Need some more Oppopinions! Van Edition.

"Zibodiz" (zibodiz1) 03/20/2015 at 00:36 • Filed to: oppopinions, ford vans, econoline, aerostar

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Okay, so my vehicular needs seem to change on a day-to-day basis, but I think at this point that I'm leaning towards something I never thought I'd do: buy a van.

My needs are basically twofold: I need to tow about 4k pounds for long distances, and I need room for 3 comfortably. I need room for tools and equipment, but I also want to be able to let my kid have a 'play area' in the back when we use the vehicle for camping etc. That last need kinda makes a truck less idea. I've always wanted to get back into driving a truck, and would really prefer to have a manual tranny, but I'm starting to think perhaps a van is better suited to my needs. I don't trust Chevy auto transmissions, so I'm leaning towards an Aerostar (the only minivan I'm aware of that has a 5k lb towing capacity), but an '87 Econoline conversion van just came available at a very reasonable price in my neighborhood, so it's kinda tempting me away from an Aerostar. I've always had the 'eww' vibe from conversion vans, but after testdriving this one, I'm starting to see the appeal. I would, of course, replace the curtains with window tint, and repaint the 5 shades of brown with a nice neutral white or something, but after that, I think it might be a decent vehicle. I still haven't found an Aerostar I can testdrive to get an idea of how they drive.

The Econoline books for about $2-4k, according to NADA. It needs work, but with a new windshield and a tuneup, it would be in average condition, and is currently priced at $800. I'm pretty sure I can get an Aerostar for under $1500, which would keep it in my price range.

The 4x4 in the Aerostar is appealing. I occasionally do workorders at remote locations (Cell towers, among other things), and they can be at the end of muddy and rutted roads.

The fuel mileage is a toss-up between the two; nearly identical. The towing capacity of the Aerostar is 5k lbs, and the Econoline is 7k, so either is plenty, although the extra couldn't hurt.

The 'creeper' factor is a little bit of an issue, but not that much. After all, it's a work vehicle that'll probably get painted white or something. Besides, I think Aerostars might have that value a little too.

I know that Econolines are hard to work on, but I don't have a clue about an Aerostar; I'm guessing that's also a toss-up.

So what would you buy, between the two? Is the 4x4 worthwhile? I'm not talking about snowy roads and AWD, I'm talking about muddy backroads.

Not the actual van, but looks almost identical, though in slightly rougher shape:

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 00:55

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Idealy, you want my van, its an '89 Econoline, 3/4 ton. But its been converted to a 4x4 by a company in Pennsylvania called Quigley. Mines not for sale, but keep your eyes open, one might pop up some where.

Try searching Quigley 4x4 and see what comes up. This van above, mine, was a Bell Canada service van in northern Ontario in a previous life, so it was a bit thrashed once they sold it. Keep that in mind.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 00:59

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Actually I have found one. 1 ton, 4x4, four speed, and a 351 Windsor. Not sure about the website its on though.

http://sellswell.us/p/1987-ford-e3…

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 01:03

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I like this paint job quite a bit.

Also Vans can be great. My bestfreind had a 99 Chrysler T&C for his first car, and it was unbelievably handy. He, a mutual friend, and myself all lived together for a year or so, and me and the other friend both drove small two door cars, well I had a hatchback, but it was still it was small. Anytime we needed to move more than three people, or had to move anything larger than a BMX bike, we took his van. Her name was Baby and she deserved such an endearing name. Best thing was it got, I kid you not 25 MPG on the HWY which, when you splitting gas between six people, is pretty darn great.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 01:14

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Heres some light reading if you want. Its full of horrible typos, but if you can live through that, I managed to squeeze in an accurate fact or two.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/better-bruiser…

Zibodiz > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 03/20/2015 at 01:17

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Exactly. I've been looking for one of those for the past few months, but haven't seen any under 10 grand (or within 500 miles of me, for that matter). My budget is really more like $3k or less. For sort of vehicle I'm looking at used, I'm expecting to spend about $1500 on the vehicle, then another $1500 to get it reliable, though I would be just as happy to find a nicer one that doesn't need work for a bit more money. Unfortunately, though, these seem to command quite a sticker price.

SALfan > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 01:17

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Have heard Aerostar brakes are AWFUL, but no personal experience. Should be a forum somewhere. Have made a few long trips in a full-size conversion van (not a Ford); very comfortable if you can stand cost of gas. Know someone who got many, many miles from an Aerostar, but don't know how many repairs were necessary. Hard to beat the drivetrain of the full-size you found. Just random stuff to consider.

Can someone please give me ability to post normally? Thanks.

rezwrrd > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 01:23

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I learned to drive on a '92 Aerostar XLT, Eddie Bauer edition. It was quite a truck. We used to haul bricks, sand, and brush in the back. We pulled a pop-up camper with it too sometimes. I never noticed the 4wd (to the point of being skeptical of the badges) but the "truck" that replaced it was a '95 2wd Ranger, and the Ranger got stuck in the yard and on the farm lanes where the Aerostar never did. The Aerostar was quite a truck, and I wish we still had it. It quit running before I had a clue about engines, and probably ended up in a demo derby somewhere.

