It is a 1999 ford econoline, with ~80k miles on it. The interior has been stripped and the windows have been painted over.

It gets, allegedly, 11MPG.

It needs new tires and an oil change, and a bench.

@ajroach42 TBF you shouldn't be abusing your CW tag like that then 😺

Though ... modular interior and work / cargo / passenger / camper van might be an interesting concept.

@DoctorDeathray

@dredmorbius It will almost certainly end up getting used as a camper at some point, but it's a low roof van, so I wouldn't want to spend any significant amount of time in it.

@ajroach42 I'd noted the low top from the first photo, so yes, that's understandable.

Makes more sense as a cargo/passenger van to that extent, though it might be interesting to play with other ideas.

On vanlife generally, I've watched quite a few videos, builds, and walkthroughs, though I've not looked at vans in person yet. One impression I've had is that building in hard-sided furnishings strikes me as possibly less optimal. Given weight, vibration, and reprovisioning potentials, the alternative of using soft-sided elements, to the extent viable, seems an alternative.

That would be most viable for components such as clothing, equipment, and food storage. A hanging fabric container should work there. It might work for bed and seating, at least in part. A fold-down hammock or webbed cot, with a thinner mattress, which would fold away to provide more interior space.

An element some vans have is a shower/bath which hides in a cabinet and generally folds or slides out with a curtain that's deployed (pulled up / out / hung from elsewhere), which seems an excellent way to avoid dedicating a huge internal volume to a single task.

Cooking surfaces, table/desk, and some food storage (especially refrigeration) are less amenable, and some fixed-cabinet or chest-type elements could serve those.

The result might be less like "home on wheels" but could be far more flexible.

In your case, building out the basics of a cargo van, removeable seats for passengers, and soft-sided storage for camping which could be hung from fixed attachments, might be something to consider. Not dedicated to any one purpose, but flexing reasonably readily between several.

#VanLife

@ajroach42 hell yeah my parents had a 1980 Ford Econoline that lasted well into the 2000s, by which time the interior looked just like that

@ajroach42 and I will live in it.

@DoctorDeathray @ajroach42 I heard about this van.

@DoctorDeathray down by the river?

@ajroach42 @DoctorDeathray Using a van for its intended purpose is the best #vanlife

@float13 yeah. It was a passenger van in the past, and the AC ducting is exposed now and damaged.