B 190 vans

[Jim Ivins]

Checking for pros and cons of having a b 190 van. Leaving 45 years of trailers and want to know about driving and camping in a B 190 camper van.

[Pahaska]

A lady kindly gave me a tour at a region rally. I was really surprised at the amount of room in her van. It felt roomier than my extended Interstate, though the square footage was probably less. I think it was wider and that made it feel roomier.

She has driven that B190 for years and swears by it.

[nvestysly]

Hello, welcome to Air Forums.

We had a 1998 B190 for a few years and really liked it. Had the V-10 engine and it was smooth (and fast!) for a van.

We didn't like the sleeping arrangement but that's just us - some people may not mind converting the couch to a bed and vice-versa. Sleeping in the bunk was not an option for two adults - it works okay for one adult or for two children. The lack of a permanent sleeping area is what led us to sell the B190 and locate a twin bed Interstate. But we still miss the B190!

Be sure to check out B190.com - it's a web site dedicated to supporting the unusual B190 motorhome.

[Boxster1971]

You should also check out Patrick Botticelli's YouTube channel "New Jersey Outdoor Adventures".

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4...gGGCQ/featured

Patrick is an Airstream salesman at Colonial Airstream and does most of their dealer videos.
https://www.colonialairstream.com/sales/

He has a highly modified Airstream B-190 and his channel has several videos of the modification he has made to his B-190 and a 16 ft Bambi.

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by Jim Ivins

Checking for pros and cons of having a b 190 van. Leaving 45 years of trailers and want to know about driving and camping in a B 190 camper van.

I had a '94 B-Van on the e350 chassis. It was a nice coach, but it didn't have a generator, and it needed HD anti-sway bars front and rear. The top is REALLY heavy, and has it's way with the suspension in turns and side wind. The B-vans had two bath setups. I'm not sure when they switched, but it was after '94. The original bath setup is basically useless because of the shape of the tub. It's too short to stand in, and too small to sit in if you're over 6' tall. It's not useful for storage because of the shape. It's wasted space. The later setup was a better design. The 460 in e350 is heavy and causes the front end to plow. The van got about 8mpg under all conditions.

I had the B-190 for about a year.

Here's a link to photos of the B-190 I had

My last Ford-based van was a '95 e250 chassis Coachmen with a rear dinette instead of the rear bath. The top was 8" narrower on each side, and signficantly less weighty and the coach had an Onan 2800 and a 351 Windsor. It handled significantly better in every way. This van got me about 13mpg under all conditions. The dinette in the rear made for a much more useful cargo area for luggage, the dogs' crate and whatever other 'stuff' you care to carry along.

I had the Coachmen for four years and only sold it when I found an Interstate for a price that I just couldn't pass up.

Here's a link to photos of the Coachmen

I recently had to make the photos of the Coachmen private after they showed up all over the Internet in scam ads, so I guess it must have been a nice van.

What other questions do you have?