Which van for a solo camper?

bdog1

Adventurer
"bdog1 - which Ford did you go with? "

Older 94 E350 here... Budget friendly and all mechanical (cheap to fix) 7.3 diesel (last year offered) already Quigley 4x4. 15-16 mpg. Very basic interior set- up.
be8yhysy.jpg

I think I camped around 45 days in 2013, for me that's a record, really using it now!


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT
 

Stroverlander

Adventurer
Nope, never felt the need to disable awd and no issues with reliability to date. The only thing I've done to the t-case is the TSB for shudder while turning tight on pavement a few times which is just an Auto-Trak II fluid drain/fill/drive/fill to remedy sticking clutch.

I really don't have anything bad to say about the stock part-time electronic NV136 transfer case. Other than it is single speed, it works well especially when paired with locking rear differential.

With rwd you wouldn't have to worry about a transfer case, driveshaft, front differential or cv axles, so there's that.
 

arlon

Adventurer
Never considered trying to disable the awd in my Astro. Bang for the buck, not enough benefit to hassle with it.
 

T.Low

Expedition Leader
HTML:
Thanks for the clarification. Do you ever drive with the fuse removed? Any benefits you can think of from swapping to the s-10 TC if I'm not going rock crawling? And reliability-wise, how much better are the 2wd models?



I'm into the Cascade Mtn Range often and lo range is very helpful for me. On extended steep sections of fs roads it eases the stress on the transmission, of course.

Low range lets me go slow up steep off road two tracks and therefore go easier on my suspension, etc.

Last year on a 4x4 trail rated "easy" all the rigs were in lo range except the new guy in the stock 2000 4Runner: He overheated 2/3 the way up, ( probably 5 miles up).

For me, I've got enough experience to know I'm going to want lo range to go the places I want to go and it was 3/4 of day project for $200, so there was never a doubt.
 

digitaldelay

Explorer
With rwd you wouldn't have to worry about a transfer case, driveshaft, front differential or cv axles, so there's that.

RWD's also have composite rear leaf springs, which eventually tend to sag or break.

I would look for an '03-'05 AWD, but older is fine, too. Your usage requirements don't warrant a transfer case swap, imo.

For inside, I'm thinking a sleeping platform with the bikes standing up beside. Kitchen duties can be done outside under an awning. Oh yeah, you'll need an awning (AZ in summer, hehe)

While you're at it, install an RV vent in the designated roof location.

Finally, post pics so I can live vicariously :)

Jason
 

Stroverlander

Adventurer
RWD's also have composite rear leaf springs, which eventually tend to sag or break.

I would look for an '03-'05 AWD, but older is fine, too. Your usage requirements don't warrant a transfer case swap, imo.

For inside, I'm thinking a sleeping platform with the bikes standing up beside. Kitchen duties can be done outside under an awning. Oh yeah, you'll need an awning (AZ in summer, hehe)

While you're at it, install an RV vent in the designated roof location.

Finally, post pics so I can live vicariously :)

Jason

Only early models up to '95 or so used composite leaf springs, anything beyond that is steel. The steel leaf springs do fatigue and sag eventually, though new replacements are cheap enough online.
 

digitaldelay

Explorer
Only early models up to '95 or so used composite leaf springs, anything beyond that is steel. The steel leaf springs do fatigue and sag eventually, though new replacements are cheap enough online.

OK, good to know on the composites. My steel springs needed a boost when I bought my '98. I installed some coil-overs. Lifted the rear nicely but now it rides like a lumber wagon, haha. Great for when I have the boat on, though.

Jason
 

T.Low

Expedition Leader
RWD's also have composite rear leaf springs, which eventually tend to sag or break.

I would look for an '03-'05 AWD, but older is fine, too. Your usage requirements don't warrant a transfer case swap,
IMO

Jason


Yeah , leave it until you know you want one.
 

T.Low

Expedition Leader
Of course, a solo camper can still appreciate the increased camp space in a full size van. Just depends on one's priorities and preferences.
 

ihatemybike

Explorer
Having had many, many Astro vans. Don't mess with the AWD stuff to try to get better mileage, the mpg difference between the 2WD and AWD vans is only 1 mpg. It's better to get a ScanGaugeII or UltraGauge and learn some hypermileing tricks. Pulling the AWD fuse on the newer AWD vans really does nothing as the van is RWD until the sensors detect slippage and activates the FWD, thus a vast majority of the time the front isn't active. The only benefit I've seen from pulling the fuse is for hoonage, oversteer can be fun sometimes.

My Astros have been all over from Florida to Alaska, Moab, and abandoned 1929 alignments of Route 66. These are tough mid-size vans.

Things to watch for:
Rust, where the sub-frame mounts to the radiator core support. Can be seen from behind in the front wheel wells.
Rust, rocker panels under body cladding. Grab the cladding and shake it. If it moves, it's bad.
Fuel pump, factory ones last about 120k. Cheap aftermarket ones don't last, at all. Good way to pick up a dead Astro cheap from a frustrated owner. Sometimes a shot of starting fluid in the intake is enough to get the van to run with a weak pump and drive it home. Only use ACDelco/Delphi pumps for replacement.
Idler arms, Astros love to wear these out. Replace with Moog and grease them every oil change.
Transmission, 3-4 clutch pack is the first to wear out, but normally takes a long time. Transgo has shift kits to firm up the shift, decreasing wear. Not terribly difficult to remove the transmission and there are many places that keep rebuilts available on the shelf for less than $900.
Factory window vans usually have had the easiest lives.
Cargo vans tend to have been beat on.
Conversion vans can have wonky and cheap upfitter equipment.

