THSCC Forums

In what seems like my never ending quest for a new tow vehicle I've recently come to the conclusion that a big van might not be so bad. Does anyone have any recommendations about towing with a van?

In particular the van that has recently caught my eye is a 2003 GMC 3500 15 pass van. This isn't a conversion or anything just a plain van with a ton of seats in it. It's built on a 1 ton chassis, has the 6.0l V8 (rated at 300hp/360ftlbs), and the taller rear end which equates to a towing capicity of 7400lbs. If it does need more grunt you can swap in the shorter rear end and the capacity jumps to 9200lbs.

It's cheap compared to SUV's, it seems like it has the capabilities I need as far as towing, Brenda has driven it and actually likes it, I've driven it and it seems ok, and above all it's cheap.

The only drawback I see is the lack of cool bling, bling factor but I'm finding that for the money this vehicle would save me I can stand to be a little uncool. Worst comes to worst I can always buy a really cool pair of shades to wear while I'm driving it.

All I want to know is am I missing something here or should I jump on this thing?

Thanks,

Shawn

I've had several vans, and I think you'll find a van far more useful than a pickup or SUV.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Chrome dubs and a racing stripe will make it unbelievably cool. It's going to be yellow, right?

Discussions about vans as tow vehicles pop up all the time on the GRM forums, and a vehicle that gets a lot of praise is the Astro, oddly enough. The Ford Econoline gets a lot of good press also. I haven't read anything about the current generation of the GM van, but that just means nobody has tried it.

A van should be great for track events too - just rip out the seats and put an air mattress back there for your lodging.

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

Shawn, you've got to think of it not as a lack of bling bling, but as a healthy amount of "retro-bling"!!!

I dig my van. It's frickin' huge in there. There's an echo. The floor is flat. There are huge doors to put stuff in. You can fit a real bed in there.

As far as lack of cool factor, just put some vinyl on the side. Then everyone will marvel at how serious you are about racing since you have a "non-daily-driver-tow-car"... even if you _do_ drive it to work every day.

I think there are some differences between the passenger vans and the identical vans that are work vans as far as what the GVR is stated as and possibly what they're titled as having. So you don't have to get a commercial registration for a passenger van, but the same van sold without seats would. Check into it, who knows what the situation is now. (Of course, you can do whatever you want with the seats afterward.)

Anders

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Lina Racing: As Seen On Radio

Shawn,

I've reposted the quote below for your info. By the way, just for info how "cheap is cheap"?

Much as I'm a Ford guy, the impression I have is that either Ford, GM, or Dodge (used since I think production stopped) are basically fine. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Pick based on features and performance/fuel use tradeoffs.

Note that I've towed a lot with a van . . . but our overweight, high profile, underpowered studio apartment on wheels isn't representative of what you are considering. Ours is a class B which is basically a very high top conversion van with appliances and closets stuffed inside. No extra width compared to a normal van since it uses the same sheet metal. However, one aspect of the van not mentioned is that even an extended length version actually fits in most parking lot parking spaces since the overall length and width are reasonable. This means that the tow vehicle isn't as much as a pain when driven around town either at events or in general use. Given a choice (if you don't need the privacy), you might want one with lots of windows for obvious reasons. The blind spot on ours took some getting used to and still limits lane changing and other stuff where seeing to the right is needed.

Somebody named Bob McGrew posted this on the DSR forum:

"We have used a 1996 3/4 ton Chevy Van to tow a 28 foot enclosed trailer with a Ferrari and a Radical (both cars fit inside) plus tools and supplies. This rig has been across the country and up and down the east coast to many times to count. The weight of the trailer loaded with both cars is 8850 pounds, well below the gross weight of 9800 pounds. The van is rated at10,000 pounds, so it is legal. I got 9 miles to the gallon and "averaged" 64.5 miles per hour overall for the last trip to California from North Carolina. Cruised through Texas,Arizona, New Mexico at an easy 80mph. That is with a "chipped" small block chevy with extra coolers. The Van seems to break the wind, so the trailer drag is not as bad, plus it carries the crew ( to dinner. And, you can carry extra stuff inside the van. Or, do what many Nascar busch teams do, buy a $400,000 trailer and tractor, then file for bankrupcy one year later."

I don't don't know Bob but he may have a North Carolina connection . . .

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

You can get the Ford vans with the Powerstroke diesel. Too good to pass up, if you ask me.


--Donnie

My last van was a Chevy long wheelbase "commercial" (no side windows, 2 front seats only) 3/4T, and I got passenger plates for it. All they wanted to know is if I used it for hire, as long as the answer was no, it was considered a passenger vehicle.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

They have it on "special" (which means they're having a hard time selling it) for $16,900. Which sounds cheap to me when compared to a 1 ton truck which would probably go for mid-twenties in the same condition.

Shawn

Dude! With a van we can stick some HUGE boxer4racing stickers on the side and look like a real race team

Plus you can fit quite a few spare tranny's in the back.

I say go for it

-Tom

I'm in mid haggle with the car dealership Of course at this point they don't want to give me enough in trade for the Pathfinder to make it work, so who knows.

Shawn

If it's white, you HAVE to do it up in the same color flame graphics as the THSCC bus. We'll call it Mini-me.

Huh huh, Shawn's gonna be driving the short bus

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

No, Mike, I'm driving the short bus! I just bought a diesel Excursion from a co-worker. 2000 model year, black over tan, 118K mi, Limited (leather seats, premium sound, TV/VCR system, etc.) 10,000 lb towing capacity, and it gets 15 mpg towing or not (it doesn't seem to matter). What a beast!! To top it off, the license plate is "SRF..." it'll definately be the biggest damn spec racer Ford in the paddock. Until this cropped up, I did see a diesel Excursion for sale locally (I believe at a dealer in Smithfield). After 2-3 years, and some miles, the prices fall to about the same range as the van that started this thread.

Now if I can find a Tommy Lift for the back, I can remove the 2nd and 3rd seats, and put the Miata in there, rather than fooling with the trailer.

Any advice on where to get the XXL flame graphics?

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Marvin McBride
Spec Miata #62

Shawn - the only disadvantage I can see with a van comes if/when you have to work on the motor. At which point you have to deal with the fiasco of the engine being kind of under the hood and kind of under the dash.

That is an incredibly good deal - to put it in perspective, thats about what I paid for GH's old Suburban. I guess there's something to be said for a lack of SUV bling.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

However, if you want to tune your carb or attempt to fix your engine while you are driving it it is hard to beat.

If you know me, you probably don't need to ask how I know.

Another maneuver I've pulled with the van: it stalled at a traffic light one time. I put on the hazards, took the cover off, opened up the air cleaner, found 1/4 inch of water sloshing around in there. Cars are now grumpily driving past me. Dumped that past the engine onto the ground, shook out the filter, reassembled everything. Fired it up, hazards off, resume driving... all without needing to leave the driver's seat. Very civilized.

Anders

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Lina Racing: As Seen On Radio

I wish my life experiences were half as interesting as Anders'.

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza