Van Life 101: How to Choose a Van to Live In 

I'm thinking of buying a Astro Van w/116,000 miles What's your take on it. Thank you

I vote "Dramastically" to be included in Websters etc :)

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@@jhodges48 Did you buy it?

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thank u for your duty / service.

@@landbacklane-z5700 They have electric vans coming out soon for 2022

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😂😂🎉​@@mikrof467

UBBERTANKER another thing too; how hard would it be to fix a van from the 80’s and 90’s yourself with no experience and just the repair manual? I know the 90’s got computerized so it’s more complex, but how about the early 90’s and the 80’s especially? Thanks!

Why would you say the transit Vans aren't proven yet they've been the best selling vans even over Mercedes in Europe for 10 years before they were even sold here in 2015. Europe was there testing ground and it did so well that they discontinued the Econoline and switched to only the transit here in America and Europe. From just reading the reviews on the internet the transit is beating all other Vans hands down

When you say 97 and up do you mean 97 and older or newer?

@@bixialee3826 Generally speaking up means newer. I am also a mechanic and a Ford guy, I would recommend Chevy or GMC Express. The newer the better. 02 or 03 they had 4.8 or 5.3 or 6.0 , those are great engines!! I love Ford's but hate working on them. They are a pain in the ass!!

​@@StumpyVanLife agreed, sucks though that GM transmissions are kind of a change item. Sometimes you'll get 250k miles out of one if you have a great maintenance routine and drive it right, but as a general rule if you hit 180k on a 4L60E its near the end of its life. Still, I'd take a decent GM Vortec engine over a Ford 5.4L any day.

Or on a Monday.... Hangover city.

@Dirk Diggler I am a Ford guy, I am also a mechanic for over 20 years. Yes Ford 4.6 , 5.4 , and V10 engines have some weak areas. More so than Chevy LS based engines. I think it is a little unfair to say "massive repair problems". Spark plugs do blow out, change them every 50K miles to prevent this. Remove old ones very carefully, there is a special procedure for this its easy to look it up. 3v engines have some issues with the cam phasers - easy fix. They make a kit to lock the cam timing in place, boom... problem solved. But yes, Chevy engines are the bomb!! I have to give it to Chevy on this. They kept it simple, still a pushrod engine so no over complicated timing chain setup. Spark plugs still go in the side of the cylinder head and stay there. So in a nutshell this Ford guy concedes and gives a thumbs up to Chevy!! Damn.... what just happened???

@Dirk Diggler All the 3 valve engines made prior to 2014 are junk.

I had a 5.4 v8 as long you took care of the spark plugs it was fine the problem was getting to them. Normally i would do it myself but the location of these plugs requires multiple extensions so i had to pay ford tech to do it and it was always more than 400+ but then i always did the coils at the same time to avoid having to go into it twice.

@@StumpyVanLife Thank you, had 2000 Triton 5.4 liter was trouble free until 179,000 miles. Reliable as my Toyota Sienna, no problems with spark plugs. Looking for another used van to replace it now, what would you say about some of the newer years models. Not interested in transit only E150 or E250. Any cautions?

If Iam correct, F150s are the best Trucks ever made!

@@Coyoteyiphowl F150's were fantastic until 1996 , in 1997 they started a downward spiral. The 300 inline 6 and 302 V8 engines were practically bomb proof! Twin I beam suspension rode like a tank, but were very durable but a pain in the ass to rebuild or align. 1997 brought the 4.2 V6 with several design flaws. 4.6 V8 engines were pretty reliable just a dog on power tho. They woke up the 4.6 a little around 2000 with PI cylinder heads, and the 5.4 engines like to spit out spark plugs!!

Also, Ford Rangers. I have owned 2 Rangers 2006 and 2009 with 4L-V6. They last forever.

