Just bought this today from craigslist- I've looked at seemingly a million cargo vans- for more- always 'as is' from a dealer- they always had issues just turning the ignition and hearing the motor sound like it was dying- I saw this today- ugly thing- and it said it had 86,000 miles on it- a lot less for it's price than other ones- I went to try it out, the thing drives amazingly well- can barely hear the engine, no issues changing gears- smooth uphill. It has little issues- blinkers won't work- he he didn't know why- guess I gotta replace them, as he tried the wiring, headlights have issues- hi beams work, but not the low beams- side and read door has no function locks besides some weird contraptions he's jerryrigged- so they rattle- but it's in amazingly good shape, and that stuff can be fixed easily enough. A 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 series- making it newer than any within the price range I was willing to buy for. If anyone knows where I can find a user manual, I would really appreciate it, as I want to change out the oil, and replace the blinkers myself- and do basic fluid maintenance on it. He said it had some sort of computer in it that you plug in at a automotive shop- it says what is wrong with it- I never used one before, so do not know the extent of it's capabilities. Can it really saw what needs fixed or maintained? Do I just bring it to a dealer, and it gives a printout of what needs done?

Gonna build a office in it- tired of not having a work place where I can rest assured my cutting and printing equipment will be without molestation or having to unpack and repack to save room- plus I can shove a small military folding cot in there for worst case scenarios- as finances are all to often unpredictable for me these days. Gotta get insurance, license plates plates, and fix the lights and locks- so about a month before I am driving it legally. I still own the death vespa imported from China that I crashed on- though it's all torn up- gonna get it repaired for short range to save on gas, as it barely uses any and this van, once it is loaded down, is gonna drink gas like a penguin in the sahara- when traveling, I'll keep it in the back and use the front half as a office. Gotta custom build some desks and shelves for that, and get a swivel base for the passenger seat so I can sit backwards in comfort the the height does not bother me. A small propane generator for electricity perhaps.

I am deeply amazed by the good quality of this too. We kept driving out farther and farther down this country road outside of cincinnati- and when the GPS said turn onto the street- it looked like a Aryan Nation compound- cats and toddlers running around stray- not sure if anyone owned them- everything haphazardly placed, houses faling apart, with trailers next to them- I think I saw a rooster around, not sure- the guy who owned it was named ken- his bother was named ken- his dog was named ken- he lived in this trailer (not the one pictured- that trailer was no where there- **** if I know where that was taken) and owned a giant RV twice the size of the trailer that he was living in- I would of lived in the RV myself as it was bigger and nicer, but whatever- he wanted the small trailer as his home. Apparently the house on his property caved in under the weight of mildew and cigarette butts, so that is what he had. The guy, I found out later, was barely literate- was strange knowing I was taking a van from a illiterate to make into a book making factory.

Well, I got this van now, I am happy, finally own a functioning vehicle again- moving forward- have a place to start storing and use my equipment at will, and don't have to worry about the collapse of a local economy as before- can just move on and use this as a temporary base.



You might think it's a bit weird to want to turn it into a office, but it can be done- I know a guy who runs a business from a motorcycle, spending his day in a different fast food joins in a booth, running everything- if you can do it there, you can do it in a nicely set up van: these vans are the exact same size- yes, these are designed to be cheap alternatives to RVs and not offices, but they are nice and gives you an idea of what one can do with the space- I can build it up over time to meet my needs:































This one has a raised roof- cost about 2000 to have that done






Anyway- those are all RV converts of vans similar to dimensions to mine- pimped out in some cases of course- I figure it would be cheaper in the long run to operate out of that, and the money I would of used on rent for a business, or if necessary though I am not thinking about it,giving up my apartment, can be transferred to upgrading this van mechanically and workspace wise.




I am also a bit intrigued by this, though have no plans immediately to do it:
Bathroom


Bedroom


The goal is not to live out of this unless I am traveling or literally become homeless for whatever unforeseen possibility- but if I need a sudden cash surge, and have a gym membership that has a shower room open seven days a week- I could take that option very easily if I have the set up.... it would be adding at least $300 a paycheck to my income by subtracting that expense if need be- and I could live in more expensive regions milking the money form part time jobs there- but all I want to do for now, is design a office and paper back book production facility (I have most of the equipment, need to build all that stuff though to make it happen) so I can legally start this business already as cheaply as possible with no unnecessary money drains on my income. In the meantime, I gotta get started scrubbing the living daylights on the interior, cause it was used for hauling chemicals for a pool cleaning business- and the chemicals corroded the floor and it's rusted on the inside (only the floor on the inside)- easy enough to fix.

 

There is a procedure by which you can retrieve the engine codes. I'm not sure what it is for your year. Someone on here will help you, or do a search.
The codes don't say exactly what is wrong. It will tell you a sensor is receiving wrong intel. That particular sensor might not be causing the issue, so diagnostics and a lot of background knowledge are required to really figure out what's up or down.

One thing you might find after you convert it into an office/lounge/sleeping area is that you might have so many valuables in it, that when spending time outside/away from it you might experience some Vanxiety, thinking someone might be breaking in and steeling things which could really ruin your world.

