Conversion van as a tow rig?

[Ray H]

Im considering getting a conversion van to travel and camp out of. A mid sized van would be enough to just stretch out and sleep in but if Im getting a van, I want something that can pull double duty as a tow rig if need be. Im thinking a van is no more or less than a rebodied pickup. The frame, engine, tranny, brakes, suspension is all the same as its counterpart pickup, right?. Why do I never see a van used as a tow rig? It would seem to be a confortable and adequate tow vehicle, espacially in a 3/4 ton model.

 

[Osprey413]

Multiple reasons I can think of.

1) No space to put the ATV , Camping gear, Bike, Beer cooler, and muddy clothes.
2) There is alot of extra weight added on when you put the van body on the truck frame, some of the towing ability will be lost due to the fact that the engine and tranny have to move all the van weight ontop of the weight of the Jeep.
3) When I think van I think soccer mom. Decide for yourself.

 

[BCParker]

I have towed using a full sized van. It was a dodge 15 passenger type van (not conversion). I towed a trailer with 5 kayaks on it about 300mi. I also used it once to launch a small bass boat.

problems I noticed:

1. A huge van drives like a huge van. It's slow to accelerate, slow to stop, and weaves like a bitch at anything over 50mph, and that's without the trailer.

2. visibility- hooking up a trailer is at least a 2 man job, and good luck trying to see what you're doing when you're trying to manuever the beast.

3. filling a 40gal tank and a 20 gal reserve sucked 4 years ago, I can't imagine what it's like now.

on the plus side, you will always have a place to sleep, and those captains chairs make you feel like you're king of the road.

 

[GSequoia]

You can get Diesel with Ford, if I recall towing capacity for an E350 PowerStroke is a bit over 10,000 pounds. Lesslimited tows with his SuperDuty E350, maybe he'll chime in here.

PS - Remi's a wise ass.

 

[Kejtar]

You can get Diesel with Ford. Lesslimited toes with his SuperDuty E350, maybe he'll chime in here.

I hope his toes are not directly involved in the towing of his rig or it might be mighty painfull!

 

[Ray H]

I dont think the weight is an issue. A standard 3/4 ton van weighs about 800lbs less than a standard 3/4 pickup. By the time you add the conversion to the van or a fiberglass cap to the truck, you may be talking 100-200lbs difference between them.
I agree about room to haul stuff in the back. I dont own an ATV though so thats a non issue and when you really look at it, a van as more room in the rear than a pickup, its just got chairs, sofa, bed and TVs that take it up. What more could you ask for in a home away from home. I do agree that vans handle freakish. Im not sure why that is. I havent driven a newer conversion van though. Maybe theyve changed their ways.

 

[GSequoia]

I dunno about the vans handling freakishly; maybe that's obselete? I've only driven late model vans, Chevrolet and Ford. The Chevrolet handled decently but was underpowered (Base engine, V6 something or another) but the Ford handled very well (considering what you're driving of course) and had good power (again base engine, 5.4L V8)
.

 

[Ray H]

Like I said, Ive only driven a couple vans and the one I remember most was an old Tradesman from the late 70s. It definately was lacking in the handling department.

 

[BCParker]

I dunno about the vans handling freakishly; maybe that's obselete? I've only driven late model vans, Chevrolet and Ford. The Chevrolet handled decently but was underpowered (Base engine, V6 something or another) but the Ford handled very well (considering what you're driving of course) and had good power (again base engine, 5.4L V8)
.

I've driven two of the large 15 passenger type vans. they both handled horrible, and required constant attention even when not towing.

I couldn't just set the cruise control and relax on the highway, I was always battling the wind. this would have been an '99 or '00 Dodge .


I imagine the smaller conversion vans would handle better, more on par with a pickup.

on another note, I believe it was dateline or 60 minutes, did a special on large vans and safety. something about all the deadly accidents involving church groups, schools, summercamps, prisons, etc. that used the 15 pass vans on the highway.

 

[GSequoia]

Well wind is going to bite you no matter what, something about all that tempting surface area for it to blow against

Different vehicles require different attention to details, you can't drive a van in high winds as easily as a pickup (assuming the pickup doesn't have a large camper shell on it, thus giving it an even larger footprint than the van). My van experiance is mostly with city driving although some short (under 20 miles) high speed (70 - 75 MPH) runs.

I don't trust media and their these vehicles are deadly reports, it's generally such overblown hype that all comes down to somebody not paying enough attention to the situation.

Hell, wind pushes my Jeep all over the road... I'm used to wind.

 

[Ray H]

Not disagreeing with you. But what about a van do you think makes it handle badly. I think they have the same basic frame and drivetrain and steerring components as a pickup, the same basic weight (even slightly less for stripped model), same wheel base, they may be a little taller but its only a thin metal skin. I would think that a conversion van with all the interior pieces would actually be more stable than a stripped version or a picku[p with a camper in the bed.
tThis was meant for Parker.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

If I didn't need a truck for other reasons, I'd be all over a conversion van. Sure they're a LITTLE bit more squirrely on the road, but it can't possibly be any worse than a pickup with a bed mounted slide in camper - particularly the kind with the over-the-cab sleeper.... talk about wind issues and high profile. And gas mileage sucks no matter what you run when you're towing, but the savings is being able to shack up in what you drove rather than having to fork it out for a motel - plus, being in a conversion van keeps you and your stuff outta the elements and off the ground - that's a big plus to me.

Not to mention that a conversion van brand new can be had for $10-12 grand less than a pickup. My neighbors went looking at Dodge Caravans and came home with a full size 1500 conversion. Brand new out the door for them was $19K and change - liquidation sale. 5.7 V8 with the tow package.

