What might be the big differences between the two?
What I mean is...I have a 2003 7.3 diesel in an E-350 Van.
Almost everyone that hauls Travel Trailers or anything with any serious weight to it seems to use a pickup from the F-150's up to 350's.
When I got the big E Series 350 with the diesel 7.3 I figured I could haul just about anything a F-350 could (except of course a gooseneck 5th wheel).
What does my Van (Lack) that the pickups have that (seem) to make them the preferred vehicle to haul Travel trailers?
Apples to apples here.....I'm talking about a pickup with a 7.3 L diesel in the same year range (2003). NOT any of the newer engines with their much higher HP ratings...
I believe (we) have talked about the vans being "de-tuned" to lower HP. Anyone know the difference and of more interest to me the why of it? I would think the Vans would be the ones that might have the HIGHER HP considering all that storage space in the back!
So why is my Van considered the less appropriate vehicle type to use to haul with?
Is it all about the difference in undercarriage/suspensions?
I have looked at some of the weight ratings between the 350 Vans vs. 350 Trucks and as best I can recall there really was not that much difference.
What am I missing here? There must be some basic physics / suspension / Horse power... thing that I have not considered.??? DDT

 

I can't help you on the diesel/age comparison. All my experience is with 96 and older vans and trucks. I've done a lot of hauling/towing with both. I tow both car trailers and enclosed cargo trailers. My car trailers are 20 foot and the enclosed trailers are in the 14-18 foot range.

My vans handle anything any of my trucks could handle. The main difference I notice is the van can get pushed around a little more due to the wind. Nothing I can't handle. Once you are use to it happening, it's nothing. The van just has a lot of surface area on the sides for the wind to catch. But Pulling a travel trailer, you will get that with a truck or a van.

I've never struggled to haul/tow anything with my vans, except once when I had a transmission fail. If it's set up right the vans will haul just about anything. The only downside is the no goose neck/5th wheel towing ( without doing some cutting or buying a converted van/truck ) .

I prefer the vans over trucks now. I don't even buy trucks anymore. The vans cargo areas sold me on the whole van over truck deal.

 

 

I also prefer the vans seating position and short nose. Better visibility out front.

 

I was told that when you get into very heavy trailers, the drw of those pick-ups keeps the tire loading within capacity.

 

Just cause you have a van doesn't mean you can have duals.

Not mine, just wish it was.

 

The 7.3L engine in the vans is lower horsepower than the same engine in the pickup. There are two reasons that I know of, there could be more reasons that I'm not aware of. First, the van doesn't have an intercooler. Second, there isn't enough airflow through the engine compartment to provide cooling for higher horsepower.

One of many performance characteristics that go into determining tow rating is how fast a grade can be climbed with maximum load. More horsepower means faster speed or the same speed with more load.

 

I don't know if it's true on the 03 version, but I believe the early Powerstroke vans also had a more restrictive turbo down pipe too due to space in the van engine compartment too.

 

I agree, most people just prefer a pickup to a van.

 

You can get duals on the current Ford vans. They look much more stable than the single rear wheel models.

 

Vans typically have a lower GVWR and GCWR than the pickups. A number of factors go into the calculations. Some of it, as mentioned, is the cooling capacity with the engine being in a more confined area. You'll have to ask the engineers why.

 

I like the new Transit vans. The biggest down side I see to them is lack of any big power plant. I believe the 3.5L Ecoboost is the top engine offered. If they offered the Transit with the Coyote or better yet the big Powerstroke diesel( what is it now? 6.7L? ) and beef up the chassis to match. They would have a work/tow monster!


I'm trying to fix some of that on my 89 E350. I'm going manual transmission swap ( no transmission cooler/s to add heat to the system ) , bigger radiator, huge electric fans with shrouds, Air extractors in the front fenders to remove hot air from radiator/engine compartment, some ducted fresh air for around the engine itself and ceramic coating on exhaust to lower temps.

 

Thanks EVERYONE. A special shout to Mark. As always, Right to the specific answer.
I thought I remembered that the Vans had less HP. But just didn't understand why they made them that way. Now I know.
I also have been sold on vans for the indoor (out of weather & thieves sight storage), not to mention pulling over to take a nap
or sleep overnight. And other necessary human activities.
I'm not sure about the vans not having the lower GVWR & GCWR. As I mentioned, I looked at that stuff and if there was a difference it was negligible.
That IS a cool looking duelly BUT those extra wheels are not changing the HP (Obviously that can be done), And do not address what Mark mentioned about the numerous air flow / heat issues under the hood & in the dog house. But it sure looks COOL!
I have done plenty of Trailer hauling in the past. I was using a Chevy G- (something) (20?) . And pulling an overloaded 32 foot TT.
So I am all to aware of the issues of wind & passing Tractors going by me doing 20 to 30 MPH faster than I am running.
You get use to it but it's still a PITA and when you see a real big one catching you at a high rate of speed you still grip that steering wheel and prepare for the ride. But I bet even the pickups deal with that too.
Thanks again everyone for the insight. Appreciate all the input/responses.
So now I got to start figuring on the best ways to get more cool air in & let the hot air out.
Well, I got rid of a pretty big amount of hot air a while back but that was 2 leg hot air!! LOL DDT

 

The dual rear wheels help with the weight the tires can safely handle because you are doubling the tires. And it also helps with stability The wider track helps the van feel less tippy/top heavy ( like some do ) . But a dual conversion needs to be done right. I prefer swapping in a heavier dually rear axle assembly. I've seen guys convert semi-floating rear axles, even half ton axles with spacer kits. That usually ends up with broken axles and tires passing you on the highway.

The HP deal can be dealt with. On the diesels, there is plenty of aftermarket support for them. Freer flowing down pipe & exhaust, adding or upgrading intercoolers, tuners, etc. The lack of space is a hurdle but with some creativity it can be worked around. They really know how to pack the crap in there on the newer stuff. There's a reason I like the older stuff. It's a whole lot more space and easier to work on/modify. But when you make more power you definitely need the cooling system upgrades to go with it( or even before the HP upgrades ) . Kind of like the car guys building lots of power but completely over looking brake upgrades.

I was referring to getting use to the difference between towing with the truck and a van as far as the wind goes. But yea the big rigs passing you will give you the white knuckle ride no matter what you are driving.


I'm not going anywhere near that last line of your post!!

 

Question here: the 7.3 was down rated, but was the 460 and V10 ? Look at all the motorhome chassis built with those two engines. And I've seen em in the 450 series too.