Van as a tow rig?

[BroncoMike1]

I've been playing with the idea of trailering the Bronco and looking on Craigslist to see what's in my price range. I've been looking at trucks but I see a lot of 3/4 and one ton Ford vans with everything from 302's to 460's. Any reason not to use a 351 or 460 powered van as a tow rig? Seems like a good way to have lots of part storage and sleeping room too.

 

[ChopTop84]

I see 3/4 and one ton vans towing things all the time. Heck, I see 1/2 ton class fords towing big trailers around, and they just have inline and v-6's depending on year. They dont last, but they'll do it a couple times.

Vans tend to have a lot more body roll, but as long as its fuel injected, and at least a 351 motor, I wouldnt have any problem towing with one.

Think about all those big class-c motorhomes towing enclosed trailers and jeep trailers etc etc. Just E-350 van chassis with a camper on the back. Most of the new motorhomes are using E-450 chassis these days, but still plenty of one tons gettin it done.

Vans are pretty bad about blind spots, and the cabs are cramped, and the engine is a pain to work on, but you get lots of covered space!

Dont expect more than about 14mpg empty tho, and less towing.

 

[CHOP SHOP]

I seen a badass lifted 4x4 van towing a huge toybox down I5 last week.

 

[hlb3]

A 4wd E350 with a 7.3 is my dream tow rig.

 

[NOISYBOY]

A 4wd E350 with a 7.3 is my dream tow rig.

Ya that would be nice

 

[ChopTop84]

A 4wd E350 with a 7.3 is my dream tow rig.

They are out there, but stoooooopid money, even for used.

Cool thing about the ford vans, even the newer ones up to I think 07 or 08, is they still used the old school 8 on 6.5 standard bolt pattern. So tire/rim options are pretty unlimited, unlike the super duty trucks that went metric in 99. Just watch the center hub hole. I think Fords need the bigger hole in the rim. You could put a ford 8 lug on other makes, but not the other way around.

 

[skinny_pedal]

Pokey on here has an E350 box van loaded with equipment and hauls his Jeep. He's easily at 15k. That 460 flat gets it. The Fuel Injected 460 is a great engine for towing.

 

[japerry]

Also interesting would be to get a Chev/GMC Express/Savannah 3500 with a Duramax. 18-22mpg and 1ton running gear.

I've seen them go for $15-20k

 

[messix]

a coworker got a e350 with a 5.4 and tows a 26' camp trailer all over the country and has nothing but good to say about it.

 

[BroncoMike1]

Awesome, thanks for the input. I'm gonna keep shopping around until I find just the right deal but its nice to have more options. Just seems like i can get a less beat/lower miles van for the same money. The visibility issue is a concern but not a deal breaker. Maybe I should hit up some fleet auctions.

 

[jimpaget]

A 4wd E350 with a 7.3 is my dream tow rig.

A guy in our club from Bellingham has one. Seems to do a great job.

 

[DHR Darren]

If you find a 2wd E350 with a 7.3 you can swap it to 4wd fairly easily as the front suspension is the same since the 70's. Coil spring 44 with 8 lug outers and you are good to go!!
You can find the PSD vans at the Ritchie Bros auctions fairly often. Last ones I saw went for about $2200.

 

[zukkev]

A guy in our club from Bellingham has one. Seems to do a great job.

It is a 460 powered rig, but yeah, it hauls the mail! :redneck:

 

[BroncoMike1]

Hmmm, is a 7.3 gonna get much better mileage than a 460?

 

[ChopTop84]

Hmmm, is a 7.3 gonna get much better mileage than a 460?

Yes, if you dont get crazy.

My best mileage out of my 7.3, with stock tires and no lift, was 18mpg. I avg about 13-14 now, but thats with lift, big tires, no regear, sun visor, heavy foot. Those are hand calculated. The overhead trip computers are far from accurate.

460's are barely in the double digits on a good day, even the fuel injected ones.

 

[hlb3]

Before our '95 F250 w/7.3 we had a '93 w/460, both with 4.10's in the axles. Hauling the same camper and boat, the 460 would average 5mpg going east of the mountains, the 7.3 would do about 10mpg. Not sure how the later models compare to that though.

 

[Lucky Jeff]

Sad that only Chevy offers a diesel nowadays :booo:

Oh, and vans are awesome.

 

[skinny_pedal]

You can sleep in a van also. Vans are also a mobile f*ck unit(MFU)

 

[WA-Wheeler]

You can sleep in a van also. Vans are also a mobile f*ck unit

Especially if you paint it black with a sweet swooping red stripe. :redneck:

 

[BroncoMike1]

You can sleep in a van also. Vans are also a mobile f*ck unit

Yeah but do I go windowless or windows with curtains? While the red stripe is cool, a mural of a dragon carrying a half naked woman is way more classier. :haha: