Bros, I need to make my mind up on this van. Make decisions for me
 

1997 E250 4.6l panel van with 107k miles
it passed inspection, decent tires, half the pad is left.

My concerns:
It's going to cost a fortune to register/TT&L
the trailer is going to be ~$800 and then more money for TT&L
$45/month to insure
both will be stored 45-minutes away for free.

I am resisting because I still have a student loan and send a minimum of $600/month, usually more like $1000. Is this deal too good to pass up, or should I wait, keep driving to and from the track with a tire trailer, and be marginally financially responsible enough to continue bleeding money at the track, just not with a van?

Post a price...


Why not just get an older diesel, I think you can do much better for a tow vehicle.

You don't need a diesel to tow one miata, and he needs the back area of the van to get his thing going. I say buy it, quit being a bitch.

4.6 isn't a lot of motor to tow with. Not sure what the curb weight is on a E250, but sounds like a pig.

$1700

Maybe it has the 5.4, I'm uncertain.

A 3/4 ton van can pull a 2800lb tag just fine. I do not have 1-ton money.

It'll be a pig.

I'd keep using the trailer.

The problem with the trailer is finding someone to watch it overnight, then driving my track car back and forth (incredibly intoxicated) to the hotel, parking it at the hotel, then hoping I don't break anything so I can drive it home. It's also loud and there's no AC.

Thanks for the input, but no one needs a 1-ton dually to pull a Miata. Remember that this vehicle is only for pulling the track car once every six weeks, not double duty as a work truck like most people. I can't justify a $50k diesel to pull my car 10x per year.

I'm talking old used diesel or hell any other truck. How much does your Miata weigh? How does the trailer weigh? Assuming 1500+ pounds. So looking at the minimum 3500 pound, get a truck with a V8 or a van with a bigger motor.

Ohh I hear you. Its probably nerve racking driving your track car to and from the track. I know it'd be a hell of a lot easier to just have a rig to tow it with.

The problem is that your thinking about getting a 100k mile Ford to tow it with. Look around for a Chevy or GMC and thank me later. Having towed and plowed with both Ford and Chevy trucks, I know which ones I'd stay away from.

Save and double or triple your budget and get something better. :2cents:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/2781265433.html

I like this dea; ^^


edit: no title lol

I don't want to spend $5k on a van I will drive 10x per year. What are the soft spots on the Ford? I almost exclusively pulled with 1-tons when I worked for the wholesale car guy. However, I used an F150 occasionally and thought it pulled fine.

I will not buy a truck because I plan to party in the van at the track.

Why would I buy a 20-year old three-speed with no title?:rofl:

Better than some van. (but yeah just noticed no title LOL) Why do you want a van again?

Here we go: Awesome motor, van, and cheap

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/2778570403.html

It's a huge pain in the ass to insure passenger vans, it must be a panel. I also don't care to replace suspension on 300k mile 1-ton vans, I have no 1" drive socket tools and don't care to buy any.

God you really fail you know

Passenger vans are insanely expensive to insure, I already looked into a 15-passenger van. I also heard they tow like because the hitch is so far behind the axle.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ctd/2745453199.html

?

BTW, there's a guy who races in NASATX with a Silver E350 with black leather, 4" exhaust, big turbo noise, AC A/C, and auto-leveling. I bet that dude parties.

lol, that has double the mileage, less brakes, and its more expensive. Why did you recommend this again?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2774395539.html



^ that one looks SUHHHHWEET

I wasn't suggesting a heavier truck. The 4.6 will pull the weight, but it's going to make for stressful driving when needing to merge, pass, or go up grades. It's also going to be tough on the trans.

You think your trailer is going to be only 2800 lbs loaded? My car on trailer is 3500 range, not including tools/spares/wheels/etc. My trailer is only ~1350 lbs.

If it's a V8 it should be the 5.4. Just did a quick look and the standard mill was a 4.2L V6. No option for the 4.6 on the E250 in 97.

Provided it's the V8, do it. Just don't do anything to the green car that you can't undo.

If you don't like it you're only into it for $1700 and it should be straight forward to flip.

Post the ad to your prospect so I can see what to beat

Dr. Kearns believes its a 5.4, I like this diagnosis. I'll have to read up on confirming this.

It's my GF's dad's van.

What does it cost to register the trailer? I called the tax office and Shaniqua hung up on me, lol.

