2004 E350 pop top campervan build

[kbeefy]

Sold my Syncro, time for another van build.

Meet name TBD 2004 E350, 6.0 diesel w/ 91k.



Had shelving inside that I removed and sold. Otherwise an empty base model work van.
I like doors with windows so I managed to get some side and rear barn doors with windows.
So much brighter inside!



I got kinda spoiled with a pop top on the syncro, so I set about finding one for this van. Found a 'Chef's Camper' top on Market place.

Some chopping and fiddling, and it's about installed.



Thats pretty much where I'm at today. I'm laying down a run of butyl tomorrow and screwing the thing down.

I have amassed a pretty good pile of parts for the camper part...
12v:
200ah LiPo, 400w Solar, MPPT controller, 40A DC-DC, 75A 110v charger, 2000w inverter
Appliances:
5cu ft 12v fridge/freezer, convection oven/microwave, 25x19 kitchen sink, H20 Pump & accumulator, 6g calorifier style water heater, Diesel coolant heater (for hot water and heat)

I also have a RV bench/bed, captains chairs with swivel bases, Fiama Awning, and a Maxxair Fan.

 

[iggi]

Nice! Have you had a 6.0 before? FORscan can save you a lot of heartache and headache in diagnosis and monitoring.

 

[kbeefy]

Nice! Have you had a 6.0 before? FORscan can save you a lot of heartache and headache in diagnosis and monitoring.

Yeah, I actually have 4 6.0 right now, and a 7.3. I'm getting pretty good at fixing 6.0 stuff, but this is my first van.
I have forscan and a snap on Verus scan tool.

I tried enabling cruise control with forscan, but I guess this van is too old. Hopefully I can talk someone at the Ford dealer into trying.

 

[iggi]

Sweet, I'll pick your brains when I run into trouble on mine.

 

[kbeefy]

Had to massage the floor a bit...

Poly Iso...

plywood

Modify seat bases to fit the wrong van....

Yay! Swivel captains chairs!

 

[kbeefy]

Got the subfloor painted and everything glued down.
I was originally going to use joining biscuits to help keep everything aligned/flat, but due to the way I cut all the pieces it would be impossible to use half the biscuits, so I bagged the whole idea. I just layed everything down and weighted it in an attempt to make everything flat. Due to the waviness of my floor, it's not perfect but it's pretty close and will suffice for me.
Oh look, most of the easily moveable heavy things in my shop...

It's pre-mature, but I was just excited to have the floor in so I decided to do a mock up placement of the big chunks. The couch is a bit larger than ideal, and the fridge wound up being bigger than expected as well. I'll have to shave a bit off a few other areas to make everything work, but I don't think anyone ever complained about having too big of a fridge or bed.

I wanted the fridge under the pop-top, but the size of the couch and the room required to swivel the drivers seat pushes the fridge back to the edge of the roof cutout. It still works, but I lost almost a foot from my original idea. I'm not sure how useful the drivers swivel will be with this floorplan, you can spin it 180 as it actualy goes under the bench, but you cant sit in it that way. At least it provides a little 'elbow room'.

I wanted to keep the bay doors clear of furniture, so I think the sink will land at the threshold. The cardboard box represents the countertop and drawers.

Since I lost some length due to the bench/swivel seat and fridge, I'm still up in the air for the rest of the drivers side. I want the microwave as high as possible, and the electrical bay on the floor. I'll see where I wind up, I suspect there will be a few cabinets in this area.

The cardboard 'countertop' will actually stop about 18" short of the box in this picture. Our portable toilet will live it that area, with a tip up countertop to cover it when not in use.