@LenS
>What is the story on drivers side rear door. One pic shows a felt liner in the lower section.
>Last pic shows brace cut out and bubble insulation. Same van? Different storage designs?
Same van, just some corrections. My wife had asked one of the guys working on the insulation if they were going to insulate the doors. So the next time we went over the guy had put all the insulation in the doors, which I thought was great customer service. But this particular guy did not know about the standard door compartment configuration on the Chevy, so the later pictures are when they removed the insulation and brace and replaced with it bubble insulation. Pictures I will post later will show the compartment being lined with heavy cloth. The door with the brace removed will have a swing down panel that works as a table surface when down, and covers he door panel compartment when up.
@stanw909
>I am very interested in your Chevy build. I don't know why I lean towards Chevy. Why did you go Chevy?
Long answer….
First, we definitely wanted the pop top.
This answer is based on my very limited experience with vans. I don't have a particular bias towards Ford or Chevy. I've never owed either brand in any vehicle although family member have had both brands at various times. Sprinter was ruled out as our neighborhood association would have a problem with it. A 4x2 Sprinter next to a 4x2 Ford or Chevy looks quite a bit larger. We are pushing the limits with the Chevy as it is.
My wife despises Chevy and swore to never own another one after her relatively new Chevy Blazer transmission died. As an aside, it wasn't the vehicles fault but the dealerships fault. During a transmission service they either drained her fluid without replacing it or it somehow all leaked out after their service. When it failed, one week after the service, the transmission was bone dry. I had not met my wife yet when it happened so don't have the details but the dealership refused any liability.
Somehow I convinced my wife that we needed to test drive all three types of vans for comparison. She agreed but she was not going to like the Chevy.
One weekend went to a Chevy dealership fleet department and each of us test drove a couple of 2012 Express cargo vans on the lot. We drove a 2500 4.8L and a 2500 6.0L.
The next weekend we went to a Ford dealership fleet department and each of us test drove a couple of 2012 Econoline cargo vans. We drove a 250 4.6L and a 250 5.4L. Immediately after we went back to the Chevy dealership and test drove the 2500 6.0L again for an immediate comparison.
A few weeks later we each drove an empty 2012 Sprinter high top cargo van that was on the Sportsmobile lot.
Below are are impressions based on these limited test drives. I know their driving characteristics are bound to be different once they are weighed down after conversion, but we had nothing else to base our decision on.
Both of us were initially impressed with how easy it was to drive the Chevy van. It did not feel as big as we expected it to. It was extremely well behaved on the highway. Driving with one hand on the wheel on the highway felt very similar to a well behaved car or truck. The 6.0L was very noticeably more powerful. The gas pedal feels like you have to move it a bit before you feel the engine getting gas and pushing. Just something to get used to I believe. I am used to our other vehicles that push the instant you touch the pedal.
While my wife agreed that it drove well she still didn't like Chevy.
Both of us were quite disappointed by the Ford handling. When turning right at an intersection if felt like you had to manually straighten the van to exit the turn. In the Chevy you could just loosen your grip on the steering wheel and let it slide back straight. The ford steering wheel actually had to be rotated back straight as if you were making a left turn. Not quite that bad, but definitely not effortless. On the highway it felt very squirrely. It needed constant correction to avoid drifting one way or the other. With the traffic on the road at the time I felt the need to keep both hands on the wheel. This steering characteristic was worse on the 4.6L than the 5.4L. We actually drove a 2nd 5.4L and it still had this behavior. It didn't feel dangerous, but was definitely not as relaxing to drive as the Chevy. Definitely not something I would want to drive long distances. The 5.4L understandable did not feel as powerful as the 6.0L in the Chevy.
The Sprinter was also an impressive ride. I don't know the details of the engine (other than it was diesel), but it did not feel as powerful as the 6.0L Chevy. I'm sure the torque was much greater but acceleration did not feel as good. The Sprinter was mostly eliminated by the sheer size. We looked at, but did not drive, a low top but it was still quite a bit taller than the Ford and Chevy.
After talking it over and discussing our impressions we settled on the Chevy. If we felt we might one day want to add 4x4 that might have changed our decision, but for 4x2 we felt Chevy was the best option. I believe the actual decision was made when my wife looked at me and said, "I can't believe we are going to buy a freakin Chevy!"
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