Our Ford/Starcraft Conversion Van Tow Vehicle

This year we replaced our other car (a 1986 Honda Accord) with a 1998 Ford E150 Econoline equipped with the Starcraft GT Classic conversion package. This van has a 5.4L V8 engine and a 6900 pound tow capacity. I expect that it will perform better as a tow vehicle, and inside it is much more spacious and better equipped for long road trips.

I have equipped this van with a home-made mount for a notebook computer and have installed a Delorme Tripmate GPS receiver permanently inside of the raised roof. I use the Street Atlas USA and AAA/Delorme Map and Go mapping applications to plan and route trips. I use an inexpensive, bare-bones NEC 120LT notebook computer in the van on longer trips. When connected to the GPS receiver, it provides a "moving map" display and announces upcoming road changes, turns and exits on the PC's speakers.

Street Atlas USA is an excellent local street level detail mapping application. Its CD-ROM database contains enough information to allow the user to enter a starting address and ending address, and it will plot the best* course for you depending on your preferences. It is very good at finding specific locations, and the local street level detail is available for the entire USA. The program will extract data by state(s) for installation on the notebook's hard disk, so it is not necessary to have a CD-ROM drive on the mobile computer.

*Obligatory fine print: Though it is right most of the time, the application can also make some really stupid routing mistakes. Sanity check the routes before you depart. A common routing mistake is to send you through a busy city center when a bypass or beltway may add five miles but save twenty minutes.

AAA/Delorme Map and Go is a similar application, but with different capabilities. Local street level detail is included for metropolitan areas, but is omitted in more rural areas. Don't worry, you still get even minor county roads...only the "neighborhood" type streets are omitted. Instead, the program contains nearly all the data that's available from the AAA Tour Guides, including all of the AAA campground data! (Imagine being able to plot a course from your house to a distant destination, then ask it to show you "all the campgrounds within 10 miles of the route!") You also get food, lodging, and attractions information. I copied the entire CD-ROM to a directory on the mobile computer's hard drive so I'd have all the data available anytime.

I find that having both applications on the mobile computer is a real bonus. Street Atlas USA does not have a database of campgrounds, but does have local street level detail. Map and Go does not have local street detail in rural areas, but does have a campground database. So, I'll use the campground database in Map and Go to get the street address of the campground, then use that as the "Finish" address when creating a route in Street Atlas USA. That way, I can even see the local streets and dirt roads that lead to the campground.

Mobile computer mount is homemade from 1/4" x 1" aluminum bar stock and an oak cutting board. The bar stock is cut to size, shaped and bolted to the metal driver's seat pedestal. A second piece of bar stock is attached between the primary support and the floor for additional support. In my design, no holes are drilled in the van's floor. The mount can be removed quickly by taking out the two bolts at the driver's seat pedestal. If your vehicle is equipped with air bags, do not mount the mobile computer in a location where an air bag may strike it and force it into you or your passengers.

This location is clear of any air bag zones and is in an ideal position for the driver to see. Heavy duty Velcro keeps the mobile computer on the mount, and my wife can easily reposition the PC if she wants to use it.

Screen shot from Street Atlas USA running on the NEC 120LT. The route is highlighted in blue. Directions and "next turn" information are displayed in the left panel. If the mobile computer is equipped with speakers, the program will announce upcoming exits and turns.