Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
Hey folks. We'll be hitting the road within a month and still have a long way to go. Been working on our 20' Prowler for a little bit now, and that's almost done. The next big step is buying our tow vehicle. We're going with an 8 cyl. van of some type. Not sure which make or model yet, but one of those that you see driving many people around. Lots of seats.
The idea is to pull all but one row of passenger seats out, and build storage racks into it. I've got somewhat of an idea of how to do this, but would love any advice or actual plans from anyone who has already done something similar. The closest I've found so far, on the web, are people who completely convert the van into a "stealth van dwelling". I'm not looking to do that, just to build storage into the van without spending a fortune.
Any ideas, hints or actual plans would be greatly appreciated. Since the camper itself is kinda small, we need the storage space of a van to accomodate what we plan to take.
My dad used a chevy 3/4 ton van and a Dodge 3/4 ton van to tow a heavy 18ft travel trailer approximately 8000 miles for several years with each.
The only complaint he had was the rattle of the hitch was transmitted thoughout the van. So on rough roads he had to constantly listen to the rattle. He came up with a solution by driving a wedge of wood into the gap between the receiver and the hitch. The wood would eventually work it's way loose and the rattle would come back.
He was a hit with the van because he could haul all the friends and relatives around when sightseeing. He left all of the seats in it and just packed stuff where there was room. Once the stuff was emptied out, the van became the transport for side trips.
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"Small House, Big Yard "
"May the FOREST be with you" Alfa See-Ya 5'er and 2007 Kodiak C4500 Monroe
I thought about leaving the seats in, and maybe even having some kind of transport business on the road with it, but there's too many things we want to take with us. We'd rather the room, since the trailer itself has barely any.
Larry made a good point about his Dad using 3/4 ton vans.I would not consider a half ton van to do the job.Just saw a half ton Chevy van pulling about a 25 foot travel trailer and it looked like the tail was waggin the dog. Also use a load distributing hitch with any travel trailer. My old racing buddies say they make a real big difference.
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RVing probably not a reality any more.It was a good time while it lasted.
Vans are built on the same type of frames / chassis as pickup trucks for all practical purposes. They are rated, as to towing capacity and load capacity, just like pickups: 1500 / 2500 / 3500. (No dual rear wheel vans built I know of, but still a 3500 with single rear wheel chassis.) Ford is the same E-150 / E-250, etc.
Vans have tow and GVWR ratings just like the trucks but based on the specific van body.
All that said to say, check the specifications of the van as a tow vehicle and treat it the same as you would a pickup (or car for that matter.)
Your idea is a good one if it meets your needs and you have a fairly small / light trailer.If there is a third rear seat with a cargo area at the back there is a good chance it is a 3500 frame which, IMO, would be ideal due to the weight of your gear in the back and the weight of the trailer. This is very important as to the van running level and within the capacity of the rear and front springs. (As you may know, an equalizing hitch transfers a lot of the trailer hitch weight to the front axle.)
Update. We decided not to get one of these kinds of vans. Instead we purchased a beautiful '94 Chevy Gladiator. It's got less storage space, but it still holds a LOT. We'll put the back down into bed mode, and bungy our storage bins into place on the bed. Should be able to keep all our stuff inside the van, so that we don't have to bulk up the camper. AND... we'll still have some luxurious space to hang out. It'll be nice to take this when we primitive camp. Matter of fact, we just got back from doing so, and it was AWESOME.