Growing up, my folks had a '79 Dodge Maxi-Van conversion - you know, the LOOONG van? He had souped it up with headers, a cam, dual exhausts and an open element air cleaner so it flew up the mountain passes. That thing was awesome for camping. My dad had this huge tent with an awning - he would connect the tent to the side of the van (doors open) putting the awning over the roof of the van. (the tent had openings at both ends). It was a true red-neck setup, but it was nice to set up a table in the tent to eat, and sleep in the van.

I say go conversion van if it'll fit your needs.

Heh heh, and thanks for the trip down memory lane! :laugh3:

 

[BCParker]

Not disagreeing with you. But what about a van do you think makes it handle badly. I think they have the same basic frame and drivetrain and steerring components as a pickup, the same basic weight (even slightly less for stripped model), same wheel base, they may be a little taller but its only a thin metal skin. I would think that a conversion van with all the interior pieces would actually be more stable than a stripped version or a picku[p with a camper in the bed.
tThis was meant for Parker.

I drove a stripped down version, just two captains chairs and row after row of cheap bench seats, but I bet it weighed a lot more with 14 people in it than a fully decked out conversion that only hauls 4


about the handling badly- the thing I noticed most was the wind-

everyone here should know how an XJ handles in gusty wind, so imagine that maginfied by the bulk of the van. (and a trailer that was relatively light in weight but large in size flopping around behind you)

the steering response too.

when trying to correct for things like wind I found it much worse than an XJ. It took some getting used to not to overcorrect and swerve all over the place.

(this is what the news report focused on. apparently, if you make a sudden lane change or lose a tire at highway speed the vans are worse than pickups and suvs.)

-having to keep both hands on the wheel at all times gets old real fast.


but, as stated above, a van does have it's uses, and any tow vehicle is gonna be a beast to drive.

If I was buying a tow vehicle, I think I would consider a van, but definately test drive a few diesel pickups before I made up my mind.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

I drove a stripped down version, just two captains chairs and row after row of cheap bench seats, but I bet it weighed a lot more with 14 people in it than a fully decked out conversion that only hauls 4


about the handling badly- the thing I noticed most was the wind-

everyone here should know how an XJ handles in gusty wind, so imagine that maginfied by the bulk of the van.

the steering response too.

when trying to correct for things like wind I found it much worse than an XJ. It took some getting used to not to overcorrect and swerve all over the place.

(this is what the news report focused on. apparently, if you make a sudden lane change or lose a tire at highway speed the vans are worse than pickups and suvs.)

-having to keep both hands on the wheel at all times gets old real fast.

You also gotta realize that the "load" you had in that van was a "loose" load. 14 people swaying inside the van isn't helping the handling of the van. The load in a van also sits much higher than in a pickup, so that changes the center of gravity. Another thing usually overlooked is proper tire inflation on those vans.

Those investigative stories usually didn't focus too much on the fact that the driver's were also usually speeding, and inexperienced in driving a high profile vehicle with that kind of weight.

Just my .02.

 

[Ray H]

Theres no doubt that a diesel pickup is the way to go for just out right towing. I would like something to double as a nice easy camper. Im getting tired of sleeping on the ground and paying for hotel rooms just to have a place to sleep for a night while traveling. I keep thinking how nice and convenient it would be to pull off in a rest area or Walmart parking lot and crash for a few hours while traveling. Granted, a pickup with a slide in would work well for this but it would also be more $$$ and would handle just as bad if not worse.
An example. for the small pitance of $3900. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995...610572214QQcategoryZ39411QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[lesslimited]

Since my name was mentioned... :wave:
Mine is not a conversion van, although I do have cabinets in the back for my tools, and a full length headliner. There's enough room for two to sleep.
The Powerstroke (with chip) and 4.10 gears, gives great acceleration and 15mpg around town solo, and 11-12 while towing (effortlessly). As for handling, I installed an aftermarket rear swaybar for a motorhome, and regularly freak out people that follow me into exit ramps. It helps with the wind, too, but obviously anything that large is gonna catch some wind.
Since it's a cargo van, I just open the back doors to see the trailer while hooking up. The large mirrors provide great side visibility.
182k+ miles, still going strong.
The only thing that sucks is the current price of diesel.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/476964819/1476983846049957266dPSmin#

 

[bjoehandley]

I learned to drive on an '87 Chevy G-20 Beauville (pronounced Bo-Ville) with a 125in wheelbase and wind was a problem but really not any different than my Cherokee, Lebaron GTS or Shadow, just more bodywork flopping around in the wind. I think some of the issues with the Ford and Dodge 15 pas vans were that they just bolted more metal onto the rear behind the rear axle which could possibly have a bad effect on the way it drives. When GM extended the body of their vans they did it behind the side door ahead of the rear axle on the '71-'95 Unibody G-Van and did the same when the brought out the current full frame ones in '96. I'd probably stay away from the conversion vans mysef, alot of times they add a bunch of weight and sometimes bring them close to the GVW for that vehicle before you can even get any people and luggage in the thing let alone a trailer with trail rig on the back. I won't mention the gaping holes they cut into them to put those goofy looking windows on the things and what that could possibly do to the body structure, especially on the unibody Dodge and GM vans.

 

[Ray H]

I wasnt aware there were any fullsized unibody vans. can you elaborate? Which GM and Dodge vans? Im looking at full sized 3/4 ton vans, not mini vans.

 

[bjoehandley]

I wasnt aware there were any fullsized unibody vans. can you elaborate? Which GM and Dodge vans? Im looking at full sized 3/4 ton vans, not mini vans.

The '71-'95 CHevy/GMC G-Series full size and the Astro/Safari "Mini-Vans" van as well as all the Full Size Dodge vans built from the early 70's through a year or two ago. I guess they are more of a Uni-Frame design like the our Jeeps, so you crawl under them they look full framed the way it's layed out under there.