Only Slightly Scary Camper Vans: 1973 Ford Econoline vs 1984 Dodge B350
Good morning! This week’s Shitbox Showdown features a pair of camper vans, and I have to say, they’re in better shape than I would have expected. You can’t really expect miracles at these prices, of course, but neither one should make you want to run away screaming.
I figured this would be a close vote. How wrong I was. Despite some criticism in the comments about its updated wheels, the little Escort wagon won by a landslide. I imagine I’m in agreement — my old Escort served me well, and I liked my friend’s wagon even more than my hatchback. Yes, sure, I’d rather have had a manual, but even with an automatic, mine wasn’t slow. Its biggest issue was the transmission hunting between third and fourth gear on hills — a problem worsened by the fact that I couldn’t turn the overdrive off!
Halloween is just around the corner, and the decorations are coming out. We’ve got one of those twelve-foot-tall skeletons from Home Depot in our yard. One of our neighbors nearby embraced a “scary clown” theme. Not my style, but boy oh boy, did they commit. They also parked a beat-up old Chevy van sideways across their driveway inscribed with “FREE CANDY” in big, drippy letters. My assumption, and hope, is they’ll be passing out candy from that van to trick-or-treaters.
In honor of that genuinely unsettling van, I wanted to find some scary vans to feature. Instead, I came across these two camper vans. They’re both friendly by comparison, and actually, I think they each have the potential to be really cool. Let’s take a look:
1973 Ford Econoline 300 – $3,900
- Engine/Drivetrain: 302 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
- Location: Folsom, CA
- Odometer Reading: 92,000 miles
- Operational Status: Runs and drives well
People have been fitting out vehicles to live in since the invention of the wheel, but it wasn’t until after World War II that converting vans into recreational vehicles really took off. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, vans outfitted for camping were big business, and a lot of panel-sided vans ended up at conversion companies, having their roofs cut off and a fiberglass top installed to make more room inside for beds, appliances, and everything else people require when they get away from it all.
In 1973, this second-generation Ford Econoline one-ton van rolled out of a factory of a company called Red-E-Kamp, more or less in the form you see it here today. Early Econolines were a cab-over design – the seats were atop the front wheels, and the engine was just behind them. For the 1969 model year, Ford moved the seats back and the engine forward, now enclosed in the familiar “doghouse” that protrudes from the dash. Inside the doghouse of this one is a 302 V8 and a three-speed automatic. It runs and drives well, and it has only 92,000 miles on the odometer.
Anyone who grew up with friends whose parents had a conversion van probably recalls a lot of shag carpeting and velour upholstery. That doesn’t seem to be the style of 1973, at least from the factory; this van’s interior is a study in fake woodgrain and blue vinyl. It has a sink, a stove, and a fridge, and features two sleeping areas: one in the back, which looks like it converts into a sofa, and one up above in a loft, which probably has a very strict weight limit. It’s all original, the seller says, and is really not in bad condition at all, considering. And at least vinyl is easy to clean. It shows a little bit of rust outside, but the seller says the floors are solid. The paint actually looks decent, on the steel part anyway; the fiberglass top is pretty faded. As long as it’s watertight, I suppose it doesn’t matter if it’s a little chalky.
1984 Dodge B350 – $4,500
- Engine/Drivetrain: 360 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
- Location: Rancho Cordova, CA
- Odometer Reading: 50,000 miles
- Operational Status: Runs and drives well
Dodge vans were a favorite of RV conversion companies for many years, whether the full-on Class C motorhomes or conversion vans like Uncle Rico drove. Even a lot of the larger Winnebago-type RVs in the 1960s and ’70s were Dodge-powered. What you don’t see too often, though, is a long-wheelbase, extended-length “church van” like this converted to an RV. This sucker is 22 feet long and only has a small bump in the center section of the roof, making it longer and lower than your typical camper van.
Inside the doghouse of this extra-long B-series van is a 360 cubic inch V8 and a Torqueflite automatic transmission. It’s a good, strong, high-torque combination, just what you need to muscle a beast like this. The seller says it runs well, and they spent the summer road-tripping in it. Now they’re having a baby, and don’t expect to be doing much traveling, so they’re giving someone else a chance. It has all the features you’d expect to find in a camper van: a stove, a fridge, a freshwater tank with a propane water heater, and plenty of places to sleep. It also has a propane furnace and a roof-mounted air conditioner, so you don’t have to fear the outside temperature. It all looks serviceable, if not perfect, and I don’t want to “Jump” to any conclusions, but I get the feeling from that fridge that someone is a Van Halen fan.
It’s clean outside and about as stylish as you can expect something like this to be. One thing does need attention, though: Someone recently broke the rear window, so it needs to be replaced. The seller has adjusted the price accordingly, and it’s not a fancy piece of glass, so it shouldn’t require much effort to fix.
Camper vans, more so than maybe any other vehicle, can get really sketchy really fast as you drop down the price range. But I don’t get the impression that either of these has been lived in long term or otherwise abused; they both seem to have been used as designed, for vacations and road trips, and they’re both ready for more.
Which one are you going with?
