And now the moment you didn't know you've been waiting for...Atl-Atl's 4x4 Ford E350 RV documentation thread!!
- Thread starter Atl-atl
- Start date
Buddha.
Finally in expo white.
Looks good, the color scheme is kinda what the new rpods look like. Black and brass/gold.
I’ve been a rv tech for a while and I’ve never seen a full refresh like this. I don’t think anyone wants to pay the 180/hr shop rate to get it done.
Are all those lights on the rear original? I haven’t seen that style before.
I’ve never used one of those fiber wheels before. I’ve seen guys use the Roloc bristle disc to get things real clean.
Most guys use a flat scraper blade on an oscillating multi tool and just accept you can’t get the last 1/8” of sealant off.
You CANNOT try to scrape right to the rubber, it’ll go right through
Last edited:
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Good to know that youre an RV tech, I might have questions in the future! I tried using an oscillating tool but it was actually easier to use a crowbar to scrape the majority off then go to the wheel.
Ive seen a few RV full interior refreshes online but never in person. Seems like most people stick to trailers but no RV/Motorhomes. Unless you get up to the super pricey fancy rigs the interiors are always either gross, boring or both. The plan was to redo the interior before even buying the thing.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Next up was finally installing the headlights. There are precisely zero 08+ Ford Econoline vans in junkyards around Phoenix which makes precisely zero sense given that Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the country. Needless to say I was unable to find the stuff I needed for the headlight swap used anywhere. Since there are a bunch of small pieces and diagrams are hard to come by I wound up at (eww) a Ford dealership, ordered some stuff and waited. Even after looking at the headlight diagram on the computer screen with the parts guy I still ordered the incorrect number of these white plastic "bearings." They are the surface on which the light buckets glide freely when you adjust the lights. There are 4 per light. There are also the two adjustment screws which are different sizes for side-to-side and top-to-bottom and lastly a spring that holds the bucket in place. All this because I hate chrome.
Oddest "bearing" Ive ever seen
Here is where they go
So next thing on the list is wiring. Nobody makes a plug-n-play harness to downgrade to the poverty spec lights. I wound up cutting off two of the three plugs after testing each wire one by one and taking notes on their function. Since my new lights have integrated turn signals and the enormous RV/Tow mirros also have built in side markers I opted to not use the big orange lights in the new headlights. This meant the 3rd plug will simply go unused. Since I wanted everything to be waterproof I opted for solder seal wire connectors and hardwired everything. In total its only 6 wires per headlight and once all of their functions were labeled the actual install only took about an hour with a heat gun, no soldering iron necessary. It seems pretty sturdy, hopefully everything holds up.
Once everything was mounted up I realized the trim ring that holds the light to the bucket looked terrible since it was chrome. By the way, the new lights I chose are Morimoto Sealed5 LEDs. I havent run them at night but if they are as good as the Morimoto's I put in my Tacoma Ill be quite happy.
Made the wiring nice n tidy
Blacked out trim rings
All done
Oddest "bearing" Ive ever seen
Here is where they go
So next thing on the list is wiring. Nobody makes a plug-n-play harness to downgrade to the poverty spec lights. I wound up cutting off two of the three plugs after testing each wire one by one and taking notes on their function. Since my new lights have integrated turn signals and the enormous RV/Tow mirros also have built in side markers I opted to not use the big orange lights in the new headlights. This meant the 3rd plug will simply go unused. Since I wanted everything to be waterproof I opted for solder seal wire connectors and hardwired everything. In total its only 6 wires per headlight and once all of their functions were labeled the actual install only took about an hour with a heat gun, no soldering iron necessary. It seems pretty sturdy, hopefully everything holds up.
Once everything was mounted up I realized the trim ring that holds the light to the bucket looked terrible since it was chrome. By the way, the new lights I chose are Morimoto Sealed5 LEDs. I havent run them at night but if they are as good as the Morimoto's I put in my Tacoma Ill be quite happy.
