Ford or Chevy Van?

[j.whitbread]

Originally Posted by webbmac

One option Chevy has that Ford does not have is a driver's side cargo door on the 1500 2wd/4wd cargo.

[webbmac]

I don't know why, but the Ford/Chevy debate reminds me of this ****explicit language**** (one of my favorite all time movie quotes):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snhiofL2Rh4

Threadjack over.

[j.whitbread]

Question to the Chevy/GMC guys. What's the capacity of the fuel tank and what is your typical range between fill-ups?

[webbmac]

J.,

31g fuel tank, ~15mpg but never seems like I get more than 400mi out of a tank. My gauge is very conservative, I can never press the tank over 25g when it's on "empty."

[Whitely]

Originally Posted by accrete

Whitely your first post's questions sounds just like what my wife and i went through last summer in our search.



We are one of those who have a Chevy 1500 AWD van and are happy with our choice. You can see the build in our SMB build thread. It has turned out to be everything we envisioned. The AWD has seen the beach, dunes, forestry trails, creek crossings etc... we luv it and it has everything (shower, potty, bed, supplies) we need for a week away in the wilderness without any hookups. We camp off road and off grid.

I found ours last September and was able to get zero % financing and several thousand in other incentives. Then we dropped it off at van specialties in Portland Oregon and they installed the high roof, awning, seat swivel and fantastic fan. We then did the interior. All up weight is ~6700-6800lbs loaded for a week...16mpg in town and 19-20mpg on the open road.

best wishes on your search, and now is the time to begin looking. do the legwork on the internet and find the van at a dealer, then visit your local dealer, talk to the fleet manager and have them work their magic and transfer the van to their inventory. It's like free money for them. Ask them to check on every coupon/incentive out there! We even got an extra $750 just for opening up a bank account (still un-funded) and showing them the account number (all done the night before signing the papers over the internet!) You would be amazed at how many crazy incentives can be part of the purchase if you just ask. In all i think there were nearly ~4K worth on our deal.

thom

PS since someone mentioned prices on other rigs... we paid ~27K for ours and put another ~5K into the build.

Thanks folks! I love the pics of your rig. Yeah there are so many options, decisions etc. I love the idea of the stock Chevy AWD because of being able to make it through the snow when visiting Yosemite or Reno etc. But I kind of have my heart set on some sort of pop-up for ventilation in warm climates. I live in the Bay Area CA so Fresno for SMB or Sebastopol for GTRV are very doable. The intimidating factor is the budget on one of these converted rigs! Some folks say just get a passenger van and then you would already have the windows and insulation; just have a top installed and remove a row or two of seats, rig some sort of privacy covering for the windows and set up cots or an inflatable coleman bed. I never liked the idea of buying used because of inheriting someone else's problems etc. I don't need to cook in the van, and a cooler would be fine instead of a refer. The idea of worrying about freezing grey water tanks, water lines, and all the assorted challenges of maintaining a full self-contained RV is something I don't care to deal with as I am not very handy. I was leaning toward SMB but read on another thread that many folks have had problems with the PH leaking. That would stink! Paying over 5K for a top and then it leaks in the first rain storm! Anyway thanks to everybody for all the info and the great pics of your rigs

[j.whitbread]

[quote=j.whitbread]

Originally Posted by webbmac

One option Chevy has that Ford does not have is a driver's side cargo door on the 1500 2wd/4wd cargo.[/quote:21w2xf7a]

PS. I was at Chevy yesterday looking at the order sheet. There is a 3 extra gallon fuel capacity option.

[daveb]

I know the guys at work love the AWD chevys. Mostly light mud, heavy sand on flat ground as a rule but they also spend some time in the hills.
Also there are several vids of chevy vans doing some rock crawling and eventhough the vans are probably light in weight, it still impressive

Moab

[vlamgat]

I did the passenger van conversion thing because I wanted a diesel for towing. These things do not sit on dealer lots. At least they did not in 2006. so i went with a low mileage (ex church) Ford XL with the 7.3 psd. The windows all have the SMB shades which together with a windscreen shade supply complete privacy as I can close an interior curtain behind the drivee and passenger seats. I have the Ranchero set up and use a tent attached to the rear doors for the occasions my daughter joins us. Ventilation with the big roof fan and cross flow from the windows in the extended top is great. In summer (now) I also run the Danhard a/c at night with the Honda generator which I chain to the front suspension for security alongside an extended run fuel tank. However this is a working SMB as I mostly use it as my tow vehicle and accommodation when I am motor racing so its set up is somewhat unique. But you do not need a penthouse for ventilated sleeping conditions if you start with a passenger van. The cross flows venting is great. Of course when the temp does not drop below 95 until after midnight I am not sure if the penthouse ventilation would help.

[mcmedic]

I have a 2003 Chevy Sportsmobile which was custom ordered from Sportsmobile West. I have 20 years experence in driving ambulances and always prefered Chevy's to Ford's. When I was looking for a Sportsmobile I just choice Chevy. We have an SB-50 floor plan with all electric, no propane. 2WD stock suspension. I don't do much off roading and the vehicle is my everyday vehicle. It is at about 68000 miles and I have had no problems with it. When purchased there were a few items that we had to do without because it was a Chevy that would have been included on a Ford but the were not a problem

[ubergeek]

I also own 2007GMC3500 EB which I bought with 5K miles on it. Since I bought it in April, we drove over 7K miles visiting 14 different national /state parks (Shasta, Yosemite, Crater Lake, Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Orcas Island, Lopez Island, Lake Wenatchee, and others) in both US as well as Canada over the summer with my 2 girls.
The layout I bought turns out to be a perfect model for us. We were a bit concerned about side face seating (2 long dinette allow our kids sometime laydown and sleep when we leave super early in the morning, and neighter of my kis ever had a motion sickness from facing sideways)

We never cooked inside when we owned a travel trailer so we knew that we didnt want the cooking system. We never used the sink either in our trailer so we knew we would be just fine without it. However, what we found was, unlike the travel trailer we had, we were on the go and quite mobile. I wanted to have an ability to at least boil water to make quick instant noodle, coffee and such at the rest area. All other formal meals are typically prepared over the campfire. For this, I added 1500W inverter to the van and just installed an automatic transfer switch last week( Thanks Dave for the tip). The setup we have in place is super practical and been working out great for my purpose (family camping vehicle). I too bought a Mr.Buddy heater (gift) but never got to use it so far. Even when we camp in 30s (Jasper morning), we never felt it was needed.

When I need to drive on off-road, it will be most likely without the family so I take my truck.

I get between 15 and 18 MPG depending on the road. Our trip to Canadian Rockies got us about 18MPG while the trip to Yosemite was a bit over 15MPG. This is by far better than what I got pulling my trailer (10MPG).
Other benefits of this setup:
- I park the van inside the garage (height is 7'5)
- I pay the passenger car rate when I take it on Washington State Ferry to get to islands (under 20', 7'5). I know it is actually 20'4 but they dont seem to care based on my 4 trisp so far)


Anyways, feel free to PM me for any specific quesiton you may have.