How would GRM do it? Un-E36ing a Passenger Van

I'd start by trying to find a van with a finished interior. 

If you can find one then just bite the bullet and do all of the sound deadening. If you've seen enough van life video it's time consuming not hard to do at all. 

My plan is to remove the plastic sides in the cargo area and replace with steel frame and plywood.  It will still afford me 51" width for sheet goods and I can put some E-track in for a mattress platform and tying stuff down.  Behind the plywood on one side will be a couple compartments for an inflator, tie downs, hitch balls, jumper cables, etc.  On the other side I'll have a small sub enclosure, inverter, and battery.  Behind BOTH sides will be copious amounts of sound killing.  Not that it's bad now, it's actually pretty quiet, but more quieter isn't a bad thing.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

When I was shopping for a used Express two years ago, I found TONS of highly-optioned passenger vans.  The 8-passenger I ended up getting has a full headliner and heavily-padded carpet... like 2" padded so it's the same height as the seat brackets.  Zero penalty box, even with A/T tires, a Magnaflow muffler, and the rear seat removed.

Mine has dual power seats, rear air, power everything, driver's side rear barn doors, AWD, the works

I would look to passenger and conversion vans.  Conversion vans are a niche product that tends to lose value faster than a regular van.  Problem is, many of them are 1/2 ton and already over GVWR with a full tank of gas.  3/4 ton is the way to go.  Passenger vans have the same sound deadening.

Diesel is a great idea, but again... how many passenger and conversion vans came with the diesel?  The only ones I've seen are DOT transports.  They're a 12 or 15 passenger van used to take road workers to and from construction sites.  Some of those are diesel.

Powerstroke vans are fine in the 7.3L version, although usually beat by now.  The 6.0L and 6.4L need bulletproofing.  If you're not familiar with it, look it up.  It's a process of replacing a bunch of high-dollar parts that can fail and have catastrophic consequences.  In the F-trucks, it's a multi-thousand dollar quest which requires removing the cab from the frame.  In a van, it requires removing the entire body from the frame.  Do not recommend unless it has already been bulletproofed with receipts.  The 6.7L is a mighty fine diesel, but expect gas-like MPG and frequent CELs for DPFs.

Duramax vans are lovely, but a little lackluster.  Instead of finding a way to fit the Allison transmission in it, they put a 4L80E in it and derated the Dmax to 250hp.  It's just a tune so it's an easy fix... if you want to continually replace transmissions.  More than enough torque for towing 7500, but not a "performance" vehicle by any means.  Pre-08 keeps you away from DPF.

With any diesel, I would suggest pre-08 unless the only thing it's doing is long-hauls.  DPF + DD = headaches

My 06 Express 1500 AWD is rated to tow 7500 with the 5.3L and 4L60E, and it did it well on the previous E-range tires.  Haven't tried it on the new 20" and XL tires, but it's rare that I tow that much, usually around 5000.  Not sure how the 4L60E likes it, but we'll find out when it blows up.

Today is a good day because I finally got one on Curtis.  It ain't easy.  
 

Ford never used the 6.4 diesel in vans.  Vans soldiered on with the 6.0 when trucks went to the newer (and somehow even worse) 6.4.  :-)  gotcha

Edit: if you've got the scratch, the 7.3 gas in the new Econoline cab chassis is supposed to be pretty awesome.  There's a ton of companies that will build a body for it, including one that makes a complete fiberglass version of the traditional old Econoline.  This guy has built all sorts of diesel vans and says the Godzilla is the way to go.

https://youtu.be/7bR3eHo2bRs

calteg said:

Tow behind RV, put the dogs and 1 person in there. Frees up a ton of space.

It's illegal to ride in a tow behind in most states.

Class c motorhome?