Ford Transit Custom Propane Tank and Heating System Camper Van Conversion

By
Emmanuel Forge
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0

Early questions people interested in van life will ask themselves about custom vans:

  • How much does one of these camper vans cost?
  • What about a 4×4 van?
  • Okay, how much does one of these conversion vans cost used?
  • Mercedes Sprinter RV or Ford Transit Camper?
  • Should this be a stealth camper?
  • How much room do I need? Do I really need to stand up?
  • How will I go to the bathroom? Do I really need a toilet in the van?
  • Do vandwellers really poop in a trash bin?
  • What’s the longest I’ve gone without a shower?
  • Does that little Fantastic Fan actually cool off the van?
  • Why does an air conditioner require so much freaking electricity?
  • How will I stay warm?

Many of these questions are interconnected and driven in large part by budget and vision. For myself, and I’d imagine many others considering #vanlife, spending any serious time considering living in a van starts with a three-way negotiation between me, myself, and I over which ubiquitous modern amenities are necessary in a home.

For me, the question about warmth inter-played with most of the cost and amenity dynamics in designing my van from scratch. I bought a 2017 Ford Transit T-250 which gave me a brand new blank slate (watch a video walk around the new and empty Ford Transit). Check out photos of the build progress from 0 to 75%.

The shortest way to get an overall glimpse of my Ford Transit’s custom van propane tank and heating system is to watch the first couple minutes of this video linked below:

When considering my camper van options I naturally favored Ford for a number of personal reasons (Headquartered in Michigan, avoided government ownership during late-aught financial crisis, Transit engine is physically made in the same county where I grew up).

On the technical side, Ford offers both a diesel and gasoline optioned Ford Transit.

There are other van conversions to consider (Mercedes Benz, Dodge). But I have an internal bias in favor of Ford such that I never considered Dodge, and viewed Mercedes Benz as an additional cost I simply could not afford (As fate would have it, after buying my Ford, I ended up working a five month stint selling Mercedes Benz vans (read about the 5 lessons I learned as a car salesman). I feel comfortable with my Ford decision in hindsight, and even defended Ford at a Mercedes Benz corporate training).

I’ll now walk through my cliff notes to touch on my state-of-mind at the time I made the decision to go propane. After that I will cover what I would’ve done differently in hindsight a year later.

My quick initial thoughts heating the living space within the context of the engine types (not a fact sheet):

Ford Diesel Engine (with Diesel Heater)

  • $2,130 more than gasoline Eco-Boost V6 engine (EBV6); $4,000 more than base gasoline engine

  • 40% less horsepower, 12.5% less torque, 300 lb less payload, and 900 lb less towing capacity than EBV6

  • More durable, can idle engine without significant risk

  • Diesel fuel cost may be a short term wash, long term potential four-figure savings

  • Diesel heater like the Espar D2 can tap into van’s fuel system; no additional fuel tank needed

  • Works in all seasons and conditions so long as I have enough fuel to move the van

  • How much does a diesel heater cost? Not sure, maybe $800+? Can I do it myself? Not sure.

  • How will I heat the water for my shower and cook? And how will that choice affect my electricity usage throughout the seasons?

Ford Gasoline Engine (with Propane Heater)

  • Less capital required at the time of purchase; lower total liability on the van

  • Separate propane tank required

  • How much does a propane heater cost? $800+. Can I do it myself? Not sure.

  • Works in all seasons

  • Propane could also be used for the water heater and stove

Electric Heater

  • Least efficient method to generate heat

  • Most susceptible to weather conditions when I would need heat the most

  • How will I heat the water for my shower and cook? And how will that choice affect my electricity usage throughout the seasons?

  • Too many unknowns for me to compare against fossil fuel alternatives

The Decision

The first YouTube video I saw about a propane heater in a mobile home is linked below:

The video above covers the Dickinson Marine P9000. Ultimately I ended up purchasing the Dickinson Marine P12000 (after selecting the gasoline engine Ford Transit based on multiple considerations, primarily an effort to reduce initial upfront cost).