Made the wiring nice n tidy
Blacked out trim rings
All done
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Its already felt like that for 6 weeks hahaha
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Well the interior is just about done. I installed all the new lights and painted the misc. ceiling bits in anticipation of the final ceiling material arriving this week. Finished the kitchen with a new faucet, caulked in the counters, wall papered almost the entire expanse of bare walls which was an incredibly huge pain in the rear. If you havent ever wallpapered, dont. Just when I thought painting was getting long in the tooth. Mom helped for half a day and then I was on my own. Moms saying about wallpaper is "the only time I ever curse is when Im wallpapering" and boy was she right. It doesnt help that Ive had this paper for years since I worked in commercial construction. Its super heavy duty vinyl backed stuff that required the gnarliest paste and was nearly impossible to work with. I will be painting walls only in any future campers I remodel.
The sink is now sitting an inch higher so I had to redo the drain piping and the new faucet uses different connections so those had to be mated. Also the cabinetry under the sink didnt allow for the hose of the pull-out sprayer to extend all the way down so I had to get creative with the weight location and a hose clamp. Everything worked out great in the end.
I also reinstalled the footwell light that used to be on the side of the seat we deleted. I actually like this location better because it sheds more light on the steps.
The ceiling already looks better with some black accents. Hung up Pendleton towels that fit the color palette and things are really coming together. Just need to take care of the nasty stock fabric on the dinette cushions.
Finally installed this behemoth, it was quite the project. Its a dresser that I sanded down and painted black to match. Removed the feet and built a platform underneath it where the dogs crate fits. Just so happens her crate is the exact dimension from the back of the passenger seat to the footwell. Made it just big enough to fit the crate and butt the dresser up to the underside of the upper cabinet. Doesnt look the greatest but its functions perfectly and adds a ton of storage. Couldnt make everything pretty when attempting to cram 10lbs of ******** into a 5lb bag. It adds structure to the dresser that was never meant to be used in this way so thats good. Its bolted to the floor, the wall and through the window frame.
Still have some minor details I cant decide on like do I paint the red handle on the window black? Do I paint the hinge and post for the table? If so what color?
Getting there...
Lastly went by some upholstery shops to pick out fabric for the dinette cushions, throw pillows, window coverings etc. Hopefully that will get done in the next couple weeks.
The sink is now sitting an inch higher so I had to redo the drain piping and the new faucet uses different connections so those had to be mated. Also the cabinetry under the sink didnt allow for the hose of the pull-out sprayer to extend all the way down so I had to get creative with the weight location and a hose clamp. Everything worked out great in the end.
I also reinstalled the footwell light that used to be on the side of the seat we deleted. I actually like this location better because it sheds more light on the steps.
The ceiling already looks better with some black accents. Hung up Pendleton towels that fit the color palette and things are really coming together. Just need to take care of the nasty stock fabric on the dinette cushions.
Finally installed this behemoth, it was quite the project. Its a dresser that I sanded down and painted black to match. Removed the feet and built a platform underneath it where the dogs crate fits. Just so happens her crate is the exact dimension from the back of the passenger seat to the footwell. Made it just big enough to fit the crate and butt the dresser up to the underside of the upper cabinet. Doesnt look the greatest but its functions perfectly and adds a ton of storage. Couldnt make everything pretty when attempting to cram 10lbs of ******** into a 5lb bag. It adds structure to the dresser that was never meant to be used in this way so thats good. Its bolted to the floor, the wall and through the window frame.
Still have some minor details I cant decide on like do I paint the red handle on the window black? Do I paint the hinge and post for the table? If so what color?
Getting there...
