Haha right on man! That's kinda why we went Econoline! Plus they do look way cooler.

Thanks for the story! Sounds about right. These Econolines are bullet proof.

I love that story and that your dad is out tooling around. I bought a 2008 E 350 a couple of months ago with108k miles. I plan on driving the tires off it! It’s a passenger van, so I took out the seats and put in a cot, table, chair, luggable loo, ice chest and a cabinet. All stuff I already had from a lifetime of camping. Loaded up the dog and went for a 3 week, 3000 mile tour of the southwest. It was a lot of fun!! I even went to the Tahoe Van Expo. Hubby is totally supportive and wants to stay home tinkering in his shop. We are retired and enjoying life! PS, I got 15-16 mpg driving the speed limit.

@@nancyst.john-smith3891 you'll probably only ever need transmission swaps, and sometimes the 5.4 will spit a spark plug out, needing an experienced mech. who's "been there, done that". Mine has 230k, fresh tranny 20k ago. And one spark plug repair. A heli coil is the easy fix, evidently there is a better fix, I will ask the mechs. at my local ambo service what that is (fleet of 80 rigs) ...they've done it ALL to the e series.

@@nancyst.john-smith3891 I ran 6000k in November out to Cali. I got 14.5-16 with a medium high topper loaded E-350 to the gills.

Good luck and thanks for watching.

I just got a 2000 E350 xlt V10. Thanks for the info.

I have a stock E150 4.6L Chateau, I consistently average 23.1 mpg on the highway at 65-75 mph, 19 mpg city driving, I do drive somewhat for mpg so I am gentle on the right foot. I have always been amazed at the mpg this Ford van gets for its size and its wind resistance. I have had many different vans my entire life and I never had a van get this type of mileage, even in the mini van that I currently own and have had other mini vans in the past that have never been this good on th mpg. I am really liking the 750+ mile range per tank of gas this van gets on trips, wow.

Thanks for the input, awesome to hear it.

Thanks very much Lily! We appreciate it and happy hunting on your next van!

Thanks man! Much appreciated.

Heck yeah man. It was a blast

Jeff is always nice i remember ride with jeff in the old RV pulling a trailer

Haha. We aren't going to argue with you there!

True that! Already feeling it. haha.

yea my high top g20 is like 6 foot 3 high on the inside even with insulation, it is fiberglass doesn't weigh much & the fuel economy is not much worse, standing up to cook is awesome , can even do yoga in there

Just add a pop-top...best of both worlds!

@@razor3003 that's what I plan on doing

And the more money you SHOULD have.

Heck yeah man. Solid feedback thanks.

E350 cutaways still exist so go order one with a custom body

Thank you! appreciate the comment and glad you enjoyed it.

Awesome Taz. Thanks for the compliment and stoked to hear you've got a similar set up. Bummer to hear about the Sprinter. It wasn't quite on the list anyhow, but we've heard a few things like that.

CCV does the best pop top conversion

Hey guys! That's awesome and we've definitely thought about all the time we've spent bouncing around in shuttle vans all across the USA! Appreciate the feedback and good to hear the longevity for such abusive use that you guys do. How many miles are on your 5 year old vans? Any turbo or block issues? suspension holding up etc? We like the story idea though. Maybe we'll be coming back for a van tour of MTB shuttle companies...

Good for on road- terrible for offroad

@@TheLoamWolf We just traded in two 2016 Transit 350's and they each had about 80,000 miles on them. No issues on the turbos or block, but some other fun challenges for sure. We miss the old ones from time to time, but the Transits seem to be a step in the right direction.

Transit is NOT a crossover

Thanks a lot!

I like those but my insurance guy doesn't. Any problems in that dept?

That's made by 1-Up but I've seen a few other manufactures make them, they're awesome!

Hahaha.. FOMOCO for life!

Thanks and awesome insight!

@@TheLoamWolf If you haven't already, try a tuner on the E350 from someone like 5star tuning. You can get one with "eco" for better mileage, "performance" for giving it more balls and "tow" for better shift point when pulling a camper up a pass. It's noticeable improvement all the way around.

Awesome man! We'll be sure to post it for sale here first!

💥💥 I rather have the Econoline E350 , these newer vans look weird like the hymers the promasters the Ford transits the Mercedes sprinter vans they're ugly to me I like vans like the Ford Econoline, Chevy Express, GMC explore or Dodge ram van from 80s, 90s early 2000s

💥💥 I rather have the Econoline E350 , these newer vans look weird like the hymers the promasters the Ford transits the Mercedes sprinter vans they're ugly to me I like vans like the Ford Econoline, Chevy Express, GMC explore or Dodge ram van from 80s, 90s early 2000s

The major reason the Transit was brought here is because the E-Series has used the same chassis since 1975 (with only one major body change in 1992).

@@pp3k3jamail -- The Sprinter really changed the game. However, the Sprinter also has a ton and a quarter version available (the Sprinter 4500).

