Talk to me about SUV tow rigs

[pennsylvaniaboy]

My son has been wanting to overland in his excursion. He is single, him and dog. Has a rooftop tent which is worn out.

He is looking at Vans now. We are talking about converting one to 4x4. trying to find a E-350 with 7.3 diesel.

But they are super cheap. If you want a project, might be worth looking at.

We had talked a few times about getting a conversion van just for road trips. There are a ton of them out there with low miles that have some pretty comfy seating in them.

Must be a diff van than ones I have driven....Front seat foot space sucks....or maybe you are short?

 

[JR4X]

Must be a diff van than ones I have driven....Front seat foot space sucks....or maybe you are short?

E-series ford vans are by far the most comfortable things I’ve ever driven and I’m 6-3. What vans are short on leg room?

 

[Cameronswmp9]

Must be a diff van than ones I have driven....Front seat foot space sucks....or maybe you are short?

This mirrors my experience as well. Some feel better than others, but still not great (hence the no jollies comment from earlier). I believe it's not so much leg room but seating position, being so much more upright than a Suburban, which is still more upright than my current 4runner. My dad worked small construction/home renovation years ago, and the oldest van he had, a 91 b3500 dodge was the most comfortable, then the fords. Never had a full size Chevy, but a handful of Astros that were kinda meh.

I'm still leaning suburban first, expedition #2 for the family rig, then a newer 3/4 ton/1 ton (05+ super duty, ram GMT800 and ORD goodies, etc) for do all truck/trail rig. Would either need to call friends or AAA if that big bitch needs to be towed.

 

[CarterKraft]

I agree and see it all the time on Facebook posts with guys who just bought their first diesel. They usually say I was told diesels will pull anything but it’s slow!!! I have no towing experience with the ecoboost but people do over hype the old 7.3s. Doing some mods goes a long way like bigger injectors and a turbo make them much more enjoyable.

With that said, I would guess towing 10-11k or under with f150 ecoboost will do much better compared to a stock 7.3. There probably is a point of no return where if you’re towing 15k plus the ecoboost won’t be happy, probably pull timing for duty cycle, get hot, etc. while the 7.3 will just slowly chug along without issue. I can’t say that with confidence but it’s a hunch.

I can't help but wonder the effect of having 2-6 more gears has on the experience.

My excursion was 100% mechanically on stock injectors with a billet wheel on the turbo, basically all the good mods with custom tuning on the chip. Flat land was fine but the hills (just Texas hills) put a whooping on it.
Max boost, 3rd or 2nd gear WOT to maybe not drop below 55 mph.
In my 6.7/6speed ypu had to look at the boost gauge to know if there was even a load.
I haven't towed with the 6.7/10 speed yet but I am curious the difference it will make.

 

[06h3]

I imagine it has to be dramatically better. There’s a guy on a ford forum that is in the process of doing an Allison 1000 6 speed swap. That trans has such a deep 2nd overdrive it’s probably useless unless you’re unloaded but you still gain an extra gear between 1st and 5th you didn’t have before. Smaller RPM drops would be nice so your not lugging or screaming

 

[Will Scarlet]

It sounds like what you need most is a Tahoe or a Suburban. You could find the newest one you like, buy it, give it an actual try and see if it does everything just the way you need it to. If not, sell it and try something else.

Or they could rent one for a trip to test out. Yeah it will be kind of expensive, but the experience would allow for the exploration of the idea itself without having to fully invest in it.

 

[CarterKraft]

I imagine it has to be dramatically better. There’s a guy on a ford forum that is in the process of doing an Allison 1000 6 speed swap. That trans has such a deep 2nd overdrive it’s probably useless unless you’re unloaded but you still gain an extra gear between 1st and 5th you didn’t have before. Smaller RPM drops would be nice so your not lugging or screaming

I have that trans in my service truck behind a 6.6 duramax.
With 3.73 rear gear my cruise rpm is lower than my '18 F350 with 4.10s and I'm grossing 21k daily.
4.10 axles would be welcome for that trans i think.

 

[JTreadway]

Back when we raced in ECORS, wife and I towed our MJ with a V10 Excursion. Our 140# malamute traveled with us along with a weekend worth of tools, spares, food and gear. All 3 of us could sleep in the back with plenty of space. Really wish there was a comparable vehicle out there today. We've looked, but even the lower mileage ones are nearly 20 years old and have body issues unfortunately.
I vote OP looks at a late model E350 with a V10. Add a 4x4 conversion from Ujoint and be done.

