So I'm buying a van...

[njtacoma]

A couple of thoughts:
I have been looking at vans for a while, but newer ones then some of the craigslist adds. The later engines in both chevy and Ford seem to get better mileage, so the 5.3 or 6.0 in the Chevy vans and the 5.4 in the Ford vans.

I think I have narrowed it down to a short Chevrolet 3500 with a slider door, or a short Ford 350 with side cargo doors. So you can see I'm not brand loyal. My research is that the sliders give Ford owners more trouble, and the cargo doors have more problems on the late Chevys.

I haven't done much research on the earlier Chevys like the hightop you showed yesterday. Is it possible the Hightop would allow you to store your kayak in the van? It wouldn't help with 6 or 7 kayaks, but how often will you be doing that? If you could store inside it would give you some great security when you were away from the van.

 

[java]

Whats your budget?

If you cant swing the sprinter, the 7.3 in the ford vans will get better mileage with all the weight. Now they will be impossible to find in the conversion vans, the conversion companies don't do the diesels as it immediately adds 10k to the price of them new.

I ended up with a gas one as it's a winnebago. But after looking for a while the already converted van saved me a lot of time and some $$.

This is what i ended up with, its a rolling house more or less, but its nice for ski bumming to have it all inside. its the gas v10, if i keep it at 60 or less i get 8.3 mpg....

one with the beasts

 

[bdog1]

Can't have too many puppy pic's

In the van, AC blasting on their "woof" blanket


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[John W]

Check out this website;

cheaprvliving.com

The owner wrote a book too;

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=B008S129XY&linkCode=as2&tag=cheaprvliving-20

Very thorough and great information on on van living.

 

[HoboJen]

here are a couple of pics of my pup... not exactly sure what she is... some kind of lab... almost 8yrs old. this was from a kayaking trip in november and it was soooo cold.

 

[HoboJen]

Easy you can get Yakima or Thule Rail Rider Systems and add as many cross bars as you want, I have four on my Sprinter and plan to add 2 more. Its already to tall to fit in almost any parking garage so what the hell. If you decide to got that route I can sale you the rail portion cheap, I bought a bulk of them from Yakima and am passing them along to the forum as a thank you.

http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29768

i get that for a sprinter high top with a flat roof, but does that work on something like this? http://corvallis.craigslist.org/rvs/4303424856.html

One thought on the dog.

I travel with 2 in my Eurovan 100% of the time.

Use some common sense here. But the #1 thing that has helped us is the pop top! It makes for a giant vent to let hot air rise out of the van. Anytime we leave the dogs in the van in warmer weather we pop the top and open the windows.

We also crack open all the other windows, draw the curtians, put up reflective sun shades, etc. Our windows are beyond limo tint, and than is insulated. (Also has rear AC when running)

All the windows that people are saying let the cold in will also help keep a dog cool in the heat if they open even a little bit.

super good info. i'm planning on some time in leavenworth in may and hood river in the summer, and it gets hot... and it's a PITA... I want to make sure she has a great set up when i'm not there.

 

[bdog1]

Ahhhhh. She's a sweetie! It's extra work to travel with dogs, but so worth it!

(That cheaper living site isn't working for my iPhone. Kinda hit & miss.)


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[java]

it looks like you could use the gutter mount feet with extra extra high risers.

 

[HoboJen]

A couple of thoughts:
I have been looking at vans for a while, but newer ones then some of the craigslist adds. The later engines in both chevy and Ford seem to get better mileage, so the 5.3 or 6.0 in the Chevy vans and the 5.4 in the Ford vans.

I think I have narrowed it down to a short Chevrolet 3500 with a slider door, or a short Ford 350 with side cargo doors. So you can see I'm not brand loyal. My research is that the sliders give Ford owners more trouble, and the cargo doors have more problems on the late Chevys.

good info because i'm still considering the cargo vans...

I haven't done much research on the earlier Chevys like the hightop you showed yesterday. Is it possible the Hightop would allow you to store your kayak in the van? It wouldn't help with 6 or 7 kayaks, but how often will you be doing that? If you could store inside it would give you some great security when you were away from the van.

i've been thinking about that. i will need to be able to transport 2 at the least - one is about 8'4" and the other is about 5'11"... occasionally i'll have a 9' boat to haul for certain trips.

when i talk about carrying 6 or 7, that is more like we are at the river and are doing shuttle - it's nice to have the ability to put a lot of boats up there. or i guess if we are road tripping to idaho or something, but then i don't have room for the passengers with the kind of set up i'm looking to do.

