Thoughts on a diesel conversion van as a TV

hertfordnc wrote:
I've been posting a lot lately on the pursuit of a sub-$8K diesel TV that will carry a family of 4 and pull 6-8K and get 20 mpg running empty.

Here's what I've come to so far,

Diesel Burbs were just not that great

Dodge Cummins and Ford did not make many crew cabs before 1998 so the prices are still very high ($15k)

But diesel cargo vans, either 15 pass. E350's or cargo vans from around 2000 are fairly cheap. Likewise gas conversion vans from the same era are very cheap,

See where this is going?


For my skill set swapping all that interior bling is a lot more doable than putting a Cummins engine in a Chevy (as was suggested)

Has anyone else thought about this ? Is there a fatal flaw?

thanks

YES, but I planned and did it from the get go on a new special ordered 2001 E350. Back then you could get almost every option available on the passenger vans such as full head liner, captains chairs, full carpet, running boards, full power and chrome bumpers and upgraded interior and exterior packages. This also included the recreational towing mirrors. The only option no avail was the 6CD changer, I got the single. The only options I didn't get were PTO, aux fuel, aluminum wheels and dual A/C-heat and dual alts. I finished it myself which basically included installing a secure storage area in the last 2' with a sofa/bed in front of that. I didn't get any seating except for the front since I didn't need them and the sofa/bed doesn't have belts since I took that out of my old Van and install it in this one. THIS ALBUM shows all the mods, how I did them and the explanations are in the captions. Total cost was just over $1,000 back in 2001 and was fairly straight forward.

I even finished off the sliding door and two rear windows for around $350 with OEM trim parts from Ford that matched the interior color.

Larry