Question about what van to get

[ponstev]

<meta charset="utf-8"><div>Right now am trying to figure out a type of van to get. After this summer (I'm a student going to work for $$$ a trip to South America) I'll have a couple grand.</div><div>Trying to decide between:</div><div>An old VW bus (classic hippie)</div><div>01 Honda Odyssey</div><div>Chevy Astro</div><div>Ford Econoline</div><div>1995 Chrysler Town and Country (an ugly little van, but functional)</div><div><br></div><div>I'll have to sacrifice with cooking (maaaybe home cooked meals but at first probably lots of peanut butter and energy bars)</div><div><br></div><div>So which van should I get?&nbsp;</div><div>I will be traveling with another person.</div><div><br></div><div>Any suggestions otherwise for van living would be welcome.</div><div><br></div>

 

[ponstev]

How reliable are they and what kind of mileage do they tend to get? I don't want a gas guzzler.<div><br></div><div>Do you have a link to a picture of yours?</div>

 

[vonu]

A lot depends on what one considers to be gas guzzling.<div>Since my 2003 E150 (with the V-6 engine) van is my full time home, as long as it provides my transportation and shelter needs at a lower cost than any other option could, its fuel consumption is minimal when compared with all of the other options.</div><div>I had been looking for a one ton super with a Triton V-10, but nothing but the above was available when the prior van lost its right rear wheel while being pulled down the highway.</div>

 

[cyndi]

<P><FONT size=3>I've had two Ford vans: a 1986&nbsp;E150 Cargo, and a 1992 E250 Club Wagon.&nbsp; Lived and traveled in both of them for extended lengths of time.&nbsp; Loved them both!&nbsp; bought them used with 50,000ish miles and rove them both past 250,000.&nbsp; They only required maintenance for the duration.&nbsp; When I traded them in they were running strong, but for a woman traveling alone or with a child the mileage scared me.&nbsp; I traded the club wagon in for a Chrysler Town and Country, that I paid way too much for and cost me way too much for the few years I owned it.</FONT></P>

 

[vonu]

My first van home was a 1974 Ford Club Wagon, bought off a parking lot in downtown Dallas, from a Head Start auction, for $300. &nbsp;I lived in it for 6.5 years, abandoned it when I went off to truck driving school in 1990.<div>My second van home was a 1980 E150 cargo van, which I put 3 engines in during 14 years of use. &nbsp;The inline 6 is very strong, but not very long-lived.</div><div>The third van is the aforementioned 2003 E150, which had turned 220,000+ miles.</div>

 

[ponstev]

<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> Do you have any after conversion pictures?

 

[4x4tour]

IF you do get a 90's Ford van, it is CRITICAL that you have the spark plugs checked for their torque, asap.&nbsp; The plugs have an issue with stripping the 5 aluminum threads that hold the steel spark plug in.&nbsp; Anti-seize and 14 lbs of torque seems to be the concensus for proper maintenance. <br><br>Secondly, check for rusty/broken exhaust manifold bolts, which are snapping off in the heads,&nbsp;due to poor quality studs used during factory assembly. &nbsp;<br><br>Yesterday, I wanted to change the plugs in my 1997 E-350 V10 4x4 because it has 212,000 miles on it, and I didnt know its prior history.&nbsp; Sure enough, the #3 spark plug was looser than the others, and was on its way to loosening up and blowing.&nbsp; Now, I can go another 100k miles on these plugs, and feel confident. <br><br>Shops wanted 400 bucks just for the labor.&nbsp; No way I was paying that, and the whole job took me only 2.5 hours on my first attempt on one of these. <br><br>Here's a great resource link:<br><br><A href="http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/991189-spark-plug-thread-repair-with-photos.html" target=_blank>http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/991189-spark-plug-thread-repair-with-photos.html</A><br><br>Honestly, I love mine, BUT, if I wasnt a mechanic Id shy away from one if I was in your position.&nbsp; The VW's&nbsp;are finicky as hell, fyi... Let us know what you find, and we can offer advice accordingly.. <br><br>AJ<br><br><br><br>

 

[4x4tour]

P.S. <br><br>If the Chrysler/Dodge caravan is a 4cyl and has more than 80k, I would stay away from that as well.&nbsp; They were/are notorious for skipping timing via&nbsp;rubber timing belts that stretch.&nbsp; Its like a 400 job to do,&nbsp;if it does need replacement.&nbsp; I think their manual says to change it at 80k. <br><br>The Chevy astro is a POS (Im a certified GM mechanic, so Im biased), BUT, parts will be plentiful, as GM is really popular in areas you're discussing.&nbsp; Weak engines and CV axles and were common issues with it whe I was wrenching professionally. <br><br>The Honda sounds cool, but I would google known issues for that model, which I dont have enough info to give ya...<br><br>Good luck...<br><br><br>

 

[ponstev]

