It would just be for family road trips, but even a short wheel base Escalade was cramped the last time we took one.

The minivans we looked at were a bit short on head room.

Still going to look at a Pacifica.

I loved my Astro vans. Just a perfect size. A great engine. I wished someone would bring back that type of van. It was perfect.

Not since my parents bought a 1978 Dodge stretched custom van, it was the thing back then...

Have you looked to see if you can rent one for trips, that way you don't have to buy one, garage it or leave in the drive, no wear and tear just gas n go, Hertz, National, Enterprise, Turo...

Link Enterprise 12 passenger van

Turo has a 2024 Mercedes Sprinter Van, $800 a week,

Link Turo

Of course you could put stick on signs for the Ice Cream Store and run it through there as a business expense.

In that case I'd opt for a custom Mercedes Sprinter with the taller roof so you can move about on trips, fridge, luxury seats, entertainment, I think some have bathrooms so you don't have to stop!

Link Ultimate Toys Van

I bought a tall roof Mercedes Sprinter 170/15 passenger van for just this reason. For family trips I take out the rear bench seat which leave me seating for 9, or one row per kid, and the baggage area is just enormous. It is by far the best, most fun vehicle I have ever had. Sits up high, drives very easy, cruises at 80mph on 20 mpg. The kids have tons of room to move around. I put in a movie station with a 32 in tv for entertainment. I love it. To quote Ferris Buehler, if you have the means, I highly recommend it, it's so choice.
I use it for party hauling for the kids, Team travel bus, my wife carries the entire High School volleyballs team gear bag because they run out of room on the bus for long away weekends. I haul DIY materials, tools boxes, my motorcycle and furniture. So it's not just a vacation van. I wish I had bought it sooner.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

I think some have bathrooms so you don't have to stop!

Adaptive Cruise Control is great!

I've worked on and driven enough full size vans to tell you that as a "daily driver" (a lot of room for interpretation), full-size vans suck to drive. They handle poorly, get tossed around in crosswinds, are hard to see out of and ride rough because you sit almost directly over the front wheels. The Chevy/GMC Express/Savana are the only traditional (V8-powered/full frame construction) vans still around to buy new, and I'm not even sure of that. Well, except for the Ford E-series, but those have only been made in a 350/450 "cutaway" since 2011. Its replacement, the Transit, is a dreadful POS. I don't think much of the FWD Rams, either.

My first car was a '91 Chevy G20 conversion van. I absolutely loved that thing. It was like driving in a recliner, and when you worked on it you could pull the doghouse, swivel the seat, and change spark plugs and distributor caps in comfort.

It was thirsty, rusting apart, and got blown around on the highway, but with the 350 it actually had decent power for what it was. My Suburban has been a better vehicle, but I did love that van. My wife, not so much. She refuses to let me get another one.

Me and my wife loved our Ford E 350 full size van 12 passenger. It was great for our five kids and everyone stuff needed for long trips from Pennsylvania to Tennessee and Florida.

MPG was only like 15 . Not sure if that may be a issue.

I cant count all the trips we made and it was great with the extra room.

We used it a lot when the kids were younger. Now all grown up and we no longer have the van.

Skip the mini vans, I forbid it

Don't even bother looking at the Ram Pro-Master. They're absolute garbage. I really like the Sprinter, though the stalk-mounted transmission selector can be a pain in the ass to get used to.

You could find a used Excursion. They are pricey with the diesel but I have seen them with the v10 at reasonable prices. Of course mpg is terrible with the v10.

I have a 2023 T- as a shop van, basic cargo version that rides well full, can be a bit noisy/bumpy empty but generally a good riding vehicle,
standard wheelbase, short or low roof, easy to get around town,

even as a basic cargo van, it has a lot of the modern ammenities,
auto headlamp
auto wipers,
auto dimmer,
bluetooth etc

and the standard non ecoboost V6 has a lot of power and 18+ mpg


not driven or riden in a modern Dodge/ram/fiat FWD van, did not like the look of them,

did rent a few Chevy Express, not sure of the motor (I think it was a big V6) but it also got the same mileage as the Ford,
however it was like driving a pogo stick,
empty or full, no lack of power but felt like I was bouncing up and down , esp on back roads,

the Chevy's were rented Uhauls, all had very low (as in less than 10K ) mileage,

I drove pickups for 30 years,
But now a full size van makes way more sense,
For hauling people groceries and a pet.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

I think some have bathrooms so you don't have to stop!

Adaptive Cruise Control is great!

Dads never stop to just pee except at refueling points when doing long hauls with the family if you get the Sprinter with dual 20 gallon tanks you can go a long time.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:


Dads never stop to just pee...

So true!!!!

Wife's daily driver is a Honda Odyssey and you'll have to pry that from her cold dead fingers someday.

It's a really nice van and not van-like or truck-like at all, it drives like a big car. I drove her sister's Toyota Sienna and it felt much more truck-like in handling and driving feel.