Towing with a Van....

BIONBlazer

New Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Location
knoxville
Hello,
Im sure this question has been asked before and If so I apologize in advance.

Im looking for a tow rig to replace my tired lethargic Ford E350 van. 8 miles to the gallon and 30 miles and hour just isnt cutting it anymore.

I use the van for my PC repair business as well and like to camp inside the van with my wife. So I really prefer the idea of keeping a van as my tow rig.

I was toying around with buying a diesel ford F350-250 quad or crew cab for towing after seeing my friends diesel in action. But I decided I dont really need a pickup and enjoy the van. But definately want a diesel.

Im looking at a mid to late 90's ford express powerstroke 7.3 for business and towing. Right now towing with my current van is a white knuckle experience and when i finally get to the trails im too worn out to go wheeling.

Is towing with a van going to always be a less than ideal situation and a pickup being better? is there a certain setup to look for when shopping for a diesel van?
Any links to where this has been discussed or any suggestions would be more than appreciated.

My current setup is a 91 ford E350 with 3.56 gears a tired worn 351 fuel injected with a c-6 trans. Its also the longer tailend version and has a class 4 frame mount receiver. I have been told that the longer vans tow worse than the shorter vans since there is so much more leverage on the tongue. But I do like the extra van and would prefer my new van to be the longer version if possible.

What im towing is just my truck to the trail at most 3 hours away and on the interstate but going from knoxville TN to Harland there are quite a few significant declines and inclines.
I dont know what my offroad truck weighs. I assume 6000-7000lbs and im pulling in on a flat 16 foot trailer.

I hope i provided enough info to get some help. thanks in advance.

I almost forgot to add. Im not really a ford guy. If I had to pick a preference all around I prefer chevy. But I am open to dodge as well. so just because I suggest a 7.3 powerstroke as what im looking at doesnt rule out dodge or chevy diesel engines if they are a better option.
 
I have looked at the Diesel vans and seriously considered one. Thousands cheaper than buying a comparably equipped Diesel pickup.

There's a guy around here that swapped in a dually rear axle, and mod'ed fiberglas fender flares to help with carrying capacity, road manners, etc.
 
What he said, you can pick up a diesel e350 for far less than an f350, and in some cases the van gives you a lot more options. How well it tows really depends on the wheelbase as much as anything. I'm not sure that dodge or chevy offer a diesel in a van?
 
braxton357 said:
I'm not sure that dodge or chevy offer a diesel in a van?
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gm does. they offered the 6.5td, and now they use a detuned duramax. dodge has the sprinter thing that comes with a benz diesel, but it's not really up to towing.

i think vans are a great option. you get all the heavy duty goodies of a truck, but a more versatile interior.
 
A van stance is wider than a single wheel truck to begin with. I can't remember exact numbers but load capacity only goes up ever so slightly between single wheel and dually. I think dually's are way over rated. I'd definately make sure the rear suspension got tweaked to handle the tongue weight though. An extra spring at minimum if not two.
I got nothing against and am all for van towing! Got one I'm working on myself!
 
Yep, Chevy has offered the Dmax in the van for a little more than a year, it is de-tuned for no other reason than the trans mission is a 4L85 4spd automatic, in standard tune, the Dmax would eat the trans, there is also no room for intercooler ducting, let alone a heat exchanger, another reason for detuning.

A nice option the new Chevy diesel vans are available with is a heater that runs off diesel fuel, heats the rear cargo area, from what I hear, it does a pretty damn good job.

FWIW, Neither the Ford or Chevy diesel equiped vans has an intercooler for the turbo, not enough room for the ducting. THose engine bays are TIGHT !

Dodge does offer a diesel van, the Sprinter, is a rebadged Mercedies Benz van were available with a 2.7L I-5 CRD, '07 and newer have a 3.0L V6 CRD or a 3.5L V6 gas engine

I drive a Sprinter 3500 for work, I like it for the room and fuel mileage ( 17-20 mpg depending on how hard I push it ) , and it handles pretty well. BUT, it has no real towing capacity (5000 lbs) and built of unibody construction. It does have a lot of body twist ( enough that the windshield has cracked )

For a vehilce that grosses about 9000-9800 on a regular basis, it does pretty well.
 
i used to tow with a van a lot. imo a short
bed version tows alot better than a long one.
and a ford with a powerstroke would be cool.
fair fuel mileage and plenty strong.
try to find one with less than 100 thou miles on it
and you should be fine.

dawg
 
I was considering a van when I found my suburban.
Lots of interior room and basically a 3/4 truck drivetrain.

