Thanks for all the feedback... I'm feeling like i should hold out for a van. I know my GF actually likes driving trucks, and hates automatics (i hate automatics) .

towing MPG is the most important thing for me , followed very closely by "being cheap" I'm leaning towards a van.. but with Jeana actually wanting a truck

sounds like I'de rather have a diesel ... guess i'll pass on that truck . i just wasn't sure if that was a 'screamer' deal or a "meh its ok" sounds more meh

thanks

Here's the main difference between a van and a truck. A truck may or may not have been part of a commercial endeavor (ie, a contractors rig) and van almost always is commercial. A commercial van, driven by an embittered employee pissed off because he didn't get a raise will beat the holy fawk out of a vehicle. Also, a company that has a rock solid van with 100K miles will keep it until it dies, and then try to sell it to an unsuspecting schmuck just prior to aforementioned muerte.

A truck, by contrast, could have been a third vehicle used by grandpa to tow his fishing boat. Look at a bed of a truck and the engine compartment. If a bed is beat to shit, it's a contractors rig. If it's clean, grandpa owned it. Leaky fluids in the engine compartment and undercarriage (t-case, diffs, CVs)? Contractors.


Dammit, I am talking myself into buying an old gasser because I miss having a truck. I have no legitimate need, nor room, but that has never stopped me from adopting a vehicle in the past.

Carry on.....


PS-Ask Mr. Crane how his van turned out.

hmm.. sounds like a truck could be my kinda gig then.. plus i am in Nevada ... i might get kicked out if i don't buy a truck before too long... lol

I wonder if a topper or open bed is better for service? i like putting my spares and what not into milk crates.

my buddy has a wooden /steel trailer i could likely borrow if i helped him with tires... i think it weights 2k though

hmmm

I prefer turcks. Being able to separate the rally gear in the bed from the personal gear in the cab is a big help. Adding a cap keeps everything secure and dry (caps with sides that open make for easier access). In addition to rally service I use my truck for hauling everything from dirt and lumber to motorcycles and bikes. If I had a van it would sit in the yard inbetween rallies and turn into a storage unit. The truck is more versatile and comfortable to drive than a van.

Around here and i suspect most areas of the US it is easier to find a nice truck than a nice van. Many trucks were third vehicles for families and only used for towing the boat, horses, etc. a few times a year. Vans are almost always commercial vehicles or church people haulers and are beat by the time they go up for sale.

Trucks also serve nicely as course cars and sweep vehicles to help out at rallies when you can't race.

and for somea truck in the driveway is highly preferable to a van in the eyes of the significant other.

An open truck is easier until it rains...
Malcolm Davies bought a soft topper that rolls up similar to this http://www.realtruck.com/bestop-supertop-truck-topper/ but I think this one might be a bit neater.

Just like the no perfect rally car there is no perfect service rig. Even ACPs old toter home was a serious bitch to park nearly anywhere. It used to scrape the canopy at the border crossing from Canada to US.

Adams van owes no apologies btw. That thing has been to hell and back and then some.

Many of the box van type rigs, at least Chevy, will come with a medium duty or heavy duty spec engine. 4 bolt mains, heavier block castings etc.

Contractor vans tend to be hammered. 12 or 12 pass vans usually aren't. Church vans are sometimes donated to the church when worn out and they usually are pretty tight on spending for maintainance.

UHaul type trucks are a crap shoot. Some lead good lives, some are total trash. Rigs that belong to glass shops always seem pretty nice and unabused for some reason. I'd guess most small business' will hold on to anything decent these days though.

Big block Chevies had some crankshaft issues and burn off plug wires when stressed. Big block Fords lose exhaust manifold bolts and occasional valve spring. Ford used a hardened bolt on the manifold to head and when broken often require the heads to be removed for repair, expensive.

A well geared 350 or 351, 5.3 or 5.4 will pull most rally rigs just fine. We pulled our enclosed 20ft trailer, 3 people, Honda CRX, 2 Ruckus scooters, tires, tools etc with an 06 Silverado x4x with the 5.3T (aluminum block) and shitty 3.42 axles with no real problems. 70 plus on the freeways.

