Tow Rig?

[Wingman]

Most of the \"big roads\" keep the grade pretty reasonable.  No worries...

[smichaelR22]

just remember all diesels are not a like....

hills arent too bad if stay off 901 and 54, which for me uses the same amount of fuel but cuts off about 20 minutes and 15 miles or so

[MrMindless]

I don\'t know if you can still tow heavy with the 15 pass extended vans.  I suppose with a weight distributing hitch it\'d all be good

that rusty of a frame seems odd with a clean body.  Probably 8mpg towing with that sucker but I\'m sure it\'d get the job done as long as it\'s got 4.10s.

[smichaelR22]

id put a futon and a fridge, sink in that baby

if your spending that much, it takes a while for fuel economy to catch up

[k9keeper]

You need to look at the frame of the extended van. Some vans have an extension added to the frame. They are not as good for towing. You want to make sure it is an extended frame.  My GMC is rated for 10k

[luvmyxj]

http://rochester.craigslist.org/ctd/2501310314.html
http://rochester.craigslist.org/cto/2503970226.html

[smichaelR22]

both nice!  it the dullie had 4x4 id be trading up!

[xjh3]

Checked out church van today. Not as mint as the pics may indicate, but not bad. Body had some bubbles coming through on the rockers. The underside didn\'t look too bad, nothing worse than you\'d expect for a 96 in NY with the exception obviously being the steering box area. Just The driver\'s side though, passenger side looked great actually. The frame looked good in the back (I think?) and already had a hitch on it.

Biggest concern I have is that it\'s a 1500 with the 5.2. I don\'t know about towing with that. I was hoping for at least 2500 with the 5.9...  Maybe swap in a heavier duty rear end?

Not looking to spend $10k... I love the E350 though. Looks better than the original one I found. Really like the idea of a cheap fixer upper but dependability is somewhat important here.

[Spencer]

i\'m not sure how i feel about towing a jeep with the 5.2L. i told you about the time i towed a subaru on a uhaul transport from baltimore to school right? that was 1900lb trailer with a 3200 car. it pulled ok through the mountains but definitely got hot. the only thing i really worried about was the trans. i assume the one in the van can take a lot more than my baby 42re. and what rear end does it have? i\'m guessing an 8.75?

[xjh3]

http://rochester.craigslist.org/cto/2510518378.html

Pretty much decided not to go the church van route. I know Ryan says stay away from the V-10, is it really that bad? This seems like it could be a steal if it doesn\'t have 300k on it... Waiting an email back.

[MrMindless]

8.75 hasn\'t been used since the muscle car era.

Should have a 9.25\" rear and a 46RE trans.  With 4.10 or 3.92 gears it\'d probably do okay but that\'s a lot of van to move in addition to the Jeep.  I wouldn\'t pass over a 2500 because of a 318 but I might pass over the 1500 just because it\'s a 1500.  I\'m surprised they built a 15 passenger half ton.

[MrMindless]

1 ton is the better way to go.

the Ford motors like to have plugs seize in the aluminum heads, and like to eventually spit plugs out too.  Kinda crappy but repairable with a helicoil.  Just wrecks the threads usually.

The biggest issue with the v10 is you\'ll be getting 6-7 mpg.  Hope it has a big tank :)

[xjh3]

240k. Too much for a gasser I\'m thinkin, especially when I don\'t really want a gasser. Gonna try to go look at the black E350 soon but it\'s in freakin Andover.

[Wingman]

I\'d be all over this if it had an attic...

http://rochester.craigslist.org/cto/2489932309.html

[xjh3]

Mark, how long is the box on the Crawler Hauler? There\'s a lot in the 12-16ft range, then it seems to jump up to 22ft or more...