Blake, I would have to disagree with you. He is right. Japanese cars in 1970 were still perceived as low cost used car substitutes. Their reliability was not significantly higher until the mid 1970's and the U.S. manufactures had the capability but not the will to pull from their European stable. The advantage was Datsun, Toyota, Subaru, and Mitsubishi only had small cars, they were dirt cheap, my 1970 Corolla cost less than a 1966 dodge dart. The EPA forced the conversion to unleaded fuel, the catalytic converter, fuel economy guidelines. This changed the playing field. The Japanese vehicles having originated in local that imports 100% of it's oil, steel, and rubber was better prepared. The EPA fundamentally also changed U.S. drilling, and access to American reserves. The restrictions on air pollution from fuel oil and gas production, cracking and transportation. A way to look at the impact is to look at an aerial photo of any metropolitan area, and to take a trip down Route 66. Gas stations on each and every major intersection corner were common. A gas station ever 50 miles along remote stretches of highways were also common. Tunes ups were every 6,000 miles (Japanese overhead cam'd engines such as the 18RC used in the Celica and Corona MKII car line required valve adjustments every 6,000 miles or the exhaust valves would burn. American cars didn't need valve maintenance as most were push rod hydraulic valve actuated. Something the Japanese wouldn't do until they started building full size trucks. The issue is the EPA put out standards that drove the industry to develop new more efficient technologies. The same is happening today. That is why you see hybrid, hydrogen, and compressed natural gas cars all being released into the market. The gas and diesel technology is at risk of not meeting the regulatory requirements set forth first by the EPA, and then by California, and New York. Working in engineering for 30 years, having been a auto writer for local newspapers back in the 1980's I can confirm Bob's assertion on this.

grantar2 let's not bring up the concept of planned obsolescence that us mfgs liked to do.

cheeto is in office now... epa is getting gutted... ex oil man head of epa!! keystone pipeline cleared even though they just had a huge oil spill... dakota access pipeline cleared... slippery slope btw climate chaos is a hoax invented by china!

You are correct which was created from 80/20 or Pareto Principal. I love the Pareto Principal. It was key to Juran's quality control program in Japan.

epa regulations caused much cleaner running engines, which causes engine to last much longer, no two ways about it. of course technology helped, but don't discount the benefit of environment regulations.

This will be great to watch. I agree with the knowledge we will gain.

I will also be selling my home and all my belonging to be free .Requirement for me is around the corner about 3 to years .im so ready to d o again. I did it 30 years ago. Then decided to Sello down And raise my son .now its time for me to be free .

I don't think I would drink all the KOOL AID like a shot of liquor. Sip it, and see how you like it first. You might decide to go back to the home after a bit. Then what you gonna do? Lots of money usually lost in those transactions.

Not sure if u still use this account but how’s it going? I plan on doing the same come this November !

First Name Last Name is that a 302 or a 300 in-line six?

Bob is NOT a mechanic..lol. well meaning, but somewhat miss informed. You are correct 4.6/5.4/6.8(v10) are ROCK solid. Thats ok, more used fords for the rest of us (cheaper)!

@Ricoville my fleet ambualnce guys ran 100s of E Series thru their shop over the run ...I have no less than 7 of them here (some for parts, IF I ever need them) . There is a few more that didn't come from them, old Quigley, and an old IDI diesel. We know our vans! Bob made a good choice with his Chevy....but folks need to know he's bringing a bias.

It’s actually two separate engines. The 300 is the in-line six and the 302 is the V-8 that is used in the mustang and Bronco, possibly other models as well. Both are good engines though the six will struggle for power under certain circumstances in spite of being reliable otherwise. The 4.6 is available in vans as well as crown Vic’s, and grand Marquis as part of the panther platform. With the cars empty and not doing city driving I can reliably get 400 miles per fillup. While loading it down preparing for a trip west I was pleasantly surprised to still get the same mileage per tank. Scratching my head at how but still the case.

Did you have to replace the transmission?

@@Floof_Factory obviously not bro, he just said he will rebuild the engine before buying a new van

I can tell youve never seen salt lol

@@fudgepuppy9683 I live in new england actually

matt4270 , thanks for that man I've got a Nissan 1500 that I love. I've been using it for work but thinking of retiring and converting it. You gave me some inspiration it only has 32000 miles on it.

Where to find the surplus vans on the left coast, ugh, California.

What specific links have you found Government surplus vans between 01-07 w/ under 30k miles on?

Google surplus vehicles. Several sites come up. There are also some listed on eBay.

Ford's have bad front ends

I have had the spark plug blow out of my ford engine, cost with tow was over $1000.00 . I think i will risk a simple fuel pump failure.

Thanks for watching Terisa!

Same here , I own a 99 Chevy Express with 177K miles on it.

Now, 2021.

Bob is spot on !! About which Ford and chevy motors are best!

Me, too. '63 Ford Econoline. Never failed me, but zero power in the mountains.

Old Gunners Mate the Ford wheelbase is shorter than the Chevy so if you put 3500 pounds on it even if it was centered the front end would be choppy going down the road... you put 3500 pounds on a Chevy and Center it with the longer wheelbase it rides like a Cadillac... and these were both extended versions Ford also has worst gas mileage unless it's a diesel and then both of Chevy and Ford diesel pretty much the same... how do I know this because I ran both Fords and Chevys expediting and I could get 17 sometimes 18 miles a gallon out of my Chevy but I couldn't get anything about 12 out of that Ford and they were both the same year less than 2 years old

Have you had any issues with the GMC?

