Thinking about a Chevy Astro Van for light camping/offroad adventures...
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
the boxy minivan is more beautiful than her SUV. 
We had one growing up. I'm sure you'd be replacing them but the rear leafs on a lot of them are fiberglass mono leafs. We had a couple break on ours. Common issues are the door handles on all the doors commonly break making it so you can't open them. Our slider door always broke and we'd have to climb in the front door and then open it from the inside. The rear door handle would break and it would make it so you couldn't get the spare tire off (yes this bit us multiple times). Also, it seems every one I ever got in to had a problem with the power locks. Ours would lock and unlock themselves and would eventually kill the battery (or lock you out of your car). They also suck off road, it seems every time we ended up off road with ours we ended up stuck or broke down. I personally think a fullsize van with solid axles, small lift, appropriate tires, etc would make a better adventure vehicle.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
sounds like a chevy...
sounds like a chevy...
Indeed
Ours was the GMC Safari.EDIT: Oh and if I told my wife she was going to be driving a mini van, that would be the same thing as saying I want a divorce...seriously.
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- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
Wow those things are expensive! I figured they'd be sub $2000, but $4500?!? Wow.
Whats drawing you to them over, say, a Trooper? Troopers have tons of interior room, Asian components, get similar MPG to the Astro if left in stock form, many had factory LSD's, far more capable in the event you come into a dicey situation AND can be picked up all day long for ~$1,500 in great shape.
OR
If you want to spend around the $5000 mark, pick up a way cooler than an Astro van VW Eurovan Westfalia. Already built out as a camper, simple to work on, decent MPG. They are not 4wd (unless you search out a Synchro, but thats $$$), but rear engine, RWD gives you good traction. Lots of parts available (OME even makes a lift kit). You can find them pretty regularly in good shape between $4000-$6000.
Whats drawing you to them over, say, a Trooper? Troopers have tons of interior room, Asian components, get similar MPG to the Astro if left in stock form, many had factory LSD's, far more capable in the event you come into a dicey situation AND can be picked up all day long for ~$1,500 in great shape.
OR
If you want to spend around the $5000 mark, pick up a way cooler than an Astro van VW Eurovan Westfalia. Already built out as a camper, simple to work on, decent MPG. They are not 4wd (unless you search out a Synchro, but thats $$$), but rear engine, RWD gives you good traction. Lots of parts available (OME even makes a lift kit). You can find them pretty regularly in good shape between $4000-$6000.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
Had a 2000 GMC Safari AWD. It was okay, hurt my knee to drive it very far. The AWD would bind if you didn't stay up on the fluid changes. I'd rather have a truck than one of those again. I got 18-19 out of it.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
a lot 'em are sub $2000. I only saw one that was over $4200. The main draw to a van is the ability to carry up to 8 people, or fit mountain bikes and other useful things inside them. I don't think a trooper could fit mountain bikes inside it.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
Also, the odds of being mistaken for Stephen could end up in some kind of road rage incident.
- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
You can fit mountain bikes inside. Can't seat eight, though.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
can you fit the bikes inside without taking the wheels off?
jeep-N-montero
Formerly black_ZJ
- Location
- Bountiful
I tried selling my wife on an Astro van and she told me I was crazy, but it still crosses my mind after I read up on them on ExPo from time to time. Lately though the Trooper has caught my eye as well, especially with spare parts being so plentiful at the salvage yards. A Trooper can fit 31's stock and give a better ride and mpg than the Jeep it would replace.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
I love my wife and treat her really well, and she treats me really well. It's a great thing. She doesn't care about cars as much as most people do.
- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
I can fit my road bike in standing up without the wheels off. I'd have to measure it, but its the size of most mountain bikes I see. Plus, ambulance style doors. Easy loading.
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sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
that's cool.
DAA
Well-Known Member
- Location
- West Bountiful, UT
I dunno Man... Just dunno... It just "feels" wrong.
I know it's for your Wife. And you have the noblest of intentions. And it sounds eminently practical. But I think "practical" is always the rationilazation behind these things.