I know of at least one wheeler who has built a full camper in his van, and another that found a retired ford powerstroke ambulance. He runs a microwave and has a bed setup where the patients used to go.
 
My father in law had a '01 model E350 with the 7.3 PS that he used for his buisness. He kept it loaded down and occasionally pulled a vehicle with it, never had any problems out of it. Sold it with over 375K on it for 8K. Special ordered the longest version possible 2.5 yrs ago with the new 6.0 and has been hating himself ever since. I think he's had every problem imaginable with less than half the miles he put on the old one.

For what you're looking for I don't think you could go wrong with a E350,7.3 PSD.
 
I have a 78 Ford van with a Big Block 460. Has a full size bed, room for heater, porta potty and lots of storage.
Most comfortable I have ever been wheeling and camping. It's a long wheel base, but not the extended version. I was told the longer ones don't pull/ride so good.
Get a cargo type with solid panels and make it what you want.
A diesel would be kewl, but a bog block does well too.
 
The longer GM van has a longer wheelbase, the Ford just has a big butt. The GM van the front doors don't open as far so you hit the arm rest or bin in the door.
 
Go for a diesel Excursion....Pimp Edition....

It would be cool to see a Van with a removable rear section to accomodate GN towing...
 
i looked pretty hard for a ton 4x4 diesel van. they're out there. But they are prety proud of em.

I'd stil look at one, but i can't imagine owning a 6.0!
 
35xj said:
i looked pretty hard for a ton 4x4 diesel van. they're out there. But they are prety proud of em.
I'd stil look at one, but i can't imagine owning a 6.0!
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Quigley-I swear I'll have one someday! It doesn't get any better than one of those, its the total pkg.
 
GONOVRIT said:
Quigley-I swear I'll have one someday! It doesn't get any better than one of those, its the total pkg.
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I've worked on a Quigley Conversion, VERY NICELY DONE !!

2001 Chevy 2500 G-van, d60 front axle np241 Tcase, sitting on 35" Terra Grapplers. was very difficult to not take it out for a REAL test drive
 
I haven't even seen one in person yet and I just about drool every time I see one for sale on the net. "Honey, I want you too look at this...." someday.

I have a friend in PA that gets to work on a couple occasionally and he speaks very highly of them as well.
 
getstucksome said:
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/510452794.html

$3,000. for anyone that is looking for one
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Will cost you another $1000-2000 to give it nuts... IMHO, the "NA"s (stands for No Ass) will leave you disappointed...

Don't get me wrong, they'll pull a house, just not any faster than the average Yugo & the mileage will be comparable to a BB gasser (cause your foot will be in it all the time)
 
Man you guys got me thinknig. Our TV station has an old live truck in the back lot that is out of service. It should run but they have parked it since it is an 86 and considered too old. I am trying to get it for pretty much free. I just have to debate if it is worth it. It is an E350. :)
 
How exactly could free NOT be worth it?

It should have an upgraded electrical system, and may even already have an inverter in there somewhere.
 
Well talked to my boss today about the Van. I can't "buy" the van from the company, but someboday can and resell it to me ;) So i have to find that buyer (probably father in law) and bring it home. I offered $100 and he said that was too much ;) But i got the hood open and to check it out and it is very clean. I found the keys and cranked it and it cranekd realy strong. It didnt fire, but that is a good thing, since the gas gauges for both tanks read empty, so that means it was drained of gas before it was parked. So i am going to get 5 gallons of gas tomorrow and get it running :) But it will need some TLC inside but that is not that bad, then i need to just get a rear hitch and after cleaning it up and changing fluids it looks like i may ahve a tow rig :) But it has a 5500 Onan genreator in it still and a rooftop AC :)
 
I didn't read everyone's replies but your gearing for one thing is killing you. 3:56 with a tired 351.
Do you unload all of your work crap before you go towing the trail rig? How about your trailer tires, are they in good shape and rated and inflated to the max pressure?
I've towed a 5000 lb Jeep with a 5 ton (GVW) trailer with my 97 Chevy ext. cab pickup w 5.7 for years and I rarely see less than 55 mph. I still only have 3:73 gears but could use 4:10's.
 
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