Van or Pickup? That is the question

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rvgolfer said:
I imagine most of the people here are into vans, but wondered how many use them as tow vehicles, and for what?

Are they conversion types, or regular cargo? Diesel or gasoline?

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SUVs like the Suburban are fairly common as tow vehicles, but vans are less so even tho they are a quite decent option.   I had an Ford E-350 one-ton rated van with the old Ford 460 (7.5L) V8 with a Carter 4-bbl carb.  That thing could pull a 2 ton ocean going boat and trailer up the Grapevine Pass on I-5 in top gear with 5 passengers, a Labrador retriever and baggage with the A/C going full blast and still have room to accelerate.   However, even in those halcyon days of the 80s, the gas mileage did not bear close examination.  8)

The E-350 is still a good choice for a two vehicle for folks with a lot of passengers or critters to haul.  The van configuration is surprisingly nimble in urban areas, it was originally designed as a delivery vehicle after all.  Get it in the turbo diesel configuration where with the 4.10 rear end the tow rating is 10,000 lbs in the 2008 model year.  The 3.55 rear end will still get you a 9400 lb. tow rating.  Fuel mileage is about what any vehicle will get in tow -- seriously blah. 
 
Based on that suggestion, I looked in my local KBB (Kelly Blue Book) listings to see what I could find. Believe it or not, the only two I could find within 100 miles as E350s were cube vans, much larger than I'd be interested in. When I looked at the Minneapolis area Craigslist, there were a few from dealers and private parties that showed up. Go figger.

Dale
http://rvgolfer.blogspot.comMy blog
 
Bought mine used from a travel agent in WLA which had bought the thing as a 9 seat bus when they had thought to offer small party tours of LA.  It was a "window" van.
 
E350's are not as popular with families and small businesses as they used to be, so the used supply is somewhat limited. Conversion vans may be the most available, if that will do for you.

Actually, very few people here are into vans. There are, of course, Class B motorhomes built on van chassis, but that's a bit different.
 
Hi Golfer,
We purchased a used E150 Cargo Van and use it as a toad behind our motorhome.  The E150 is lighter than the E350 and will not haul  as much.  We got a SWB which is capable of putting our motorcycle in.  If you noted a thread I started we are converting it into a mini-camper for going places we cannot take our 40' MH.  It is a decent toad, gets 15-18 mpg and I see it as a trailer with a motor.  Roadmaster offers the baseplate, towbar and driveline disconnect.  We towed it from Alb to Bullhead and back.  Our MH averaged between 9-10 mpg.
Our reasons for a van were better security when parked, ability to keep things clean inside and our newest brainchild, converting it to a primitive camper so we can access places our MH cannot and spend days there.  Sort of like a shuttle craft from the mother ship ;D.
Hope this helps,
Phil     
 
My son uses a gas conversion van to tow his boat. One of the problems with a conversion van is that the rear seat is usually (but not always) bolted to the floor which makes removal difficult if you need to use the space to haul cargo....or golf clubs.  ;) :D
 
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