It already has an oil cooler, it will get a ducted RX7 trans cooler. Like a bauce.

Screw all these haterz and buy the damn van. Just have a competent mechanic check it over before hand if you don't trust your gf's dad.

Look at it as a semi investment to not needing to ever worry about that tow bill that you could have if something breaks at the track and you can not drive the green car home. Also look at how much you will save on hotel costs.

If it's a 5.4 and not ratty, then buy it.

I say spend $1700 on it and then spend another few grand on making it awesome. Stop being poor and start being awesome.

I am the competent mechanic...I think.

Ok bitches, I just sent the email, the van is most likely mine. Now, I need a cheap single axle trailer or I'm going to build one.

3x the mileage and 3x the price!

You are trying to force a square peg in to a round hole.

This seems like reasonable advice.

The best advice probably involves avoiding track days outside of AAA towing radius until the student loans and other non-deductible debt over ~3% interest is paid off, but with car enthusiasts... sometimes it's about choosing the least bad option. :D

Why single axle?

When is your first event? I mean you could hold off buying a trailer until you find the right one. All else fails just rent one from U-Haul if you have not found one by the first event.

All 3.2%. I still want the debt gone of course.

The first race is the last weekend in January...I'll drive the Miata down there one last time. After that, the next "travel event" is April or May.

It's lighter, easier to turn, it's lighter, I'm only pulling a 2225lb car, it's lighter, single axle tires last longer than dual axle tires while being chepaer to replace 2 than 4, and ideally it will have a tandem axle.

Then you got plenty of time to find a trailer.

Here's a good one, lol:
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/pts/2726342727.html

I am not understanding that last part.

I have been looking to possibly make a single axle trailer based off of a Dexter Torflex axle to eliminate the need for leaf springs and the axle mounts directly to the trailer frame. It makes it a super simple design. Plus you can use rectangular tube frame rather than C channel to save a fair amount of weight. I think you could make it for around $800 with the axle/brakes.

Something like this with better tires and axle suspension. From the looks of it, it is a simple axle with no leaf spring or torsion axle.

http://www.racingjunk.com/Open-Car-A...r-trailer.html

I don't really know what I'm talking about, I was told that a tandem would help to get the car lower and provide a suspension.

Do you want to make two? Seriously.

I may think about it if you are real sweet on me. We have that steel deck double axle trailer that weighs about 2100lbs and is pretty damn big. I may build a new one since Michael will be towing his own car now and that would be much more manageable. I'll let you know how the first one goes if I build it and what we can do.

I'd rather get what I want and give a friend some money for his time than get a janky Craigslist trailer, and maybe take advantage of a bulk buy if we're looking at building two trailers.

BTW, that VVT engine John bought from you is sitting in my garage. :)

You'll be fine towing with that van. Just make sure you take it out of over drive.

I would strongly suggest a dual axle trailer because it will keep your car from bouncing around so much. The majority of the suspension in the trailer is in the tires, so don't go buying shitty car tires or something.

But on the other hand, you are only towing a miata so...

Why can't I tow in overdrive? I've always heard of this problem, but never driven a vehicle sensitive to it.

Well you ended up with it one way or another, lol.

Because it will down shift and up shift constantly creating heat and cooking the clutches and the fluid.

Aha! The overdrive issue with Ford and Chevy is a bottle-neck with trans fluid pump flow. I suppose a trans temp gauge will help me out.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, just take it out of over drive. You're not going to be towing huge amounts. My buddy towed his jeep with big tires on a steel dual axle trailer with an expedition that had the 4.6 and it did fine.

You can leave it in OD until you come to a hill. Before you get to the hill, turn off OD. If it's a short uphill followed by a flat area then another hill, leave it in OD the whole time. Once everything is flat again, put it back in OD.
Minor grades can remain in OD. You'll get a feel for what conditions will make it downshift after driving it a bit. The key is to keep the trans in one gear or the other instead of allowing it to shift constantly.

If the van has a tow package, then it will already have a trans cooler.

Thanks. I don't know why I assumed the little heat exchanger was an oil cooler. Any thoughts on enlarging and ducting it? What about an oil cooler? I ask because I have spares from my old, failed attempts.

I'm looking forward to the progress. I find a panel van to be second only to a short bus in terms of combination of practical and low-priced towing options that are able to accomodate partying.

One of these days I may purchase a vehicle worth more than 2-weeks pay (1 paycheck). However, I seriously doubt it.