A Bucket Van for ONLY $1500? What Could Possibly go Wrong?? 

Ahhh this is why we’re still waiting for the gooseneck fifth wheel trailer to be finished.

I use to work for a company in New Jersey that installed the bucket lifts in the E350 vans. One of the interlocks that we installed was a switch that you had to prop the hood open before the bucket would operate. The hood open keeps the engine cool when idling since it idles soo much. Good 🤞

The gray terminal on the ignition cylinder is for the "door dinger" to chime when the driver door is open and the keys are in the ignition. Most Fords only have an oil pressure switch that just grounds to swing the gauge, so if it moves off the bottom of the scale, you've achieved minimum oil pressure. Check the fuses for the gauges, there should be a circuit that is red/yellow for gauge cluster power. I've used a lift van nearly identical to yours, you'll want to avoid being off to the side and being close to horizontal with a lot of boom out, best stability is having the boom front to back.

I retired from AT&T so I spent a lot of time in bucket vehicles. BE CAREFUL IN THE VAN, the vans are narrow and don't have much stability compared to the wider track width and weight of a 3500 and 4500/F550 diesel. Be very careful how high you go up and how high and how far you extend off either side. Also ALWAYS be mindful of what's overhead and get comfortable with how the hydraulics respond on the bucket. If you have any other questions like I said, I'm familiar.

Couldn't you just buy a new dip stick for cheaper

I think you got the bucket assembly at a great price of $1500, and the van for free. Excellent pick. I'd love to have one too.

I worked for a private pay phone company in the late 90's. We had vans with man buckets on them. We changed the bumpers to an after market off road bumper. Then welded on the round side mount trailer jacks.. that gave them a lot more of a stable feeling

You're a good step-son Waldo. Your step-dad is lucky to have your services and knowhow.

2:25. Oil pressure gauge? All the gauges are out of whack. Temp is at red hot, battery/alternator is dead and the fuel is about to spill out of the tank.

Whenever using a cutting wheel please make sure to put the label facing you, that way if it explodes it’s more likely to explode away from you. Had this happen the other day in the shop

This guy spend hours making a $12 dip stick.

Those instrument clusters are like $80 at a salvage yard. I’d just grab a new one. Usually I just match the year and transmission because the PSOM behind the speedometer does help control the transmission

Waldo, it sounds silly but it’s important to wear a safety harness while in the bucket. It’s common to lean out and if you go too far there’s no place to hook your feet, and over you go.

Remember for PTOs, the pump is self cooling based on oil flow. So only operate it at high idle so you don't crater the pump. We work with Elliott crane trucks here at my shop and see it all the time

I don't understand why just getting a new or used trans dipstick wasn't an option...

Keep up the great work! Would love to see the rest of the trailer build series sometime

Hello 🙋‍♂️from the Netherlands 🇳🇱. a good trick to protect your hydraulic hoses is to put a piece of old fire hose over it, this protects against UV light and against rubbing against it. I would replace those flashing lights with LED models that give more light and require less power . thanks for the video Waldo . Sincerely, Hollandduck 🇳🇱🦆

Hey Waldo from the UK Great Video. Looks like you got a bargain. A couple of tips. 1. When you looked at the drum brake, the wheel cylinder was wet, meaning the seals are starting to leak by. Best change both sides as only going to get worse. You may wish to change the brake fluid too since its hydroscopic and will over time absorb water. 2. Coolant system. Reverse flush with a garden hose placed into the Rad top hose and be amazed at the gunk that will come out of the rad bottom hose. Then reverse flush rad with water put into the bottom. 3. Dash cluster. You appear to be on the right track with a bad ground - since temp gauge showed hot. A basic test to see if the gauge or sensor is bad, is to ground the gauge wire, and if gauge goes to hot then the sensor is bad. because the gauge is showing hot all the time I would certainly be looking at something shorted to ground. Finally - I'd check and change the hydraulic filter for the bucket maybe even change the fluid depending on how bad it is? Wishing you and your family all the best for the Holiday season

Impressive you learnt your lesson on the oil drop😂, great revival, I pretty much live in a bucket truck, I highly highly recommend you get a harness before you go up again, those open sided tubs are death traps. Also you should be be able to level the bucket out so it’s not leaned over so much. Great vid!

