Moto Van Standard length e150 (2016 build)

[ab630]

Whats up guys? Always looked at threads and never thought I would be doing one.

Well back to the situation of why I ended up deciding to buy and build a moto van. 

I was at my GF house and had my 2 dirt bikes in the back of my truck. I went inside to get some food while I left my truck outside, my whole visited lasted around 45 minutes and in that time my two bikes almost got hijacked by some stupid motherf***rs. Thank god I went to my truck to retrieve my wallet and encountered 2 kids trying to unload my bike out of my truck. I quickly sprinted to catch them, but had a sore leg from that day of riding and wasn't even able to keep up with them. Me and my girl thought about how crazy that situation was and at the moment I knew i needed a van in my life.

 

I was waiting for a perfect condition extended van with low miles, mint condition and under 5k. well you guys should know I was pretty much asking for a unicorn with tits. After 3 months of looking relentlessly everyday craigslist, I encountered a standard E150 2005, 70k miles for 5,700 mint condition and we had to jump on that deal. 

I was afraid that I might regret the decision of going standard length, but I went for it and guess what? I'm in route to a standard van that can fit 3 bikes (4 with hitch receiver) and have a sleeper sofa without the use of an extended van.

 

Pros of having a van: 

- no more rain hitting my bike before or after the track

- peace of mind

- don't have to unload

- can camp and road trip in it

- no need for trailer

- its a van

- might give away free candy

 

Cons:

- mpg

 

Please feel free to give me any ideas or steal my ideas if you want

 

Well lets stop the writing and show the pictures:

 

here is the van that was purchased

 

 

Put the bike in and at least it fits.

 

 

The van had these ugly grey front and rear bumpers with grey wheels, so I went to work with the matte black paint.

 

Hit the exhaust while I was at it:

 

and the hit the KX as well:

 

Took out the floor to fix some underneath rust:

 

While the floor dried I tok advantage and put some thermal-shield on the windows for insulation.

 

Finished sealed floor with diamond plate aluminum so hide the connection between the two mats, the one located in the front seats and the cargo liner from the back

 

Painted some rust in the roof

 

I was going to put wood on the door panels, but went with aluminum and pasted some cardboard in the back for noise reduction. It was a cleaner finish and not easy damageable and can get wet.

 

Added a table on this side of the van to make some sandwiches maybe even put a grill on top got the lock hinges on amazon, for the table I bought a bamboo cutting board so it would look professional and fir perfectly without me trying to pull my carpenter skills.

 

 

Wall build, I wanted to maximize as much space as I could so we built the partition wall with a slant to it. The slant will be where the people who are sitting in the back will put their back against, there will be cushions but that is next to come. The window works to see if everything is okay in the back or if you need to grab something real quick without having to stop and get out. I wanted a shelf on top to store miscellaneous for trips. Pretty much I was asking for a lot but was going to try any way.

The wall is a good idea to not get headaches from gas fumes and be able to store the bikes without the inconvenience of mud, gas, oil, etc in the sleeping and driving area. I met a guy one time with a van that said after the day of riding moto and storing the bikes back in the van. the car would smell like a gas nozzle for the next 40 mins until all the air went out the front 2 windows. Ask yourself in a situation where its raining and you can't put the windows down and all that gas smell is over you. that was something i was willing to avoid at all cost. (my girlfriend hates gas smell, for this reason the wall had to done)

Edited September 30, 2016 by ab630

[ab630]

Pictures of wall:

 

 

LED lights for some good lighting. I connected them to the 12 volt cable that run to the back light. 

Sprayed foam on the side to finalize the insulation and finish the wall build. Will probably still have to buy some water proof wood chemical to spray over the back part of the wall.

 

 

two bikes in KX250f, CRf150r

 

 

Talk about good measure

 

 

Bought this helmet hanger in home depot. 

 

 

Updates shall be continued currently going riding this weekend the van can wait

[kskyles]

wow.  nice build.  you got a sweet deal on the van. 

 

don't see too many regular length moto van builds.

 

how are you securing the bikes in the back?

[kcposty]

Nice build, atk bike shoes are great in your application, don't need tie down straps with then and are lockable adding another level of security. I would also look into an external contractor lock system for the back doors as factory lock is pretty easy to crowbar, learned the hard way

[ab630]

Damn those damn crowbars. I actually do have an external lock system and it has an all around electronic alarm system. Wow really gonna look into the atk bike shoes almost coudlnt get my bikes secure with the tie straps

[kcposty]

Take the ladder rack off you'll gain at least 1 mpg

[ab630]

Done. sold the ladder rack and a aftermarket iron wall partition on craigslist for 250 both

[ab630]

[ab630]

wow. nice build. you got a sweet deal on the van.

don't see too many regular length moto van builds.

how are you securing the bikes in the back?

Gonna set up the e tracks today should be a breeze with it

[ab630]

Waterproofed the wall, set up e-tracks stole a broom from my job, and finished insulating the wall completely

[ab630]

The van's global debut was a success.

Only 1/3 finished with ut

[Lennie]

Best thing I ever got for my dirt bike was a van, trailers are rubbish !!!!!!!!!!!

[ab630]

So hurricane Matthew is coming to where I live... what better hurricane shelter than my van for my bikes

[kcposty]

You get through Mathew alright? I bet that van was rockin!

[ab630]

So hurricane Matthew barely gave us rain so track was the plan for Sunday

So this jump got the best of me when my chain snapped and sent me over the bars

We good for another weekend.. good times with the van today

You get through Mathew alright? I bet that van was rockin!

No rain by where i am so the van didnt have to try too hard to keep the bikes safe

[kcposty]

Done with the van time for some maintenance

[ab630]

Done with the van time for some maintenance

Not done yet still 1/3 next is the HID beams, outdoor led bar, carpet walls and ceiling inside, make futon, etc.. Man its like a never ending project, but because the van is usable gotta enjoy it in the meanwhile

[Piney Woods]

Make a fold down bed out of plywood, a futon will take up too much space.

[ab630]

Make a fold down bed out of plywood, a futon will take up too much space.

Yup gonna try to build it.. getting a futon with the exact measure its almost impossible

[ab630]

Forgot to share this picture of 1 kx 250f, crf 150r big wheel, crf 150r small wheel all fot with plenty of space and room