Tips
Spark plugs are accessed through the front wheel wells.
Remove the air box, fan shroud and fan when working on engine driven accessories.
Used GM Fuel System Treatment Plus to clear up injector caused cylinder misfires.
 

BIGdaddy

Expedition Leader
Hello everyone, new here and new to vans as well. So much so, I don't even have one yet, but the more I think about the uses, the more I want one. For the past few weeks I have been looking through threads here and elsewhere trying to figure out what I want, but still having trouble deciding. I was hoping you guys could offer some advice and steer me in the right direction. I would like to stay <$5000 for the initial purchase (of a well running vehicle) and would like to stay light in terms of mods.

I intend to use the van mostly for weekend (2-3 days) trips, although an occasional week-long adventure could also be in the cards. I live in the Phoenix, AZ area, and would like to be able to spend my weekends in the cooler Flagstaff during the summer, in large part as altitude training (road cycling). While conventional tent camping is an option, I think being able to sleep in a van would be much more convenient.
Travelling elsewhere, I don't see myself venturing way off the beaten path, but some light trails and fire roads should be in the mix. I tend to avoid snow in general, but an occasional trip to the beach is possible as well.

I anticipate most of my trips to be solo. The camping/sleeping inside is most likely to be solo, too.
For the interior of the van, I would like to have (at least) a twin size bed (I'm 6'3"), some storage for personal items (could be under the bed), and a space to keep 1-2 bikes. I don't think I need a fridge at this point, but maybe I'm missing out on the advantages it can provide. I can usually cook something non-perishable at home and bring it along for 2 days. Plus, when staying near a town, I should have access to restaurants and grocery stores. I have a camp stove that I could use to cook stuff outside the van. Running water would be nice to have, of course, but I think I can manage with some water jugs - no sink needed.

I have not yet decided whether I want an AWD or a 2WD van. This can significantly increase/decrease the number of available options.

When I first got the idea of sleeping in a van, I was thinking traditional minivans, like a 2nd gen Honda Odyssey. But having driven one, I'm not so sure anymore. While the driving dynamics is great for such a large vehicle, there isn't that much space behind the front row. I can fit lengthwise, but there's not much room left for anything else. I'm sure I could make it work, but do I want to?

Then (in large part thanks to this forum) I started looking at Astro/Safari vans. I think the size is just about right for what I want, they're readily available, affordable and parts are easy to find. They also offer the AWD option, but the lower MPG and some anecdotal reliability reports have me on the fence about these. Also, the AWD models offer the potential to swap to a non-permanent 4x4 via the S-10 T-case (correct me if I'm wrong here). However, given my intended uses, I wonder if I would even be using the AWD all that much. Then again, having AWD and a small lift could open up some interesting new places to explore.
I'm not new to working on cars, and don't mind getting my hands dirty, but would rather prefer to drive it than to wrench on it (so VWs are off the list...I've had a few in the past :)). If you've owned an Astro, at what mileage do these things start to require attention beyond scheduled maintenance?

Going beyond Astro, there are the larger vans like Chevy Express/Savana, E150/250/350 and the Ram Vans. Plenty of these for sale, especially in the cargo guise, but most with higher miles. Stock, these are RWD only, and I'm not sure if the larger size warrants poorer fuel economy. But any arguments for these larger vans are welcome.

Sorry for the long winded post, but hopefully that provides enough info. I'd appreciate any and all suggestions, advice and words of caution. And of course, every thread is better with photos :)


Vanagon GL with a 2.2l subaru motor, and the westy camper bits swapped in. Done.
 

DAV!D

Adventurer
With this kind of thing, you have loads of options.

Personally, I looked at a lot of options to build my travel van. Pretty much everything has it's own advantages and disadvantages. I ended up going the vanagon route and picked up a old syncro.

I decided there really wasn't anything that could match the layout and usability of them. They really are like a old Swiss Army knife, as you can just about interchange the interior to what you want. The cool thing is pretty much any of them have a fold down rear seat that makes a bed. You can then add in a old westy kitchen area or build your own.

The draw back is they tend to need work as they were only made from 1980 to 91 making them 30 years old. This is where I'm at right now. Mine is torn apart as I pretty much rebuild everything including swapping in a GM ecotec 2.4 engine.

If I had it to do over, I'd of likely found a good condition 2wd and do some basic mods and be gone. You can usually find decent 2wd vanagon at reasonable prices because everyone wants the westys & syncros. The 2wd shouldn't be under estimated as they are rear engine and do pretty good off road.
 
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BIGdaddy

Expedition Leader
With this kind of thing, you have loads of options.

Personally, I looked at a lot of options to build my travel van. Pretty much everything has it's own advantages and disadvantages. I ended up going the vanagon route and picked up a old syncro.

I decided there really wasn't anything that could match the layout and usability of them. They really are like a old Swiss Army knife, as you can just about interchange the interior to what you want. The cool thing is pretty much any of them have a fold down rear seat that makes a bed. You can then add in a old westy kitchen area or build your own.

The draw back is they tend to need work as they were only made from 1980 to 91 making them 30 years old. This is where I'm at right now. Mine is torn apart as I pretty much rebuild everything including swapping in a GM ecotec 2.4 engine.

If I had it to do over, I'd of likely found a good condition 2wd and do some basic mods and be gone. You can usually find decent 2wd vanagon at reasonable prices because everyone wants the westys & syncros. The 2wd shouldn't be under estimated as they are rear engine and do pretty good off road.

My dad has a 2wd Westy with a 2.5L go-westy motor, and they've been ALL over Oregon and California. Great rigs... :)
 

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