Why not just order a new dipstick from Ford for $50? I usually agree with everything you do but that just seemed crazy to me.

I really wasn't interested in a box truck but i gave it a go since your videos are so well put together. Turns out it was good, interested to see it finished up and out on the road. Vans keep nice things dry when you are transporting them, always useful if you like to buy stuff...Nice to borrow too.

For a moment there I thought this was Musti1's bucket van. xD Different year, but very similar vehicle.

Waldo has like 8 open projects right now, at least finish one 💀

Waldo you and I seem cut of the same cloth. I am very particular about haveing ALL the fluids and filters in my vehicle very clean and high quality, great attention to detail! I wish you would post more often way too much time between videos that's a good way to start loosing subs. That truck was one hell of a good deal at $1500.00

I honestly would have written it off when you showed it at the start, but damn did that clean up nicely and surprisingly easily. But the real question is.. can it tow a gooseneck trailer?

Can’t wait! These bucket trucks always seem to be reasonably priced, hopefully you can get it going, guess will find out!

I’m excited to enjoy this wonderful episode with my salmon and rice pilaf dinner tonight! Thanks Waldo!

Waldo, I bought an E350 almost 3 years ago and loved it so much that I moved into it. No I'm serious. And I LOVE IT! Disclaimer: I'm single, faintly employed and not a drug addict lol You'll love the van, get it bro!

I recommend using jack stands under key points on both side to stabilize the van when using the lift. This will assist in keeping it from bouncing.

I would have used Evapo-Rust to clean that coolant system. Stuff works great nothing else that is acid based even comes close.

Love your channel Waldo! A bucket truck that is awesome! Thanks for showing the details of what you are fixing and the thought process along the way. There are lots of us that dream of finding the "steal of a deal" work truck, fixing and using it. Very cool. Please consider wearing a safety harness while riding in the bucket!

Wouldn’t have had to pay for a tow if you finished the fifth wheel gooseneck trailer lol

An easy fix for the flexing springs? Some inexpensive trailer jacks-- the kind you use to level a small camping trailer/motor home. You'd bolt or weld a pair, I'd put them just below the pivot point of the lift (possibly through the floor, inside the van), or alternatively, at the back platform. Just two will take up suspension slack quite nicely and remove that bouncing feeling. :)

Real life short throw dip stick for weight reduction. My life is complete

I can’t say that I’ve seen mini cherry picker vans before, seems like it could be very useful depending on the capacity, usually it’s only enough to lift a person but that range you can do all sorts of stuff easier, pressure washing, painting as he said all kinds of different stuff, but I would replace or reinforce the bucket for sure do you know how plastic it’s brittle, it would suck to just fall right through it

I love your videos bc of the editing and some humor and interesting presentation. I gave up working on cars almost 58 years ago and haven't regrated a day of it. Glad you seem to be able to do so with panache. I never say disc brakes til I was 30 years old, so times have changed.

Earlier this year I bought a 1996 E250 regular cargo van for my mobile mechanic business for $1,000. It had the same 5.8 and that thing was plenty powerful. Also stopped on a dime with the rear drum brakes. I put brand new tires on it, windshield, brakes all around, full tune up and I put thousands of trouble free miles on it. I recently bought 2000 same E250 for $800 from the original owner that needed an engine but everything else was in great shape. But it has the 4.2 V6. I've been using that for the business for a month now with no problems. Idk if this van is a step higher or lower haha

You are just doing fine work. So entertaining and full of things to learn. Bravo ❤

Maby you should build some supports to fold out when in the actual bucket would be a schame if it tipped over lol. Nice video otherwise nice to see good mechanics work on cars! :)

I have that same van and engine and when i first brought it i thought i could never work on it because everything looked so crammed when I opened the hood.. Now that I've had it and have made lots of repairs since 2017 I've learned that its quite easy to work on with the air filter housing removed and the dog house removed inside. The van is alot more easier to work on than other cars I've owned.

Would love to see those beacon lights restored to their original operation!

That sludge in the radiator looks like oil mixed in over time, assuming the oil cooler is leaking and mixing.

