Astro / Safari.... Various Thoughts

[One Awesome Inch]

Since I'd be urban city stealthing 100% of the time I was thing of the possibility of going the Astro / Safari route.

I know their gas mileage isn't much better than a regular full size Ford E150 cargo van. However, I could park the thing almost anywhere with little concern. Naturally the biggest concern would be the amount of livable room. Previously I had ruled it out because I have some music gear (PA system) that I must keep as it helps me make money on the side as a musician. However, I recently realized I could most likely store that stuff at a friend's house and pay him $30 - $50 per month. Its not that much stuff but too much for the Astro plus necessities.

Setting the music gear aside, I am at heart a minimalist. For example, with regard to clothing I have about 10 shirts, 3 pants, one fleece sweater and one jacket. Its all I really need and can easily be stuffed into a small-ish backpack. The only other thing I'd want me is a small suitcase full of tools. Then its just a matter of food, water etc.

As far as entertainment all I need is a guitar and a tablet.

All that said, does it sound like a Astro / Safari might work for me?

 

[David]

I tossed around the Astro idea for some time, but While I did like their looks the crappy MPG for it's size killed it. Honestly I think id rather have a older Chevy full size over the Astro. The 1987 to 1990 style they went all the way back to the 70s with that body, but the 87-90 era had the cool looking front ends.

The short ones were a nice size for a city van and with the 6 cylinder they got good milage.

 

[Belinda2]

Astro van: 17-18/21-22 mpg for the V6 at 190 cubic feet. I see them regularly making it to up to 260,000 miles.
Minivans: 22/26mpg for the V6 at as much as 170 cubic feet for the Toyota Sienna which can tow 3500 pounds.
A lot better mpg then a V8, if you can sacrifice some cubic feet and don't need the towing capacity.

 

[GotSmart]

Having been around them with my ex GF, I found it had way too many little things always breaking. The motor is not one of GM's better ones, and the wiring was always messing up. Even the door latch had a funky clip that had to be replaced three times in the last two years. That thing had more duct tape than a tow trucks seat.

It sucked oil and more fuel than my 74 Dodge truck.

It could have been an isolated case, (or the fact that she was extremely hard on vehicles) but when I asked at the wrecking yard about parts, I was told that most just go straight to the shredder.

I would go with a full size dodge or chevy.

 

[akrvbob]

There are actually two parts to your question:

1) Will a mini-van work me. My answer is yes, it will. For a true minimalist you will have room and the best possible stealth. Some minivans get great MPG and the fold flat seats work really well.

2) Is an Astro the best choice? I know 8 different people who live in Astros so I know for a fact that make great little homes. But, the medicre MPG is discouraging and you can do better.

So I say that you can't go wrong by buying a good used Astro but you might can do better.
Bob

 

[GotSmart]

Bob; from your greater experience I guess she was just real hard on her vehicles. Just like~~~ Nuff said...

 

[akrvbob]

Gotsmart, a vehicles reputation is important, but generally not as important as how each one was treated. The Astro has a mixed reputation, some are trouble free for a LONG time and some nickle and dime you. But that can be said for most vehicles I do agree that the Astros reputation may be slightly worse than most.

But I's still buy one of a mechanic checked it out first.
Bob

 

[Dino]

I thought an Astro van with a high top would be pretty sweet. I've seen some but they're fairly rare and quite often were handicap equipped

 

[SoulRaven]

Greetings!

Do you want to sleep in a mini-van, or LIVE in a mini-van?

Sleeping is easy, living in one is more difficult.

For a good look at what you can do with a mini-van, check this out:
https://www.google.com/search?q=vw+...eSj2QXjhoH4DQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=800&bih=453

The biggest downside I see for living in a mini-van is that you have to fold your bed up/down each day to have room to live. That would get old in a hurry or me.

Upon surfing mini-van forums, looks like the best mini-van was the 1985-1990 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. Best reliability and best MPG. 3.0L V6 w/4 spd Automatic w/overdrive. Worst problem, exterior paint. They were evidently not plagued by the mechanical/transmission problems found in the 1991-present models.

I've heard a lot of horror stories about Astro's. Several vandwellers were nearly killed in theirs due to rollover crashes caused by unknown mechanical issues. Brenda's van had been very well maintained and had a nearly new transmission. She heard horrible mechanical clanging and crashing, just before her van started to roll uncontrollably. She barely survived.


Here is what happened to one lady(Brenda) living in an astro:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2558092474503.2147776.1319733829&type=1&l=beee5679d2

Here's pictures of some others:




All of these rollovers were at highway speeds, not everyone survived...

You have to make your own decisions, but I also did a safety check, and the Dodge/Plymouths above had a high safety rating and the Astro's were very poor. From what I found, I would say that Astro's and vandwellers aren't a very good mix...

Good Luck!

The CamperVan_Man

---

On another site, Vanner-Mike wrote:

Chevy Astro?

Can anybody say Chevy Citation disguised as a van?

Been there - done that - barely survived - wife died - never again

~Mike~

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Oy. That does not sound good.

I like everything about the Toyota Sienna, but I think its just too dang small.

