I'm currently looking for a used full-sized van to use for camping and hauling lots of stuff. One key criteria is that it have a bed long enough for a 6-foot person to sleep on, comfortably.

I've looked at a bunch of conversion vans, but most of them don't meet this requirement--the beds are too short. On the two Club Wagons we've found, though, the rear bed is just right.

I don't know much about American-made vehicles (kept my first car, a Honda, for 17 years), so I'm not very keen shopper yet. Can anybody tell me if any of the other big carmakers have anything that compares in size and features to the Club Wagons?

thanks!
Meps
www.mepsnbarry.com

 

You must be looking at E-350 Extended Length Vans. You can get the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel, the 6.8L Triton V-10, or the 5.4L Triton V-8. In my opinion though, the V-10 is the best option. It has the power for the extra weight of the extended length, also, in the van the V-10 makes almost identical power as the diesel and similar fuel economy to the 5.4L.

Chevy has the Express, but it does not have a decent diesel option nor a V-10 (larger displacement V-8) option, meaning less power/bad fuel mileage due to the increased weight of an extended body.

Dodge has the old Ram vans, but they have no frame, just a unibody with a front chassis section, the Ram vans are not made anymore either ('03 is the newest), also the Ram vans do not have the best reputation for holding up well either, most I've seen are dead in less than 5 years. Then there's the new Dodge Sprinter, but it's just a rebadged Mercedes panel van (meaning they're gonna be very expensive).

 

You can get a 1/2 ton ClubWagon (E150), with the options you want, we have one. The bed in ours is really nice, and comfortable... Longevity should not be a concern and you are planning on using for camping, however it is not uncommon for the older models to run for a very long time, my 92 has 162k miles and still runs like champ, our 1988 has over 200k on it, with only a crankshaft change at about 230k miles.

 

Thanks for the info! I probably won't need anything "larger" than the 1/2 ton E150 model Club Wagon for the limited hauling I expect.

Does anybody know of other van models (Ford or other) that have a similar seat that converts to a bed?

I really don't want to become an SUV owner, but I suppose I should ask: Are there any SUVs that have a similar layout and aren't more expensive?

Thanks!

 

There are a number of companies that make a rear seat for full-sized vans that folds down into a full-sized bed. I'd start with JCWhitney and go from there. What you need is one that has 3 sections to get the full size. Ford did offer one of these for about 2 years in the Club Wagon, around 1999-2000 model years. They also offered it in the Aerostar in the mid-90s, but good luck finding one, and one that's in good shape.

 

If you are going to buy an full size extended van I'd go with a GM, the Ford extended vans are too dangerous when loaded down with gear. The reason why is GM moved the axel back on their extended vans, and Ford didn't. Yes, I've driven both and in this one case GM has a much safer product. I had a real close call, almost rolling a Ford van.