Thoughts on extended 4x4 Express/Savana van?

[DAV!D]

I'm planning to do a year long trip around the country just traveling and seeing the sights and generally doing what I want to do until I get bored. I want to be-able to go to some of the out of the way places along the way and I've been shopping for a good used 4x4 van.

I came across a GMC Savana that is a Qugiley 4x4 conversion and it seems to be in pretty good shape and the price is very good. The problem is it's the extended van and Chevy/GMC actually stretched the wheelbase of the vans rather than add the extra at the back. This has me a bit worried about it easily bottoming out but I was curious what other's thoughts are on this?

If I were to buy the van I'd like go a bit bigger on the tires and maybe a small lift, but I want the van to be practical and not a crazy off road beast. Any thoughts on this? Part of me says buy it because it's a very good deal.. The other part of me says Looooooooong cat is too Looooooooong..

 

[cwsqbm]

With any vehicle, there's always a spot where you're too big. Its wheelbase is roughly equivalent to an extended cab pickup with an 8' bed, or a crew cab with a 6.5' bed. The van's shorter overhangs relative to a truck just make it look longer.

 

[rebar]

Since you said " I want to be-able to go to some of the out of the way places along the way" I assume your not the type of person who see's a steep hill or bog and says.. " lets see if we can make it" Your more of the type who just wants to make it up a rough colorado dirt road and get away from everyone. Id say go for it if the price is right. IMO its better than the huge overhang the ford extended does because you could still tow well and not get blown around the highway as bad as the whale tail fords.

 

[DAV!D]

Since you said " I want to be-able to go to some of the out of the way places along the way" I assume your not the type of person who see's a steep hill or bog and says.. " lets see if we can make it" Your more of the type who just wants to make it up a rough colorado dirt road and get away from everyone. Id say go for it if the price is right. IMO its better than the huge overhang the ford extended does because you could still tow well and not get blown around the highway as bad as the whale tail fords.

Well not to say I wouldn't just go for it if I saw an obstacle, it's just I don't intend to do anything crazy with it. I am after all going to be traveling around the country which means i'll be living in the van while doing that. This means I don't want to push the chance of breaking something just because I want to see if I could get somewhere down some random trail.

My biggest concern is more about how it will handle with the extended wheelbase. I guess when it comes down to it, it's only something like 20 inches but man those 20 inches sure seem to look like a lot, when comparing a extended vs a standard length. I may just go with a 2wd van and do a ujoint conversion because honestly I'm not really fond of driving the extended Ford's that I've driven so far and I kinda think the Chevy's will be the same.

Ironically all I've been able to find is extended vans when it comes to 4x4 vans that don't have 200k miles on them or aren't too old. My issue is I'll be buying via a loan and the banks will only loan on one that is 2004 or newer and under 120k milies.. 4x4 vans that fit that requirement are few and far between it seems, at least on the east coast and I've yet to find one that did, which wasn't a extended body.

 

[Kaisen]

I owned a 2006 GM 3500 Extended van and a 2003 Ford E350 Extended Van, both 2wd. On the road, the extended wheelbase GM is significantly better. It tracks better with less sway. Esp if you have weight aft of the axle, and esp towing.

Are you planning a lift or larger tires? With the long wheelbase GM, you have to worry about the breakover angle. With the Ford, you have to worry about the departure angle. Which is worse? I'd say they're equal. A lift and larger tires will help both.

I'd be more concerned with the front axle/suspension. Most Ford 4x4 conversions are solid axle with coils (Q) or leafs (UJOR). It appears that this GM is still a IFS with torsion bar. Less robust off road, and harder to lift if you want to address the breakover angle.

 

[Heloflyboy]

I had an extended 2005 ford E350 and a 2011 ext chevy 3500 van. These were both work vans that were pretty loaded all the time and had small block engines. The ford handled the weight a lot better, although the chevy rode a lot better when not loaded. The chevy did not have as good of a turning radius,but got better gas mileage. It is a toss up for me but I would not have either in long wheel base if it were not a work truck. Just my 2 cents.

Good Luck