Hello

[Dardrian]

My n<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">ame is D</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">ardri</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">an. I&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">am currently looking for&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">a v</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">an or minivan&nbsp;to convert into&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">a ste</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; ">alth c</span><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 12px;">amper. I have only&nbsp;a small budget&nbsp;at the moment,&nbsp;and I don't know much&nbsp;about vehicles. I currently have&nbsp;a car but sleeping in it is very uncomfortable, which is why I'm looking for the van. Could&nbsp;anyone&nbsp;recommend&nbsp;some vans under $3000? I would like some input from experienced people.&nbsp;</span></font>

 

[cyndi]

<P><FONT size=3>Hi Dardrain, I think your best bet will be to look on craigslist, kijii and your local classifieds.&nbsp; I hope you find what your looking for!&nbsp; </FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

Dardrian...good to have you. Welcome. <br>I think you first have to do some serious thinking about what your wants/needs are and what things are a priority for you...ie: size of van, mpg, stealth, headroom, will you travel a lot, stay in one area, city or remote. The more specific you are with your questions, the more we can help you.<br>Bri<br><br>

 

[Dardrian]

Well&nbsp;after doing quite&nbsp;a bit of research I've come to realize that I'd like&nbsp;a minivan or&nbsp;a full-size van. Stealth is semi-important to me, but I'm much more interested in boondocking. I'm more concerned with MPG than with headroom. Planning on mostly traveling&nbsp;a lot in mostly rural&nbsp;areas, though nothing off-road for now.<div><br><div>Thanks</div></div>

 

[Guest]

It sounds like you have been researching.....So have you come up with any druthers? I must admit to being an Astrovan fan.....I think they are hard to beat.<br>Bri<br><br>

 

[Dardrian]

Well I don't know much mechanically, that's my biggest problem I think. But I&nbsp;am liking the&nbsp;astro&nbsp;and the dodge caravan,&nbsp;although I haven't had&nbsp;a chance to look&nbsp;at either in person as of yet.

 

[Guest]

Depending on where you live, maybe you could go by a car lot or better yet, a sell-your-own car lot and check out some. The thing I like about the Astro is the size, (Mine does not have them but I really like the rear doors that have the hatch style top half and barn door bottoms) and the engine...it has a bigger engine than the other mid size vans....good if you want to be able to pull a trailer ever. <br>You can start picking up the mechanical stuff by reading and asking questions. Once I have an idea of a vehicle I might want to get, I join an online forum for them and read my butt off.&nbsp; many of them have good archives and the owners tend to be pretty knowledgable. Another good thing is to go to the library's reference section and they have shop manuals for various vehicles and you can read a bit on particular vans....<br>Bri<br><br>

 

[twokniveskatie]

<font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><b>hi dardrian! i am one of your blog followers </b></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><b><br></b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><b>i am pretty partial to the astrovan, of course. i am very pleased with my gas mileage. some people do report good mileage with some of the bigger vans, though.&nbsp;</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><b><br></b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><b>i sometimes wish for more headroom.....</b></font></div>

 

[akrvbob]

Hi Dardrian, welcome! You can't go wrong with a full-size van or an Astro minivan. The fullsize van will give you quite a bit more space and only cost you a little in mpg. If I were forced to recommend one vehicle it would be a 1996 or newer fullsize Dodge van with a 318 V8. You should be able to find a good one for less than $3000. Whatever you do, take it to a mechanic to get it checked out before you buy anything. It will be money well spent!! Bob<br>

 

[Dardrian]

Thank you&nbsp;all for the&nbsp;advice, it is much&nbsp;appreciated.&nbsp;