Express 3500 12 passenger van ? Towing experience?

whjco wrote:
I can't speak to the Express, but I had a Ford E350 that was a great tow vehicle.

That would be my choice as well with the V-10 engine.

I can't speak to the Express, but I had a Ford E350 that was a great tow vehicle.

fitznj wrote:
If can you can hold out for a slightly newer one (2010+, with the 6L90,

Can you elaborate on this? I'm selling my 2008 van and looking for
a newer one next year; Your comment piqued my curiosity.
thanks

BTW - I agree with your comment in the shocks - the standard ones
really can not cope - upgrade when you need new ones.

2010 was the first year for the 6L90 in the Express. The 4-speed just wasn't a good match for the 6.0. The 6-speed on the other hand, seemed to have been designed with the 6.0 in mind. The ratios are close enough together to keep the motor making enough HP. With the 4-speed, it would plat the "lose speeeeed DOWNSHIFT gain speeeeed upshift.... lose speeeeed DOWNSHIFT" game.

That's really the only improvement, so there's not a whole lot to be gained going brand-new, other than being able to find one in good shape. The Express interior doesn't hold up well in rental-duty. Lots of small things get broken.

I doubt a van would have more crosswind issues than my Tahoe or a Suburban for instance.

May need New exhaust manifold gasketsand upgraded bolts. Had that done on my truck and was not to bad.

Thanks. The one I'm looking at is cherry . Very clean just rust in front edge if the hood. Bug shield may be in future. It has 330,000 miles like my suburban, and is a one owner and they took care of it meticulously. Checking to see if it has any rebuilt trans or not?

If can you can hold out for a slightly newer one (2010+, with the 6L90,

Can you elaborate on this? I'm selling my 2008 van and looking for
a newer one next year; Your comment piqued my curiosity.
thanks

BTW - I agree with your comment in the shocks - the standard ones
really can not cope - upgrade when you need new ones.

The Express 3500 should be a great match for your trailer.

Yes, the 6.0 Express will easily match the 5.3L Suburban for fuel economy.

The 6.0 isn't a torque monster, so you do have to spin in up to make power. Also, with the 4-speed, grade-ability isn't great (tall gearing, low stall speed in the torque converter). Max launch grade with your trailer will be about 15%.

If can you can hold out for a slightly newer one (2010+, with the 6L90, you'll have a much better powertrain for towing.

#1 improvement you can make is replacing the worthless OEM shocks with good monotube, like Bilsteins. Otherwise it'll wallow like a drunk pig when it's loaded.

And yes, 100% of White Express vans will eventually start peeling their paint. The colors don't seem affected.

Thanks for those mpg numbers. Those are right at my suburban 5.3 are. You sure you have a 6.0????

One data point:
Empty local driving - 13-14 mpg
Empty highway - 17- 19 mpg @65mph
Towing - 11-12 mpg

One odd thing I found when I went from a 5,200lb camper to a 3700 lb camper is
that my fuel consumption stayed EXACTLY; My conclusion is that trailer frontal
area has the biggest impact on fuel economy;

I would expect your fuel consumption towing would be closer to 10MPG as you
are towing approx 1,000 lbs than my heaviest camper.