Express 3500 12 passenger van ? Towing experience?

[MARK_VANDERBENT]

Came across a sweet 2009 van . Has ton of room we need, and is all set up for towing. We have a 32ft bunkhouse that's 6000 pounds. Looking for any feedback from those who have one?? It's really long!

[trail-explorer]

colliehauler wrote:
In the past the short overhang (axle to rear of vehicle) made for a very stable towing platform. I don't know about extended vans.

GM pushed the axle back on the extended vans, so they are a longer wheelbase than a standard van, unlike the Ford vans.

[NJ6PACK]

Another vote for a Van!

I can't specifically comment on the van you are looking at, my comment is about Vans in general

My Ford V10 E350 Super Duty Ext Van in my signature finaly died after being 20yrs old.... It was an awsome TV

Lots of room, I removed the last 2 rows of seats and used that space for storage

In it's prime it never let me down and it had plenty of power to do the job

[ktosv]

2010 was the first year for the 6 speed in the vans and I am pretty sure they all come with the 3.42 axle. However, my 2011 Express with the 6L/6A/3.42 did a much better job of towing than our 2004 3/4 ton Suburban with the 6L/4A/3.73. Towing the same trailer the Suburban had to be locked into 3rd and in the van I could use 5th most of the time. It would even tow in 6th but would downshift on every hill.

Unless it’s a really great deal, I would really look for one with the 6 speed.

[kw_00]

07.5 and up I believe was the six speed, well at least for trucks and yes you want that transmission.

[Grit_dog]

fitznj wrote:
The biggest problem you have with extended vans, towing or not, is cross wind on the highway

Never had this problem with 4 different vans. The only time you feel
the wind is when a 18-wheeler is overtaking, the side gust hits
the trailer first and you feel a slight wiggle - but this happens
with all the tow vehicles I have towed with.

Gotta remember, some people here would complain about getting mailed a free box of $100 bills. They'd claim it's a pain to cash them and why couldn't they be $20s!

Same people will preach wheelbase, wheelbase, wheelbase and then say a van is not good because it's so long!

[APT]

I'm not sure which year GM made the 6-spd transmission standard, but it was around that era. I agree - get the 6-spd. The prior 4-spd has wide gear spacing and a tall first first compared to the 6-spd.

[colliehauler]

The shorter the overhang the better the tow vehicle. A person can always change the rear end gears from a 3.42 to a 4.10 or 4.30 gears. The other neat thing about a van is you can pick them up dirt cheap compared to a truck and their built to handle lots of weight.

[All_I_could_aff]

One good thing about the Chevy and GMC extended vans over the Ford extended vans is that the Ford merely extends the rear overhang beyond the axle, while the Chevy and GMC extended vans run a longer wheelbase with the same rear overhang as the shorter wheelbase 12 passenger version.

[Oldmaple]

We have a 2003 Express 6.0L towing a 30 ft TT. Crosswinds never bothered me much. Don't particularly like towing with a 3.42 rear end which most vans have. Suburbans too (we had one of those also). We also have a pickup with the 6.0L 3.73 rear end and it pulls much nicer with that. Van is OK for flatland towing, fuel mileage is 16 mpg, 9 mpg towing.

[valhalla360]

fitznj wrote:
The biggest problem you have with extended vans, towing or not, is cross wind on the highway

Never had this problem with 4 different vans. The only time you feel
the wind is when a 18-wheeler is overtaking, the side gust hits
the trailer first and you feel a slight wiggle - but this happens
with all the tow vehicles I have towed with.

Grew up in a large family...full size vans are great tow vehicles.

No worse than towing with a pickup with a cap on it.

[colliehauler]

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.

[whjco]

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

[carringb]

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.

[Lwiddis]

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