gregmchugh
Observer
The E series seems to still be a go to chassis for box trucks and Class C RVs...
Switching from Ford E-Series to FC/cabover (like Sportsmobile to Earthcruiser 4x4)?
- Thread starter geoffff
- Start date
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
Yes, about 10 years ago Ford was publicly talking about fully replacing the Econoline with the Sprinter but the E-cutaway lives on.
Plenty of new E350 cutaways on commercial truck trader with 7.3 gas motor and variety of commercial utility or box beds. Do a Ujoint conversion and interior and you have it. Interested in the Unicell body vs Knapheide. Fiberglass vs steelNo, I'm going to move slow and keep pondering it. I'm not in a rush. I'll keep using my current van for another few years.
I have a mechanic friend who is building his own expedition vehicle, and I'm going to watch and "help" and learn from that process.
My current dream is to build something custom on an E-350 cutaway platform, though I'm lazy and would love to just buy something that already comes close to fitting my needs. I'm thinking something like this:
Maybe I will start a new thread soon here on Expedition Portal with my current ideas....
gregmchugh
Observer
The Transit doesn’t have the GVWR for those applications so the E series may just go on a lot longer than they predicted, must be good profits with the development costs low at this point.
You might be interested in what we are building on a Transit AWD cutaway chassis using TC panels. Crude rendering, but prototype being built and real website with specs will be up in the next 1-2 months. https://aeonrv.com Price will be 1/5 of an EarthRoamer, but capable of 4 season camping in light off road conditions for up to 4 people.
A couple teaser early shots.
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gregmchugh
Observer
1/5 of an EarthRoamer LT base price would be $120K. Is that with a finished interior?
Pricing is not 100% finalized, but we expect pricing to be about $150k completely built out with everything one would expect in a full season camper.
gregmchugh
Observer
Very good, higher than the EKKO which being sold at around $125,000 but it isn’t as well insulated. Front seats part of the camper on yours?
2 front facing seats with 3 point seat belts in camper, so 4 fully seat belted seats. We'll get full specs up on our website ASAP. Thanks.
@skirunman that is the kind of thing that would sell well on the E cutaway chassis. Just sayin' Don't need an electric van out in the boondocks but rather have the 7.3 gasser engine.
E350s are awesome, I agree. We love our 2007 E350 Sportsmobile, especially the off-road capability, with the exception of: the noise—ours is a bullet-proofed diesel and even thought we have dyna-matted the console the noise is unrelenting; the hodge lodge of switches located all over the van; and the primitive sanitary/bathroom facilities now that we aren’t teenagers. It’s too bad no one is producing the vehicle we all seem to agree makes perfect sense and would sell like crazy. We love the pop top and 360 panorama view. I like aeon RV’s approach but wold like more off-road capability—would be great if they could team up with a 4x4 converter like sportsmobile did....but all-electric might make that even more of a challenge, I am guessing.
Right now "all electric" means the camper systems are electric, not the drivetrain. It will be sometime until an all electric RV makes sense, but we are in discussions with both Ford and some other chassis manufacturers. We would not rule out in the future doing a converted 4wd on the E350 as we have already looked at it, but for now we are focused on the 3.5L Ecoboost AWD Transit with some more off-road features like lift, bigger/better tires, etc.
ScottPC
Active member
Agreed...would be nice if it could be paired with the 10spd transmission and some hill descent and drive modes too....
pugslyyy
Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
Yeah, I wonder if it is a space issue, that the 10 speed just won't fit in an E-350. Seems like they would offer it, otherwise.