I got a van, man!

R

Rune

Member
Bit on the 1984 E350 Pathfinder with the 6.9L IDI diesel, turbo. 110K miles. What a great vehicle!! Wife and I have been camping in it with our 3.5 month old daughter all summer. She's already been on 4 camping trips! Have some great photos that I am excited to share. Just need to get them uploaded to Picasa, and I'm lazy, if it's not van related, I have a hard time doing it these days.

I would like some advice form some of you folks who have had experience with this platform. Really the two big things that I would like advice on (aside from all the million other things I need advice on) are canopy and lift-top.

Canopy: Just looking for a recommendation on what to buy. I'm looking for ease of use, study, minimal footprint when rolled up, and minimal drilling on the vehicle. Would like it to work in conjunction with a future lift-top (therefore cannot be rack mounted).

Lift-Top: I really have a grand visions of making my own out of fiberglass, because I feel like I just know exactly what I want, but I have no experience in working with fiberglass, so I'm afraid I'd get in over my head. What I'm looking for generally is a lift-top that lifts straight up (pneumatic scissor lift, most likely), that incorporates a large roof basket. I would like the top to be able to lift even when there is a load in the basket. I'd ideally like to do integrated baja lights at the front and a wind lip that should help with aero drag, but that's all gravy. Let me know about an available solution, or give me encouragement to get my own hands dirty.


Super excited to get back to camping again this weekend after two weekends off. Going to a spot near Ocean Shores WA, with my good bud, his wife and 6 month old, but he don't got no van, man! :cool:

1984 E350.jpg
 
K

kfgk14

Adventurer
4wd? Nice ride, a van seems like one of the best options for overland if you can deal with the height and potential for poor fuel economy, but you solved the last one with diesel.
 
V

Vegasrandall

Banned
I'm going to do my own lift top and i'm thinking of cold molded wood instead of fiberglass. It would look great if you clear coated it with varathane, sort of a canoe, kayak look.
 
R

Rune

Member
Vegasrandall, had to look that up. That would look so sweet! Sounds like a sturdy method of construction too. But I'm afraid that sounds even scarier than trying to lay fiberglass. So probably not going to work for me.

How long do you think it'll take you to make your top?
 
TheAlmightySam

TheAlmightySam

Adventurer
Awesome find! I've long thought a diesel 4WD van would be a perfect exploration vehicle for those of us who dislike tents.

Since you appear to be a fellow Northwesterner, I thought I'd tell you that I found roof lights to be less useful than I expected. I had four on the roof of my old Subaru, and while they lit up the road nicely in the desert, they were a liability in the snow and the rain. Rather than lighting the way, they lit up raindrops and snowflakes like the sun, paradoxically making it harder to see the road.

On my current rig, I've done HID driving lights on the front bumper, and they're so much more useful. Since my Dodge is about a mile taller than my old Subie, the bumper lights illuminate dips in the road much better. I'd suspect that your van's bumper is a similar height.

Anyway, awesome rig with a great (and rare!) engine choice! I'm looking forward to following your build.
 
R

Rune

Member
More pics coming. Going to have some great "glamping" pics after this weekend.

Sock Puppet, paid $5,800 and had to sink another $3,600 into it to get all the mechanicals 100% sorted. Would have liked to do more of the work myself, but didn't have time and wanted to get it totally sorted, so I wouldn't have to worry at all about breaking down out in the boonies with the family, wife would not be amused.

TheAllmightySam, interesting about the roof lights causing glare off of snow and rain, would have never thought of that, but it makes sense. That's why I love this sight, great info that hopefully will keep me from going down the wrong path with my build.

CarbbyMcNab, totally hooked on the "show me your full size van" thread, but half way done with it. Will search out the 4x4 camper van forum. Is it linked off the main forum page, or is it a sub-thread?
 
V

Vegasrandall

Banned
Rune said:
Vegasrandall, had to look that up. That would look so sweet! Sounds like a sturdy method of construction too. But I'm afraid that sounds even scarier than trying to lay fiberglass. So probably not going to work for me.

How long do you think it'll take you to make your top?
Click to expand...
anything is better than working

with fiberglass. I worked building target drones out of fiberglass 7 years ago and little pieces of glass are still coming out of my skin.
Cold molding goes pretty fast if you have all your materials organized.I want to integrate a cargo rack with the top build somehow but I haven't quite figured out the details of that yet.
 
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