---

Sienna

 

[Belinda2]

Yeah. I wrestle with that thought too daily. By the time you insulate it.... However, if I am willing to have some of my stuff well organized at a storage locker, in my case, in a small RV at a storage locker, I can have a car with a GREAT long lasting engine, that is newer since they are still making them, better mpg than the Astro , better mpg since it is newer, better mpg since I do not daily haul the heavy stuff everywhere I go, and STEALTH. Then, on my days off, I can still take my RV out to some place and have more space and boondock that way.

 

[SoulRaven]

Yeah. I wrestle with that thought too daily. By the time you insulate it.... However, if I am willing to have some of my stuff well organized at a storage locker, in my case, in a small RV at a storage locker, I can have a car with a GREAT long lasting engine, that is newer since they are still making them, better mpg than the Astro , better mpg since it is newer, better mpg since I do not daily haul the heavy stuff everywhere I go, and STEALTH. Then, on my days off, I can still take my RV out to some place and have more space and boondock that way.

Greetings!

If you're looking for great gas mileage in cars, they seemed to start going down in the mid '90 range. The Ford Aspire's and Geo Metro's got the highest MPG I think, in the upper 40's. They seemed like pretty good little cars too... I still see lot's of them around.

Cheers!

The CamperVan_Man

---

Oy. That does not sound good.

I like everything about the Toyota Sienna, but I think its just too dang small.

Greetings!

I'm not sure about the Sienna, but many of the mini-vans came in more than one length. Even an extra foot could make a huge difference, and shouldn't sacrifice much in MPG. The 4+ speed automatics should help with MPG too, I'm not sure whether they all had them or not.

Whatever van you're looking at, you might google "xxx reliability" too, might give you added info.

Cheers!

The CamperVan_Man

 

[Belinda2]

Current minivans:
MPG: All get about 19/22
For 2013 here is the line up of minivans:
1. Chrysler Dodge: Wheelbase 121.2", Length 202.5", Volume 143 cf, Weight 4335#.
2. Toyota Sienna: Wheelbase 119.3", Length 201.0" Volume 150 cf, Weight 4270#, MPG 19/22, Towing capacity 3500#.
3. Honda Odyssey: Wheelbase 118.1", Length 201.1", Volume 148 cf, Weight 4387#.
4a. Kia Sedona: No longer available in 2013.
4b. Kia Sedona: 2012 specs.: Wheelbase 118.9" Length 202.0", Volume 141.5 cf, Weight 4387#.
5. Nissan Quest: Wheelbase 124.0" Length 204.1", Volume 148.1 cf, Weight 4293#.

 

[akrvbob]

Here is a post on a friend who lived in an Astro, she was very happy with it.
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/converting-astro-mini-van/

I never heard of Astros having a rollover problem so I checked with NHTSA ratings and they rate it as 3 stars which is just average. Most cars get 4 stars and most SUVs and minivans get 3 stars, some of the bad ones get 2 stars.

Bob

 

[Reducto]

I've been in a Toyota minivan for a couple of years now and have no desire to move to something bigger. I'm only using the part of the van behind the front seats and still have room for a bed, desk, office chair, and all of my stuff including a few bulky items like a generator and sewing machine. It can be done, you just have to be comfortable in tight spaces. I do have to fold my bed in half when not in use but it's really not a big deal.

The only annoyance, really, is the lack of head room when I'm sitting at my desk. I have a total height of 48" in the center after installing a plywood floor and I would definitely not want anything with less.

Astros are larger than what I have, as are grand caravans.

 

[akrvbob]

Thanks Reducto for responding! I was hoping you would. I've been in his van and it is really well done and totally practical to live in for a minimalist.
Bob

 

[One Awesome Inch]

So from what I can gather the safari/astro has the biggest cargo area of any mini Van...

Correct?

 

[Belinda2]

That is correct for the V6's. I made a mistake in an earlier post thinking about the cf for some of the minivans, but my post #13 numbers are correct.

 

[minimotos95]

for comparison sake my mitsubishi l300 has an 88" wheelbase, 66" wide, 171" overall length, volume of 151 cf and weighs roughly 2900lbs wet.
Reducto's toyota is very similar.

i see the astro as kind of a gray area between minivan and fullsize, some people call it a minivan others say it's just a small van, it is actually smaller then some new "minivans" but is larger on the inside. if GM would bring it back with the new direct injection 4.3l i think it would sell well, getting better gas mileage and more power.

older designs are generally much more space efficient. at the cost of modern "safety" features like giant A pillars and a billion airbags.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

I got blocked out of this forum for a few days (something about my server being blocked by the firewall?) and went to the old forum. I found some nice illustrative pics of user 'bk2valve's Astro 'chinook'.

Here's a pic of an Astro interior with a nice bed and shelf unit that Bob built.

Here are some images showing internal dimensions of Astro van.

I have to say that I am not sure how accurate those measurements are. When Bob built the bed and shelf unit in the pic above he said the shelf was 19 inches wide and the bed was 72 inches long (I think I have that right). That's a total of 91 inches. The pic above says 94 inches from the front seat to the rear door so those are fairly close. However, I thought I read somewhere that the interior length of the Astro is only 6 feet?

Can anyone confirm the interior length of the Astro?