2024 - Volume #48, Issue #6, Page #04
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Old Van Converted Into A Delivery ‘Truck’
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The extended frame van still ran well, so he thought it would convert nicely.
“The front end was still good, and it had a 7.3L diesel engine, which is a great motor, so I thought I could cut it in half and put a flatbed on the back end,” Eberhardt says.
He cut through the van body and decided to fasten a new 8-ft. long flatbed floor made of treated lumber directly to the frame. He ran 4 by 4s crosswise and used new deck boards to finish the floor. He added a 6-in. edging around the perimeter to keep tools and implements from falling off.
“When I do things like this, I don’t normally have a good plan in mind,” he laughs. “I just kind of tear into things, and hopefully, it comes together properly as I go.”
Eberhardt mainly uses the converted truck to haul lawnmowers as he’s a mechanic for farm equipment. He also often pulls a single-axle trailer behind.
He originally paid $500 for the Ford van and estimates the entire conversion cost about $300 in extra materials. He still needs to close the 2-ft. wide hole where he divided the van body as it’s open to the atmosphere.
“It works great, and I don’t regret it one bit,” Eberhardt says. “It gets plenty of attention as everyone around town knows me. People even take pictures of it when I’m driving on the 4-lane highway. It’s the best 500 bucks I ever spent.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Seth Eberhardt, P.O. Box # 404, Mediapolis, Iowa 52637 (ph 319-850-0210; lawn_mowrz02@hotmail.com).
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