Throttle body 350s are a bit down on power so best to buy carbed or 96 and newer. The Vortecs are very powerful and reliable IF the intakes gaskets are changed every 80k. 5.8 Fords have no real bad habits exept the valve cover leak thing. Chevies have the piston slap thing, but they'll do it for a several hundred thousand miles.

Ford twin I beam can be a challenge to align, old Chevies crack the frame by the steering box. Both lose steering boxes now and then but are easy to change.

Dodge is a serious crapshoot best avoid alltogether if you really want to get to the race....

You can park a truck nearly anywhere and be accepted, park a van near a school or day care....

Gene you saying Adam shouldn't have painted "Free Candy" on the box of his van?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I thought it was a fruit Van when he pulled into the farmers driveway that i was pulled over in, trying to fix my car. Then i noticed the passenger had a Max Attack shirt on!

with "Free Candy" on the side i might have started running

Quote
A1337STI
I thought it was a fruit Van when he pulled into the farmers driveway that i was pulled over in, trying to fix my car. Then i noticed the passenger had a Max Attack shirt on!

with "Free Candy" on the side i might have started running

Who youse calling fruits?
You know there's only 3 kinds of people in California dontcha?
Fruitpickers
Pick-nickers and
pricklickers..
And I don't see you carrying a basket!

Sides, you're the one in a Subie........(bah dum!)

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
mothra

and for somea truck in the driveway is highly preferable to a van in the eyes of the significant other.

hahahaha. I just can't see how having a van is a bad idea:

guess i'll have to go with Pick-nickers D'oh lol

well, I feel dumb buying my dodge cummins for more than that volvo+trailer setup for only $12K....that thing is sick.

of course, daily driving the cab would be interesting.


Alex, you asked me about teaming up w/a double trailer for Gorman....we go to a lot of the same events: I'll go in on it with you if you want




I'll add my .02...as mentioned, I bought a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500. Turbo cummins, manual 6speed, 4x4, quad cab. Got a good deal on it off ebay in 2009 when things were still 'down and out' with the economy with 109K miles from a guy in texas. Very clean, and very few problems with it.....it now has 166K miles. I've done the lift pump, had the 'death wobble' issue for a bit, and that's about it. changed the oil and fuel filter regularly, the tires once, and nothing else.

Just now the injectors are starting to go, so that sucks (at $400 each for 6 of them from the dealership) but I'm certainly getting my money's worth since its my daily driver. Never been a truck guy until I got this thing....now I can't imagine not having it.

the turbo cummins and manual 6speed is awesome. I can go from sacramento to donner pass, CA (8000 feet elevation gain) fully loaded and never drop out of 6th gear.


Rain? does it even rain in Cali? I do wish I had a cab on it, but that's a bit of a luxury for me. I keep everything in containers that don't let water in. Never had a security issue so far (knock on wood).


But this is just me, and it was something I thought long and hard about (dedicated rally vehicle vs something that would double as my daily driver). I wanted/needed 4x4 for going up to Tahoe as well, and I needed the quad cab for the dogs on those same trips. For me, this is the perfect multiple DD+rally tow+recce vehicle.

For serious now.

I'm on the pick-up side; with a shell its the most flexible.

My first year tundra just barely cuts it. So all you guys who know pick-ups, for a guy who is looking for a used diesel, which one?

Let the battle begin.

Oh dear, not another story....

Few years ago the AC/Delco rep(Steve) parks out front in his dirty company decaled Astro van. One of the other repair shops in town had written in the road grime "I LIKE SMALL BOYS" on the rear doors. Steve hadn't noticed it. So he's in the office BSing and some irate lady comes flying in the door and proceded to chew his ass out and then some. We headed for the back of the shop with tears in our eyes, trying not to laugh too loudly. I will say that in the last 10 years his company rig has been spotless.

But if you get a van be sure and put a bunch of stuffed animals on the dashboard also.

Gene is spouting some truth about our old van,
Leviathan/Rumbles will be missed.
Its retirement home has a beautiful view of Mt Shasta.
too bad it'll be cubed, and cremated instead of being put out to pasture.

what do you know about the pre 2003 Chevy 6.5 turbo diesels?
I've found a few vans . . .
Now to find the $3000 I was going to get from the sale of the big rig.