Ford E350 Econoline RV

The sunny pictures are from the prior seller when I bought it in May 2024; the balance are from this winter. It had about 84,500 miles at purchase; we put on around 6,000 miles in 5 months. It has about 6.5 feet vertical space inside: a pleasure to stand in, and a sink, shower, toilet and internal lights powered by 2 house batteries in the back. I paid $6,500 for it plus $1,149 to replace all 6 of its tires (there's also a spare inside) plus several hundred for the batteries with installation. I replaced its oil, a rubber belt and exhaust pipe connector. The starter was on its last legs and eventually needed a spray into the cylinder beneath the hood after sitting a couple days. 

It ran well until one error. An air intake hose became disconnected on the highway where it started billowing white vapor or white smoke late last year, then concurrently making an undiagnosed knocking noise. I slowed it to around 30 mph for about a mile, pulling into a rest stop where it soon no longer turned on. It's been sitting at a mechanic's shop in queue, then before snow melted for them to check it out. Now I'm told it definitely needs a new starter and I don't know the state of its engine or transmission, working previously. The mechanic reported they "put a ratchet on the crank pulley and it turned over by hand." I don't know what that means. He explained it to me and I still don't know what it means. It must be towed from the mechanic's (Muskegon Brake & Tire at 3500 Whitehall Rd, Muskegon, MI 49445) on or before Friday, March 28, 2025 unless the buyer arranges for them to replace its starter that day.

The tires and house batteries installation cost around $1,500; what the balance of it is worth, I do not know. Its prior owner reported no leak and we experienced no leak; reportedly all its sides and ceiling are aluminum in a heavy-duty build. It also has a relatively new aluminum radiator. The prior owner drove it from Arizona to New York within the last few years; it didn't exhibit rust of some long-term Michigan vehicles, though you can expect rust in the underbelly at least. It drove well though loudly. (My better half kind of liked that.) 

While the state of its engine and transmission are the big question marks, also good to know:

• The prior owner said it was important to run it 5 minutes before driving. After sitting overnight, sometimes it would turn off near idle speed if we didn't do this, then within the day it ran well.

• There's a foot of burn marks on the countertop adjacent to the sink, from tea candles heating ceramic bowls as a DIY heater. I recommend a more conventional heater if staying in it overnight. You might like a placemat over the burn marks.

• The windows are covered with metallic insulation that worked well and should be easy to remove.

• The doors have a lot of copper tape and security tape, which you might remove or scrub off with substantial irritation.

• I broke off the driver's inside door handle by attaching a bungee cord to it; you may be able to drill it back in.

• The clean water tank was winterized; the black water tank has gallons of winterizer fluid in it but needs to be fully emptied, and you might need to patch or replace the tank; I don't know its condition as it stopped running right before I intended to empty and conventionally winterize that.

• There are 2 fuel tanks and you can switch between them while driving. One is easy to find and the other is in the battery compartment, both on the driver's side.

• There's a ceiling fan and also an air conditioner in the back that we never used. I taped filters over the A/C and then garbage bags over the filters; you can expect those filters to be absolutely filthy from outside air. I recommend removing them slowly while wrapping garbage bags around them to minimize dispersion of aerial pollutants.

• I drilled a steel sheet over the ceiling fan; that should also be reasonably easy to remove if desired.

• The shower turned on but needs further internal wiring for hot water, from the batteries compartment to beneath the sink per the prior owner.

• All items left inside it are included in the sale. The portable coolers may have spoiled items at this point (sorry as I'm not nearby); you may want to dispose of those entirely. There's a long dirty bar of lights that used to be above the windshield; you may want to toss that and replace it if desired.