 

[350TacoZilla]

You guys aren't thinking outside the box far enough here. 4x4 4500-5500 topkick + express van. 8.1V8 if gas power is what your looking for.

 

[JR4X]

You guys aren't thinking outside the box far enough here. 4x4 4500-5500 topkick + express van. 8.1V8 if gas power is what your looking for.

I would love to have that!

 

[2big bronco]

You guys aren't thinking outside the box far enough here. 4x4 4500-5500 topkick + express van. 8.1V8 if gas power is what your looking for.

You made me go check thier website... now im disappointed its not on there.

 

[Gbkeith]

This is my experience, a 7.3/4speed is not as good tow platform as we remember.

It’s all relative. It was great a quarter century ago. Not as great now.

 

[Gravy]

E-series ford vans are by far the most comfortable things I’ve ever driven and I’m 6-3. What vans are short on leg room?

Ol express is much better. Don't have to spill your coffee on every pot hole.

I would recommend a suburban. We broke our rigs one weekend and drove around the easy trails in a buddy's tow rig suburban just fine.

He also does what's considered "difficult" trails in Montana and Colorado. He did blackbear pass in the suburban.

BTW it's a 2007ish 2500 with a duramax swap. Cruises right down the road hauling his rig or exploring out west with his family.

Only problem he had was when hooked to a dump trailer heaped full of shingles. Bent the frame but that was mostly user error.

 

[CarterKraft]

It’s all relative. It was great a quarter century ago. Not as great now.

Yeah for sure, I was thinking about that too,
we compare the 7.3 to modern shit but not to the gasser of the same generation.
A 2002 6.0 2500 chevy made 300 hp @ 4400 and 360 lb ft @ 4000 compared to the 275/450 of the 7.3 at half the RPM.

 

[350TacoZilla]

You made me go check thier website... now im disappointed its not on there.

I think I've had that picture saved for 10 years lol. I didn't even notice it still had dealer info.
I like the older 70s-80s topkick's with crew cab or suburban conversions. Then skip the 90's and like the style I posted with crew cab or van conversion. I don't mind GMT400 trucks and suburban's (owned a few) but for some reason I just skip that generation of the topkick/kodiak.

 

[JR4X]

Must be a diff van than ones I have driven....Front seat foot space sucks....or maybe you are short?

E-series ford vans are by far the most comfortable things I’ve ever driven and I’m 6-3. What vans are short on leg room?

I am spoiled. I’ve had 3 of these luxury E150 Eclipse conversion vans. Most comfortable travel cruisers I’ve ever had. Like taking my living room on a road trip. Eclipse did limousine conversions and this thing was basically the bastard child of a van that fucked a limo. I can’t find thing anything like them for sale anymore.

 

[Steve300xcw]

That thing is

 

[TRINDU]

This is my experience, a 7.3/4speed is not as good tow platform as we remember.

Bite your tongue.

I tow weekly with my 7.3L and have no complaints. Never do I think... I should replace this truck with a newer half ton

 

[JR4X]

Bite your tongue.

I tow weekly with my 7.3L and have no complaints. Never do I think... I should replace this truck with a newer half ton

Don’t you also have a newer 1/2 ton?

 

[TRINDU]

Don’t you also have a newer 1/2 ton?

I'm a dealer, I drive around in a lot of newer vehicles.

My personal rigs are ~20 years old. I'm not a fan of [most] anything after mid-late 00s. I can see the allure for the masses.

 

[OHV Wildcat]

E-series ford vans are by far the most comfortable things I’ve ever driven and I’m 6-3. What vans are short on leg room?

That’s only true in the driver’s seat, by the way. The passenger seat is awful ergos.

Especially if your e450 has a dinette immediately behind the passenger seat and you can’t scoot the seat back all the way. Zero room for your left foot.

Chevy vans have far more legroom in an RV. It’s more critical there because of shitty pressboard furniture invading the cab space.

 

[CarterKraft]

I am spoiled. I’ve had 3 of these luxury E150 Eclipse conversion vans. Most comfortable travel cruisers I’ve ever had. Like taking my living room on a road trip. Eclipse did limousine conversions and this thing was basically the bastard child of a van that fucked a limo. I can’t find thing anything like them for sale anymore.

That's a Regency conversion van dude!

One of my FILs partners road those dudes all over the US once he became a multimillionaire, he said there wasn't a better road trip vehicle at any price.

 

[JR4X]

That’s only true in the driver’s seat, by the way. The passenger seat is awful ergos.

Especially if your e450 has a dinette immediately behind the passenger seat and you can’t scoot the seat back all the way. Zero room for your left foot.

