Best Van Under $10K

The ultimate climbing vehicle thread may have been beaten to death here but how about narrowing it down a bit? I'm thinking of those folks like myself who are sick of camping out of a car and don't want a truck. Those people who would love the convenience of a van and can't dish out the bucks for a Sprinter. What kind of van does MP.com love?? Or hate??

Toyota Sienna?
Honda Odyssey?
Chevy Astrovan?
Nissan Quest?
Toyota Van?
Plymouth Voyager?

The one I am selling in 5 weeks for $1600... Old Chevy Vandura. Already gutted and fitted with cabinets, counter, and a bed. New belts, tires, runs great.

Lately I've been thinking a sienna, odyssey, or anything in that size would be perfect for people like us? take out all the back chairs, limo tint all the windows and insulate a little. seems reliable, decent enough gas mileage and able to be under the radar. I

I have a hand-me-down odyssey, actually the car I learned how to drive in. Back bench seat(s) fold into the floor, huge capacity, super reliable. I've made it up some pretty ridiculous dirt roads, driven across the country about 9 times. It dominated winter driving in Tahoe w/ snow tires. Currently it's at 260,000 miles, passed the last three inspections with nothing except having to replace brake rotors. Drives great, gets real world 25+ MPG highway and not much less in town.

Biggest gripe are the automatic doors. They're not so automatic anymore, and kind of a hassle at times. Other than that, couldn't be happier, hope it goes another quarter million miles.

+1 for the Element!

Volkswagen Eurovan with the pop-top camper. It is the perfect van if you ask me. Some day when I have a garage and money, I'd like to throw a lift, true 4x4 and a diesel on it. But, even as is, they are pretty sweet for camping.

Eamon

Find an old Chevy Astro. Super solid drive train and transmission. Better than today's front wheel drive but gas mileage does suffer a bit. Last of the real mini-vans.

Ford Aerostar

I just recently bought a 2001 Ford Windstar. Perfect camper, since a twin air mattress fits perfect. Eventually I'll make a platform for it. You can find them cheap too!

This is the badass van of the week!

Badass Van
Ford E350, 4X4, Pop-top, solar panels, propane furnace. Drives like a charm. Use it pretty much every weekend in the winter going backcountry riding. Not so good for under the radar but it lets you get anywhere so you're out of radar range.

rj-n-foco wrote:This is the badass van of the week! Ford E350, 4X4, Pop-top, solar panels, propane furnace. Drives like a charm. Use it pretty much every weekend in the winter going backcountry riding. Not so good for under the radar but it lets you get anywhere so you're out of radar range.

You can get that for under 10K?

Not quite, I paid 17000. It was still a great deal as it is a true Sportsmobile.

The only element you'll find for under 10k is going to have 200k+ on it.

My buddy has a former electricians cargo van, white, no windows, looks like a work vehicle. Paid like $7,000 for it with ~60k on it. He can park it and sleep in it anywhere because it looks like a work van not some dirtbags crash pad on wheels.

$17K for a pimp sportsmobile? Those things are like $90K new, right?

Dude, it handles anything the environment can throw at it. Well, except the Bonneville Salt Flats :-)

Stuck in the salt flats
But seriously, it's not a daily driver and is great to basecamp out of. Sleeps 4 people and 2 dogs no problems. It carries 60 gallons of fuel and with the solar and propane, I can stay outta civilization for weeks at a time.

Andy Kowles wrote:$17K for a pimp sportsmobile? Those things are like $90K new, right?

Yea, they are expensive. I searched for quite awhile and found it in San Antonio. Someone looking to get out of it. It does have like 180K miles but runs like a champ with no leaks, doesn't burn oil or anything.

rj-n-foco wrote:This is the badass van of the week! Ford E350, 4X4, Pop-top, solar panels, propane furnace. Drives like a charm. Use it pretty much every weekend in the winter going backcountry riding. Not so good for under the radar but it lets you get anywhere so you're out of radar range.

That thing is pretty nice looking. Diesel or gas?

I have a 1994 Volkswagon campervan and love it - but, the biggest detractor is the 5-cyclinder engine and the lack of clearance for negotiating dirt roads. I wish it had more power, a 6 cyclinder would be great. Unfortunately you cannot put a lift on the later model eurovans, unlike some of the older models that can be lifted.

If I had money to do it over again I would purchase a full sized Chevy or Ford van with a V8 engine and give it a lift and retrofit it. The minivans can't be lifted either and that presents a problem for those who really want to get off the beaten path. Much cheaper for repairs and maintence as well, the campervan is pricey to fix...

Big Red is a gasser. Good ole' Ford 460 big block with perfomance cams, headers, exhaust. Also, the engine and transmission are chipped.

Mark Lewis wrote:I have a 1994 Volkswagon campervan and love it - but, the biggest detractor is the 5-cyclinder engine and the lack of clearance for negotiating dirt roads. I wish it had more power, a 6 cyclinder would be great. Unfortunately you cannot put a lift on the later model eurovans, unlike some of the older models that can be lifted. If I had money to do it over again I would purchase a full sized Chevy or Ford van with a V8 engine and give it a lift and retrofit it. The minivans can't be lifted either and that presents a problem for those who really want to get off the beaten path. Much cheaper for repairs and maintence as well, the campervan is pricey to fix...

There are some lift kits available for the Astro vans from Overland Vans and lifting an Aerostar would probably be relatively easy with Ford Ranger front springs and a custom drop bracket in the rear. Anything later does get complicated because of the independent rear suspension, but anything is possible with a little fab work.

Also, the old Toyota Van 4x4s weren't bad. They're light and share most drivetrain components with the pickup from what I understand. Not terribly crash worthy though.

Eamon

rj-n-foco wrote:Big Red is a gasser. Good ole' Ford 460 big block with perfomance cams, headers, exhaust. Also, the engine and transmission are chipped.

That thing is truly sick. Makes me want to dump my Expedition and buy one of those. Oh well. Maybe some day.