehicle and got us to lots of cool places, but the reliability of it especially as it got more and more miles on it started to worry us. So we made the jump and sold it while we could and bought a 2013 Toyota Tacoma. That started a pretty quick build process including lift, tires, racks, interior, and camping mods etc.. Then we took it on our maiden voyage to Bend, OR. Long story short we fell in love with Bend and transitioned all our efforts into finding a way to move. Camping and traveling was put on hold and we put our heads down while we put our plans in motion. We ended up willing a way to keep our jobs, work from home and be able to move in less than 8 months after making the decision. Once we moved we knew we wanted to find a house to buy, so we again put traveling on hold and got to work. We got lucky and found a builder with a lot, and we were sold. We started building our home! Again travel and camping was put on hold while we built our new home. After our home was completed and we were moved in it started making it a home chapter. So we spent the last year or so doing numerous projects from building furniture, to pouring concrete. All the while both of us yearning to strike some better balance between work and travel! We started trying to use our Tacoma and CVT roof top tent for some local weekend trips, and soon started to see issues that we didn't have before. One being that I was getting tired of carrying our 75lbs german shepherd Ace up and down into the roof top tent. Another thing that became abundantly clear was after having a very nice new home the roof top tent was just not as comfortable anymore. We know that's silly, but that's where we’re at. Another issue we were having is the inability to be stealth camp, or quick to set up and break down. So this really reignited our interest into a possible van.
So we spent the next 6 month doing research and test driving every option out there. We tried a 4x4 sprinter, which was nice, but the initial cost, cost of repairs, and the limited 4 wheel drive and the limited availability kicked it off our list. We had a similar experience with the Ford Transit, especially since their AWD system seemed like it would be a big limiting factor. During this test drive period I happened across an ad for a sportsmobile at a local used car dealership. All though out of our price range it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do a quick test drive to see if it really would be right. Well after driving it and getting to see how the Penthouse top worked in person we were officially hooked! So we began our search for a Sportsmobile. After lots of searching we kept coming across the same issues either it was out of our price range, or we would be paying for lots of things we felt needed to be changed immediately. So we shifted again and started looking for some good starting platforms.
After months of searching and numerous deals failing we finally found a low miles 2013 Ford E250 Cargo in California. Unfortunately for us with a global pandemic it wasn’t the easiest thing to actually get it, but we finally got it with only a few surprises considering we bought it sight unseen! So we found ourselves happy new owners of a van with potential!
The Goal: So we spent the next 6 month doing research and test driving every option out there. We tried a 4x4 sprinter, which was nice, but the initial cost, cost of repairs, and the limited 4 wheel drive and the limited availability kicked it off our list. We had a similar experience with the Ford Transit, especially since their AWD system seemed like it would be a big limiting factor. During this test drive period I happened across an ad for a sportsmobile at a local used car dealership. All though out of our price range it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do a quick test drive to see if it really would be right. Well after driving it and getting to see how the Penthouse top worked in person we were officially hooked! So we began our search for a Sportsmobile. After lots of searching we kept coming across the same issues either it was out of our price range, or we would be paying for lots of things we felt needed to be changed immediately. So we shifted again and started looking for some good starting platforms.
After months of searching and numerous deals failing we finally found a low miles 2013 Ford E250 Cargo in California. Unfortunately for us with a global pandemic it wasn’t the easiest thing to actually get it, but we finally got it with only a few surprises considering we bought it sight unseen! So we found ourselves happy new owners of a van with potential!
Our goal is to build a van that is capable, reliable and very sturdy for years to come. Something we can feel comfortable in exploring forest roads of the pacific northwest while also making it possible to sleep in friends and families driveways while we are visiting. To have sleeping for two and our dog with the future option of sleeping/driving for 4 (just in case we have any friends or family coming). This will be our go to rig for multi week excursions as well as day trips to the lakes and mountains.
The Inspiration:Given my field of work I figured it would be a good idea to try to sort through some of the problems and ideas I had by laying it out on the computer first. I may have gone a little overboard especially since I had my modeling pretty well done before we even had a van! Now these were more for basic ideas, and not perfectly to scale, but I tried to get it relatively accurate using the Ford builder book and some basic knowledge I had gathered from my hours of research. The renderings below are meant for basic concepts and to show some of the form and finish.
Exterior Front Render
Exterior Rear Render
Interior Perspective
Interior ISO
Interior ISO with Van Body
Mechanical/Electrical ISO