Chevy vans have far more legroom in an RV. It’s more critical there because of shitty pressboard furniture invading the cab space.

Look at my pics of the van a few posts up. The only seat that sucked for a plus size dude was the front passenger seat. Every seat in the back was fucking awesome. The front passenger seat was fine for women but not men with big feet. Out of 7 seats only 1 didn’t accommodate a big guy. Plenty of room for everyone.

 

[Gbkeith]

Yeah for sure, I was thinking about that too,
we compare the 7.3 to modern shit but not to the gasser of the same generation.
A 2002 6.0 2500 chevy made 300 hp @ 4400 and 360 lb ft @ 4000 compared to the 275/450 of the 7.3 at half the RPM.

If you go back to ‘96 it was even more of a big deal. The peak numbers weren’t that far off from a vortec 454 but it was apples and oranges hooked to a trailer. The dodge with a cummins was ok but most of the love they get now was because ten or fifteen years later people could buy them cheap because the truck sucked and then turn up the pump. Those first powerstrokes were a big deal at the time.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Look at my pics of the van a few posts up. The only seat that sucked for a plus size dude was the front passenger seat. Every seat in the back was fucking awesome. The front passenger seat was fine for women but not men with big feet. Out of 7 seats only 1 didn’t accommodate a big guy. Plenty of room for everyone.

Women like to cram everything into the passenger floorboard anyway, doubt they would notice an engine, what's one more thing.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Bite your tongue.

I tow weekly with my 7.3L and have no complaints. Never do I think... I should replace this truck with a newer half ton

Dude, tou live in TX, anything will tow when there is no hills, much less mountains. Only place I've seen a Honda civic towing a small camp trailer.

 

[Projectjunkie]

It sounds like what you need most is a Tahoe or a Suburban. You could find the newest one you like, buy it, give it an actual try and see if it does everything just the way you need it to. If not, sell it and try something else.

I’m the oldest of 5 and grew up with a dad who raced all over the country. We traveled all 7 us a couple thousand miles a weekend in some not ideal vehicles. The mental impact of being cramped for space for 12 hours at a time seems to have affected all 5 of us kids exactly the same. For many years us kids rode in the cab over camper on the back of a single cab Ford. Then dad switched to a single cab dodge with a camper shell and one of those carpeted camper shell kits. The best times traveling were when we had Econoline Vans.

Collectively we all look back on our childhoods fondly with the exception of our traveling accommodations. All 5 of us have in our driveways the vehicles now that we wish our parents had when we were kids and traveling a lot. I DD a 1 ton 7 passenger SUV (like a suburban but better). Little sis has an Eddie Bauer excursion. Brothers have crew cabs and SUV’s. We’ll all never get crammed together uncomfortably for hours on end again. And before the peanut gallery wants to jump my shit for complaining about being inconvenienced for a while. I’m not exaggerating when I say we have at least 200k miles of travel time riding in the bed the bed of a single cab truck. I did my time, fawk off.

It's funny you say that, as a kid we did a ton of road trips in Toyotas, I remember being cramped more than the cool stuff we saw. Full size crew cab, suburban, sequoia or we'll stay home

 

[Tiha]

Yeah for sure, I was thinking about that too,
we compare the 7.3 to modern shit but not to the gasser of the same generation.
A 2002 6.0 2500 chevy made 300 hp @ 4400 and 360 lb ft @ 4000 compared to the 275/450 of the 7.3 at half the RPM.

I have a 95 7.3 it is running 390 hp, 690ft/lbs on fairly cheap mods. I am still running stock HPOP and Stock mechanical fuel.

That is no slouch by even today's standards. I just wish I could get the 6sp auto behind it. It's not a speed demon sure, but it pulls like an ox.

if a person, like me, doesn't need to run 85 mph all the time it is still a great option still.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

You need this:

CA - 2003 Excursion 6 door 7.3L Diesel SOLD

****** SOLD ****** 2003 Excursion 6 door 7.3L Diesel Clean CA title in hand VIN: 1FMNU44L33EA80757 Custom 6-door 2003 Ford Excursion. Built by Custom Autos By Tim (CABT) in 2014 @ 120,000 miles This 6 door Excursion seats 12, has a 7.3 liter turbo diesel engine, four wheel drive (4WD)...

irate4x4.com

Saw a white 6 door excursion yesterday and had to come here to make sure it wasn't the same one

 

[WTF?]

I'm not a fan of the GMT900 platform, but this looks like a cleanish specimen one of the newer 2500 burbs ever offered:

2011 GMC Yukon SLT 2500 7 Passenger | eBay

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