Love all the videos would definitely suggest to add outriggers but sure you will make it great. Can’t wait to see what’s next

Glad your back, missed your content look forward to seeing more videos in the future

What an absolute STEAL. I would LOVE to find a deal like that. Your repairs seemed rather minor compared to its value. Really nice find.

My dad got a bucket truck for not much more than this when he started replacing all of the windows on an old house that he was restoring. (I think there were 22 in the second floor and attic?) He figured that it would be cheaper than paying someone to install them and he'd have a bucket truck at the end. Worked out great! Only problem was that, once word got out, *everyone* started asking to borrow it and he couldn't say no. Friends, acquaintances, a nearby town, road crews, the school district, the Sportsman's Club, family.... Sometimes he and my mom would take pleasant Sunday afternoon drives around the area, just to see if they could find their bucket truck. Eventually, a lawyer friend of his found out about this liability nightmare and got my mom to convince him to radically shrink the circle of people he'd lend it to. He still gets great use out of it on his farm, trimming trees and repairing gutters.

Since you enjoy creating things, make access door on the side of the engine dog house. Transmission dipstick solved!

My first truck cost me $1500 about 2 years ago. So far I've done new rear brake lines, new u-bolts on the leafsprings (they were completely gone, only 1 side of 1 bolt was left), new front fenders, a few oil changes, and tons of electrical or small things like thermostats. Still need to do some of this stuff tho, this video reminded me of a few things I still forgot to do

"want some free candy little boy?" "I'll let you hop in the bucket"

You should add Some stability support on the 4 corners, like how some telehandlers have outriggers. maybe hydraulic powered?

tip: jack stands under the frame, front and back = less bounce when in the bucket.

Hello from Las Vegas Nevada Thank you for the video GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

19 minutes looking at that jackstand about to collapse

You know just when to drop a new episode to keep us watching...just this morning I was wondering if you were sick/dead... even checked Instagram to see what was up lol

That lift would be handy! On my work truck I have a crane which is also handy. I just used it to set trusses for my pole barn that I'm building.

My f150 has the same engine. They are dependable.

I've got a 1980 chevy 3x3 bucket truck. It has done me well

Waldo’s Wacky Vehicle Emporium new channel name? 😂

Cummins Restore cleaner is the only product I've seen that actually works.

Great to see you adding to the utility of the fleet! Thanks Waldo!

Waldo is back ! Missed the videos. 1.5k was a killer deal on the van and bucket. I would just replace the radiator from one of the parts store. Merry Christmas to the happy married couple and the fur babies.

It’s got bags!

Farmcraft101 has some excellent videos on fixing up a much larger JLG lift. He demonstrates why you should always wear a harness and take a rope with you in the bucket so you can get down when it breaks. I'm also surprised the van doesn't have stabilisers.

Man where u been feels like forever since the last video Waldo hopefully u be posting more regularly

That was an absolute steal at 1500 bucks. I hope the transmission hangs in there. That dark fluid kinda scares me.

About commercial cooling system flushes. And alternatives. They deliberately don’t work very well. The problem the makers face is public liability from damage to the cooling system and personal injury so they are far tamer than they need to be to actually do a good job. Also they are one size fits all due to vehicles being made up of many different materials . Alternatives. First determine the predominant materials used in your cooling system ESPECIALLY those bits that require major surgery to replace. For all alloy you want to avoid alkaline cleaners especially drain cleaner and caustic soda. If you have oil contamination a caustic cleaner like automatic dishwasher powder can be used for a first clean after a flush, ensure to add vinegar to the second to final flush after using a caustic cleaner. Any acid is good for all materials as long as it is not something exotic that a drop will eat through 4” of hardened steel plate. The best home sources are vinegar, pool acid, battery acid and many toilet cleaners. People also have success with molasses, Coca-Cola, other colas and finally a commercial product that’s recommended by Honda CLR calcium lime rust. The greatest danger to flushing the cooling system is the heater core. You might want to isolate it and flush it separately.

That dangling wire by the ignition switch is for the door dinger for when you leave the key in.

