2017 Van versus 2006 Van

[tx2sturgis]

Have you ever ridden in a 'one ton' pickup that was empty?

Same thing.

Potholes, railroad crossings, expansion joints, washboard dirt roads...you feel it all.

Typical 2500 and 3500 (250 and 350 fords) CARGO vans will have fairly stiff leaf springs and LT tires that require 80psi (or close to it)...and they just ride ROUGH when they are empty.

But with enough weight, they smooth out and the ride is decent, even comfy.

Of course It's possible that the passenger vans have a more compliant suspension. However for our purposes I believe we have been talking about cargo vans in this thread.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Have you ever ridden in a 'one ton' pickup that was empty? .....
But with enough weight, they smooth out and the ride is decent, even comfy.

If one is using a 3500 as a home when will it be empty?
With my buildout and stocking my camper for 6 - 8 weeks on the road I'm easily adding 700 to 800 lbs to my truck. And I'm not carrying everything I own.

 

[tx2sturgis]

The question was, what did I mean by 'stiff'...as in a stiff ride or a rough ride when empty, so I was explaining what I meant.

I never said a van would be empty if used as a home.

Having said that, the typical 3500 GMC or Chevy van has a payload capacity of between 3500 and 4300 pounds.

Most of us do not put literally 2 tons of stuff in a camper or live-aboard van.

However, some people might do exactly that, so they should choose that 3500.

 

[VanFan]

The question was, what did I mean by 'stiff'...

So iron wheeled wagon-ish. My butt's sore already (LOL).
Gas mileage?

 

[Aesop]

Have you ever ridden in a 'one ton' pickup that was empty?

Same thing.

Potholes, railroad crossings, expansion joints, washboard dirt roads...you feel it all.

Typical 2500 and 3500 (250 and 350 fords) CARGO vans will have fairly stiff leaf springs and LT tires that require 80psi (or close to it)...and they just ride ROUGH when they are empty.

But with enough weight, they smooth out and the ride is decent, even comfy.

Of course It's possible that the passenger vans have a more compliant suspension. However for our purposes I believe we have been talking about cargo vans in this thread.

FWIW
When I drove thru Canada to get to Alaska in my 2004 1500 cargo van with awd, you better believe I felt every bump and pothole in the road when I drove up the Alcan!

I would think a 2500 (3500) would be better at masking the bumps felt in the road.

 

[peteg59]

Since neither one likely come with a warranty, I'd err on the newer and lower mileage vehicle.
As the old saying goes: "You either have payments or repair bills. Nobody rides for free"
Best of luck in your decision...

 

[Aesop]

Since neither one likely come with a warranty, I'd err on the newer and lower mileage vehicle.
As the old saying goes: "You either have payments or repair bills. Nobody rides for free"
Best of luck in your decision...

Hahaha-haha!

That is true. We all had to pay something for our set of wheels.

Yeah, I believe the 2017 even tho it's only 6 years old at the most is still without a warranty, just cause I believe it's a 5 year/x number of miles for a warranty when it's brand new, right?

 

[peteg59]

Can't help on the warranty, as all manufacturers are different in exactly what they cover and the duration of time they cover.
If you are not able to give a thorough body and drivetrain evaluation on a vehicle, find someone that can before you pull the trigger on anything.
It would suck to buy the newer van with payments, AND repair bills...

 

[Aesop]

Can't help on the warranty, as all manufacturers are different in exactly what they cover and the duration of time they cover.
If you are not able to give a thorough body and drivetrain evaluation on a vehicle, find someone that can before you pull the trigger on anything.
It would suck to buy the newer van with payments, AND repair bills...

Yeah, it's just like BW says, always, always, always get a pre-buyer inspection done on a vehicle. Unless you are somewhat of a mechanic yourself.

 

[bill wiley]

Maybe I missed it but I did not see what the cash cost was for the older van.
I will say that buying the newer one for $30,000 plus loan interest and making payments it is likely you will be spending money also on the van in the may of maintenance, and upkeep with things like brakes and tires at minimum and you still will be making the vehicle payments.

Also the older vehicle still only has 130,000 miles which in general is still fairly low mileage for the major components.
At that mileage on the Chevy check to see if the front wheel bearing/hubs have been replaced and if not that may be one thing it seems that is pretty common to replace about that mileage.

Figuring the average vehicle payment will be probably $500 a month for 5 or 6 years at least multiply that payment amount times the number of months on the loan for a total of how much you could conceivably spend on repairs on the older vehicle before going in the hole.

I would look at the older one and if it seemed solid I would not be scared of it at all and would personally relish not having the vehicle payment.