Consider a Van as a Tow Vehicle

[Kalamazookim]

I saw a van as a TV on SOB, and I really liked the idea. With the height of the bed of my pickup, I have to get out a step stool to get anything further in than two feet. I liked the idea of being able to access my stuff more easily.

[Hittenstiehl]

Thanks for coming over ExploreMore.

It was your van search and Moosetags ability to unhook and wander and then still camp in his cab over camper that got us really considering a van versus a pick up truck when it comes time.

I haven't heard a lot of negatives yet in choosing a van. Going to do more research on long wheel base and short along with cargo capacityObviously diesel is out so that takes that out of the equation. Were already driving a pick up so fuel milage is not that different. We will have a small car at home for errands. Our pick up is a little older so we don't have all the bells and whistles on that so that would be fine. Might also be nice to talk with Andrew at CanAm and get his expertise.

An empty commercial van would likely be cheaper but the passenger vans could still be family drivers for road trips without the trailer. Vans might also be available at fleet prices or used from airport type shuttles places.

Great comments.

[explore more]

Why is diesel out? I get almost double mileage that a v10 gets.

Typically, longer wheelbase vans tow a little better, but a lot of owners find them a pain when they have to do a u-turn.

In the Ford econoline variety, both the rb (regular body, 12 pass) and eb (extended body, 15 pass) have the same wheelbase. The eb just has an extra little bit of body/storage tacked on the back. If you have a super heavy tongue weight, the 12 pass rb will feel it less than the eb, due to the distance of the hitch to the rear axle. I have zero problems with my eb though, and I love the extra room inside (the whole reason I got a van in the first place).

Downsides: they're tougher to work on than a truck, since the engine is halfway into the interior. Shops charge a little more to work on vans. Also, the van engines are usually defined from the trucks.

Another downside: the never-ending jokes about living in a van down by the river.

Also, they're attention grabbers, especially if you have a 4x4 conversion or a pop top. But airstreams are the same way, so we should all be used to that. That's actually an upside for me.

Another downside: nowhere to put your genny. I put mine inside, and if I change elevation, the whole van reeks of gas. I've got to start siphoning my fuel bowl and tank, I can't ha flexible the fumes.

Another downside: poor visibility/big blind spots, especially if you have a cargo van vs a passenger van.

My lifted van handles better and has less sway than a stock econoline. Not to mention it's 6" wider, with wider tires.

[crazylev]

Still towing my 2004 19' ccd with an 01 VW Eurovan weekender. Going on 13 years! Original trans never a prob, but I am super careful...

[Harpo]

Originally Posted by explore more

So sorry for your loss, and so glad you can remember her fondly.

I've been looking for someone who tows an A.S. with a transit. I hope you don't mind me.bombarding you with questions.

What's the tongue weight on your AS? What's the wet weight of your trailer loaded up and ready to go? Are you using a wd hitch?

Which wheelbase/top size did you go with? What's your tow rating?

I've done an absurd amount of research on this topic, but you're the first I've met who's towed an airstream. Thanks for your info.

Don't mind the questions at all and thank you also for the words of comfort.
1. the tongue weight is approximately 800#s. This is according to the hitch I bought for the van which is called "failsafe" which actually has dial on it that tells you what the tongue weight is.
2. I think my wet weight is probably around 6500#s. Not real sure since I have never put it on the scales.
3. I am not using a wd hitch because the owners manual for the van says not to. I personally love the fact that I don't have to use wd hitch. I had an equalizer hitch previously and constantly was readjusting it plus it was really noisy. The first time I hitched up to the van I thought the back in of the van would really sag. It did not seem to to move hardly at all. I think it has to do with better weight distribution on the van than with my truck.
4. My van is 148" with the medium roof. This version, according to the ford towing specs manual, pulls the maximum amount for the 2016 transit van and that is 7500#. It is a 250 instead of 350. What is amazing also it can carry 3156# in cargo and passengers. This is a lot more than any truck I ever had.

[Hittenstiehl]

Great post,

I knew I shouldn't have typed it that way.

I should have said a new Chevy or Ford diesel is out based on the information posted by EZAirstream about them not making the diesel models any more. We would likely not choose the new Nissan because of aesthetics unless the profile changes in the next couple of years. (Sorry)

The van dweller jokes we can take as were already pretty laughable.

Generator storage would be a good point. If you did the propane conversion would there still be off gasing per sey.

We're not quite as handy as you so maintenance costs would be a consideration.

Neither of our Airstreams is complete so we don't know about tongue weights yet but they're both vintage so that may help a bit.

[Harpo]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

Great post,

I knew I shouldn't have typed it that way.

I should have said a new Chevy or Ford diesel is out based on the information posted by EZAirstream about them not making the diesel models any more. We would likely not choose the new Nissan because of aesthetics unless the profile changes in the next couple of years. (Sorry)

The van dweller jokes we can take as were already pretty laughable.

Generator storage would be a good point. If you did the propane conversion would there still be off gasing per sey.

We're not quite as handy as you so maintenance costs would be a consideration.

Neither of our Airstreams is complete so we don't know about tongue weights yet but they're both vintage so that may help a bit.

Not sure where is EZAirstream got their info but my transit van is a 3.2 L diesel.

[Hittenstiehl]

I looked at it again and maybe he meant their one ton Ford when they went to the new model you have. Have to check that out.

