There are van projects I enjoy and van projects I do not enjoy. I love working on vanlife-related projects like building cabinets and installing gadgets, but actual vehicle maintenance is a real chore for me. They’re a necessary evil that take time and money away from projects I’d rather be working on.

While driving home after my first Q&A video, the sun was setting and I noticed the road in front of my looked a little dim. After I got home I checked and, sure enough, one of my headlights was really dim and the other one was burned out.

My van is a 2007 Ford E250, which apparently was made at a time when Ford was in the middle of updating their van models. A lot of parts I find say they’ll work on vans made from 1999-2006, while others say they’ll work on vans 2008 and newer. For the 2007 model you really have to double-check and make sure things will work before ordering them.

I discovered the 2007 Ford E250’s headlights were installed like the 1999-2006 models, which was both good and bad news. The bad news is that they are sealed headlights. That means you have to remove and replace the entire headlight, which is much more expensive than simply replacing the bulbs. The good news is, this type of headlight is very simple to replace. I believe that the headlights in all Ford Econoline, E150, E250, and E250 cans from 1999-2007 are installed the same way.

The headlights I bought are LED upgrades, and I specifically looked for a set that were designed not to blind oncoming drivers. The difference between these headlights and the ones that were in my van are (literally) night and day.

You can watch the video to see exactly how to do it, but each headlight was held in place by two bolts (7mm | 3/8″) and four Phillips screws. It took me about ten minutes to swap out the first one, and five to do the second. As far as van projects go, it was one of the easiest ones I’ve done.

I recently created a page full of Amazon Links with links to every single thing I’ve purchased from Amazon for my van build. The headlights I purchased and the tools I used are all on that page. I also have the links in the YouTube video. Here’s a direct link to the headlights on Amazon:

LED headlights: https://amzn.to/3uugsAD

While not a traditional “adventure” video, I decided to film the entire process in hopes that someone would find it useful. I’ve learned how to do so many things on my van by watching other people’s videos on YouTube, so hopefully someone with a 2007 Ford van will find my video useful.