To extend or not to extend

[karen]

Hi,

What are your thoughts about extended vans? My initial thoughts were that I would like to have the largest cargo van possible but with a small engine for fuel economy.

But upon my initial research it seems that they don't make extended vans with small engines. They seem to all be one ton. Would that even be desirable to have a smaller engine in an extended?

Is an extended van that much better than a standard van? I tend to think so since it will be my house. I'd love to hear from someone who has had both - standard and then extended.

Is my phobia of a large engine unrealistic? Would it be better for you to have a one ton engine with extended cargo, or a smaller engine with a standard van?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[idn88]

<p>I had the same brand and year pickup with both a 6&nbsp;cylinder&nbsp;and a V8 (slightly different years) and the mileage was about the same. &nbsp; Seemingly the smaller engine has to work harder to produce the same power, hence burns more fuel per size than a larger engine which is just coasting along.<br><br>Gas mileage for the same generic vehicle for me has seemingly been more about driving style and gearing, than engine cubic inch. &nbsp;Also, if the van is loaded down, which presumably it will be, the larger engine may last longer. &nbsp;Just my thoughts.</p>

 

[MrNoodly]

The reason you'll very rarely find an extended van with a 6-cylinder engine is that the manufacturers know they would be underpowered, especially after loading up that extra room.<br><br>When a 6-cylinder engine is working closer to its maximum power, there is less additional power available when you need to climb hills or pass traffic. You step on the gas and... not much more happens.<br><br>But if you still want a 6-cylinder and more room, consider a high top. More vertical room allows you to stack things higher -- and to <em>stand up</em>.

 

[user 423]

<span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="/post/V6-vs-V8-van-6193301" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #000000;">There are extended 3/4-ton vans with smaller V8s and overdrive transmissions. They would be fine if you won't be driving in hilly or mountainous terrain or if you travel very lightly. That's not usually the case for people living in vans. They tend to accumulate more "stuff" than they imagine and the weight goes up. House batteries plus drinking and waste water adds a lot of weight.</span><br><br><br>https://vanlivingforum.com/post/V6-vs-V8-van-6193301<br><br><br></span></a></span>

 

[karen]

Thanks to both of you.

I'm getting the sense that maybe a small engine wouldn't be a good idea over all.

 

[peacetara]

I have an E-350 extended van, mine is a Diesel engine. I don't really understand all the magic details but: 1999 ford E-350 7.3L diesel

Anyways, it's a big monster <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> I get 17-20 MPG on the highway, and am very happy with it. I can go up hills easily , and mountains are not a big deal.

The only only other van I have experience with is a Minivan.

Anyways, mine is a cargo van, so it has the wall behind the driver seats. I get 12' long of living space, and 6' wide , a total of 72 sq feet. I love my Ferdy(the name of my van).

Anyways, I can only share my limited experience, but hopefully it can help you with your decision.

One possibility, go sit in both, and think about what would work best for you. I wish you lots of success !

With love,
Tara

 

[karen]

That is great mileage. I'm not too familiar with diesel vehicles but I am open to it. I wonder if you could add another fuel tank below the van and do that vegetable oil burning conversion to a diesel van and fill up with used oil when you can find a source.

Thanks!

 

[LFM]

Not all&nbsp;extended&nbsp;vans are equal. Some&nbsp;manufacturing&nbsp;extend the wheel base, some make the&nbsp;extension&nbsp;behind the rear axle. Extending the wheel base makes a big&nbsp;difference&nbsp;parking, close quarter maneuvering, U turns etc.&nbsp; I see no&nbsp;difference&nbsp;between the extended or not as far as gas&nbsp;mileage. I prefer the extended for the extra room. Most extended vans come as a one ton or 3/4 ton.&nbsp;I prefer the one ton, the&nbsp;chassis is heaver as are the&nbsp;brakes&nbsp;and&nbsp;suspension. That does make items more&nbsp;expensive&nbsp;to replace, but in my&nbsp;opinion longer lasting. I also think&nbsp;diesel&nbsp;is better than gas. I have both.

 

[deltaecho]

That is great mileage. I'm not too familiar with diesel vehicles but I am open to it. I wonder if you could add another fuel tank below the van and do that vegetable oil burning conversion to a diesel van and fill up with used oil when you can find a source. Thanks!

<BR><BR>You can burn used fryer oil and even used motor oil in both 7.3 diesels that Ford made, and fitting a&nbsp;'92 and&nbsp;up extended Ford van with a second tank is possible. Many pre-'92 Ford vans came with dual tanks. But, you have to know what your doing when burning used oil. It needs to be&nbsp;filtered very good or you will kill your fuel pump and mess up your injectors. I don't see the used oil thing being a great option for those who travel. You would need a trailer to haul around the equipment for converting the oil to usable fuel.

 

[wagoneer]

Had a 1974 toyota chinook pop up for years R18 were gutless and depending on your style of travel a great choice.<br>My recent /current ride is a 2001 E350 XL with a 7.3 diesel 18ft long and a bubble top. If you can live with the rattle and pop of a diesel a great choice over large gas engines. cheaper to run way better MPG and lots of power. PS My van was a mini bus not a cargo van so it has this upgraded super suspension and windows all around

 

[karen]

LFM: thanks for the info about extended vans. I had thought about that before - where the extension is at - behind the wheels or before it. It seems like you prefer behind the rear wheels to keep the maneuvering abilities. I suppose you can tell just by looking at it. I will keep this in mind. Thanks!

delta: thanks for that. Yes I was wondering how much gear one would need to filter the oil. Good thoughts.

