I'd love to see more pics of your setup from the inside, as well as more pics from your travels. I want to ujoint-esque campervan like we all do, but in reality, something more road-friendly would be way more practical.
I know your van is pretty new, but I'd be curious to know how you feel about the fuel economy, build quality, and road manners. I like the last-gen Caravan, at least on the outside. I haven't really looked at the newer ones.
Hey reWRX,
Sorry it took so long to respond...been way too busy for my own liking...
The Van has been pretty good. Without the tent, when I don't stomp on the 283HP pedal, I get around the advertised 7.9L/100km. Keep in mind, this is strictly HWY driving. Around town, I get around 13.5-14L/100km.
I like the feel of the interior materials on the 11 and up vans. Much better than the previous years. I am disappointed however, with the ride and the amount of creaking and rattling inside the van. Liberal use of so-called soft-touch materials and sound insulaiton make the van a very quiet, nice place to be during a long trip. I have been able to find a comfortable sitting position (even though I am used to sitting in low-slung, high(er) g-producing cars). The glass (and there is alot of it) is thicker than in past models and thus aids in the improved sound insulation.
The stereo is pretty decent for an OEM unit, as are the GPS and back-up camera. I didn't get the extra-nice entertainment system which would have aided in making the van a nicer place to be, especially for the kiddies on loooooong, boring, driving portions. But I find the fact that it has a 30GB hard drive onto which I can load tons of music a nice thing. IMy only complaints on the entertainement system are: 1)I wish it played .avi or .mkv files so I could load movies too and 2) I wish it was easier to use...it is not as intuitive as one would think or hope.
Our van came with the store-n-go seats which are a godsend when you are useing the van to transport bikes or large furniture-household items. We rarely do that so, I would trade the store-n-go for a rear seat that can unfold to make a bed with storage space underneath.
The suspension feels like typical, disjointed Dodge suspensions of yesteryear. had the same feeling in my 2000 Neon. I don't think they match the shocks & struts to the spring rates all that well. For around-town driving, the suspension feels loose, jittery and does not inspire confidence.. On the HWY it is a different story. At speed, the van feels surefooted and turns in nicely (even though it weighs 6000 lbs) I have since changed the 17" wheels for some Journey 19" wheels so it makes a bit of a difference.
The dash rattles (something I am sure I can correct myself by taking the dash apart and puting in some low density 1.4" foam inserts), the door panels creak and moan everytime I step on the gas or brake. The rear sliding doors have a different slider design and as such shift everytime one accelerates/decelerates or places the van in a situation where the body twists.
My wife used to drive our R50 Pathfinder "Yoda" but has since swapped to the Van becasue she finds it easy to drive and park, better on fuel, and really enjoys the versatility offered by the stereo system/gps/back-up camera.
Hope this helps...
Juan
