Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Beginning RVing: 1986 Ford "TurtleTop E350 and Intro


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Darkwawyer

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Joined: 05/20/2023

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Posted: 05/20/23 09:44am

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Hi all. I'm Austin and I am the (unfortunate?) owner of a vintage RV. One that appears to have little presence on the web. You know you might have issues when you can't find one on YouTube. It's a 1986 Ford E350 Terravan.

Yours truly purchased said rust bucket without seeing it. It has 70k on the dash and sucks down gas like a kid with a slurpy on a hot summer day. I have never owned an RV. As a kid, my family had tow along trailers. Needless to say, I don't have a clue what I'm doing...OR, if going to bail while the hole ($) is shallow [emoticon]

I won't do any glam camping in it. I am a fisherman. I occasionally tent out in state/fed parks and kayak fish. However, sleeping on the ground it a deterrent for my older fishing buds and, I must admit, it's starting to put a whoopin on me too [emoticon]

So, the vehicle came from an auction and the 2nd beating came in the form of not being able to find someone to ship it back to the home area. It's only 21' long, but the 10k weight sticker sent haulers running. Since I hadn't seen it and it was a 200mi trip from home, I decided to have a highly rated (Yelp) truck shop have it towed to their location to advise me on it and see if it was worth repairing.

He lied and beat me for $3000. On sight, the owner should have said it's super rusty...send it back through the auction. For 3k in labor cost, he "supposedly" replaced the fuel pump, draining the fuel tank and install new brake rotors,lines,calipers and mount 6 tires (all parts supplied by me).

When I picked it up to make the 200 mile trek (months later) the right headlight was out, no left side lighting at all and I swear the gas gauge was the same place it was in the auction picture (how could he drain it). I had 2 hrs of day light so I decided to make a run for it.

The RV performs as expected. Top Speed 65mph and braking power is mediocre. I probably shaved a few years off my life by breathing the stuff that was floating all around me....and I swear I heard animals screaming [emoticon]

...but it could have been the un-lubed chassis talking to me. I attempted to switch to the front tank and, at first sputter, quickly switched back to the rear tank. I stopped for gas and filled the rear tank. I assumed the front tank was empty so I started to fill it and only got $12 in it. So, the guy did nothing to that tank either. It started loosing power about 20 miles from home with no warning lights on the dash. I stopped at Walmart, got a bottle of lucas tuneup, filled rear tank back up and made it home.

Wooosah. So, I live in an apartment that is not RV friendly so I parked it on the street before heading back to work for "The Man." A week later, I go over to the RV, climb under it to check it out. No new brake lines [emoticon]

I supplied this guy with 50 feet of brakeline that is no where in site.

Have you guys ever taken someone to court? ...it's either hit or miss, but mostly miss. That'll be another story and I will save that for later...

...but to the part you've all been waiting for (Questions), where do I get started with this RV or RV renovation? Should I check the freshwater system, Fridges, toilet drains, electrical system, etc? I know that the bodywork will be substantial. I don't see any roof leaks, but there has been some water infiltration from the way some interior stuff looks. Probably need to caulk some stuff? I don't see any mold and it doesn't smell moldy. There are 2 fist sized holes (windshield pillar, opposing front fender), the front door skins are not attached at the bottom and other body work.

With what system should I start my renovation? What system presents the most physical and financial challenge? What advice can you give to dodge pitfalls (I should have or wish I would have when I did my reno/repair)?

Thank you for your advice and comments. If you have a turtle top/terravan, could you please reach out to me?

Sincerely,

Austin

Bumpyroad

Virginia

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Posted: 05/20/23 10:34am

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I thought that "turtle tops" were assembled in Mt. Airy MD. could try to locate somebody familiar with them. I checked one out in Brunswick, md and it seemed less than top qualitiiy with the overhead sliding shelf/bed covered with wooden colored shelf paper.
bumpy

urbex

Glendale, AZ

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Posted: 06/22/23 12:08pm

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As someone who came from Michigan, and now lives in Arizona...I wouldn't touch a rusty body/chassis even if I was paid to do so. If you don't fix all the rust issues, it will quickly become a never ending nightmare that will continue to get worse. If you're not capable of doing body work, it's also going to become a very expensive nightmare.

Rust is also a lot like an iceberg - the rust you see is only a small part of the problem. You start cutting out visible rust, and you're going to find a lot more beneath the surface. A fist sized hole in a windshield pillar is a very big deal, and I'd be concerned about structure rot inside that could lead to tee he windshield coming out.

I wouldn't put a dime in the rest of the systems before the rust is addressed, and I'm betting this will become "sell it for what you can, and rack it up to an expensive lesson"

1990 Ford F350 CCLB DRW 7.3 4x4
1990 Lance LC980 truck camper

Grit dog

Black Diamond, WA

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Posted: 06/22/23 04:17pm

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Your entire post/situation, from bought at auction sight unseen, to don’t know much about, to apartment can’t store it, to ripped off for lots of money, to rusted out all say to stop what you’re doing now, or at least proceed with only things that rob you of your time and not your wallet.
Honestly dude, no one knows your real desires or financial situation, so can’t really advise on that front, but, yeah, ditch that thing. Hopefully you haven’t spent the $ to title and license it yet…..

2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
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Tvov

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Posted: 06/23/23 05:07am

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What do you mean by "renovation"? Assuming you just want to get to "dependable"...

I would do two things first. Is it leaking? Does the roof leak? Re-caulk anything that looks suspect.

Then engine. Getting it running well. You didn't say that the transmission was giving you problems, so that is good. Fix the brake lines (again?) and check the suspension.

Now you have something you can at least sleep in out of the rain.

After all this, start going through all the systems as you get to them. If it works, leave it alone (for now, at least).

Body work is up to you. If it is road legal, then work on the body as you have time - or send it to a shop during the winter. Cost will not be cheap.

Just some ideas. Have fun!

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2021 F150 2.7
2004 21' Forest River Surveyor