Ours was the auto trans, but apparently Ford offered them with a 5-speed until 1995. I never drove an E-Series, but having got the Ranger stuck in too many muddy backroads where the Aerostar was fine, I'd go for the 4wd.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 03/20/2015 at 01:23

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your vans paint job is super rad.

Zibodiz > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 03/20/2015 at 01:24

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Sadly, my towing capacity needs kind of preclude the Caravan/T&C from consideration. They're good vans though, and I don't doubt that fuel mileage one bit. My in-laws had one about that age that they bought new, then traded in 2 years ago with over 500k K on it (they're Canadian), an it still had original everything; never had anything done on it besides routine maintenance.

Zibodiz > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 03/20/2015 at 01:26

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Thanks, that's exactly the sort of info I wanted. And yeah, your van looks awesome lol.

Zibodiz > SALfan 03/20/2015 at 01:34

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I've shared your comment to Oppo; hopefully a mod notices.

Zibodiz > rezwrrd 03/20/2015 at 01:42

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Did you ever do any highway towing with it? I'm looking to tow a 22' camper cross-country, so highway towing is kinda important. Also, is the 4x4 automatic? I was under the impression that it was push-button.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 02:07

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Cant wait to go dunk her in a big ass mud pit this spring. It needs a bit of metal work and some engine tlc, but its a fun rig. The last owner used it to haul his significant hotwheels collection, thats where the funky paint job came from.

Zibodiz > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 03/20/2015 at 02:18

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A hotwheels collection big enough to need an Econoline? Significant sounds like an understatement. Just the same, a hotwheels-themed paint job is a lot cooler than most children's toys. Can you imagine driving a MLP:FiM themed van? You'd get arrested for suspicion of being a pedo for sure.

rezwrrd > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 02:21

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I don't think there was a button. The badge said "Electronic Four Wheel Drive," if that means anything. We had a 17' popup but I don't think we ever towed that more than 200 highway miles away. (I'd have to ask my dad how that handled, since I never drove it with the camper.) The Venture we had after that dragged the mud flaps on the ground while pulling the same trailer, but that's probably not a very good comparison. The Aerostar's 4.0L was a beast that made the 3.4 in the Venture somewhat of a letdown, and I'd definitely go with at least the 4.0 for pulling a camper.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 02:44

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Hahaha. Its got an RV window on the other side to help alleviate that. It does get some odd looks, but it is a big favorite at my local A&W on friday nights when we have a cruise in there. Definitely the tallest. The bottom of the windshield is almost six feet up.

shop-teacher > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 07:23

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If you're towing that big of a camper (I have one that size as well), the longer wheelbase on the Econoline will probably make towing a lot more comfortable.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Zibodiz 03/20/2015 at 08:05

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How much of a play area do the kids need? What about something like a Dodge Ramcharger? It would probably drive to hell and back.

Not sure how plentiful these are anymore though

rezwrrd > shop-teacher 03/20/2015 at 10:04

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As much as I love the Aerostar, I have to agree. For pulling something that big on the highway cross-country, I'd probably change my vote to the E-series. I don't know if the XLT long-wheelbase Aerostar makes that much of a difference, even a short Econoline would probably have it beat there. Plus the 4.0L vs. the 5.0...

Zibodiz > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 03/21/2015 at 02:39

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Back in the day, I used to dream about one of those, or a full sized Bronco. Problem is, their ceiling height is the same as a Suburban, and some of the equipment I deliver from time to time is too tall to fit. I used to own a Suburban, and tried to use it for deliveries a couple times, and had a lot of trouble with it. That extra 10" or so in an Aerostar will make a huge difference for my needs.

Otherwise, yeah, I'd much rather have something truck-based. I was thinking about an Expedition for quite a while (almost pulled the trigger on one), but that extra headroom is critical.

Zibodiz > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 03/21/2015 at 02:43

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What size tires are on that thing? It looks a lot bigger than the average van, but the tires still look proportionate, and don't look like there's a mile of body clearance above them.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/21/2015 at 08:40

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Theyre 235/75/16. Just about 30" tall. The van effectively has around a 3.5" lift. The wheels are an 8 on 6.5" bolt pattern.

Zibodiz > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 03/22/2015 at 03:08

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Those are exactly the same wheels my '87 F-250 had. It also had a little lift (more like 2" I think), and 235x16's. Probably pretty similar vehicles. Mine had the 460 & a 4-speed manual. Man, that tranny was a beast... the 5 speed came out in '88, and was much more fun to drive (I had one of those, too.)

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Zibodiz 03/22/2015 at 03:41

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The tires are actually 236/85/16. I checked this afternoon. Its got a worn out 302 backed by a small block C6 and a Borg Warner T case. Dana 60 out back and a Dana 44 out front with a rudimentary four link.