E series engine doghouse

navegator wrote:
Travelin2 I purchased my new bigger cup holder from the Ford dealer, yes you need the vin from your unit, go to another Ford dealer and they have a book catalogue or the microfiche or the computer with the different cup holders all those cup holders are the same on the attachment points only the front is different.

Another place to purchase the wood trim if from companies that do van conversions, it has bee a number of years since I dealt with one, there should be at least one in your area.

navegator

Thanks navigator, I will check out a van conversion outfit. I called Phoenix Cruiser yesterday. I got a voicemail instead of a person and didn't get a call-back.

I wonder if an auto body shop could get the cup holder with the woodgrain. They have to fix all kinds of things.

I found a couple of the smaller cup holders on Ebay. Pretty pricey though. Some were in bad condition. Appears the dog house is the same on most of the E units, just the front cup holder were changed a bit over the years.

Travelin2 I purchased my new bigger cup holder from the Ford dealer, yes you need the vin from your unit, go to another Ford dealer and they have a book catalogue or the microfiche or the computer with the different cup holders all those cup holders are the same on the attachment points only the front is different.

Another place to purchase the wood trim if from companies that do van conversions, it has bee a number of years since I dealt with one, there should be at least one in your area.

navegator

I'm not limiting myself to any one manufacturer, it's just that to satisfy that one particular provider I have to have a VIN that was assembled by that company. I do realize that all Ford E series doghouses for a lot of years is the same. The problem a guy runs into is trying to find a parts guy that will put a little research time into it. No doubt they all have bosses that expect them to handle a minimum number of calls per shift so they have a reason for seeming to be less than excited about spending fifteen minutes on one guy I guess.

I like the model cupholder that ron.dittmer showed in an earlier post here but I have not seen that one in woodgrain finish.

Don't limit yourself to RV places for the doghouse cupholder attachment. The same basic parts were used on all the E-series vans, so far as I know, and there are millions (I think literally millions) of them out there. The general styles from Ford only changed every few years, so a bit of online searching should show up the factory possibilities and probably ones for sale on places like eBay.

Avoid the '98 version...I have one, and I am pretty sure it's the least useful layout of all of them. There is a very big bucket of a compartment (which is deep enough that it's hard to sort things out), a single cupholder with two interconnected holes, neither of which really fits a lot of modern cups well, an ashtray for quarters for tolls, and a little shelf way down near the floor to hold your cell phone out of sight until you go over a big enough bump.

I haven't accomplished my mission of replacing my cupholder with a smaller one like ron.dittmer has....yet. I did go out to the local junkyard but everything was just that....junk.

So then I stopped at our local Ford dealership and the parts guy there was less than helpful. He would only look up a part if I had a VIN that had the part I wanted. I'm amazed that he can keep his job with such an attitude. You could tell his mission was to get to quitting time while doing as little as possible. Helping the customer was not his priority to say the least. Too bad the owner doesn't realize what he's got there.

Then I called Forrest River manufacturing in Indiana. They would not sell retail but gave me the name of a company that does have access to their stock and sells retail. I call a nice lady there and she was very nice and very willing to do what she could. Only thing is, they don't have complete parts manuals for all the Forrest River products but she said if I could find a Forrest River RV with the cupholder I like then I should get the VIN from that vehicle and send it to her and she can get the part for me. It's a start. That outfit is Giant Recreation World in Winter Garden, Florida. 407-656-6444. Talk to Elizabeth or Terry.

I'm going to check out some used RVs and see if I can find that info. Some RV Trader ads show pictures of the interior and list the VIN. I may be able to find the info there.

Today I am also going to call Pheonix Cruiser. They are a smaller company than Forrest River and may be more helpful. I know that Ron Dittmer has a 2350 on an E350 and it is a 2007. That may be enough info for Phoenix Cruiser to identify the part. I think the doghouse is the same on the 450. IF...if they will sell retail. Anyway the chase is on and the fox will be caught!

Travelin2 wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:
Travelin2,

If I were you, I'd try to find a stock Ford 2009-2017 cup folder from a bone yard or Ebay, clip it in place, and see if it's what you hoped for. Maybe your gray and the current-day gray are the same gray color, or maybe they compliment each other. The only thing lacking would be the wood grain which maybe isn't so big a sacrifice.

Ron Dittmer

I think I will give that a try. I have heard that there is a big auto bone yard not far from here and there are a "jillion" E series van in this area in the lawn, AC, pool, softener services. The salvage yard should be full of them.

Maybe if I'm lucky I could find an aftermarket provider of the wood trim that "navigator" mentioned and it would look sweet. The RV manufacturers have got to be getting them somewhere.

I understand that our rig which is built in Elkhart IN, there is an area company that the motor home manufactures send out their cup holders for the simulated wood grain finish.

Travlin 2, where you able to change out the cup holder you have in the picture, if others have done this, where did you get the upgraded cup holder? I have a 2003 EFord and would love to to something similar. (Getting rid of the ash tray and overly large cup holder) Thanks...!

ron.dittmer wrote:
Travelin2,

If I were you, I'd try to find a stock Ford 2009-2017 cup folder from a bone yard or Ebay, clip it in place, and see if it's what you hoped for. Maybe your gray and the current-day gray are the same gray color, or maybe they compliment each other. The only thing lacking would be the wood grain which maybe isn't so big a sacrifice.

Ron Dittmer

I think I will give that a try. I have heard that there is a big auto bone yard not far from here and there are a "jillion" E series van in this area in the lawn, AC, pool, softener services. The salvage yard should be full of them.

Maybe if I'm lucky I could find an aftermarket provider of the wood trim that "navigator" mentioned and it would look sweet. The RV manufacturers have got to be getting them somewhere.

Travelin2,

If I were you, I'd try to find a stock Ford 2009-2017 cup folder from a bone yard or Ebay, clip it in place, and see if it's what you hoped for. Maybe your gray and the current-day gray are the same gray color, or maybe they compliment each other. The only thing lacking would be the wood grain which maybe isn't so big a sacrifice.

Ron Dittmer