Driving tips for larger vehicles

[Electric Mayhem]

I have had a 95 e350 passenger van for about a year now and it has made a great living space. But I have a problem: I hate driving it. I don't seem to be able to get used to navigating something so big and it seems to roll amd rattle over every bump. I like to visit national parks and sometimes that means washboard roads that make it sound and feel like I'm subjecting my home to an earthquake. I can't help being incredibly self conscious on smaller roads or in parking lots, etc. 
How much of this is something I just have to deal with? Do you have any tips for making it more comfortable to drive?

 

[LathrenJames]

Gosh, this is my concern, too. It is discombobulating. Any advice might be helpful...

 

[highdesertranger]

while I don't consider a E350 a larger vehicle I guess it's all relative if you are used to driving a sub-compact.

all I can say about the size is you will get use to it.

as far as the rattles and noise, start going through your vehicle and do what it takes to eliminate the noise. do one at a time. identify the noise and abate it. depending on what's making noise will determine how to deal with it. if it's stuff you have added, you need to repack/cushion the stuff. if it's part of the factory equipment you need to figure out why it's making noise. did screws/bolts come loose? is something broke? what ever it is you nee to fix it.

another note on washboards roads air your tires down and slow down. just because you could drive 50mph on a washboard road doesn't mean you should. washboard roads will vibrate any vehicle to pieces. they will even vibrate the fillings right out of your teeth. LOL. highdesertranger

 

[velojym]

x2 on Ranger's comments. A regular full-sized van doens't feel big at all to me, but I spent a couple decades herding 18 wheelers around the continent... so even my Suburban is a piece of cake to whip around parking lots.
Packing and padding go a long way toward making your stuff less noisy, and will help keep it from going airborne at the wrong times.

Ah, I remember the first time I had to jack up the cab on a cabover truck... that was a lesson well learned. Seemed like every thing I owned was suddenly on the dash or floor.

 

[John61CT]

Slowly slowly, take your time.

Practice practice, will become automatic

 

[Artsyguy]

Fat Mat sound deadner and a lot of Polyiso insulation will do WONDERS for a quieter ride. As others have said, everything in your van should fit like a puzzle. Get someone to ride in the back while you driving to help pinpoint squeaks. A cargo van ain’t a Lexus( my daily driver). It helps to understand that and have realistic expectations. Learn to drive smoother. It will make your van last longer and arrive at your destination without a migraine. Adding weight to your build will also help.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Navigating a larger vehicle in parking lots requires you to think ahead....

Parking any where you want, close to the front doors of the business, is fine with a smaller car, but with a larger vehicle you need to plan your exit BEFORE you even park.

Try to choose more open spots away from other cars....and its often much easier to exit the slot if you don't have to back out of it, because of all the blind spots. Backing up to the curb, in to a more distant parking space, might seem to take longer, but exiting that slot will be a lot quicker and easier. Plus the walk will not take THAT much longer. And you will be less likely to have idiots put dings in your doors because they just HAD to park next to you. 

In cramped parking lots, with row after row of closely spaced cars, you are better off to just park out in the boonies....because backing out of those sometimes requires you to swing your front bumper very close to the next car's rear bumper....and you might have trouble seeing behind you the whole time. 

I had good forward sight-lines on my E250 van, but this new pickup I bought has a large prominent 'schnoz' and I really have to be careful with it.

 

[stinko]

When I first started driving my e450 26ft bus last year I was TERRIFIED (though I played it cool). Eventually I get used to it though. Then I started towing a car behind it. Which means you can't back up without taking the car off. Again, white knuckle, but now I'm used to that too. I don't even think twice. I'm automatically 3 steps and have never gotten stuck.

When I switched from my aerostar to a Camry (years ago) I remember the car felt puny and felt like I was way too close to the ground.

You'll get used to it, I promise.

( You'll get used to all your junk clanging around too. I did. )

 

[Mattkcc]

I found when you get some weight in the back of a E350 it will drive much nicer. My Chevy Express 1500 drives more like a car, I camp in it not full-time so I don't need the heavy suspension. I remember renting one ton vans to haul my kids stuff back from college. It would beat me up going, but when loaded drove pretty nice. One big advantage I like in a van is your up higher then most vehicle and can see farther ahead.

 

[Electric Mayhem]

Thanks guys. I've been parking out in the boonies, although narrow roads in towns make me uneasy, and I know I'm too self conscious about things like getting up and down these mountain passes. I've been on 2 longer road trips and multiple smaller ones. I'm slowly learning how to secure my stuff. It's a very unprofessional setup cuz it's an old-ish passenger van and I have little money and fewer skills. I'm still considering downsizing to a minivan next year, both for driving comfort and gas mileage.