2006 Ford Econoline E350 “BEAST”
The Story:
This camper/adventure van is always the talk of the adventures/drives. Bringing smiles to any destination and any participant traveled or that has seen the Beast! The van “BEAST” quickly earned its name due to its size. Big enough to go many places yet small enough to drive to the grocery store as it is not much longer than a Tahoe/Suburban.
Snow, no problem. Sand, no problem, Desert, no problem, Mountains, no problem… The BEAST will get you there…
The Beginning:
This van used to be a Hotel Shuttle bus originally in Denver. Dave’s Coach did the outfitting of the Turtle Top/conversion.
We purchased this van in 2020 as our Covid project. Drove to Denver to buy the van from an auction as it had small damage to the Camper door area; hence the salvage title status. Limited damage and will find pics of when I purchased it. Installed a new door, rhino lining and built out the interior. The van came with the 6” lift, wheels as well as the 4×4 conversion.
The Build:
Interior has birch cabinets built in place (food door cabinet, upper storage cabinet with Solar controller and House Fuse Panel/Distribution as well as dinette seating/bed conversion with storage under each seat, removable table that is also part of the bed conversion, cedar tongue and groove ceiling, Queen bed in the rear, Webasto gasoline fired heater with programmable thermostat (amazing unit), 200w Rooftop mounted solar, 1-AGM House Battery, 120v Shore power connection, House Battery Trickle Charger built-in, Maxxair Rooftop Fan, LED Puck Lights on wireless remote, LED Tape light along interior perimeter, Dometic Awning (electric, without vertical supports and wind sensor), Custom Interior cushions and Insulated Snap in Shades, ARB Winch Ready Bumper, Custom Rear Bumper, Both bumpers and lower Section Rhino Lined, Front Fog Lights, Light Bar, Rear Fog Lights, Backup Lights, Backup Camera, Double Din Radio, 8” Behind the Seat Sub with controller, All new speakers, Marmoleum Flooring.
I made the Beast a dry system as we used the van a lot during the ski season and didn’t want to deal with a water system and would just pack our water. There is plenty of room on the garage or underbody for a tank as I have debated a few times but never found the true reason to have it.
The Mechanicals:
New Complete Front brakes, 4×4 Selector, Heater Fan, Fuel Pump, Fuel Filter, All Fluids Flushed, Regular Oil Changes, New Hubs, Rear Brakes done 12k Miles ago.
The Condition:
This van is in great overall condition for being almost 20 years old. There is the obvious standard wear and tear. The undercarriage has typical surface rust from us using the Beast for our ski rig. There are small paint chips and dings on the beast as we are firm believers of using our equipment but not abusing our equipment. Runs and drives great considering the 4×4 conversion as well as the mud terrain 35” mud tires on 20” Black Rhino Wheels.
The Fun:
Take this adventure van anywhere. We have boon docked all over the west coast; from Tahoe, to Bachelor, Olympics, Joshua Tree, Vegas, Moab, Yellowstone, Ski Trips, Mountain Bike adventures/races as well as Dirt biking. We are a family of four and the Beast has worked out well for us as the Dinette Bed fits both of our kids (13yo 5’ and 15yo 6’) with my wife and myself on the queen bed in the rear.
The Sell:
The Beast has served our family well over the past 4 years of our ownership but currently we are Building a 2021 Turtle Top (same model just newer) with a pano moonroof (last pic). We loved our Beast so much we found an amazing opportunity to do it again; so now… Beast Duex!
Please let me know if any questions you may have. This thing will instantly put a smile on your face once you drive it! Thanks again and happy adventuring!
THE BEAST
