1991 Ford Econoline

Description for Ford E-Series Van 1991

Hello all!
Meet Lorain the van. This van was manufactured in Lorain, Ohio in 1991, and sold to the city of San Francisco where it was part of the MUNI Bus-repair fleet for about 26 years. Somewhere around the year 2000 the, odometer rolled over from 99,999 miles back to 0, and in early April 2017 it was auctioned off to a private car dealer. I bought Lorain from said car dealer outside of San Francisco, drove it up to Seattle and converted it into a camper van!!
Because I did the entire buildout myself I have all the specs and everything, so please reach out with any questions! There simply is just way too much to list everything on this page.
This van is an amazing road trip buddy, I've taken it up and down the west coast a hand-full of times now! Most recently I did a 6 week trip from Seattle down to Tucson - SF - Yosemite - Sequoia - LA - Oregon coast - Seattle! The reason I'm selling this van is because I'd like to do another build! This van is my baby, and if there are any issues with the build or the van itself down the road I'd like to make myself available for the potential buyer so any issues get resolved quickly.
About the Van:
-1991 Ford Econoline 250 gas, 5.8L V8 rear wheel drive, automatic.
-Odometer reads 76,500 right now, but the milage is actually 176,500 based on the carfax report -- which I'd be happy to share with potential buyers.
-The van carries a total of 30 gallons of gas (two 15gal tanks)
-MPG +/- = 14 Freeway
About the Build:
- Reverse camera - screen located left of steering wheel under headlights, camera located above license plate.
- full size fixed bed (doesn't fold up or move)
- Roof rack and ladder
- Roof rack is intentionally wide enough to hold the full size mattress from below, to make it possible to sleep on top of the van. This is amazing while the stars are bright. If trying this with two people, prepare to snuggle!
- 2 x 100 Watt solar panels mounted on the roof
- 3 x 150 amp/hr batteries under the bed (TOTAL of 450 amp hours of battery BANK!!!)
- 20A MPPT Rover charge controller by RENOGY
- Shore power plug located directly below rear passenger brake light. (connect an extension cord from a house, or camp site hookup to charge battery bank if it's cloudy for much, much too long)
- smart trickle charger integrated into Shore - IN power, (under the bed) so when connected to shore, immediately begins charging battery bank, but only until full - don't want to damage the battery bank!
- Dimmable and color-changing LED light bars encircle the interior of the van - controlled by a remote control mounted on the wall
- 4 individual locations where 12v USB AND 12vDC plugs (cigarette lighter style) are accessible in the camper van (always connected to power - the battery bank)
- 1000 Watt power inverter that is controlled by a switch - turns power on to the 12v outlets
- 4 individual 120v Childproof AC outlets positioned near the 12vDC outlets.
- soft close drawers in the kitchen area, held secure while driving with thumb locks, and baby locks.
- soft close cabinetry throughout the van - no trouble staying closed.
- 1.5lb propane canister mounted under the van behind the driver - propane comes up through the floor to the rangefor safety.
- 2 burner propane range (one large burner, one smaller) extremely efficient, and hot.
- large bar-prep sink with sink-catch and sink-stopper to eliminate any odors from sink or gray water tank
- 5 gallon gray water tank mounted under the van, directly under the sink - easily drained simply by opening the cap to the gray water tank with your hand.
- Two spray bottles hang above the sink - one soapy water and one clean water for washing dishes.
- 14"x14" RV fan vent in ceiling with 4 speed modes. Lid is adjustable by hand, and motor switches modes with the push of a button
- very large amount of storage throughout the camper van: cabinets open over the bed with compartments below each cabinet for additional storage. On the opposite side of the bed there is a smaller upper cabinet that was left open, for knickknacks and daily use items. 2 drawers pull out the back barn doors to make accessing your storage easier. Large hidden compartment under the bed fits duffle bags, backpacks etc - accessible under the mattress. 1 "secret" compartment below the mppt charger, under the bed. I use it as a dry food storage, and it's affectionately referred to as the pantry. 1 large drawer that opens from under the bed into the kitchen area, and a total of 5 drawers in the kitchen.
- Real, beautiful, cedar siding used throughout the walls of the interior - stained with 'pickled white' to lighten the color.
- Almost everything else was made with pre-finished birch plywood (12mm & 5mm)
- Insulated floors, walls, and ceiling! (3/4" in the floor and ceiling, and between 2"-3" in the walls!
- Custom Blackout curtain cloth tailored to fit each window with small magnets sewn in place, to create an insulation barrier, and also visual screen for camping and to facilitate stealth camping.
- Same cloth used with magnets to create a snap-in barrier for the bulkhead passage way.
- CB Radio has been installed, antenna wire run, antenna has never been tuned.
- I've installed fold-down cupholders throughout the van to provide a place to set a drink while relaxing
SOUND SYSTEM:
I installed the sound system a couple months ago so, again, please reach out with any specific questions. Here are the broad strokes:
-Head unit and 5 channel amp have the ability to switch between drawing power from van FRONT battery (charged by the alternator), and van battery BANK under the bed (charged by solar power) - this allows me to listen to music for hours and hours even at night without running the van at all.
-5 channel amp powers 2 pairs of infinity speakers in the cab (1 pair of coaxial and 1 pair component) as well as one 10" infinity sub that's mounted in a custom sealed birch sub-box, built to volume specs.
-4 channel amp only runs off of rear battery bank, it controls 4 pioneer speakers mounted in side barn-door directly behind passenger. This amp is on a switch operated by the driver.
- monoblock 'd' channel amplifier also only runs off of rear battery bank, also on a switch operated by the driver. This amp powers two 12" pioneer shallow mount subwoofers that are mounted on the other barn door directly behind the passenger. Again, these are mounted in an extremely custom sealed birch sub-box built to air volume specs.
- Everything is fused by the batteries and also by the amps for double safety!
This sound system MOVES air, amazing bass when the doors are opened up and even crazier chest-vibrating sounds when it's all closed up. Obviously I love music, and this van makes an amazing portable festival. I've taken it camping with friends in the middle of the woods many times -- open the barn doors, crank the music, turn on the lights and have a good time! It's also a blast at 'real' organized camping festivals. I just recently took it to Paradiso at the Gorge Amphitheater, and when the sun is out, I can't even get my battery bank to dip below 100% while the entire system is cranked.
CONS:
- The front gas tank level-reader doesn't work. I never fixed it because I never thought it was necessary. I just flip over to the rear tank after 150 miles without any issues.
- No A/C
- The transmission makes a sound when shifting into reverse, so I limit the need to use reverse by pulling into pull-through spots where possible, and utilizing Neutral.- The left blinker doesn't automatically turn itself off, it needs to be turned off manually after making the left turn.
This entire listing truly is the tip of the iceberg, I'd love to share more with anyone interested in my van, so don't hesitate to ask. I have a couple videos of the van that I'd love to share too, but I don't think I can upload them here. Shoot me an email I'll send you a video or two to check out!
Brian