A neighbor gave me a ride in his minivan a few weeks ago. First time I'd ever been inside one. Pretty long ride - all the way up into the Uintas. By the time we got there, my first time ever in a minivan, mind you, I was wondering which one of the little storage compartments he keeps his balls in... Then about a week later, me and the family hopped in my Jeep to go get some Nielsens. While we were eating our ice cream, a family kind of like the mirror image/bizarro world version of mine pulled up - in a minivan. Mom and Dad looked about the same age as me and my Wife, two kids looked about the same age as our two kids. But... Man... They just looked SO unenthused... They looked like they weren't having any fun driving to get ice cream. Think about that for a second, a family, NOT HAVING FUN going to get ice cream. I started thinking about my recent ride in a minivan, and looked at them again, and understood - of COURSE they weren't having ANY FUN driving to get ice cream - they were all riding in a FREAKING MINIVAN! Like, duh...
I pointed it out to my Wife, the dullness of that families eyes, the appearance of not even being aware of the possibility of adventure, or aware that driving to get ice cream should be FUN. Then pointed out that they were in a minivan and shared with her my thoughts on riding in one for a couple hours recently. Noted the hapless, hopeless, mind numbing PRACTICALNESS of it all. She immediately saw the correllation too and agreed that she was really glad we hadn't ever owned a minivan.
Just rambling... And obviously not being any help.
- DAA
I know it's for your Wife. And you have the noblest of intentions. And it sounds eminently practical. But I think "practical" is always the rationilazation behind these things.
A neighbor gave me a ride in his minivan a few weeks ago. First time I'd ever been inside one. Pretty long ride - all the way up into the Uintas. By the time we got there, my first time ever in a minivan, mind you, I was wondering which one of the little storage compartments he keeps his balls in... Then about a week later, me and the family hopped in my Jeep to go get some Nielsens. While we were eating our ice cream, a family kind of like the mirror image/bizarro world version of mine pulled up - in a minivan. Mom and Dad looked about the same age as me and my Wife, two kids looked about the same age as our two kids. But... Man... They just looked SO unenthused... They looked like they weren't having any fun driving to get ice cream. Think about that for a second, a family, NOT HAVING FUN going to get ice cream. I started thinking about my recent ride in a minivan, and looked at them again, and understood - of COURSE they weren't having ANY FUN driving to get ice cream - they were all riding in a FREAKING MINIVAN! Like, duh...
I pointed it out to my Wife, the dullness of that families eyes, the appearance of not even being aware of the possibility of adventure, or aware that driving to get ice cream should be FUN. Then pointed out that they were in a minivan and shared with her my thoughts on riding in one for a couple hours recently. Noted the hapless, hopeless, mind numbing PRACTICALNESS of it all. She immediately saw the correllation too and agreed that she was really glad we hadn't ever owned a minivan.
Just rambling... And obviously not being any help.
- DAA
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
haha, you crack me up Dave.
Maybe a minivan is exciting to me because I don't have any kids to fill it up with.
Maybe a minivan is exciting to me because I don't have any kids to fill it up with.
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- Location
- Vehicular limbo
I'd just like to say that I've had a damned lot of fun in a minivan... :guilty:
KWight
Active Member
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I worked for a non profit agency that had one for running our clients around. I took it to help move a client from her old home (in spite of her best efforts to convince me to take my truck) and ended up stuck for several hours until we could find someone to pull me out. The road was good but there was no weight in the rear to help us get traction to get out. Ours also got 18-20mpg and had the 4.3 litre engine.
On the other hand, I, I mean a friend, sold a few when running a car lot in Phoenix years ago. The "coyotes" bought a lot of them to smuggle illegal migrant workers across the border and I learned that if you upgrade the rear shocks you can get 15-20 migrant workers in the back of one. I can imagine that those individuals were not overly enthused about that selling point.
We were able to buy them all day long at auction for $2000-$2500 in good condition and with 100,000-120,000 miles on them.