Help me Spend my Money

Hi GRM community!

I'm doing great, thanks for asking. Hey, is that a new shirt you're all wearing? I like it. It suits you. All of you.

Hey, so my wife and I run a business that frequently involves me packing up our Model Y to the brim, hauling stuff to our sites, unpacking all of that stuff at the site for the day, and then reversing all of that afterwards. Sometimes, we get home, and we're unloading everything late at night on a Sunday with my job coming up Monday morning. My mom suggested we look into a van. This would get us two things:

1.) It would get us immeasurable space back in our garage, and

2.) We wouldn't have to pack up the SUV before the event or unpack it afterwards.

3.) Optional point - We would ALWAYS have all of our stuff, and the risk of forgetting anything would be way down.

We filed it away in the "good ideas" bin for the time being, and then my wife brought up the topic last week. "Should we get a van, or maybe an enclosed trailer?"

Good question!

Discussion ensued and I kind of rolled into the conversation something like "what if it can also tow?"

Dual use!

We don't currently own anything that can tow. My dad lets me use his F-150 and open trailer to tow the race car around, but I would like to take the F-150 out of the equation. It's a very nice truck, but it's his and I don't want to be beating on it. My obvious choice for towing would be a mid-1990s F-series something. Maybe a 7.3L Powersmoke. But that's not a good vehicle for our business. We could buy an enclosed trailer, and a truck, but then we'd still have our two cars, the race car, etc. The driveway and garage are only so big, and my budget is limited.

But wait, vans can tow! Some of them can, anyway. So my mind went right to the white, windowless contractor vans we all see and love. E-250, and E-350 seem obvious choices. E-150 might not have the towing capacity needed to haul a very large steel trailer with a very portly Audi on it. I could get one with a tool box built into it so I could fill that with race car tools, and the tools would help us with our jobs, too. We could get our tents in there (which are also dual-use tools that can be used at the track or at our events). All of her gear, all of mine, and NONE of it would take up garage space, and none would be left home.

OK, there you go. Let's discuss. What should we buy for tow rig, dual-use dealies? Let's say the budget is about $12,000. The 7.3 Powersmoke would be awesome, 6.0L is probably just fine because there's no way a van owner is going to tune his E-350 dog-washing van, and the newer Powerstroke (6.5L?) is apparently not worth touching. I'm not opposed to gas, but diesel would be fun to own since I've never owned one. I'm open to Mercedes Sprinters (if they can tow), Econoline, etc. Anything, really. I figure the car and trailer weigh about 6,000 pounds combined--maybe more when I start throwing tires and stuff on there.

Ford made some diesel e350 vans. Those would work. 

My only experience with a van was my inlaws had a late 70's gas conversion van they ran all over west. 

I was a little surprised to learn that Chris Steuber at U-Joint Offroad, probably as knowledgeable about the Econoline platform as anyone, says the V10 is the way to go.  He's built several 7.3 and 6.0 vans.  I'm less familiar with the 6.0, but for a van 7.3, the turbo and up-pipes are easy to access but that's it.  Everything else is a nightmare.  
 

No vans came with either the 6.4 or 6.7 Powerstroke.  
 

If you want to go to the dark side (GM), there is such a thing as a Duramax van.  That could be interesting.  No Allison though - packaging reasons they said.

I own a Nissan NV2500 V8 as a work vehicle. It is AWESOME. It is dorky-looking and I hate to like it as much as I do. 

The high roof means I can't go through drive-throughs or parking garages but it does mean I have a ton of room in the rear and can walk around without crouching (I'm a bit over 6ft tall before I put on my boots). 

That said, it's the most versatile vehicle I own. It tows and it hauls well. I've even taken it to job sites up north with all my required tools and an Africa Twin in the back. 

Yes, get a van. Look for a high roof if you want much easier loading and unloading. Vans are awesome. 

I am encouraged by this! Thanks everyone.

I have considered the V10 Econoline as well because I love V10s.

I'll take a look at the Nissan now as well.

I love the very tall vans, but sometimes we need to park in a garage. This is something that I hadn't considered.

brandonsmash said:

I own a Nissan NV2500 V8 as a work vehicle. It is AWESOME. It is dorky-looking and I hate to like it as much as I do. 

The high roof means I can't go through drive-throughs or parking garages but it does mean I have a ton of room in the rear and can walk around without crouching (I'm a bit over 6ft tall before I put on my boots). 

That said, it's the most versatile vehicle I own. It tows and it hauls well. I've even taken it to job sites up north with all my required tools and an Africa Twin in the back. 

Yes, get a van. Look for a high roof if you want much easier loading and unloading. Vans are awesome. 

Our local BMW, Triumph, Ducati dealer had one of those and they loved it.  They pulled a big tri-axle enclosed trailer with it too.  Said it towed great and the 5.6 DOHC was a ripper.

My buddy tows his heavy Mercedes all over the country with his super high mileage (500k?) diesel Sprinter. He loves it and swears by them. And it's almost always loaded. It's the 170" wheel base model. 

I would just get a Ford or Chevy gas van though. 

In reply to A 401 CJ :

It's worth mentioning that the AC on the 5.6-equipped NV is freaking amazing. I live and work in Phoenix where it's ungodly hot much of the year and I don't even run the AC full-blast in the NV because it gets the cabin so cold.

I also cannot stress enough how much easier the high roof makes life. It does come at the expense of some fuel economy - I get something like 13 or 14 - but it's absolutely worth it to be able to load, unload, and work without crouching or crawling.

I love the Slurm sticker!

You know how you never notice vehicles--ever--until you start thinking about them? Vans are everywhere, and vans are, virtually, invisible except to the people who are thinking about them. What did I get a good look at on the commute to work this morning? A Nissan NV 2500. I could use the extra height and install a disco ball... They seem to be affordable, too.