Picking a van

[crazy_dave]

O.K, so I’ve decided to go the van route over my other options. Now I’d like some opinions on the vans I’m currently looking at.
Some of you have probably see my other post (help me pick a camper). Most of the time it will be my g/f and I, occasionally her 14yo daughter. Mostly weekend boondocking with a motorcycle in the van. I do a lot of hammock camping so we can make extra room when needed.
I’ve narrowed it down to three.
1. Chevy Express with the 5.3. Hard to find in my area.
2. For E250 or E350- lots of them. But I’m worried about the spark plug issue with the 5.4 tritan
3. Dodge Ram2500 or 3500.


From the owner: Asking $700.00 for the hightop

I have owned the van for around 2 years.

The guy before more put bucks into it, got a pile of receipts. I didn't have to do anything except change oil.

The frame has surface rust but everything seems solid. All the spring hangers look solid. Steering is good.

Mechanically it needs some things for sure. I think it's got 171K.

Like I said it skips after 15 min of driving, code said cyl #4 misfire. Could be the plug or the coil pack above it?? That's the major issue.

The muffler broke at the front nipple.

The tires are worn. One or 2 are marginal at best.

The rust on the rockers is thru on the pass side in the rear. Needs a sheet metal patch.

the light for air bags stays on.

Brakes are up and work but I bet it needs fronts.

radiator is fairly new.

trans works perfect, overdrive got me around 17mpg down to NYC. SO the motor must be OK.

heater and ac work fine.

rear was good, no noise.

it drove very well for something that big

If you had a way to get some cheap tires 225 75 16 and could fix some problems it could be good

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Next I found a very clean 01 E250 with 122,00 for 3K

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Never mind on the hightop. He says scrap is up so that where its going. To bad.

 

[GotSmart]

Personally I am a Dodge guy. They are able to carry way more weight than the others.

I would take the high top to a mechanic and see what he says. Never mind what the owner is saying. (Never trust the salesman!)

After building on a van for months now, Hightop is the way to go.

 

[crazy_dave]

Hightops gone. He says scrap is up so thats where its going. To bad.

 

[GotSmart]

Then look around for another high top. When you (try to) stand up in a regular van you will be kicking yourself. (but you cant!) Is going or is gone? ask him again! He offered it to you! (Worth a try!)

 

[crazy_dave]

I’m not too sure I really want a hightop. This one just had the right price on it.
This is a test run for me; I’m not planning on being a fulltimer just yet. So my needs and van will change before I make the final commitment. For now think of it as a mobile camp.
Also, I do a lot of kayaking and my tandem one is 15ft. I was planning on getting roof racks for that.
Could I put racks on a hightop?

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I found a Dodge as well but it has the 5.9 in it. What kind of MPG would I get with that Vs. the 318?

 

[GotSmart]

I get around 16 with my 91 ~ 318. That is a combined mileage. But it has no cats and dual exhaust. You never have to worry about power or long hills. I am sure I would get much better on the open road. But where I live the laws are much different than in most places.

 

[akrvbob]

I wouldn't hesitate to get a Dodge, great vans! I would much prefer the 318 for the MPG but the 360 is also a great engine.

You can put ladder racks on a high top but it won't be cheap!! If nothing else you can buy regular ladder racks and have a welder fabricate extension arms to go down to the gutters.

While for long term living I think you are better off with a high-top, in your case a low top may be your best choice. it should be easy to resell later if you want to get a high-top and it will make carrying the kayak much easier.

I wouldn't live in a low top vehicle, so I have a high-top cargo trailer i Live in but I take 2-4 month trips in my van which is a low-top. Knowing it's short-term I don't mind it so much. You can adapt to the low-top pretty easily since it's not for the rest of your life.
Bob

 

[crazy_dave]

Would the Dodge be a better choice than the 01 E250 posted above?
What MPG could I see with the 360?

 

[GotSmart]

The 360 will get you between 10 and 13. Average for a van.

 

[akrvbob]

The newer the van the better the MPG with fuel injection and 4 speed trannys. A 2000 360 van should get 13-16 mpg in the highway. The vans do much better than the pickups. I don't know why I assume it's the aerodynamics.
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

The newer the van the better the MPG with fuel injection and 4 speed trannys. A 2000 360 van should get 13-16 mpg in the highway. The vans do much better than the pickups. I don't know why I assume it's the aerodynamics.
Bob

Greetings Bob!