I love the knowledge that experience brings. Thanks

Nice!

They stopped making the 7.3 diesel in 2003. It was replaced by the 6.0L because of its inability to meet newer emission requirements required by the Nazis, I mean the EPA.

FORD diesel.....lol...lol... Unless they are the old 7.3, they are pure shit buckets. Cummins makes the best diesel, then again crappy trans unless you get 3500 series,Asin trans. Ford has a great 5.0 today. not sure of the 6.2 gas engine.

The Ford Transit now has the i5 biodiesel engine, ive heard good things about it

Don Strickland Would it matter if it was 1998 with already 282,960 miles on it???

I had one in a 1988 f350 utility body. It got 12 mpg loaded and pulling a 6000 pound trailer and it got 12 mpg without the trailer and empty. Transmission was a little weird, an automatic 3 speed that shifted when it wanted to but never let me down. Bought that truck new. It ate brakes and the front ends were junk but easy to fix. Never touched the engine but got a lot of water from the separator, easy to drain about once every few weeks. Fuel additive helped too. Of course did the very minor tasks of oil and filters. Good truck.

Having worked in the car industry I can say I have seen about I think 2 cases of spark plug failure. 1 was as he described and it happened to be on a van (which was poorly maintained and run into the ground) the other was another case of neglect and that person stripped the threads themselves. Everyone who has had the Triton engines has had very good luck with reliability that I've seen. Yes they have their faults, some aren't great on fuel...Overall though it's a great engine as well when MAINTAINED.

Someone I once knew said that lizards ran the government in the whole world(true story, I don't talk to them anymore)! Therefore, it must be true. Job done. *canned laughter*

Had a 97 F150 and a 2004 Crown Vic both lose spark plugs. Fun times! Did both repairs myself, down for about 2 days and back on the road.

Im sorry, ford might make good vans, but all ford models are not reliable vechicles, any car or suv, i would only buy a toyota

GM vehicles are normally pretty easy to work on, especially those with these vortec engines, plenty of space in the engine bay. Nothing to say against Ford and I did feel some difference in throttle response too. However, lincoln vehicles (Ford stuff) with the 5.3 engines are not that reliable, see the Navigator...

​@@thegeth4293crown Victorias are Ford and are well known ti last 300k to 500k miles. Corollas last long as well but not that long. Toyota has a strong reputation for reliability, but it's not the only one out there. Definitely a good brand for those who are not mechanically inclined and want nothing to do with repairs. Ford and GM are great if you do want to do you own maintenance. Cheap & easily available domestic parts. Design-wise, however, Japanese cars in generally don't stand a chance and lack personality and appeal, but I understand that their market is with buyers who only want to go from point A to B, which is normal.

We sure do! :D

Yes until they break.

yes and the ODB scanners now are dirth cheap.. heck you can go to autozone and they will do a diagnose for you for free and loan you specialty tools... learn to be a DIYer..

I respect people who are able to work on their cars, I'm just not one of them.

I think it might be a Dodge Ram.

They increased the thread count after 2004 FYI much less common an occurrence

That's the maddening thing, otherwise, the 5.4 and V10 are great engines, they just did this one really stupid thing. But, worse of all is they did nothing to fix it, they just screwed their customers.

Sorry, forgot about Rachel Carson and Silent Spring. www.google.com/search?q=silent+spring+rachel+carson&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

I agree 100%!! If it weren't for the EPA, this country would look exactly like China does now with millions dying from air and water pollution! Because of that, China woke up and is now a world leader in going green and caring for the environment. Sadly, if we abdicate that role, they will step in and take our place and we will become a lower class country.

+CheapRVliving Pretty soon you'll start preaching that thanks to the benevolent government the sun rises and sets and there are 4 seasons in a year. You sound like the first secretary of the communist party of Poland during their last congress before dissolution in 1990, when he enumerated the party's achievements. One of them was rebuilding of the country from war devastation... Because of course all capitalist countries remain not-rebuilt untill present day, right?

norfolkgarden Amen to everything you just wrote !

@@CheapRVliving, people have become complacent, because the don't remember how bad things were. If we let go of all the regulations (this is greed speak for 'let us do whatever the heck we want, with impunity'), our country will return to that mess, and worse, as we have more than double the population that we did in 1970.