That definitely is a problem!

One of my favorite past times all my life too but never thought of it as a past time. Still have my 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport that I purchased new. Finally have the $$ to give it some TLC. Still a great ride. #emotionallyattachedtomyoldjeep

There' s one on ebay right now for $20. but here's a link in case that's gone. www.tascaparts.com/oem-parts/ford-battery-tray-4c2z10769aa?origin=pla&gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxOJgpqGINMY9kWztXuKqLJElmcoOCIcNtrb_A7B2fvv7WbCFZn3WjEaAuEdEALw_wcB

True words! Thanks for the reminder

Thanks for watching!

That would be our ideal set-up too, plus a diesel swap to eek out a little more power and a few more MPG's. One day maybe.

To anyone else looking, search frame mounted E350 battery tray. There's on on ebay for $20 right now but here's another link in case that ones gone. www.tascaparts.com/oem-parts/ford-battery-tray-4c2z10769aa?origin=pla&gclid=CjwKCAiAl4WABhAJEiwATUnEF7CNfjT1aB0M0IzeLxrnKv0L0-vfPCSTz9NJgQ2XG43scFj1sc7Y0hoCzqAQAvD_BwE

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching. Econolines are sweet!

Dude Ford Transit is a lot nicer vechicle than the promaster (Fiat Ducato etc.) there are quite a lot of small but annoying things that are just poorly made in the Ducato. Also, imo rear wheel drive is better than front wheel drive in this type of vechicle.

American van has lots of shelving and roof racks.

Stock steelies painted black.

Heck yeah! Keep it rollin

I have an old school bus we made into a mini woody tour bus for the kids but might get rid of it.

Haha... You bring up a solid point.

which year? 2020? were they the new AWD version? I was leaning towards the transit cause i thought Ford were most reliable when it came to trucks/vans. I would like more info, thanks

@@bushy9780 2020 models. Not all wheel drive.

@@jimperry4420 ty

There are 3 roof heights. . .TOO NEW and TOO EXPENSIVE and TOO HIGH TECH to my liking.

Thanks for all the insight and good info!

Interesting! Drew owned a couple Interceptors from mid 2000s with the 5.4 in them. the injectors and other hop ups sure wake those things up.

@@TheLoamWolf should have mentioned one important detail, that both of my vans are pre 2003. 1999 and 2000 respectively. 2 valve per cyl. motors. When ford went with 3 valve in their tritons, it kind of killed their reliability. they still last long but not as long and requite little more maintenance, . And stay away from Transit. their transmissions dont live past 100 k

Kinda pricey but prob worth it

Would love one but they $8k and up.

Toughness I’m guessing.

Pop top from CCV is the best starting with ~1.5k

To much ish.

Some of the ford van come with the high roof

Good idea!

We see what you did there... Luckily we don't tow anything with the van so it's slightly less worrisome than if we had a big van loaded with toys or 15 humans instead of one person and 4 bicycles.

Who uses hair gel! haha. It's all about Murray's Pomade.

@@TheLoamWolf 🤘

@@TheLoamWolf "Oh Brother" LOL

@@razor3003 "My hair!"

Haha. True words! Definitely worth thinking about there.

. Nicely said

Roof top tent

He sleeps in the tent above. he says he's not much of a camper and prefers hotels, so he's not regularly sleeping in the van and when he does it's the tent.

Except for the GM G series...

Sad face....

Agree. The Econoline is built like a pickup truck. The Transit is essentially a large minivan.

@@JeffLenoskyTrailBoss Hahaha. turn that frown upside down trailboss

@@brmstn69 honestly all of the old American truck style vans are very well built.

More of a nightmare…

@@MichaelWilliams-ro9bm well for my needs it will work

We'd love to get a diesel one but the horror stories scare us!

@@TheLoamWolf I stumbled upon my '08 extended Super Duty diesel E350 on a drive after church one Sunday. I met with the seller and having 400k + high miles, I was able to negotiate a very nice $4450 "on the road" deal. Fortunately for me, with 400k miles, everything had already been done to it, including fresh tranny and new suspension springs! Test drive did reveal a vibration. No problem. Two new Moog u-joints were installed in the deal. Granted, ...tons of nice van's out there, but fuel expenses ed are killing everyone. While my diesel at 17 - 25 mpg, it's a no brainer what my daily driver is. It still amazes me. But you are absolutely right. There is no rational justification for diesel powerplant replacements costs up to $15,000. That is painful to even a rich man. Ultimately the only common sense reason to select a diesel over gas is when it is your bread and butter. If the truck is making you easy 6-digits + income anually, then sure. $8000 to $15,000 is maintenance you will eventually see a financial return on. Growing up I have witnessed two groups/owners of abandoned Ford vehicles. V-10 Excursions (unbearably awful fuel mileage) and failed puked out 6.0/6.4 Ford diesels. Just park it.