im going to buy a 1994 e350 short bus to live in.

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

van looks to be in amazing condition, has had somewhat recent repairs done and there are two brand new sprinter vans in the school's parking lot, seems like good omen.

though im realizing i dont know if this is an IDI or an early Powerstroke.
while i am fine with with driving slow, whats the mpg difference between the two?
IDI will have problems worked, so i assume its preferable over an early Powerstroke which has unique parts that are hard to find.
will this vehicle use a mix of SAE and metric nuts and bolts?

ive been wanting to do this for years, hoping i can flat tow the 2000 mt 2wd ranger, though the wife drive stick.
also hoping this thing is small/light enough for parking in the city and AAA tows. if all goes amazingly well, ill upgrade to a bigger bus.

buddy #1 scoped it out for me a few days ago and is going to test drive it today and then ill drive 750miles to go pick with a buddy#2 and drive it 250miles back to my winter vacation spot where buddy#2 lives and then gut it and build it out this winter.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

funny i live out of a 94 e350 fiberglass bus at my winter spot but i move it around with the ranger

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

.....down by the river?

 

[djfllmn]

94 would be IDI

 

[djfllmn]

.....down by the river?

one of the best SNL skits of all time

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've heard power wise a turbo IDI is on par with a powerstroke and many say a better engine... If N/A it's probably pretty low on power but probably fine for most things...

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

does low on power also mean poor gas mileage or just low cruising speed and slow acceleration?

they say my 2.5l ranger is low on power but it does everything i need it too. chugs up hills just fine in 2nd gear with a full bed and loaded trailer

 

[Curious Hound]

I had a 1990 7.3 IDI in an F350, crew cab, dually. Manual transmission. If I recall, mileage was around 19mpg. Of course that was probably a little more aerodynamic than a bus. I liked it. I did wish for a turbo. But that truck was great. Cruised fine. Just a little slow on acceleration.

One Christmas/New Year Holiday, I drove that thing from SC to northeastern PA then to Madison Wisconsin and back to SC. Comfy cruiser.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

Fuel economy empty vs. loaded could be very different.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Fuel economy empty vs. loaded could be very different.

My '97 F350 with powerstroke gets around 18mpg empty somehow and I think I've gotten the mileage as low as about 10 but that is in the neighborhood of 20k pounds over mountains (Santiam Pass, I think 4k' at peak and the bulk of it is over a fairly short distance), don't know what it is loaded and flat...

 

[holyford86]

Not sure if you live in an area that salts roads, if you do, look over the underside of the bus body very well, they've never been known for corrosion resistance

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Where are you going to poop?

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

heavy seats

Not sure if you live in an area that salts roads, if you do, look over the underside of the bus body very well, they've never been known for corrosion resistance

underside looks pristine.

i did three years living out the back of my ranger and used a lot of gas stations and gopher holes

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Up here there are some gas station chains that have showers, usually catering to the truckers. My UFA ( United Farmers of Alberta) has a free card lock system for fueling and has showers at this spot. Not all have showers tho. Co-op also has fuel bars and some have free showers. Most other large chains charge for showers.
Another fairly cheap place is you local pool or gym.

Gopher holes...

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

bus has an e4od and a 4.1 rear axle
from what i understand:
bus will be 'low and slow' but keep chugging. with 4.1 gear
peak mpg is at 1400rpm which will be at about 50mph on the interstate
if i want to flat tow a ranger, at a minimum, ill need to add a transmission cooler ...due to weight of bus, i imagine it already has one.

i also read that it is not an easy swap from auto to manual, which woulda been great in the event of transmission failure, though i did read that e4od is one of the simpler transmission to rebuild

*edit*
thats the trans-cooler center-left of the image, correct?