Question about types of vans to consider trading my nissan frontier for?

[aaroni]

Hi. Ive been living in my 2001 Nissan Frontier XE pickup with a canopy over back of bed, for a couple years since moving back to the bay area. Had a roommate homeshare situation for about 7 months while attending an organic farming program at a community college, but the financial aid workstudy funds were reduced by federal government and at the same time the owners of home moved back to France so I had to move out with no reliable income, so back in my truck. <br><br>By professional, and love, I am a licensed massage therapist and tai chi qigong practitioner &amp; teacher, focused on rebuilding my business after too many, too frequent moves to different parts of the sf bay area and even out of state, require me to start mostly all over again building clientele. I rent an office on weekends, and do outcall massages the other days &amp; evenings. Keep my massage table and massage chair in my truck, sleeping in back on a raised bed platform I made. It works, but very cramped and Im getting quite tired of not being able to stand up and move more, read easier, do other basic living things easier that could be done with more space as in a larger van. <br><br>A friend has a Sprinter van which she showed me, and it is lovely as far as has space for a full size bed, shelves, a sink, and still plenty of room to stand fully upright and move around! It is a diesel, which she recommends for better gas mileage. While the sprinter sounds nice overall, reading up on it it sounds like they are mechanically expensive to repair and need frequent major repairs, plus expensive to buy even used. I have no money, barely scraping by with enough to pay for gas and food, with massage income too erratic and now as of April owe registration renewal plus smog fee totaling a bit over $200. <br><br>I am strongly considering, wanting to trade my truck for a more suitable, larger van in excellent condition mechanically, so that I have to pay nothing in cash as none available yet. One things I'm aware of is that my nissan is mechanically very reliable, its had a few mechanical issues which Ive had repaired ( leaking radiator / coolant hose, clutch a couple years ago, brakes, squealing air conditioner belt, and has some external body dents from people pulling into my truck while parking then driving away without owning up to it and since Ive only been able to afford liability I haven't had it repaired ), though runs reliably. <br>Very important, essential, that any van I trade it for is at least as mechanically sound, in excellent condition needing no repairs or tuneups. And I can stand in fully ( I am 5'5" ), have space for a bed and at least 5' of extra open space, plus storage ( likely under sleeping platform I will make ).<br><br>Any suggestions, and if anyone in the San Francisco bay area even has such a compatible van they want to trade for my nissan frontier, I am totally open to and appreciative of suggestions?<br><br>

 

[MrNoodly]

To get the room to stand, I've been considering cargo vans with an add-on high roof, retired U-Haul 10' box vans or retired Pensky 12' box vans (the ones without dual rear wheels). Both have pros and cons, but they're cheaper than a Sprinter and easier to maintain. Box vans have straight walls, so they're easier to build out, but they don't usually have side doors. Also, rollup back doors can be drafty. High top vans have standing room and side doors, but the slanted walls don't provide as much horizontal room. If you're not going to be doing much long distance driving, there are also small step vans. Some of them have single rear wheels and swing-out back doors rather than rollups.

 

[MK7]

American V8 vans are very reliable. They are workhorses that run all day and abused, everyday for contractors and such. The transmission is usually the weak&nbsp; point (and most expensive to fix) so you just need to make sure that's OK before you buy it. Then get a tranny cooler and always keep it in D (not OD) while city driving. A $5000 conversion van should be in good condition and you'd be able to standup at 5'5".&nbsp; Spend $50 to have a mechanic check out.

 

[Simran]

Personally, I wouldn't trade a Nissan frontier for anything. I had one until it was T-boned and it was bullet proof . . .well almost :&gt;(. <br>That was in my splicing days and I had a topper and rack on it; carried tools and a 32' fiberglass extension ladder on top. It was a <br>sound rig with 187,000 miles on it. It was still running strong when I was T-boned.<br><br>If I had one of those I'd find a topper for it and take a few lessons from our own JohnnyCanuuk (SP). He lives grand in the back of a <br>pickup. As long as that little 4 banger is followed by a standard trans. I wouldn't hesitate.<br>If you think you gotta have a van you can't beat an old Chevy. They are easy to fix and parts are&nbsp;lying behind every rock&nbsp;in the US. Really<br>any of the older full sized vans are dependable providing you find one that was well maintained. I'm really not prejudiced. I almost bought<br>a Dodge myself; I wanted the extra length but buckled for the hi-top instead. It happened to be a Chevy.<br><br>gus