Yeah as far as fixing cars goes I'm pretty awful at it. Haha. I have no idea what I'm doing in that area. On the other hand, I'm a bit of a car nerd, so I don't trust Chevy's.<div>I love Honda's and Toyota's, so if I bought a van, it'd probably be an odyssey or a sienna.</div><div><br></div><div>I want this van to be my escape.</div><div>I'm 21, going to college, and parents pay for everything, holding that power over my head and having ridiculous restrictions. I want to escape.</div><div>Originally, I wanted to live in an RV. But saving up from a low level job and getting a van to live in seems like a better idea to me now.</div><div><br></div><div>That's probably pretty personal for a forum...but maybe someone's gone through it before.&nbsp;</div>

 

[ponstev]

Oh and the reason I mention Honda Odyssey is I borrow my parents 01 Odyssey. Has 220,000 miles on it. Runs like a dream.<div><br></div><div>Makes me even feel a bit pathetic saying all this about not being independent but hey - gotta start somewhere right?</div>

 

[MargaretA]

I have a couple of suggestions. One is to consider what you're going to be doing with the van and what it's going to be carrying. A minivan like the Odyssey will probably get better mileage than a full-size van like the Econoline, but it's smaller so it won't hold as much. And if it's going to be carrying a lot of weight around - people *and* things - it may not be able to handle that for very long. Parts may start to wear out a lot sooner.<br><br>Another suggestion is to check out this site:<br>http://www.kbb.com/car-values/<br><br>Yes, it's Kelly Blue Book's site but I recently discovered there are also reviews there - people can write about their own experiences with the vehicle and give it a rating of 1-5 stars. You have to plug in an actual vehicle first - for example, a 1995 Astro - and then follow some steps to add options, etc. But eventually you'll be able to read the reviews people have written for the vehicle. Some are just general but a lot are specific, including how they used the vehicle and what maintenance/repairs it needed. I've found them to be really helpful.<br><br>KBB gives each vehicle a point value which I think is an average of all the ratings. But I'm not sure that alone is very useful. For example, when I recently looked up mid-90s Astros there the rating seemed fairly high - 4.5 out of 5, I think. But what people wrote in the reviews wasn't nearly as good. Maybe it's because people are allowed to give just a star rating without any comments. But whatever the reason, I've started to trust the writing over the # of stars.<br><br>I hope that helps. Good luck with your search, and let us know what you finally get.<br><br>Meg<br><br>

 

[Guest]

Hi,<br>Well after 4x4 tour checked in on the Astrovan as a certified GM mechanic, what I have to say may need to be taken with a grain of salt....but never in a life of many vans have I been so happy with a van as I am with my Astro shorty, Chinook conversion van. It has now about 125K and I got it with 80K on it...an 87 it has been completely trouble-free excepting things like power steering pump bracket breaking. I am a huge believer in preventive maintenance and keep mine up. I would not hesitate to own another and if I was wanting one I would go with a full length. Now that is just me....I do get an average of 20 mpg with it and the engine and 700R tranny are strong enough to pull a trailer...hence the huge popularity with contractors over other smaller vans that all have smaller engines.<br>I was warned by a friend who has a large tranny shop in Missoula, MT to not use overdrive while pulling any weight and that seems to be what destroys the tranny.<br><br>Are ou planning on using the van in South America? If so, let us know as that presents different issues&nbsp; that can easily be addressed.<br><br>Bri <br><br>

 

[4x4tour]

<FONT face="times new roman, times, serif" size=3>Hey BK, </FONT><br><FONT face="times new roman, times, serif" size=3></FONT>&nbsp;<br><FONT face="times new roman, times, serif" size=3>Didnt mean to totally slam the astros...lol&nbsp;&nbsp; Your Chinook should&nbsp;have heavy duty components (tranny cooler, better axles/bearings etc...),&nbsp; which kind of negate some of my comments...lol&nbsp; The 700r is an awesome trans IF maintained, which you do.&nbsp; Put a shift kit in it and at will last forever.&nbsp; I guess I'm jaded by the numerous V6 engine bearing issues Ive seen.&nbsp;&nbsp; Those engines get dirty FAST, which i feel contributes to the spun bearings (lack of 3k, or even 2k&nbsp;oil changes depending on how hard it works). </FONT><br><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT>&nbsp;<br><br>

 

[Guest]

Dude, I would never argue with experience....esp. factory trained experience...I just needed to give mine as a counterpoint.<br><br>I did have an rv built on an Astro chassis that far overloaded it and the trans. did blow....they also left the shitty composite spring on the rear suspension and just stuck a couple of airbags under it instead of actually upgrading the suspension to steel springs sized for the load. It sucked! That is an issue I would have with the Provan Tigers and XT's of the past....and would look long and hard at the suspension before ever buying one.&nbsp; In fact the trans could be an issue with them too.<br>Bri<br><br><br><br>

 

[ponstev]

Great responses!<div>I may have changed my tune a bit..I was thinking of getting a truck.</div><div>I won't have a lot of money to spend on buying this truck, but since I'd be in places I don't know (driving down to California, through mexico, etc), I figure having a truck to maaaybe get over rough terrain would help.</div><div><br></div><div>So far in the truck arena I have come up with</div><div><br></div><div>toyota tacoma, ford ranger, 1996 nissan xe pickup</div><div><br></div><div>Any other suggestions? I know this is a van section of the forum, so I'm sorry if this question seems out of place. It's just...some trucks get better gas mileage than most vans <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div>