Forum Discussion
- ppineExplorer IIThe safe bet is a 3/4 ton pick up.
They don't cost much more than a 1/2 ton or SUV.
I don't understand the resistance to buying one. - blt2skiModeratorBCSnob,
Not surprised rear air is available for a cargo van. But figured it was an option, vs std for all but maybe base passenger models.
You are correct, the 15 passenger model vans are about the length of an ext pickup with 8' bed, or crew cab with the short 6.5' bed. The CC with super short 5.5' bed, possibly a bit shorter yet.
Having been driving 22' vans for work the last 10 years, I prefer the sprinter to the transit I'm driving now. While I can turn in a smaller diam with the transit with it's 130" WB. The ride and balancing the load between the axles is much easier the the 155" WB sprinter. The turning radius is not much less, I believe the sprinters front tire turn 52-54 degrees off center vs 45-50 for the transit.
Both models have stock SW and duallies for max payload.
Power wise, it's hard to beat a GM with it's detuned Dmax. The 6.x L gas motor would be no slouch either. If one can get a 3.5 Ecoboost with it's 350-400 HP. That would be a good 12 passenger option, ie with out the added 4' body extension in the rear.
Marty - Grit_dogNavigator
Geo*Boy wrote:
I think the OP has left the building. He didn’t get the answer he wanted.
He probably doesn’t want a van either! Lol - Geo_BoyExplorer III think the OP has left the building. He didn’t get the answer he wanted.
- mkirschNomad II
Grit dog wrote:
Besides , I thought the collective majority here was beyond that and firmly onto how perfect a 1 ton passenger van is for the application.
Well, they do have a point. There really isn't anything else that will allow him to bring along his gaggle of grandkids and pull that big bunkhouse travel trailer.
We all know how willing RVers are to compromise, as in they are not. The compromise here would be to transport the kids in a people hauler and then he could haul the camper with one of the higher-rated 1/2 ton offerings, but not when you are bringing along 6-10 grandkids. - valhalla360Navigator
Me Again wrote:
No pickup, SUV or van should be towing a TT with 10 bodies in the TV. The bus suggestion makes sense. OR TWO or THREE VEHICLES on each trip!
Pickups and SUVs are not suitable because they don't have seats for 10 bodies.
A full size 12 or 15 passenger van is quite suitable for 10 people. Assuming 150lb average (mix of adults and kids), that's 1500lb of payload used. With a 1 ton van, that leaves around 1500lb for hitch weight and other misc stuff in the van.
So why do you think no van should be used? - valhalla360Navigator
mkirsch wrote:
Also, WORK is different than towing a camper.
You don't put 3000lbs in the back of a 1/2 ton truck and set out on a 500 mile trip. You drive across town. You don't hitch up to a flatbed trailer loaded with a mini excavator that weighs 12,000lbs and set out on a 500 mile trip. You drive across town.
Half ton trucks will do a LOT of WORK when you don't need to go faster than 35MPH. You'll be smashing your head into the steering wheel after about 2 hours trying to go on a camping trip of any distance limited to 35MPH.
When I see pickups with 3000lb loads or pulling 12k lb trailers, they are almost always 3/4 or 1 ton trucks. The up front cost difference is negligible and most companies are smart enough to know that if they will get regular heavy duty use, it pays to upgrade the truck.
Vast majority of 1/2 ton trucks are grocery getters. Even the company 1/2 ton trucks are rarely used for much more than a landscaping utility trailer or a few hundred pounds in the bed.
Of course, someone is likely going to come back and claim they see 4000lb payloads and 15k lb trailers pulled cross country all the time with 1/2 ton trucks...and claim it's fine because of a belief that the engineers have nothing to do with truck ratings. - Grit_dogNavigatorBesides , I thought the collective majority here was beyond that and firmly onto how perfect a 1 ton passenger van is for the application.
- Grit_dogNavigator
mkirsch wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
You called?
It's fun to see the "you can't haul 4 fat people without exceeding the payload" comments which are (and I use this word cautiously) NEVER backed up by actual reasons why it's a bad idea. Just general supposition.
Just "because that's what the sticker says". Do you ever wonder how the rest of the world survives every day doing work with their half ton trucks? Or is your view so myopic that you literally have trouble even seeing your rear view mirrors?
Yep, the salesman telling you that you can pull what he's trying to sell, surely knows better than the engineer setting the ratings. :S
Fact is most pickups never do any heavy hauling or towing...the proverbial grocery getter. That's how they survive.
If you are over by 100lbs, will the axle instantly snap in half...probably not but it's not a good situation.
Also, WORK is different than towing a camper.
You don't put 3000lbs in the back of a 1/2 ton truck and set out on a 500 mile trip. You drive across town. You don't hitch up to a flatbed trailer loaded with a mini excavator that weighs 12,000lbs and set out on a 500 mile trip. You drive across town.
Half ton trucks will do a LOT of WORK when you don't need to go faster than 35MPH. You'll be smashing your head into the steering wheel after about 2 hours trying to go on a camping trip of any distance limited to 35MPH.
All I can say is that you’re quite uninformed about the industry that builds our nation’s infrastructure.
Either that or I’m dreaming when I’m heading over a mountain pass at 4am loaded for whatever that day will bring, with another 250 miles of windshield time in front of me. Lol.
I don’t think so, though, and probably the other guys I pass who are doing the same thing would disagree with you as well.
You can also note that I never advocate severely overloading although I’ve been known to do it a couple or maybe a couple thousand times. I am providing context that if a truck rated for ____ is actually hauling or towing 1.5x _____, it doesn’t break and it does brake!
And what you also conveniently forgot is that after hearing the whole story from the OP, I actually strongly reccomended against his initial thought of a short wheel base soccer mom rig for the uses he asked about. - mkirschNomad II
valhalla360 wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
You called?
It's fun to see the "you can't haul 4 fat people without exceeding the payload" comments which are (and I use this word cautiously) NEVER backed up by actual reasons why it's a bad idea. Just general supposition.
Just "because that's what the sticker says". Do you ever wonder how the rest of the world survives every day doing work with their half ton trucks? Or is your view so myopic that you literally have trouble even seeing your rear view mirrors?
Yep, the salesman telling you that you can pull what he's trying to sell, surely knows better than the engineer setting the ratings. :S
Fact is most pickups never do any heavy hauling or towing...the proverbial grocery getter. That's how they survive.
If you are over by 100lbs, will the axle instantly snap in half...probably not but it's not a good situation.
Also, WORK is different than towing a camper.
You don't put 3000lbs in the back of a 1/2 ton truck and set out on a 500 mile trip. You drive across town. You don't hitch up to a flatbed trailer loaded with a mini excavator that weighs 12,000lbs and set out on a 500 mile trip. You drive across town.
Half ton trucks will do a LOT of WORK when you don't need to go faster than 35MPH. You'll be smashing your head into the steering wheel after about 2 hours trying to go on a camping trip of any distance limited to 35MPH.
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