In reply to Ian F:
I need to get a premium for it and sell it as a totally dialed in, dirt worthy, #Vanlife rig ready for Instagram. I'm going to include the fridge, compressor, solar panels etc, everything.
You should buy a stock van if you don't want something dirt worthy. I'd opt for a high top conversion van personally.
In reply to Petrolburner:
Gotcha. Might still be interested, but we'll see. Unfortunately, the suspension mods are a bit wasted here on the east coast where off-roading tends to be tight, slow trails in the woods. But... a bunch of my friends keep moving west (MT, CO, NV...) and I've been dreaming of long, multiday adventure trips to go mtn biking... so...
Whatever van I buy will definitely have a raised roof (been there; drank the Kool-Aid). The problem is vans like yours here in the rust-belt tend to be well used up by the time they're sold. And still not cheap. Consumer-grade half-ton conversion vans are usually a lot cheaper and in better condition.
Honestly, the stock suspension sucks so badly over bumps of any size that this progressive suppression with the Fox Shox 2.0 shocks is required. I'm thinking $15 grand when the time comes if that helps. My brother says ask $18.
I have a brake fluid leak. It appears that there is a line running along the firewall that is leaking somewhere before the connection of the passenger front rubber line connection. I can kind of see where it's dripping from, but I can't see the line. Some disassembly seems to be required. 
Well it turns out I did actually have a brake fluid leak, but it was the line going into the left rear caliper. Just needed to be tightened. What I was seeing leaking up front was coolant from the heater core. Why didn't this idiot recognize the volume of fluid couldn't possibly be brake fluid since the brakes still worked? I don't know. Why didn't I recognize the smell? Becuase I had a 4 giant layers of memory foam stored in there and they had a very similar and pungent smell. Anyway, I handed the heater core job to a local mechanic because I was still fighting fire and really not interested in the job. I thought I'd help out and spray a can of degreaser on the engine and clean things up since I'm such a nice guy. Well that may or may not have caused a few coils to malfunction so I also had them swap in 8 new coils. Gertrude is running as smooth as glass and the heat output will nearly melt your boots. It's good to go and because of some vehicular mayhem in the household I really do need to sell Gertrude. Any thoughts on value? I'm thinking $15k is fair. I'll include everything, both lofts, jack with skid plate, air compressor, solar panels, fridge, the two spare rear seats, bike racks and moto chocks. Even the mattress and I think I have a couple sets of sheets.
In reply to Petrolburner :
No idea on the 2wd vans, but that doesn't sound crazy. Id post it on Expo and see what you get for offers.
A quick google search turns up a number of "vanlife" forums. Might be worth posting there. For better or worse, I have already bought my van:
E-350, extended length, raised roof, diesel. Local and surprisingly cheap.
Build thread for MV 3.0?
Mad_Ratel said:Build thread for MV 3.0?
Last photo I got of Gertrude as she drove away with her new owner.
Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr
A friend of mine that I ride with, asked me to give him a shot at her before listing on craigslist. A few weeks ago I decided that selling her would force me to jump in and get going on the Grumman build. Now I have no way to haul a dirtbike or mountain bike until I get a floor back in.
Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr
I've finished sand blasting. Painting with POR-15 this weekend after the solvent arrives in the mail. I'm also tracking down a big aluminum moving truck ramp to mount on slides in between the frame rails before I bolt the floor back in.
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