Go to all the RV and van gathering areas, especially southern Arizona. I bet you would get regular work... bring your tools and business cards and try to get some deals right at the RTR that Bob Wells on this channel has at least once a year. there is a growing market and if you mobile and willing to go to the van then you have a great opportunity to get business both repair and maintenance. Add some conversion skills and you will be booked up as long as you want.

If it's diesel, it's killing people and in this country we decided not to do that.

Bob, c'mon my friend I get you're a patriot but don't take a moral stance on this on behalf of your whole country. It's unbecoming of a free thinking gentleman such as yourself when you and I both know that America is the second biggest polluter on the planet after China!!! That aside, let's go back to basics. Any fossil fuel is bad for the environment and people when burned. However, we are some way off getting cheap long range EV's that we can live in. (Hopefully not too far off though). And since your channel is called 'cheap' RV living, then a 2.5 litre diesel is going to be a hell of a lot cheaper than a 4.8 litre V8 petrol. For a lot of people watching this channel who are really short on funds, the difference between 17mpg and 30mpg might be the difference between this lifestyle being feasible or not.

CheapRVliving The us-american drones and oil wars are responsible for killing people. About 20-30 million people since 1945. Maybe you have just something mistaken.

CheapRVliving how is diesel killing people?

Your comparing v8 engines to small 4cylinders and let's be honest Europeans aren't driving small fuel efficient cars because they care about the environment,they are doing so because gas prices in Europe cost much more than in USA.

Hey Old Fart- I love the look of Dodge Vans, wider, good engine reputation. BUT, huge rust issue. I have read of engines falling out on the freeway. Some speculate Dodge uses a lower quality metal. After hearing all this, I have crossed Dodge off my list, along with the Sprinter (for high repair cost). a plus for Ford? You could upgrade to a limited slip differential. Wouldn't that be cool.

Dodge trans are SH!T.....and still to this date.

Had a 73 Plymouth satellite with a 318, new yorker and imperial with a 440. They were beasts.

A dodge ball in 8th grade.

I got an 82 B250 Mini-Ram with a 318 and a 4 speed(3 with o/d) manual. It's a beast. I take it all over the place, summer and winter. It takes some tinkering to keep it right, but I've never had such a reliable car. And I get 20mpgs on the highway. It's terrible in town though. 11mpgs.

Bobby, they "fixed" it in 2004, but they created a new problem where the plug would break in half inside the head while trying to take it out. That went on until 2008 when they finally solved the whole mess. During none of those years should you change your own plugs or take it anywhere but to a Ford dealer. They know how to do it right and even fix it. www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/ford-triton-v8-engine-spark-plug-tsb/index.htm

People on repair guides say the 4.6L Ford engine has plenty of power, better gas mileage and no spark plug problems although consumer guide includes the 4.6L. Most public and large commercial vehicle users would only buy Fords which is the best selling truck in America so I'm a bit wary of buying a Chevy.

When someone talks about better gas mileage when comparing engines it seems that the range might be 2 or 3 MPG difference. At 2.50 per gallon that doesn't seem worth talking or bragging about.

Eric Duprey The EPA is what made all those technological advancements possible by making them necessary and tax money helping fund the research.

These people really are crazy. Holy crap! Limiting options made innovation everyone!? By that logic, we should ban nearly everything! I think I just hit on the radical left jugular. That place where they get all their crazy ideas. If we ban oil pipelines, people will figure out how to teleport oil! If we ban breathing, people won't need that oppressive oxygen anymore. LOLOLOLOL

Fishing&Traveling What Ford did you buy? Transit? If so what engine? Ive been looking at 2017 while there still new ones left on the market. Looking at the V6 just because that what I’m finding available though I’ve read good reviews on the eco boost Diesel engine. How’s your gas mileage? Thx

I never heard of that before but all I could find on it was the older engines and I've never heard of it there before either. Every refrence on the first page was to older engines, 4.3 5.0 and 5.7. As far as I'm concerned it's an apples and oranges comparison. Ford sparkplug failures were a major, chronic problem recognized universally as a terrible design flaw. Google it and it just goes on and on.

i call bull shit on that ive had 1 2014 gmc savanna 3500 with 50k miles and 1 2006 Chevy express 2500 with 69.5K miles and i have never even had a motor tranny issue ever at all.My neigjbors have had 2016 ford transits and 2 fords E350's with similar milelage and all of them have had motor issues.

Thanks for watching Craig, great vans!