New to the Van idea

[Ncinshore]

Hey there, just joined up because I'm looking to get in to a diesel Van. I tow a boat 5 times a week for work, so a diesel makes sense, and the van is much more affordable than a truck. I can also got all my fishing gear in the back of the van and keep it safe, another good point for the van.

So the 7.3 power stroke e350 seems popular and fairly available. My question is, is there a better option? Main use will be daily driver with some longer road trips thrown in 5-10 times a year. What are the max miles I should consider on a used 7.3? Anything else specific to look for before purchasing? I'm also open to hear any other suggestions on vans as I am new to the whole deal.

Thanks for your help!

 

[tgreening]

Something to consider when looking at mileage. Folks will try to sell you on "it's a 7.3 and at 275,000 miles it's just getting broke in"! May be, but everything else on the van/truck has 275,000 miles as well, and not just the major things people think of like engine and transmission. Axles, bearings, seals, and most often overlooked, switches, gauges, plugs, wiring in general, and every other thing in the vehicle.

I'll take a ball joint replacement any day of the week over trying to track down an elusive electrical gremlin in 15+ yr old greasy, grimy, BRITTLE old plugs and wire bundles.

Food for thought.

 

[Bbasso]

I once bought a 7.3 van with 750,000 miles and it was nearly perfect. Especially the price... but sadly it had a minor problem that was missed diagnosed 4 times resulting in selling.
Half luck, half knowledge. I love the 7.3 But for frequent towing I'd be happy with the 2005+ V10
Solid tow rig, slightly thursty...
7.3 does very well towing too but the 5R110 is superior with the V10.

 

[Ncinshore]

I'm kind of hesitant on the v10 because of gas mileage. I do some 40-100mi round trip tows pretty often, sometimes 2-3 times a week. Thanks for the input guys!

 

[BajaSportsmobile]

I'm kind of hesitant on the v10 because of gas mileage. I do some 40-100mi round trip tows pretty often, sometimes 2-3 times a week. Thanks for the input guys!

Depending on the load you are towing, the V10 may get better gas mileage than the V8.

I just towed 10,000 pounds with my 5.4L SMB, OD off the whole time and burned a lot of fuel maintaining 70 Mph.

 

[wjeeper]

Something to consider when looking at mileage. Folks will try to sell you on "it's a 7.3 and at 275,000 miles it's just getting broke in"! May be, but everything else on the van/truck has 275,000 miles as well, and not just the major things people think of like engine and transmission. Axles, bearings, seals, and most often overlooked, switches, gauges, plugs, wiring in general, and every other thing in the vehicle.

In a similar vein I hate when somebody replaces the motor in a super high mileage van and thinks it makes it new! My friend always uses the analogy of a sub sandwich: You can replace the meat in a month old sandwich, but the rest of its still a month old sandwich!

Have you considered going the Chevy route? The 6.0 gas motor tows really well and still gets pretty good mileage. My brother runs up the canyons here with a van full of carpet supplies and still gets 13-15 MPG.

How heavy of a boat we talking? Depending on how heavy a diesel may be better.

 

[Ncinshore]

Boat weight total is about 3,500lbs and I have a dual axel aluminum trailer under it that weighs about 800-1000lbs.

Knowing that towing is my main concern, what would you all suggest? I'm open to anything. How will the transmission with the 7.3 hold up to towing?