Paging Uncle Rico.......
Paging Uncle Rico.......
In reply to ojannen :
I don't know what you are towing, so it would be difficult to hazard a guess. Fuel injection and a larger engine would be better, in any case.
As for the wheels, check to make sure they aren't unilugs. If they are straight 5" lug pattern, you won't have to worry about them randomly loosening.
I am planning to tow a 2700 lb rallycross car on a 1000 lb open deck trailer. The autocross car is a little lighter.
That shouldn't be too hateful. As long as the 305 is healthy, and there aren't many hills.
Really the biggest decision you'll have now is whether you want to prioritize gas, grass or ass.
Oh, and they leak. Basically the biggest issue with conversion vans in my experience is leaks. Find every seam, every custom piece, every place the stock exterior was compromised during the conversion and keep it sealed and constantly monitor it. Buy stock in Flex-Seal. Keep rolls of that flexible butyl tape that they use to repair mobile homes around. Leaks are your biggest enemy.
I have 1990 Ford E250 camper van. We looked at conversion vans and I went with the camper van as it offered more options.
It can still transport 4 people, you can find them with roof AC and an onboard generator. For me it seems easier to take out the things you don't need than trying to retrofit what you do want.
I've pulled some of the cabinets out of mine that I don't use and reconfigured some of the others. I use the front overhead bunk to store large items. I made up a set of cables that allow me to pull power off the coach battery to power my trailer winch and charge up the race cars battery if need be (the cable has Anderson connectors on both ends).
The one thing I'd like to do is move the sink, tub and toilet and combine them into a wet bath as that would free up a lot of space.
I bought a 5000 BTU AC window unit that I'll be mounting in the space where the microwave was (the microwave died). If the van had a roof mounted AC I'd have to wait till the end of the day when the open the gate to cross the track versus using the tunnel.
In your case you could practically gut almost everything out of a camper camper van which would lighten it up considerably.
My Datsun and trailer weigh just shy of 2400lbs. The van is powered by a 351 / 5.8 motor and it will comfortably do 65 on flat ground. On the steepest of hills (Bakers Grade) there are spots I have to shift it down to 2nd and I'm down to 45 mph for a few miles.
See if you can find a Ford with the 7.3 diesel. I had a conversion van with one and it pulled my 24' enclosed trailer with an rx7 and lots of tools,tires, spares etc. It got 19 mpg towing and hardly noticed the trailer was there.
I did some work for a guy who pulled a 36' bumper pull (yes a THIRTY SIX FOOT BUMPER PULL) travel trailer with a 7.3 powerstroke e-350 conversion van. Now, i fully believe this guy could pull off anything he wanted and just because he could do it doesn't mean someone else should. But, at least you know it is possible!
I did it. 1994 Dodge b2500. Managed to get a pretty good deal on it. Still under challenge prices after replacing the shocks. I wonder if the challenge judges will look the other way on the trailer brake controller, wiring, and transmission cooler. And the width to height ratio.
My wife and I are focusing on de-conversioning it right now. So far, we have removed 20 or 30 lbs of fabric coated plywood held together with drywall screws. I don't think any other fastener types were invented in 1994. It also has a drop ceiling that removes about 4" of headroom. Debating painting it Plum Crazy and installing some Cragar D-Windows for the Dajiban lite look. If everything goes well, we will use it to tow to Sebring for the time trials and autocross in July.
Looks great! Congrats!
Couple questions: Is that the regular wheel base or extended?
How much room is there with behind the second row seats?
That is the middle wheelbase.
I guess I never posted a pic of mine or mentioned (in this thread) that i flat towed a challenge car from TX to FL and back with it. I'm excited to see what develops from this!!
There is about 2 or 3 feet behind the bench. Much more room than the short wheelbase van I grew up in.
I really like the stance of the van in the second picture. Is that just tires or did you lower it as well?
Tires and lowering. Tires are 245/60/15. Lowering was just remove the overload leaf in the back, and cut springs in the front. I do have dakota drop spindles for it that i've never installed. I lost too much suspension travel just with cutting the springs. It looked good but isn't up to actual family hauler duty until i put the spindles on and get some travel back. I also plan to put a rooftop AC on it with a big inverter. 
It's hard to tell since the first picture obscures the wheels, but i also put wheel spacers on both ends. I want to say it's 2" in the back and 1.25" in the front.
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