So you make sure the bed is comfy and protect your valueables at night in questionable areas, and then you start questioning paying someone else's mortgage for them. Then you add another convenience and another luxury, and it gets heavier and the contents more valuable, and the potential loss to thieves increases. So you spend more nights protecting your valuables.

The value of my contents, tools, electronics, camping and wave riding equipment far exceed, many fold, the value of the van itself, and I find myself not venturing to questionable areas where it would be unattended.

I use mine as an office as well. It always freaks some people out that I lift up a counter and there is my Laptop, above my fridge, next to my Solar charge controller and battery monitor, and to the left is a full width twin bed with hundreds of hand tools and more than a dozen power tools underneath, and above are 2 surfboards and a surprising amount of clothes.

When I do unload everything from it, it takes up half of a 2 car garage. Hard to believe, but true.

You've definitely got your work cut out for you. I hope the mechanicals of the Van cooperate with your interior design plans over the long term.

 

Yeah, obviously the maintenance of it overtakes concerns of setting up a nice office.

I am a bit thrilled that at 5'11 I can just make it laying across the width of it. I spent a year in Iraq living in a cot, but the height issue can me a bit worried about putting that kind of weight up that high, once I do get a raised top- and don't want to weigh this thing down with unnecessary heavy wood- might just fit a military folding cot up there with a hammock to catch my two hundred pound butt if it falls.

I was checking rates for renting parking spots up in NYC- I think getting a hookup with a site owner or manager of the lot and hiding out in it for a month while visiting is way better than paying for a 200 dollar hotel every night.

From what I've read, solar panels are a bit of a joke- takes four days to charge up a battery. Is that the case for you? I am all for the solar approach if it's practical- I do it for my smaller rechargeable batteries, have a solar charger for them.

 

On pulling the check engine lamp codes you can get some of the codes by just using the key: on-off-on-off-on (don't start the engine just turn on the dash lamps) and count the flashes of the check engine lamp. It will flash a series of codes in two digit form.

Example: Code 55 (End of message), the lamp will flash 5 times, short pause and 5 more flashes. If other codes then it will have a little longer pause and flash the next code.

But this way will not pull every code that the PCM will generate. For the other codes you will either need a code reader/scanner or take the van to an auto parts store and ask them to retrieve the codes for you. You can buy the readers starting at about 60 and they do go higher depending on what options you want.

 

dead honest, I am not understanding this code thing. I buy this code machine, and it will read out to me like a RMU, saying something I will need a codex book to read and understand? This means, I break down on the side of the road, I pop the code machine in, it will saw 'error 986 Engine fell out' and I will look underneath the van, and sure enough, the engine will be sitting there?

It's like a non repairing R2-D2, telling me what's wrong and not doing anything about it- I kind of like that idea. Might just get that permanently front dash mounted.

 

Not all problems are so obvious as seeing an engine laying on the ground. For example, if you have an engine skip at highway speeds but not at idle, how do you troubleshoot that? You can do it, but it requires a lot of time and road testing. With a code reader, you are told flat out which cylinder is skipping in a matter of 2 minutes.

 

First of all, Thanks for your time spent in Iraq.

About the computer codes read this:

http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html

In case this website automatically blocks this out.
http://www.xxxxxx.com/fix/codes.html
Subsistute allpar in place of the xxxxxx.

Any driveability issue should first be investigated by the computer codes.

I'm 5' 10.5" and 230# and surprised how well I sleep window to window in the back.

Solar is not a joke. It might be the best thing I've done for comfort. I live in sunny narcissistic, arrogant, overcrowded, polluted, southern California. Most Days my 130 watt solar panel tops off my batteries before 2 oclock. I can use my laptop for up to 5 hours at night and an hour or 2 throughout the day, and power my lights and fans, and stereo. It also powers my compressor fridge. This Ice cold beer I am currently drinking,gurgle gurgle, was cooled by the sun. This is without tilting the panel. Obviously a couple days of cloudy days and it is a different story. Then I have to cut way back on the computer usage, or drive more or plug into the grid.

Basically in my location, I do not have to plug into the grid, or drive my vehicle and my food and beer is cold for an unlimited amount of time. It abuses the batteries to let them sit at the 50 to 60% state of charge, but they still do their job. Since I used to have to buy a 3$ block of Ice every 4 to 5 days before the solar and fridge, over 2 years the fridge is paid for in savings from buying Ice, not including the gas or the inconvenience of having to go to the store, just for Ice.

The fact that I can play my stereo for as long and as loud (within reason)as I want is priceless.

In reality, the raised roof screams camper. It's nice to have, but still won't allow you to stand upright, and you wont sleep across the width of the thing up there. It also keeps a lot of parking garages off limits.

I drove by a junkyard the other day and saw many conversion van roofs, like mine there. I saw one on an older chevy that looked exactly like mine. It doesn't look like mine was made solely for a dodge. I've had mine off at least 5 times, and each time I reinstall it I say to myself, this could not be a vehicle specific roof. It has to be flexed and manouvered to fit.

Now the newer Chevys look narrower up top, but any pre ~ 98 van roof should fit without too much modification.

