Motovan--2000 Ford E350 ex-wheelchair van

Nice project - looks like it fits your needs perfectly. I assume you know about expeditionportal.com? There are endless ideas in the forums over there.

In reply to klb67:

Yes, I've been there for years, same username. That place makes me want to convert a Freightliner box truck into a toyhauler.

I need a spare tire carrier. I don't have any of the pieces under the van and I'm not super fond of the winch mechanism anyway. What are the thoughts on a door mounted carrier?

No thoughts on the door mounted spare tire?

Putting the van to work as it was intended.

Post ride beer sitting on the bench seat that I flipped 180 degrees so I'd have a spot to drink a post ride beer. It works!

In reply to Petrolburner:

door mounted carrier would depend on the weight of the tire. I know for wranglers over a 33in tire + rim it will start bending the rear door thingy.

Love your van. GREAT solution to haul the bikes.

Door mounted spare is appealing because I could potentially use the space underneath for something else, like ramp storage. However, there are other issues introduced. Sometimes the door won't open all the way because the tire hits the tailight. Probably not an issue since I'm using factory sized tires. However I think the real deal breaker is that with the rear door conversion, one of the top latches was lost since that part of the roof was cutout. The tops of the doors are kind of floppy as it is, so hanging more weight on them seems silly. A rear bumper with the tire swing hinged off that would be great but at $1000, no thanks. I'll probably hit up the local pick and pull for the missing pieces.

Since you have the front hitch installed for the winch, how about one of these for $90?

Or this being GRM, fab one up for about $11.

You could always mount the spare tire inside the back of the van. How about above the drivers side wheel house?

jimbob_racing wrote: You could always mount the spare tire inside the back of the van. How about above the drivers side wheel house?

This gets my vote. The spare was mounted like this on my family's '79 Econoline. Or maybe it was on the passenger side?

Door mounted spares are common on Class B RV's since they use the under-chassis space for RV stuff. Yes, it does limit the door swing a bit (my '90 conversion van had one as well).

I do like this build. I have to start looking for a similar van.

I kind of like the receiver mount, but van engines fight for airflow already, and what would I do if I had my camper trailer and winch to haul. I wouldn't want to space either of them out farther than necessary. I don't want to lose any space inside the van so I'll skip mounting it inside. I know that often times the space above the wheelwells isn't utilized very well, so people build cargo boxes over them. I'm sort of interested in doing that, but I think that's where the footpegs stick out.

I'm a little disappointed with the power and fuel economy after a 520 mile weekend pulling my lightweight pop up camper. Mid 11 MPG, crossing the Cascade mountain range and the Coast mountains however. I was expecting closer to 14 or so. Just 2 bicycles and a kayak inside the van, no major weight. Cruise control set at mostly 60 mph. It needs more power, or better gearing. It shifts into 3rd gear at the slightest incline, even without the trailer actually. A couple of the longer steeper uphills I let the speed slip back to about 45 mph and then I was in second gear just grinding away. (This is why diesels are so popular I'm guessing) I'm actually thinking that with a little shorter gears in the rear differential it might be making better power and hold top gear instead of shifting. A manual transmission would be great. Is there a way for me to rig up a gear hold button so I could go wide open throttle without downshifting? Let's say I'm facing a hill, get the trans into 3rd gear with the throttle, then hit the button to keep it from downshifting to 2nd so I can give it more throttle but stay in 3rd. Either that, or I need to make more power. No one makes headers to fit the van chassis, but the motor could certainly benefit from a better flowing intake, exhaust and a tune from what I hear. A supercharger would be great though. I'm going to search the interwebz and see what I can turn up.

http://bend.craigslist.org/pts/4890636083.html

Thinking about these seats instead of the bench in the back

I have seen pictures of lots of home brew rear hitch mount swing out tire carriers on 4x4 off road forums. If you can weld, it should be a manageable project for the price of square tube and possibly a specialty part/bushing at the swing joint.

In reply to Petrolburner:

Well, like you said - there's a reason diesel versions are so sought after.

Just did a bit of local CL browsing and found a 2006 van similar to yours for $8000. So tempting... really need to get my TDI back on the road so I can sell my minivan... Ooo... after looking at the ad again, it looks like some sort of dealer not far from where I work, and they have a few vans to chose from...

Ian F wrote: In reply to Petrolburner: Well, like you said - there's a reason diesel versions are so sought after. Just did a bit of local CL browsing and found a 2006 van similar to yours for $8000. So tempting... really need to get my TDI back on the road so I can sell my minivan... Ooo... after looking at the ad again, it looks like some sort of dealer not far from where I work, and they have a few vans to chose from...

Got a link to share?

http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/4850804019.html

The roof on yours is higher, which would be nice.

I've been trying not to open this thread because I KNEW it would make me want a van even more than I already want a van.
And now I want a van.
Nice van.

In reply to Ian F:

Those side folding seats are awesome, but full standing height is more awesomer.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Good, because I have Fergus envy.

Some more photos from the Oregon Coast getaway for Valentine's/President's day.

The shelf over the cab makes a nice hat/helmet/glove shelf

I like having the bench seat flipped backwards. Roll-a-table makes the Motovan into a nice dining room while camping. Added bonus, we don't have to disassemble the bed to put the dining room table back up in the camper. I like that.

That's just awesome

I put my Sport Utility Vehicle to work today helping out the Motovan. It's heavy on the "Sport" side, but it has plenty of "Utility" too.