Best van for the climbing life

Hi all, I'm hoping to harness the collective wisdom of the MP community to help us purchase a van for our outdoor pursuits. Our previous adventuremobile was recently retired by an out of control motorist (presumably Texan) on a snowy Colorado highway. We've got a check coming from the insurance company to help us get started with the #VanLife

To give you an idea of what we're looking for - basically a mid-range work van that we can work on ourselves to build out. I'd like to keep the initial price to $10k (van-only, not fully built out) or less so a Sprinter resort-on-wheels is out of the question. We are two small-ish adults without pets or other smaller humans to worry about. We live in Colorado so performance in variable weather is a consideration. Eventually we would probably pop the top for additional sleeping space.

I'd love your thoughts on vehicle models, reliability, fuel types, AWD vs RWD, etc...

If there's already a topic covering this stuff buried in the history of the forum just tell me to bug off and do some searching.

Thanks all!

I'm also in Colorado, and I've got a Chevy Express 2500 AWD. The AWD is awesome, it's honestly the best car I've driven in the snow, period. I'm often passing stuck AWD/4WD SUVs when the roads get *really* bad. So, the AWD is clutch I'd say.

Mine is a 5.3L V8, which I think is the largest engine on this model. I also have a cargo box on top, and even with the large engine and extra drag I still get up to about 16mpg highway (and I'm also not exactly delicate with the gas pedal).

I love my van, highly recommended!

Check out the vandwellers community on reddit, there's TONS of good info there, and friendly people who will answer any questions that you can't answer through a search: reddit.com/r/vandwellers

I think he's right - seems like the chevy express can do circles around a 4wd truck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muNP-xLK4EA

Chevy Express 1500 AWD. Live in Colorado and the AWD with snow tires does fine in the winter.

Im not yet an owner of a van, but I'm in the process of searching for the right deal. so my opinion may not be as valid. But i am leaning towards the ford e-150 for the reason being that I'm young and broke. the gas mileage of chevy vans in awd, and even their rwd vans have shit gas mileage compared to the ford models. Also i trust ford a lot more. I'm not an expert on cars, but i see a lot more ford vans getting sold with 300k mileage than i do chevy vans, and this tells me something about their reliability and longevity. and just the fact that you see more ford vans on the road. I don't know shit about cars so these are just my observations from the research I've done.

Yeah!

Easy, as a VW owner the answer is hands down a Vanagon Westfalia.

Vinzanto wrote:Easy, as a VW owner the answer is hands down a Vanagon Westfalia.

Ive always been really curious as to the actual upsides of the westy
they're 30-40 years old, they break down all the time, and they're waaaayyyyy overpriced for an old beat up van (when I've looked like 13-18k)

it seems to me way better to buy a normal van and turn it into a camper for half the cost, upfront, and in the long run.

Working construction, I've owned and been around most of the vans in the business. The Ford has the best reliability with the chevy a close second. They're not Toyota reliability but pretty close if well maintained. A couple friends have the chevy van with AWD and the 5.3 and are very happy with them. Pricier and kind of hard to find though. Mileage differences between the ford and Chevy are minimal, expect mid teens in normal driving.

Can't find the link, but a shipping company recently did a study regarding reliability. The ford van average maintainence costs were $.03/mile. Chevy, $.04/mile. Sprinter, $.10/mile

Dunno much about Westys/VW vans. They seem really cool, really pricey, and really prone to breaking down.

Do you have a nice pic of your van, Erik? I have to say, it's pretty no nonsense and sweet. You could however get some bitchin' airbrush work done on the sides, say a howling wolf and topless lady with eagle feather headdress?

Yeah, that's it.

Conversion vans... not as stealth but less desirable.
Mine was $3k. 2000 E-150. I spent another $500 fitting it out with storage and full size bed off amazon. Turned TV area into additional storage. Built a desk for the law school GF. Cosmically damaged but has 130k on it and runs great. Wouldn't be great in snow but its not a truck so with snow tires it might not be too squirly.

Best part. All the blinds work. All the limo lighting works. It has a f-ing dust buster.

Stich wrote:Do you have a nice pic of your van, Erik? I have to say, it's pretty no nonsense and sweet. You could however get some bitchin' airbrush work done on the sides, say a howling wolf and topless lady with eagle feather headdress? Yeah, that's it.

Tim, I was thinking a eagle over the American flag, but yeah naked women always work.

Thanks for the replies everyone, seriously good insight. Ronbo, your rig is legit, very similar to where we want to start out with a bit of work.

A tasty option popped on the Front Range radar recently so we may have this wrapped up sooner than I thought. A bit more "finished goods" than I expected but it could be a good option for us. If we seal the deal I'll put up some pictures.

One more vote for the 5.3 AWD Express... Had mine for almost 7 years now. Tears ass in snow and mud, and about 12 inches longer than the Econo ( Without going extended model... I have put 120k on myself, and its at 230K currently. I have done basic tune ups and tranny fluid swaps... knock on wood.. haven't spend a dime on repairs, just build outs. Shes a beast!

Ford Pinto

Just bought a Promaster 2500 high roof last night. We will see.....

I have a soccer mom Honda Odyssey van in grey. Talk about stealth. I've been living in it for five years, big all weather tires and a couple boards on the rack get me anywhere I have to go. The conversion is a twin bed on one side and a roll out sink and kitchen in the back. I'm 64 but have spent at least 40 of those years sleeping rough. I park anywhere and sack out.

100% not a Westy unless you're ready to trade your climbing hobby in for a working on your Westy hobby. I have an e150 conversion and I love it. Crazy reliable, does pretty damn decent on snowy and rocky roads(clearance isn't super, 4wd might be better) but all the lights, blinds, insulation, trim and cupholders inside made it an unbelievably easy conversion. And i got it CHEAP.

Did I mention I get 24mpg? Because i get 24mpg.

I got an old fedex sprinter for 10k and convert it to a camper. It is pretty cool but there are some issues with the van  that people don’t really speak about before buying one. They fixed some of the issues in the newer ones. 

Engine wire harness is horrible the wires disintegrate over time because they are exposed above the engine. 2k to fix .Also, it doesn’t do well in high winds, you get  light that will eventually go away. No fix. The other fun one, the van randomly decides not to read the key chip and you get a ”no start” . It is the antenna around the ingition lock and some hardware above the instrument cluster. Sometimes you can fix it by resetting the ECU but not always, people got stuck in the middle of nowhere

You should definitely check out r/vanlife on reddit if you haven't already. There's tons of information and people on there sharing their personal experiences with what has worked for them and tips for doing you're van conversion.

Nate Allen wrote: A tasty option popped on the Front Range radar recently so we may have this wrapped up sooner than I thought. A bit more "finished goods" than I expected but it could be a good option for us. If we seal the deal I'll put up some pictures.

So what did you end up buying?

-A curious reader aspiring towards the #vanlife