 

[Cole]

i get that for a sprinter high top with a flat roof, but does that work on something like this? http://corvallis.craigslist.org/rvs/4303424856.html



super good info. i'm planning on some time in leavenworth in may and hood river in the summer, and it gets hot... and it's a PITA... I want to make sure she has a great set up when i'm not there.

Obviously the simple solution is to kayak in Colorado! Much cooler here!:coffeedrink:

 

[HoboJen]

Whats your budget?

If you cant swing the sprinter, the 7.3 in the ford vans will get better mileage with all the weight. Now they will be impossible to find in the conversion vans, the conversion companies don't do the diesels as it immediately adds 10k to the price of them new.

I ended up with a gas one as it's a winnebago. But after looking for a while the already converted van saved me a lot of time and some $$.

This is what i ended up with, its a rolling house more or less, but its nice for ski bumming to have it all inside. its the gas v10, if i keep it at 60 or less i get 8.3 mpg....

nice rig and cute pups! and same to you bdog... saw more of your rig and pups in another thread

wow - that is terrible mileage though... i think i do want to put on some miles so would like to get a little better mpg than that.

my budget is around $10k, though it's totally flexible and i'm willing to go up to $15 to add stuff and what not. i figure the cheaper the better - but reliability and mpg are still really important. the less i spend now, the more i have to travel and be a bum.

 

[HoboJen]

Obviously the simple solution is to kayak in Colorado! Much cooler here!:coffeedrink:

but your season is way too short!!! seattle is pretty great and totally cool most of the year. it's the east side and south that get too warm... actually for most of the local rivers, i already know where the shade is and when to take her vs. leave her at home. leaving her at home won't be an option anymore though.

 

[HoboJen]

Check out this website;

cheaprvliving.com

The owner wrote a book too;

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=B008S129XY&linkCode=as2&tag=cheaprvliving-20

Very thorough and great information on on van living.

yeah i had been inspired to do it myself based on this rig here: http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/gennifers-amazing-van-conversion/

i somehow missed that guy had a book though.

 

[Cole]

but your season is way too short!!! .

That is what ski season or your van are for! Either ski, or drive to another place to kayak when the snow starts to fly here:coffeedrink:

Buena Vista is one very serious river town here! :sombreroand Salida, and........) what the hell do you think we do here with all that snow runoff?:coffeedrink:

 

[HoboJen]

Since nobody has really addressed this basic question, here is the basic answer.:coffeedrink:

The numbers 1500/2500/3500 are a basic rating for the "heavily duty-ness" of the chassis and drivetrain. At one point in time they actually meant something but nowadays you need to look a little deeper at the whole package. Some modern 1500(lighter duty also referred to as "half ton") can carry and tow more than old school "One Tons"(3500). (Which leaves the 2500 as the 3/4 ton and super lightweights without ratings on them like the Astro as 1/4 tons).

Typically 2500/3500 will haul more, have bigger axles, can have extended lengths, bigger engines ect. They also tend to ride rougher and get worse fuel economy(not always, but "in general")

Realistically, most of what you describe doing could be done with a 1500. (Most conversion vans are 1500) or maybe a 2500 for putting 6 people a dog and kayaks on top. More than that and it's probably overkill for you. (And often times the difference between a 2500 and 3500 is only the springs or axle gears)

Now, I'm sure someone will nitpick that massive generalization of the weight ratings, but it's really all you need to know about them. A 1500 conversion van will ride nice, get decent fuel economy(for a van), have most of the upgrades you need already built in, and be cheap!

As far as Chevy(GMC is the same as Chevy) vs Ford vs Dodge. Unless the Dodge is a Sprinter (which is really a Mercedes not a Dodge:coffeedrink then it doesn't really matter for you. They are all basically the same as far as costs to own, power, reliability, etc. Just buy the best one you can afford.

Good luck!

Fwiw, I've lived off a motorcycle for 6 months. The time to go is NOW!!

i never thanked you for this post... thanks. it's helpful!