I bought one of these and am ripping out all the seats but the front 2 and using it as a cargo van to haul less than 1000 pounds of equipemnt. Some camera cases, computers etc. Want to pull a trailer down the road is this going to be a prone to rollover without bodies in it and no seats etc. Baciscally I will be using it as a 350 ext cargo van with windows.

Thanks

 

Wouldn't removing the seats/ less people lower the center of gravity and make it less prone to rollover? Sure you still have your 1000 lbs of stuff but I would think it would be lower to the floor, thusly lower center of gravity.

Anybody elses thoughts?

 

I believe that most of the rollover cases probably occurred from driver error and full loads. 15 250lb passengers seated in the upper part of the van body is a huge load. Drive carefully and you will never have a problem. Towing capacities may be reduced a little for the extended van but that is because of the longer overhang behind the rear axle.

 

I've got a 2004 E350 15 passenger van. I removed 3 bench seats and left the front one for my kids' carseats. In the back I put a tool bin on each side, so between those bins and my tools I've got about 1200-1500 pounds back there. I also have a ladder rack on the roof. It drives solid as a rock, no swaying or instability. I have had to make abrupt maneuvers several times and never felt like it was going to topple over. My BIL has a 15 pass as well, and he tows a 30 foot race-car trailer with his, no problems whatsoever. I see the 15 pass. vans all the time around here, towing trailers and loaded down with ladders on the roof racks. Put a "rookie" behind the wheel loaded with 15 people and you're just asking for trouble. Besides, any SUV will roll in similar circumstances so it's not just the 15 pass. vans.

 

Installing a good anti-sway bar with polyurethane bushings and making sure those bushings stay in good shape should go a long way to maintain stability.

People are a rough load. I mean if you make a sudden turn and people all swing one way, that's like 100 lbs of torso per person swaying around like an unsecured load. That affects handling.

 

All of the cases of rollover were with Church groups and bad/inexperienced drivers. The date line test was a joke at best, they claimed 45mph, but you could clearly see that they were moving faster than that.

 

these things always seem to get blown way out of proportion. inexperianced drivers is the biggest problem with almost all of the rollover stories you here with any make or model of vehicle. and if you try hard enough, you can roll a flat peice of steel on wheels over!

 

I'd just like to throw this into the mix...rollovers can happen suddenly. I once flipped a car. I had it sliding at about a 45 degree angle, and thought I wasn't too bad off, but it caught and went over very quickly. That was a low-to-the-ground car, not a nic 7 ft. tall van. I wouldn't get too comfortable with swinging that wheel around at interstate speeds...

But, I'll agree, the rollover thing is mostly inexperienced drivers.

Jason

 

i have a 97 and i haul my big roll around tool box in it all the time and never felt it sway very much, E-350 5.4L

 

FWIW: Most of the roll overs are from driver error where they crossed onto the other side of the highway, over corrected, ended up in a shoulder, and flipped the van.

Like the one loaded with firefighters (no seatbelts) and the person reached around for an ice cream bar and flipped it from over correction.

If it was just me and tools I wouldn't worry about it too much because I drive slow like an old lady and slow down well before I come to a curve, especially a downhill turn or curve where a trailer can push you sideways. If I was going to load it with people AND let other people drive it I would certainly do the DRW conversion.

 

Let me clarify the situation once more, as it gets asked a lot by people scared by the stupid roll over reports, they always seem to with hold the speed factors in each case. My trips from a few cities in a couple of states have revealed the posted speedlimits are viewed as a suggestion of what is the slowest speed you should drive. I have had loaded passengers vans blow by me on the interstate with me driving 75 MPH, does this sound like a safe speed for hauling passengers. Many of you here have been on the interstate, the slowdown lane for an off ramp is how long, do you think it's enough to bring 10,000 lbs worth of van and passengers from 80+ MPH to 45 MPH, some are 35 MPH. Lets not forget, these drivers only get behind the wheel of these vans on occasions, the rest of their driving is usually in a small import, who's responsiveness is nothing compaired to the van. The reports should all include the vans speed and the speedlimit at the time of the accident, sure would put this myth to rest.
I've had my 99 E-350 ext 15 passenger van for 6 years, I pulled all of the seats but the one over the axle, had the handicap conversion shop add a 6 way power seat base where my drivers seat is located, power door actuators on the side barn doors, a wheelchair platform lift and then we put a rather large speaker box in the rear behing the bench. I put it on a scale when hauling off some junk and the weight with me, my wife, and 8 year old at the time weighed 8000 lbs. I installed ride rite air bags inside my coil springs in the front, each are set to air up independently, it's to prevent premature wear caused by the wheelchair lift platform with me on it hanging off the side of the van, that weight breaks them down over time.
I had an encounter with a deer, a few years ago on a country road, I attemped to dodge him, then had to correct to miss a ditch with a drain culvert, that with the spped I was going would surely flip it, but the van felt completely stable. BTW, my wife was standing up in the rear at the time.

 

Now please keep in mind that I never rolled a van or even came close to it. But, the vans do have a high center of gravity and it raises with the more people in the vehicle. To dismiss all the cases of rollover or tire failure on the driver is pure foolishness. The driver may certainly add to the situation because of the oversteer condition that does happen when the van begins to lift in a yaw roll. But to say it's only a driver error is just inaccurate. So, the question becomes, is there something that can be done to make them safer? With 15 people in a van, there are 15 lawyers that can make a big noise. If I make a mistake while driving, I don't think I should be punished along with my passengers by death and dismemberment.

I strongly recommend the dual wheel approach. For the $2,000 I spent it was a great upgrade to both the safety and uniqueness of the van. Is there a difference between the SRW and DRW while driving? You better believe it. The DRW is much more stable than the SRW. Do I always need that extra stability, probably not but it's nice knowing it's there. My wife and I have different driving habits. She will yank the wheel hardover in an emergency manuver while I will just steet straight with hard breaking. Stability through the wider track is more suited for her driving style than mine.

With the new stability control in the vans, I'm sure the rollovers incidents will continue to lower. I think they have gone down already just because of awareness. I have heard of a lot more buses rolling then 15 P vans these days.