[Short563]

I have a 2010 Chevy Express van with an Explorer conversion that had the 5.3 L motor and has 6600 pounds of stated tow capacity. I have towed my SOBs 30,000 miles behind two of these vans. I couldn't be happier driving a van and believe that I will always be a van guy. The one mistake I made was that I had 1500s for both of them. If you buy new that won't be an issue because they don't make the 1500s anymore; they only make 2500s and 3500s. They're available in both long and short wheelbase. The 2015's were the last year that the 2500s were available with double doors on the driver side. My next van will be at least a 2500 of which has a tow capacity of 10,000 pounds. The 3500 also has the same 10,000 pound tow rating so I'm not certain what the differences between them. I will definitely go with this choice because the 6.2 L motor would do a much better job at towing my 4700 pound dry weight trailer through the mountains.


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[SCOTTinNJ]

Originally Posted by explore more

Another downside: nowhere to put your genny. I put mine inside, and if I change elevation, the whole van reeks of gas. I've got to start siphoning my fuel bowl and tank, I can't ha flexible the fumes.

I am looking at van options myself and didn't consider that elevation changes might be an issue with a generator.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you have the Yamaha 2000? Does yours have an open/close position switch on the gas fill? Mine does. Maybe that would help? How about putting it in a plastic container with lid?

[Hittenstiehl]

Short thanks for another positive post and review.

I'm hearing that van towing is quite a successful choice.

[SCOTTinNJ]

This is a timely post for me as just yesterday I went to look at the Nissan NV Passenger. Why no love for that here? Seems to check all the boxes except 4wd and maybe aesthetics. I actually like the boxy look, particularly in the regular roof model. But am concerned about 2wd, which seems to be an issue with any modern van.

[Short563]

If you're OK with a used one, GM DID make an all wheel drive version in the 1500 van. I have three kids and the seating comfort is just amazing when we're going on our long trips! Later on in life I can certainly envsion bringing bikes and kayaks in place of my kids. In fact hopefully I'll be able to do all of that and bring along grandchildren as well.


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[jcole]

We tow our 22 Sport with a Nissan 2013 3500 HD High Top. No sway hitch needed. We had all the cargo window added, then I finished the inside so my cats & I can take a nap while on the road. Except for the ceiling cabinets everything else can be removed in a few minuets or I can add a small captains chair/ along with another floor cabinet. Van with a full tank of gas weighs around 7200 pounds. Quite/comfortable ride with its 5.6 V8 having no problems pulling our 22 Sport up steep grades.

[explore more]

as far as Ford diesels go, I'd stay away from the 6.0. Sure, they can be modified to be fairly reliable, but the old 7.3L is the one to get.

[explore more]

Originally Posted by SCOTTinNJ

I am looking at van options myself and didn't consider that elevation changes might be an issue with a generator.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you have the Yamaha 2000? Does yours have an open/close position switch on the gas fill? Mine does. Maybe that would help? How about putting it in a plastic container with lid?

yup, I have the yamaha 2000. Even when I run the fuel out of the float bowl (i.e. turning the fuel knob to "off" and running it 'till it shuts itself off from lack of fuel) and the vent switch on the fuel cap to "off" I still get a lot of odors. Lately I've been sandwiching a ziplock between the fuel fill cap and the threads, and that helps a little, but I still get some bad fumes from time to time. I wish I could figure out what it was.

We met a fellow streamer with the same generator, and he siphons all the gas out of the tank when he transports it, then stores it in a rubbermaid to keep odors down. We may have to try that.

My van will be for sale soon, as we are looking to get a transit. (we're 95% sure about this choice). We'll lose out on a ton of towing capacity with the E350, we'll lose 4x4, we'll lose ground clearance, but we'll gain more room to stand up in, and more room to store the bikes.

[Hittenstiehl]

Short we're also thinking gear and grandkids.

Scott, in time the extetior aesthetics might grow on us, but for now it still makes we wince, but the interior and appointments are great

Cole that is a great representative with pictures of what that can accomplish for you. Very nicely appointed.

[Isuzusweet]

The real upside of towing with a van like the Sprinter/Transit/NV with the high roof is the protection it gives your AS from stones/gravel and the occasional low branch or shopping mall low height beam. It would be far easier and cheaper to fix the van for chips, dings and dents than the AS, that's for sure. It would be worth the extra fuel for a mint dentless AS resale point of view.

We have a high top NV at work; can't say I like the looks and even though the maintenance has been sketchy at best, it runs like a tank. $40 for an oil change from Nissan and that's about all (first model year to boot). If you get all the glass and a colour version, say in the mettalic gray or brown, it actually looks pretty classy.

Cheers
Tony

[Piggy Bank]

Thoughts on that generator thing.

Next time you are out and about someplace that has food trucks, take a look at the back end and see how they manage their generators.

Basically these all seem to have a strong bumper that is about 1 foot deep. And they typically have a Honda 2000 on each corner, running in parallel to run the rooftop AC on the food trucks.

As long as this could be integrated so that the hitch projection was not compromised for turning with the trailer attached, there may be a way that someone with more practical experience than I have could fashion something like this added to the back of a van or truck.

[SCOTTinNJ]

Originally Posted by Piggy Bank

Thoughts on that generator thing.

Next time you are out and about someplace that has food trucks, take a look at the back end and see how they manage their generators.

Basically these all seem to have a strong bumper that is about 1 foot deep. And they typically have a Honda 2000 on each corner, running in parallel to run the rooftop AC on the food trucks.

As long as this could be integrated so that the hitch projection was not compromised for turning with the trailer attached, there may be a way that someone with more practical experience than I have could fashion something like this added to the back of a van or truck.

That's not a bad thought. Maybe it's just easier to affix it to the battery lid on the trailer while traveling? once you get to the destination you can throw it back in the van as pressure should be equalized.