The last time I removed mine I discovered the rear roof gutter was rusted beyond what could be easily fixed, and without any welding equipment, or knowledge for that manner, I made some angle aluminum fit the rear, just so I'd have something to screw the fiberglass roof to. I wound up having to move the whole roof forward a half inch or so, then I had to take an angle grinder with flap disk sander and make it fit the forward part above the windshield.

I wish you the best of luck in your intended project and will answer any questions you care to ask, if I can.

 

what brand of solar panels do you use, and can you get me pictures of the solar to battery set up- including your recommendation of batteries to use- I figured 4-6 golf cart batteries. I'm gonna end up having 3 printers, one desktop set (monitor and the works- the smaller lap tops are annoying when it comes time to upgrade a part of them), and a smallflorescent light going for alignment purposes- during any given work spa- figured having it hooked up to the grid or a propane tank generator was the way to go- but if I can get this working off solar for a few hours a day, that won't be a problem.

(they have electric sleeping bags now- spent time in alaska, so cold is not a issue for me, but perhaps for you)

 

I bought a 1990 with 200,000 miles for $800 in 1999. it only had cruise for an option B250 318 3speed auto. at 250,000 I had to replace the radiator, and upper rad hose. at 280,000 I had to replace the orignial trans (which I used Dexron!!!). At 300,000, new fan clutch. now it has 400,000 and still runs and drives perfect (I didn't include the normal stuff like tuneup, tires, brakes)

in 2004, I bought a 1997 B3500 for $1500 in ebay with 290,000 miles. 360 A518 it was a flower deliver van. I got a HUGE folder of receipts. the company had a tune up every year, 4 fan clutched, 2 timing chains and all the other normal maintenance. still had the original engine and trans untouched. The trans only got Dexron it's whole life (according to the receipt). 2 years ago, at 350,000 I was getting a shutter under light throttle on hills (torque converter lockup). So for $80 I got a reman converter, 3hrs labor and topped off trans with dex. now at 390,000 it's still working perfect and no shutter still. Now I'm sure worried that these transmissions are just going to EXPLODE because I use the wrong fluid... not.

come-on, if +3 or +4 was SOOOOOO great, then WTF do these things still fail? get real. I've built A500's for drag racing with Trans-go shift kits and ran Ford type F. and 5 years later 400hp and 1000+ passes, it's still working fine.

 

22 dodge,


All I know is what I've experienced and read. My rebuilt transmission started the torque converter clutch chatter 10 k miles after the rebuild. It was under warranty still and every time aamco touched it and dropped the pan and refilled it with their "universal" Atf plus some lube gard, the shuddering got worse. I now know my first mistake was AAmco.

I finally got them to replace the torque converter, and they claimed if it didn't fix the problem then I'd have to pay for it. The shuddering got even worse after that, but I just told them it was gone and left the state.

Only when I had the tranny flushed with Atf +3 did the shuddering disappear. That was 65 + k miles ago.

I'm glad dextron had worked for you, but dodge recommends not putting it in these trannies, and mine and others' experiences say the same.

I've never rebuilt a tranny, nor will I ever, you obviously have way more mechanical knowledge than me, but
I won't further argue this point, try and convince someone else.
I'm gonna keep using ATF +4 and recommend others with dodges do the same.

Blueboy,

I have this Solar charge controller:
http://store.solar-electric.com/sbchco2512vm.html

I have this Solar panel,
http://store.solar-electric.com/kyso130wa12v.html
Actually, I have an older one rated for 130 watts, and it cost 710 dollars 2.5 years ago.

I have this Battery monitor which controls many functions on the Charge controller.
http://store.solar-electric.com/ipredidi.html

I have 2 group 27 batteries underneath the floor behind the drivers seat, and I used to have another in the stock location, but I made the mistake of buying marine/ dual purpose batteries, and one failed within a year.

I have a battery switch that allows me to isolate the engine battery. It is an older version of this:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...9265&id=131292.

My fridge is an older version of this:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...424&id=1124262

I have a cheap coleman 800 watt MSW( modifies sine wave) inverter. It can run some of my power tools that are rated under 7 amps. I used to use it a lot to power my laptop, but I found a DC to DC car adapter wastes 15 to 30% less energy.

Desktop computers consume more electricity than laptops. Besides my air compressor, my laptop is the biggest electrical draw at 3.5 to 7.5 amps depending on what it is doing.

6 volt golf cart batteries are considered by most RV'ers to be the best bang for the buck. They are true deep cycles. So many 12 volt batteries that say deep cycle, or marine or RV or trolling are not true deep cycles, just slightly more durable starting batteries. But there are downsides to 6volt GC batteries. They are taller, and if one fails, it's twin must be disconnected as well to keep 12 volts.

Really, Solar is great for silent charging in sunny climates, but you will need more panels than what I have living in the north east, and you would probably be better off getting a nice quiet Honda inverter Generator. It will cost less than the solar panel and charge controller. If you get anything but a Honda, or Yamaha or maybee even a Kipor, the noise will drive you insane.

I recommend you visit over here.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...tings/forum/21.
Lots of threads by people converting their Vans into campers. Lotsa good info.