Van ?

I bought a Nissan NV2500 and love it. The engine compartment is built like a truck, so it's much easier to work on if/when things go wrong. They're ugly as hell, but it does the job.
 
That Ford is nice. But like someone else said, looks like the wheels on those things are so damn small.
 
weasel49 said:
I've been struggling with this decision for a few years now. The plan is to get rid of my daily driver (Tundra) and purchase a high roof Dodge Promaster. Outfit it for over night stays and to haul kids/bikes or whatever. Drive the van for a few months until I find second car to commute with. .

Thoughts?
I have only owned trucks my whole life.
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I've had about 3 trucks and 8 vans searching for the perfect moto vehicle too. Walk the pits and check out how everyone else has solved this problem. A few brave souls try the truck/tent model. Some do the truck trailer combo. Usually for races it's a crappy old camper with a trailer for the bikes and they use a truck for the daily driver and local practices. One moto van can do it all. Put the rest of the money you save by not having a depreciating truck, trailer, or camper and storage costs in to your retirement.

You can buy a conversion van or buy a cargo van and do the conversion yourself. You're going to need about $5K and a crap load of time if you're going to try and convert cargo van in to a good moto van. I'm on my third conversion and I'm just starting to figure it out (power, ventilation, heat, lighting, insulation, diesel engines, etc).

I have my eyes on the Promaster for my next one but the used ones are still too expensive ($20K). A used Promaster will be about $20K with 70K miles on it. Add $5K for the conversion and you're at $25K and you'll get maybe another 100K miles on the gas engine. The numbers just don't add up yet but they do look sweet. I've settled on the older Sprinters as the perfect moto van. You can pick up an old Sprinter for $5K and put another $5K in to it and have a moto vehicle that will run for and additional 300K miles or so at 22mpg. To own a Sprinter you must have patience and the willingness to accept you might not get where you're going all the time:) You'll also need to be your own diesel mechanic.
One last thing to consider. If you're coming from a truck to a van you'll have to get your ego in check. "check out that hot dude in that sweet van" said no chick ever. A daily driver or a street bike helps if you ever want to date.
 
I can attest to the ego thing. My fiance says she hates the van because it's creepy. I think she likes it though secretly.
 
latest
 
For you guys with the NV's have you done them up for Moto yet? Any pics? I'm debating between one of those or Transit Medium Top.
 
Mercer said:
For you guys with the NV's have you done them up for Moto yet? Any pics? I'm debating between one of those or Transit Medium Top.
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I haven't done anything yet to mine. It's just wide open. I do want to do a couple things, but I use mine a lot for things other than moto as well. I do some side work here and there, as well as play music. So it's nice to be able to use all of the space, especially getting a sheet of plywood or something.
 
I've been working on my Sprinter Van for Moto/Family Van... It's coming along... started off as a empty shell... Has a 70 Gallon built in water tank, Seat has built in seat belts and the child car seat hooks... Still need to do cabinets, walls, lights, etc. I sold my Tundra, so this thing is my daily driver, lucky enough I live about 3 mins from my work and wife works from home, so her car is always available.

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I love the direction this thread is going:


However....i got a soft spot for those late 80s early 90s dodge vans. They're so legit.
 

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Love my Sprinter and I know Zman loves his too. I have the full out passenger window version that I take the seats in and out of depending on what I'm doing. Winter it hauls my kids hockey team and lots of people, summer it hauls bikes in the back and less people. But getting 22-23 MPG all the time is very nice and going about 560 miles on a 26 gallon tank is nice. Plus I can tow too when I need to. Sleep in it occasionally as I'll spring for a hotel and real bed if I'm overnight.

If I were to get a new one, I'd probably look at the Transits, Pro Masters, and Sprinters and compare but would be hard to get me out of a Sprinter. They do have their quirks, but a good sprinter forum can usually answer any problem out there.
 
Bass 67 said:
We have a 24' toy box and we took it to the hills in WV and our average gas mileage was almost 9. That was with a 500 quad, pit bike, and about 30 gallons of water. Not to mention up one side and down the other in the hills. We use a 1500 Dodge Ram.
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I get 10MPG with my 38' Outlaw with the Cummins Diesel. I feel bad for you guys!!
 
hershey said:
I get 10MPG with my 38' Outlaw with the Cummins Diesel. I feel bad for you guys!!
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diesels get better gas mileage yes

but they also have higher maintenance costs and higher initial purchase price and diesel is 50c more per gallon at the moment

its all a wash

that being said i just sold my perfectly good 09 silverado 2500hd for an 06 cummins.. because im a glutton for punishment
 
hershey said:
I get 10MPG with my 38' Outlaw with the Cummins Diesel. I feel bad for you guys!!
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I'm trying to justify on buying a Cummins. Is it worth it? Some people tell me they are a pain and expensive to fix, other people say they love em
 
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