Lastly went by some upholstery shops to pick out fabric for the dinette cushions, throw pillows, window coverings etc. Hopefully that will get done in the next couple weeks.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Ill be running 35x12.5x17 Toyo Open Country AT3 E load rating. They are rated to 3195 per tire. Gross weight of the rig when I weighed it was 8460 so add 1150 worth of gear and Im still at my personal limit of 9600 on only 3 tires. It will be interesting to see what it truly weighs fully loaded with fuel, water, gear, people, dogs etc. I doubt ill be anywhere near the 12,800 that the tires are rated for. Id have to add over 4000lbs to it which just isnt realistic.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Well my pallet full of @ujoint goodies showed up a couple days ago. Havent even had time to inventory everything yet but Im really getting excited now. Tuesday the RV goes up to Flagstaff to start the tear down. I still need to order the parts for the 4WD conversion of the 6R140 transmission. Hoping this week I can have it up on jack stands and completely torn down, including removing the trans. Fingers crossed the springs are at least done this week if not shipped. Not holding my breath though.
Pallet was pretty haggard but we managed to get it off the truck with the combo of tractor+forks+lift gate.
Sneak peak at what I was working on this weekend. Wound up short on material so I didnt finish but the rest will be here this week and Ill get it finished pretty quickly. Dont mind the bubbles/runs in the wallpaper, Ive already pulled out all my hair about it.
Pallet was pretty haggard but we managed to get it off the truck with the combo of tractor+forks+lift gate.
Sneak peak at what I was working on this weekend. Wound up short on material so I didnt finish but the rest will be here this week and Ill get it finished pretty quickly. Dont mind the bubbles/runs in the wallpaper, Ive already pulled out all my hair about it.
ujoint
Supporting Sponsor
Are you looking for a total weight gain # for the conversion? If so, ~800lbs.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
You are welcome, thanks for following along. My personal limit is just something I like to stick to, no official numbers.
Roam.Wild
Active member
So as the person who was looking into the ALP-19RD, I'll say this, we didn't end up buying one because it's impossible to finance it. They are only built/sold by Adventurer / Fraiserway RV, a Canadian company. You'll have to pay cash for one, which might not be a problem, but just know the average price we were finding them was $50,000-$65,000 USD. But the good thing is Adventurer is always selling them. Or if you live in Canada there's no issue. But they have quite a few for sale at the moment: HERE
OP can not WAIT to see the wheels and tires on! This is gonna be a beast!
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Here we go!! Finally got the RV up to Flagstaff to get to work. The pallet from UJoint showed up and I got everything inventoried and then managed to install the front spring hangers which are supposed to be the biggest pain of the whole job. These arrive in raw steel because they have to be mocked up and have 8 holes a piece drilled through them and the frame. Also tossed the front bumper on for a test fit. I need to trim the bottom of the headlight bezels so I can suck it up as close as possible to the grill/lights/fenders. Winch showed up today so I can slap that in the bumper before final install.
Apparently the frames on Econolines can be quite noodly, hopefully this isnt a concern. In the second pic you can see how crooked the drivers frame rail is.
Front bumper mocked up. Starting to look pretty good, for an RV.
Winch showed up today. Smittybilt X20 waterproof 12,000lb winch with synthetic cable. Every Warn winch under $2500 is out of stock so I went with Smittybilt. They have definitely improved on their reputation and I have one in my Tacoma as well so Im not afraid to run it.
Also, something I never thought Id be excited about, my new black water dump tube showed up. It uses a magnetic cap for a 4" square tube to hold it in place. My new rear bumper will be made to fit this inside so its neat and tidy and not hanging down below the truck inside a huge PVC pipe like the current setup.
Apparently the frames on Econolines can be quite noodly, hopefully this isnt a concern. In the second pic you can see how crooked the drivers frame rail is.
Front bumper mocked up. Starting to look pretty good, for an RV.
Winch showed up today. Smittybilt X20 waterproof 12,000lb winch with synthetic cable. Every Warn winch under $2500 is out of stock so I went with Smittybilt. They have definitely improved on their reputation and I have one in my Tacoma as well so Im not afraid to run it.
Also, something I never thought Id be excited about, my new black water dump tube showed up.
It uses a magnetic cap for a 4" square tube to hold it in place. My new rear bumper will be made to fit this inside so its neat and tidy and not hanging down below the truck inside a huge PVC pipe like the current setup.