The Dickinson Marine P9000 is rated for a 10’x10’x8′ space (800 cu.ft). The P12000 is rated for a 12’x12’x8′ (1,100 cu.ft). My living space is ~8’x5.5’x6.25′ (275 cu.ft). The total cargo area (including living space, bathroom, and storage spaces) is ~12’x5.5’x6.25 (412 cu.ft).

Both propane heaters have two settings: low and high. The P9000 is rated for 7 hrs/lb-propane on low (3,200 BTUs/hr) and 5 hrs/lb-propane on high (4,500 BTUs/hr). The P12000 is rated for 5.5 hrs/lb-propane on low (4,000 BTUs/hr) and 3.9 hrs/lb-propane on high (5,500 BTUs/hr).

Both furnaces are designed for boats. For me this means their rating is based on at or above freezing temperatures (32 F and above). With no strong method to estimate what these might be able to handle in 0 F or below temperatures I just picked the larger model and called it a day.

One day I should have enough lived-in experience to write some feedback on this decision. Currently I have none.

At some point in the design I unexpectedly found a Stiebel 6 gallon electric water heater that recovers within 45 minutes to up to 140 F and requires only 11.3 amps max current (most on-demand electric water heaters available require a significantly higher current draw and are unrealistic for DIY van-home applications). For this reason I felt comfortable excluding the water heater as a necessary propane appliance. (CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PURCHASED ELECTRIC WATER HEATER)

Therefore my only propane appliances are the Dickinson Marine furnace and a two-burner drop-in Suburban countertop stove. (CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PURCHASED COOK TOP)

Installation

At the time I had read about DIY camper van propane tank installs and just assumed, at a later date, I too could “figure it out”. (CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO DIY PROPANE TANK INSTALL POST)

Many months later, after purchasing the van, and installing the Dickinson Marine propane furnace, I decided that I did not feel comfortable with a DIY propane tank solution.

Leading up to this point I assumed a 20 pound propane tank might cost $50, or $100 at most. A non-DIY installation was a total mystery, but even then I figured it’d be $1,000 dollars or less.

After working through the possibilities I ended up purchasing an externally mounted, horizontal, 32lb propane tank (32″ L x 10″ D). And the thing fits like it was designed to be there. The tank actually sits higher than the full-size spare, with just enough room to keep the spare in place. This is worth repeating, this third party propane tank fits like a glove on my 2017 Ford Transit T-250 (Long Wheel Base Extended High Roof).

But the propane system costs started to add up. This tank cost me around $500. (LINK TO PURCHASED PROPANE TANK)

Once I received the tank I was kind of shrugging my shoulders, “now what?”

I knew I needed some valves, and piping, but I really didn’t know what to do and didn’t want to assume the type of responsibility that experimenting with explosive gas demands.

So I turned the job over to professionals, Weber Automotive, in North Olmsted, Ohio. They are certified to convert vehicles to propane fuel systems, so I figured they’d be as good as anybody to install an external propane heat system. They performed work on my Jeep in the past. And when everything was said and done I can say they did an excellent job on this installation. I would recommend them for this type of work and other automotive needs in general.

That being said, immediately the time and materials job exceeded my highest cost expectations. A mechanic there brought up a valid point I had thought was decided. Because of the placement of the tank, he felt the tank needed an external filling station to avoid any potential issues when trying to fill up the tank in the future. I ultimately agree, but that added an additional significant item and install cost to the list (CLICK LINK TO PROPANE REMOTE FILL KIT).

What I asked them to do was take this empty tank, and hook it up to my furnace and stove, and install whatever’s needed in-between. Their work was excellent. But that installed grand total ended up in the neighborhood of $2,600 when all said and done. Add in the propane tank and the cost of the furnace and my Ford Transit van’s custom propane heating system cost ~$3,800 (double my initial guess in the design phase).