Conversion van - max towing capacity?
I would like a conversion van. I've had a Chevy Express 1500 for 10 years and being very tall - it works for me. It's been really hard to determine what the max towing ability is. I'm willing to cu...
Forum Discussion
Conversion vans are usually built starting with a cargo van.
That 10,000 or 9700 is usually for a fully fueled van with "standard weight" driver, base trim, no options. If GCWR is the same, it is telling you the passenger van weighs about 6300 with fuel and driver. Since the cargo van is actually about 700-800 pounds lighter than a 12-seat 3500, the 10,000 this time is limited by something else, probably the hitch in Chevy's towing package.
How much of that 16,000 can go to what you tow depends on what goes into the conversion package, and that's hard to estimate. Minimal package of two captain's chairs, most of the added weight will depend on interior trim, weight of cap if you get one, air condtioning, floor, entertainment equipment. Then add the weight of whatever you are carrying.
Worst case, consider towing capacity to be GCWR-GVWR, which should still be at least 7000 pounds, assuming that your actual GVW before hooking up is still low enough to add on the tongue weight of a 7000 pound tow, which should be 1000-1300 pounds, could be more.
I started with a passenger van, first thing I did with it was take out 200+ pounds of rear seat and seat mounting brackets, which goes some ways toward freeing up a little more ot that GVWR for cargo and tongue weight.
That 10,000 or 9700 is usually for a fully fueled van with "standard weight" driver, base trim, no options. If GCWR is the same, it is telling you the passenger van weighs about 6300 with fuel and driver. Since the cargo van is actually about 700-800 pounds lighter than a 12-seat 3500, the 10,000 this time is limited by something else, probably the hitch in Chevy's towing package.
How much of that 16,000 can go to what you tow depends on what goes into the conversion package, and that's hard to estimate. Minimal package of two captain's chairs, most of the added weight will depend on interior trim, weight of cap if you get one, air condtioning, floor, entertainment equipment. Then add the weight of whatever you are carrying.
Worst case, consider towing capacity to be GCWR-GVWR, which should still be at least 7000 pounds, assuming that your actual GVW before hooking up is still low enough to add on the tongue weight of a 7000 pound tow, which should be 1000-1300 pounds, could be more.
I started with a passenger van, first thing I did with it was take out 200+ pounds of rear seat and seat mounting brackets, which goes some ways toward freeing up a little more ot that GVWR for cargo and tongue weight.