Thanks Wagoneer. I'm starting to lean towards diesel if I can find and afford it thanks to this thread. I've driven diesels before and I have no problem with them.

 

[MrNoodly]

I had thought about that before - where the extension is at - behind the wheels or before it. It seems like you prefer behind the rear wheels to keep the maneuvering abilities. I suppose you can tell just by looking at it. I will keep this in mind.

<br><br>Fords and some old Dodges add on behind the rear wheels. The thing is, there's the spark plug issue with 1997 and newer Ford gasoline engines. Some people have the problem, some don't. It's like Russian roulette. If it does, your van/home can be out of commission for a couple of days. And there's the mechanic's bill. <br><br>The Ford diesels don't have that problem. However, the thing with diesel engines is that they used to get way better mileage back in the early '90s. But tightening emissions standards meant the manufacturers had to change the power characteristics of diesel engines. Not to get too technical, but diesels are cleaner when they're running faster. So they shifted the power up into the higher revolution range, where they also burn more fuel. There are aftermarket companies, though, that can reprogram the engine computer to bring the power back down to the more fuel efficient range.

 

[karen]

Interesting. I will keep both things in mind!

 

[Simran]

If you can buy a diesel van and have 2000-3000 in the bank for repairs for a diesel; you'll be ok. Otherwise I'd say go with a gas van with the smaller v8. Sometimes you'll wish you had a bit more power but not often.<br>The problem with diesels is the parts and repair rates are extremely high. I have a diesel car and I can tell you that they are not for the weak of heart when it comes to repairing them. The only reason I can justify a diesel car, is the miles I put on it every year (70,000), and the mileage it gets (38mpg). An injector pump for a 7.3L Ford diesel is $500.00. To put it in and all the gaskets and tuning it would cost $1200.00 to $1600.00 total with the cost of the pump. $2500.00 for a transmission for that same Ford; that's without labor. With labor closer to $4000.00.<br>Not trying to scare anyone; just some round figures of costs of a long term relationship with a diesel van. I used the Ford as an example because the parts are everywhere for them and the vans are common. Personally, I think they are a good rig. This scenario could be for any diesel van.<br><br>gus

 

[wagoneer]

ditto not for the weak of heart. well maintained the will run forever.

 

[karen]

I understand Diesel engines would be more expensive to repair. But what about the total cost of ownership? With that in mind, do you think diesels are more less or same as gas regarding total cost of ownership?

 

[karen]

BTW, I would love a sprinter mega top, but they are so expensive! You can get them cheap, but with 275,000+ miles on it or so. Buying one of those for $5k, I wonder how much an engine and transmission redo would cost. Plus other stuff can go wrong...

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[MrNoodly]

Check out the Sprinter owners forums. It might change your mind.

 

[ccbreder]

If you can't do your own servicing, diesel would be more cost per year, less cost over engine life. Any van, regardless of the engine, will use very close to the same amount of fuel per mile unless it is very long haul, the diesel is better. A larger engine in a given gasoline van would be better over all.<br><br>Gasoline = easier maintenance, lower cost repairs. Diesel = complicated, expensive maintenance, much higher cost of repair. Diesel van will be $1000 or $2000 more to buy unless low mileage then lots more.<br><br>Using home-made recycled oil will cause lots of maintenance problems.

 

[Simran]

This too is a loaded question. With my diesel car I get by OK because I get 0.55 per mile driven and it always covers whatever expenses I incur and then some. Diesels were meant to be driven . . .alot. They are just designed that way. My car gets 38 miles to the gallon and has a 25 gallon tank. You do the math. You can't hardly stay behind the wheel long enough in one day to run the tank dry. <br>IMHO unless you plan to put on an extraordinary amount of miles you'd be better off, in the long run, with a gasser. With a diesel van you'd get 16-18 miles per gallon; maybe 20 once in awhile (the older ones got 20mpg all day long but were . . some would say doggy). I've heard some on this site with Chevy gassers getting that same 16-18 mpg figure. It just doesn't compute. I don't see how anyone, save someone towing something all the time, can afford to own a diesel van to live in. Unless you have the need for the POWER, go for the gasser. Even if it only gets 14-16 you will be money ahead in the long run.<br>You see a gasser car comparable in size to my car is only pulling 26-28 mpg; maybe 32 on the interstate once in awhile. I'm getting 38mpg sometimes as high as 41 on the interstate. The difference is 10-12 mpg take that into 70,000 miles in a year; it makes a big difference. 2012 it was only 50,000 but I put 28,000 on my 1 ton van as well pulling my car on a trailer.<br>The jump in mileage between a diesel van and a newer gasser isn't extreme enough to justify it (look at the numbers in the preceding paragraph) unless you put in an inordinate amount of windshield time. <br>Then you have the difference in the price of fuel to contend with. Diesel has been higher than gas since around 2007 and I don't see it going down lower than gas again.<br>Diesels do tend to hold their value better than gassers. So come trade in time it may help a little then. Unless you plan to trade often I don't think this will help enough to tip the scale in the direction of a diesel.<br>Again karen, this is just my opinion; your mileage may vary!<br><br>gus<br><br>

I understand Diesel engines would be more expensive to repair. But what about the total cost of ownership? With that in mind, do you think diesels are more less or same as gas regarding total cost of ownership?