It's the legendary short throw dip stick

It's a Ford. Anything could be wrong with it

Dude. Just go to a junk yard and grab a dipstick. They will probably just give it to you, and I’m sure it would have taken MUCH less time. lol 😂

Love the channel, really great content!

16:03 “They listed metric & standard threads” I believe metric is the standard for almost the whole world. Anyway, nice video! Thank you for making it!

Thanks Waldo. Nice video. Please post more often.

I've been pretty satisfied using the online Mitchell manual, very reasonable subscription cost and I've found the wiring diagrams to be decent.

Out of all the stuff that coulda been done to the truck you make your own tranny dipstick.. right…. A junk yard woulda had one for 10$.. id spend more time on the bucket hydros and backup motor..

New Sub Here 💃.....Nice Van Work !!! Enjoyed the Video 👌 Hapy Holidays 🙋‍♀️

All the time, money spent on parts you could just buy a new dipstick. You could also get one from the junk yard. Not a very special part, they used it across transmissions and brands.

Why didn't you just buy a new dipstick for 20 bucks instead of cutting the tube and making it a major pain to check in the future? 😒 SMH

I'd be looking for a sheriff or somebody - you stole that lift truck son! Super deal. Get some suspension parts on it asap, give it your rust proofing treatment, you'll be good to go.

Owns welders and many other things I’m jealous of yet doesn’t put a drain plug in a transmission pan. I am surprised that the van doesn’t have outriggers. I would be getting some scaffolding feet and making some attachments off the corners to fit them.

I've always had good luck with dishwasher tabs in radiator flushes, just make sure to rinse it out thoroughly

If i was your step dad i would be disappointed in you for getting a Ford.

What I did to flush my radiator was taking both sides of my radiator houses hoses with my dad and flushed it out with a garden hose multiple times, I'm not good with vehicles but I think the pressure of the water hitting the tank and flushing out the other side cleaned it out better

Same thing happened to me with my '85 Ford Mustang fox body. Right rear drum brake

lol , i thought he'd bought Mustie1's truck ( another you-tuber ) .... but nope , this one is in far better condition

Thank you for another video always curious what you're up to and what shenanigans you're doing and also please bring back the gooseneck build

Holy crap that’s a steal! Awesome project, highly recommend taking a look at the suspension, looking for play in the wheels. It could probably use a set of shocks as well lol. That and maybe a set of helper springs may add some more stability to the vehicle? Other than that I’d be a little sketched out by the old hydraulics, maybe take a deeper dive into that. I would say tune up and all that fancy shmiz but, it’s a work van, no need unless it’s giving you trouble. Have fun!

In terms of the switches and buttons giving you trouble, buy some contact spray and try to disassemble the switches as far as possible to get this spray into the contact housing of the switch. I‘m sure it will solve some of these intermittent issues, having sat outside in the elements for this time.

I'd also recommend Haynes manuals over Chilltons. Have a great Christmas.

Get one of the Form a Funnel...thing is an awesomely simple solution to minimize or eliminate oil all over your frame. After the first trans fluid and filter change you can use a vacuum pump and a stiff tube stuck down in the dipstick tube, suck out old and refill. 7-8 qts is fairly typical for a drain and refill.

you could've bought a new dipstick. Avoid all those issues and time wasted.

Dorman replacement transmission dipstick $19, Autozone.

lol idk why you naming it VANessa made me laugh so hard.. caught me off guard

OK. They still have wrecking yards. Why not get a dipstick there?

Way back in the early 90s and prior to cell phones.. on large ski trip we had a convoy of rental vans. Our radio handles were: VAN morrison Dick VAN Dyke VAN Halen Jean Claude VAN Dam

Why didn't you just find a used or new replacement for the dip-stick?

for real get an old car and replace 5 parts per day and drive and eventually it will be a brand new car. I think it will be a cool project

15:45 Great wrench ! Have that one too. works also faster than a chain whip since you can hold the arms together (Like you would hold the socket on a ratchet so it has more resistance to nullify the backwards rotation).

Great deal on what seems to be a solid van, once you did the 100k maintenance. I'd say that since the column cover was gone, somebody was starting to check on the signal and dash issues and gave up. That truck should give you many years of service yet!

I don't understand why you just didn't get a brand-new stock dipstick