Do I Have An E150 Or An E250???

[Brisco]

OK, I'm stumped here. Hate to ask this, but I've looked all over the internet, and at Ford.com, and can't figure this out.

I bought a 2007 Ford Van I had in my inventory to possibly put it on the road doing "Local" work part-time for a while. I bought it at the auction as an E150. I had it advertised as an E150 cause that's what it had on the back door. (Didn't have the title, it was held at my floorplan provider. Had a "Copy" of the title, but didn't look at every single little item on it) Autocheck record has it as an E150.

When I paid off my Floorplan and rec'd the Actual/Original title, it shows it to be a 3/4 ton. When I went and had it inspected to sell it to my Transport company, it showed up in the computer as a 2500. Then when I went to transfer the title into my Transport company name, it showed up in the Texas computer as a 3/4 ton - 2500 also.

Best referrences I could find is on Auto Trader where there's a couple of Door Plates pictured.

Here is an identical 2007 "E150" that I just bought and my van has this same door plate on it showing with an 8520 GVWR.
Cars for Sale: 2007 Ford E-150 and Econoline 150 in Grand Prairie, TX 75050: Van Details - 298673272 - AutoTrader.com

Now here is a 2007 "E250" that shows a door plate that only has 80 more lbs to the GVWR (8600):
Cars for Sale: 2007 Ford E-250 and Econoline 250 Extended in Grand Prairie, TX 75050: Van Details - 299007582 - AutoTrader.com

Now here is a 2006 "F150" with only a GVWR of 6700:
Cars for Sale: 2006 Ford E-150 and Econoline 150 in Grand Prairie, TX 75050: Van Details - 300338679 - AutoTrader.com

What did Ford change in 2007 from 2006 that makes their E150's and E250's to only be 80 GVWR lbs different from one another? There are a couple of Extended E250's listed that has GVWR's at 9000 lbs, but most of the visible door plates I have found on the E150 and E250's are only 80 lbs off from one another.

Again, hate to ask this question. Should be something I could've figured out myself, but I'm not a Ford Guy, and definately not a Ford Van guy. Ask me about Dodge, Ford, and Chevy Duallys, about Cummins VS Powerjokes in those Duallys, or about 3500-4500-5500 Cab & Chassis trucks, and I'll answer your questions quicker than WikiLeaks could. But "Ford" vans, I guess I'm limited here.

 

[Turtle]

The E150 will have 5-lug wheels and P-rated car tires (235/75x15) whereas the 250 would have high pressure truck tires on 8 lug 16" wheels. Also, the 5th, 6th and 7th digits of the VIN# should tell you for sure. The 5th is the Line, the 6th is the Series, and the 7th is the Body Type.

The 5th and 6th digits should really tell you what you want.
E1x and it's a E150
E2x and it's an E250
S2x and it's an E250 SuperVan

This should help
The Ford Truck 17-Digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Decoder

 

[Brisco]

Vin Decoder!! Why in the heck didn't I think of that??

Well, looks like I've got a "Frankenstein" E150-E250 here.

Decoded Vin shows it as an E150 according to Fords specs. (E14)

But, it has a GVWR of 8520, which puts it in the 3/4 ton range. Has 8 Lug 16' rims. Just put brand new LT225/75/16 E-series tires on it last week, and that's also the size listed on the door plate. I had another E150 sitting next to me at a stop light a couple of days ago and my van, suspension and all, sat up higher than that other E150 did. Texas Title says its a 3/4 ton. Vin Decoded in the Texas Inspection computer system says it's a 2500.

Guess I'll rip off that chrome E150 badge off the back door and put a chrome E250 badge on it. Should get more money for it when it comes time to sell it. (I'll sell it today if anyones interested. I'll make ya a deal )

 

[Brisco]

HHmm.....

Something else I just noticed. On that VIN decoder chart, it shows the 4th number is supposed to give vehicles GVWR rating. On the title here in my hand, I have an "N" as my 4th number. The chart only goes up to "M".'

So, I decoded the VIN myself there below the chart and according the breakdown it gave, "N" shows to have a GVWR between 6001 to 10,000 lbs.

VIN Code: N
GVWR Range: 6,001 - 10,000 Pounds

Well, I was going to call my new part-time vehicle "Betty", but from what I've learned about it so far, I guess I'll call it "Franky" now.

 

[chefdennis]

I have no idea when ford changed it or even if they have, but they use to offer a gvw option on the e-150 that was listed as "under 8600 gvw"....thats all you got..there was no set gvwr until the unit was built and shipped, then the door stick told the story...that sounds what you have there....they were sold as "heavy half tons"...

 

[Turtle]

Well, I was going to call my new part-time vehicle "Betty", but from what I've learned about it so far, I guess I'll call it "Franky" now.

Sounds more like Pat.

 

[Rocketman]

I have no idea when ford changed it or even if they have, but they use to offer a gvw option on the e-150 that was listed as "under 8600 gvw"....thats all you got..there was no set gvwr until the unit was built and shipped, then the door stick told the story...that sounds what you have there....they were sold as "heavy half tons"...

That was going to be my answer. Chevy used to do the same thing, may still do it? I know at one time you could get a heavy 1500 and you could get a light duty 2500. I did know the difference back then, but I forgot now

 

[xmudman]

I noticed that within the last couple years that Ford was rating so-called half-tons at really high GVWs, such as 8500 for the E150, 9000 for the 250, and 9500 for the 350 (Numbers approximate). I think that's to get the 150 out of the range of being counted as a passenger car for the CAFE fuel-economy numbers. Prior to 2010 trucks were not counted against a car company's MPG figures, nor were SUVs. That's one reason why the car companies loved selling truck-like vehicles, not to mention the fact that they could be sold for a lot more than they cost to build.

Your van is definitely an E150 due to the "E14" in the VIN, but the door sticker is what sets your GVW and consequently your available payload.

You'll have to be careful when ordering parts. If you ID it as an E150, you might get lighter-duty parts than you need. Your tires/brakes/suspension/etc are probably E250 parts, but you'll need to describe the van carefully to the order-taker to avoid getting the wrong parts.

Enjoy your Frankenstein Econoline, and let me know if it eats tires like my 1994 E250 does.