That might vary by area... I get a lot of vans in the Seattle & Portland areas, both have smog requirements, and anything newer than mid 80's the MPG's seem to drop rapidly. I'm guessing because of extra smog gear.

My 82 Dodge 15 pass. with high top seems to get better MPG's than a lot of the newer mini-vans in those areas. It has no smog gear, but flies right through the tests.

A friend has 2 Dodge Caravans, his '87 get's 25mpg, his 2012 gets 14mpg.

Cheers!

The CamperVan_Man

 

[crazy_dave]

I know nothing of Diesels. So what about this one for around 2K?
Odometer says 33,000 but I imagine it’s been flipped at least once., only has 5 places.


1984 FORD E350, 1TON, 6.9 DIESEL VAN, solid Florida body, tires almost new, this vehicle would make a perfect WVO experiment with its dual tanks, or would make perfect work van it's 12ft to the back of the seats is very heavy duty, everything works, new pioneer stereo, this vehicle is not subject to emissions testing,

 

[akrvbob]

The 6.9 is a good engine and one of the simpler diesel engines to work on. However, it suffers from the same problem all diesels suffer from, when it comes time to make a repair on it, it will be extremely expensive.

Everyone says, "But diesels run forever so it shouldn't matter." The core of the engine will run forever but everything around it will break just like a gas engine, and maybe even more often. And when it breaks you better have deep pockets to fix it because it will cost a fortune.
Bob

 

[crazy_dave]

Any reasons I should stay away from a 1990 Ford 250 hightop with supposedly 44,00 original miles? Was owned by a handicapped person. Looks very clean no rear seats. Only thing I don’t like is its has back windows. Looks kinda like a gutted conversion
Waiting to find out what motor it has but.......What kind of MPG should I expect?

 

[masterplumber]

At work we have a 6.9 in a 1 ton flatbed. It has 197,000 miles on it. What Bob says is somewhat true, but really depends upon the make, motor, year, etc... Most people either love or hate them. I happen to love them. We did just have to replace the high pressure fuel pump on the shop truck and it ran about $1900 so yes, repairs can be more. Still, if I had a chance to pick up a 6.9 or 7.3 Ford van I'd jump on it. My son had a '93 7.3 Ford two wheel drive pickup and commuted to work in it because it got 23 MPG, and that was at high altitude with a 1500 foot elevation gain on the way home.

 

[crazy_dave]

I had the chance to checkout an extended Ford E250 similar to the one that I posted earlier. I liked it and it seemed roomier than the Dodges I’ve looked at.
Anyhow I think I’m going to look at the extended lowtop 01 E250 with the 5.4 later this week.
Now from what I’ve been able to find out the 5.4 came with 2 valve and 3 valve motors.
The earlier 5.4 had the 2 valve, single piece spark plug which I believe this van is. It’s my understanding that the spark plug holes only have 4 threads that hold it in and there have been cases of them blowing out. Don’t know what % it is thou.
The 3 valve motors had the two piece spark plugs that can break off in the head when changed.
Both have fixes for these problems if/ when they arise.

I’ve very interested in this 01 with 120,000 on it and it’s in my price range. Any suggestions on what I should look for? I’ve read posts of people getting over 300,000miles on these motors and others say they were crap after 50,000. I just don’t know what to think.
My vacation time is very limited and will be localized. I probably won’t even put 6k a year on this van.

 

[Lucky mike]

Ford had bigger issues with its EDo4 transmission than it had with engines...that would be what I would be concerned with....you dont note the Year?

 

[crazy_dave]

Second paragraph, it’s a 2001, 5.4.
It has 122,000 on it for a little under $3k.
In my first post there are three pix of it, its the lowtop.
Looks like it was a service or fleet vehicle at one time.

 

[user 423]

See if you can check and make certain the plugs have already been changed. Some fleet shops might not bother changing them before they sell them off. If they were changed, trouble would have showed up then so you shouldn't have to worry about it for quite a while.

 

[GotSmart]

With all the current recalls, everyone owning any vehicle should do a web search to find out if they have been affected.

http://www.internetautoguide.com/10-2-8/truck-recalls.html