Mini van or cargo van?

I use a Ford E-350 11/12 passenger van. That gives me windows on all sides and is more usable than a straight commercial van. I'm a photographer also, so the issue of enough room is important. During the show season I remove the back two rows of seats, which still leaves one bench behind the front seats. I've slept on that one a few times. I have a plywood floor placed over the seat brackets which are heavy steel brackets about 3 1/2 inches tall. Tubs could be arranged around them, but it's more efficient to have smooth flooring. I covered the plywood with cheap linoleum tiles and the heavy tubs glide out easily.

Mileage is about 14 mpg with a V-8, handles well for a van, the suspension does let you know it's a one ton truck frame. A friend who works at a commercial truck sales lot tells me these type of vans can go easily past 300K miles if maintained, and they occasionally sell some with over 400K miles. They are built rugged for commercial service, and are a mature design with the bugs worked out.

Loading is easy. I place my 7 foot Propanels edgewise on the left side with the legs hanging over the seat back. That leaves a bit over 3 1/2 feet clearance to the other wheel well, then another 8-9 inches along that side above the wheel well where I stash folding tables and chairs. There's about a good third more space than with my Grand Voyager and neither do I need to cram stuff clear to the ceiling any longer. If I needed more room, that second row seat could also be taken out to gain another 4 feet. There's about 11 1/2 feet from the rear door to the front seats, and this is the regular van. The extended models are longer.

Replies

Luke Block February 17, 2014 at 11:04am

There was a time when 100K meant something, but with fuel injection and other improvements-you've just broken that baby in. I'd go another 100K and not give it another thought!
- Robert Wallis > Luke Block February 17, 2014 at 11:13am
  
  That's what I thought with my minivans, but it was pointed out to that minivans are medium sized car frames not meant for heavy hauling, and that's why my three all packed it in when under 200K. One line of thought here is how much longer could the Sienna last and what's the optimum point for trade-in value? If the space is needed, that becomes the over riding issue of keeping it till the wheels fall off or trading it in for more room.
Robert Wallis February 15, 2014 at 4:03pm

I use a Ford E-350 11/12 passenger van. That gives me windows on all sides and is more usable than a straight commercial van. I'm a photographer also, so the issue of enough room is important. During the show season I remove the back two rows of seats, which still leaves one bench behind the front seats. I've slept on that one a few times. I have a plywood floor placed over the seat brackets which are heavy steel brackets about 3 1/2 inches tall. Tubs could be arranged around them, but it's more efficient to have smooth flooring. I covered the plywood with cheap linoleum tiles and the heavy tubs glide out easily.

Mileage is about 14 mpg with a V-8, handles well for a van, the suspension does let you know it's a one ton truck frame. A friend who works at a commercial truck sales lot tells me these type of vans can go easily past 300K miles if maintained, and they occasionally sell some with over 400K miles. They are built rugged for commercial service, and are a mature design with the bugs worked out.

Loading is easy. I place my 7 foot Propanels edgewise on the left side with the legs hanging over the seat back. That leaves a bit over 3 1/2 feet clearance to the other wheel well, then another 8-9 inches along that side above the wheel well where I stash folding tables and chairs. There's about a good third more space than with my Grand Voyager and neither do I need to cram stuff clear to the ceiling any longer. If I needed more room, that second row seat could also be taken out to gain another 4 feet. There's about 11 1/2 feet from the rear door to the front seats, and this is the regular van. The extended models are longer.

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