yah.. i dinna see the mileage on the ford, either..
any gasoline engine over 150,000 is due for work at any moment..
even more so are suspension & other structural, transmission, system components.. shocks, struts, springs, ball joints, seals, clutch plates, valves, hoses, pumps, electronic controls, etc..
all that stuff has a nominal lifetime of about 150,000 miles.. some will go way longer, some way shorter, but at 150K, be ready to drop more cash into the vehicle at any moment, at any place.
**knowing** how to diagnose & repair is the best investment you can make, timewise..
yes, it's good to travel trouble free, but man.. nothing sucks so much as not being able to track down a 25 cent fuse for an electric fuel pump & then be hammered for the tow or a repair that may or may not have been needed, or could have been done or jerry-rigged just as well, for about 1/4 the price by yerself..
if you *must* go forward with getting a full size vehicle, then depending on where you are & whether or not you have the resources, my advice, really, & if possible, is to get:
1) an old gas trimmer engine and full rebuild kit.. the cheapest one you can find, running or not, 2 stroke or 4 stroke..
tear that fucker apart until every last separable goddamned component is laying laid out on your work blanket..
rebuild it if i didn't run, reassemble it if it did.. buy what you need when shit breaks during the rebuild.. the whole project should cost no more than about $75, including original engine & parts..
you'll also need to spend about $75 on tools.. get nothing cheaper than Stanleys, preferably something better, or craigslist for craftsman or SK..
hang out at a junkyard, if you can.. offer to help out for free, just because because you want to learn.. help sweep, pull parts, etc..
an old time garage, even, if there's a local one..
they'll get a hell of a laugh when you say you want to learn to rebuild a gas trimmer engine, but they'll probably respect you, too, as a noob..
in any case, make the fucker run.
then you will have the very first inklings of knowledge..
reciprocating 2 strokes & 4 strokes & magneto & coil & distributed spark & carbureted & fuel injected & diesel engines are all different, but the *all* need about 9 common elements to create work from air & fuel..
once you understand & can successfully diagnose & repair failure in the simplest, you will have a basic, portable skill-set among your survival tools..
2) get an old VW air-cooled engine (preferably with a vw attached), and a copy of "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, a Manual of Step By Step Procedures for the Complete Idiot Volkswagen, by Muir, John & Tosh Gregg"
hell, get it and read it, in any case.. mandatory..
good anecdotal reading, plus lots of practical & theoretical knowledge..
digest it while working on the trimmer engine..
3) if you don't have anywhere to do a mechanical project like that, just get the idiot's guide & read it..
it's for an air-cooled engine, but the newer editions may cover watercooled & fuel injected models.. dunno.. i 1st read it nearly 40 years ago, doing my 1st engine rebuild.. after that there was immediately a lot i *understood*, & there wasn't a whole lot i didn't *understand* when instructed by others with much greater knowledge.. if it turns out you *enjoy* mechanics, all those little pieces stay with you...
-if you can, get the tools he specifies..
-carry those tools with you, at all fucking times..
-also get a chiltons and a couple of other manuals for your vehicle..
-look for a trouble shooting chart for your vehicle.. often a basic one is in the manuals, sometimes more extensive ones are online..
what will happen is that people will stop & help you, & if you have the physical tools ready & a basic knowledge of what is being talked about, not only will you get a hand with what's wrong, you will learn..
my advice is to get an older vehicle with low miles.. it's just about impossible to find a low miles, early 80's, non-electronic, frame based, low rust, 6 cylinder US/Canadian van (dodge, gmc, ford, chevy, whatever..), but if you find one cosmetically rough with about 120,000 miles on it, get it (if you want gasoline).. keep your eyes peeled for older RVs like that, too..
you could also consider a truck & bed mounted camper, the advantage being that if you find a permanent to semi-permanent place to park (seasonal work, etc.), you can unload the camper & use the truck to just travel in..
if you live in a van, be ready to carry very little, & make sure you keep room for tools..
make sure whatever you have has a heavy-duty suspension, too..
diesel presents other options, but that's another story...
anyways.. good luck with yer search.. this post is late in the thread, but if you haven't bought, it's better to do so in the spring, so you can work out bugs when it's warm, rather than being ass-frozen cold... although the cold is often enough what does it..
good luck!!
jn
