Hey yall! Newcomer here, glad to be a part of the community 
So I have a question, Im getting ready to start my build and I really want to do the U Joint Offroad 4x4 conversion kit on an e350 with a roof raise. My question is about the buildable space on the inside. The roof raise is 18’’. I do plan on living in this van full time, and I spend a lot of time in the mountains and snow (hence the 4x4 conversion) which also comes with an 8’’ lift so its just going to be an absolute beast. Its also an extended e350. Is there as much room on the inside for building it out as a promaster or transit? Just looking for some advice, a friend with a promaster just told me he has no problem ripping around in the snow so I dont know if its worth going this route or not. Thanks in advance!
Greetings!
Personally, I have a huge problem with 4x4’s. I would much rather only break traction with 2 wheels than with all 4. I don’t do a lot of off road driving, but I’ve done a lot of driving on snow & ice, and much prefer 2 wheel drive.
The Promaster is front wheel drive, and FWD does well on snow & ice because the weight of the engine is over the drive wheels. With campers, there is usually sufficient weight in the back to give good traction with RWD as well.
My choice is good recovery gear instead of 4x4, and even with a 4x4 you would be a fool to not have the recovery gear. So I go for better gas mileage and less problems by sticking with 2WD, and don’t really feel at all limited for anywhere I want to go. I’ve had to chain up all 4 wheels a few times over many years, but I always got to where I was going.
Cheers!
Hi there! We just finished our conversion of an e350 xlt van (low top). For our needs, there is plenty of buildable space in the econoline. We plan to live out of the van, not in it and so prioritized some items that will make our outside space awesome-- we have a folding table, campchairs, hammock and a screen tent for bug season. We don’t hang out inside the van unless there’s really awful weather. Our bed converts to benches and a table and the passenger seat swivels so that when we have to be inside, we have work space. Our bed is a queen size-- roomy!
We are on a budget and prioritized a simple build in a gently used van. The e350 and our build cost less than half what an empty sprinter or transit would cost to buy.
I wrote an article about our build here if you are interested in pictures and details.
Greetings!
I choose to leave the floor, walls, & ceiling intact on passenger vans, to save a ton of time, work, & money, while increasing the value of the finished product, and keeping the overall weight to a minimum.
Cheers!
thanks for the info @Perridox! I ended up going a different route and opted for the 2wd promaster. Just ordered it a couple days ago so getting excited and prepped for the build now. also, sorry for the late response… hope your van adventures are going well