Any 30 mpg vans you can recommend for camping?

[squirrl22]

A friend has an older MB Turbo diesel van, he got it used from a transport company, had a blown transmission, so he got it really cheap. He is planning on putting in a(used) manual transmission imported from Europe. These would get 28MPG on the highway with the auto trans, so he is expecting to get around 35MPG with the manual. Plus, you can easily convert these to run on used vegi oil- This one is the older, IDI engine- I have sucessfully run my VW IDI engines on used vegi oil for over 20 years. You have to be METICULOUS in cleaning the oil, on your install of your system, , ONLY running on vegi when the engine is 100% up to operating temperature, and switching back to dino well before before shutting the engine down. If your meticulous, you can be successful-and, here in NC, you are legally exempt from fuel taxes if you run on vegi.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by squirrl22

A friend has an older MB Turbo diesel van, he got it used from a transport company, had a blown transmission, so he got it really cheap. He is planning on putting in a(used) manual transmission imported from Europe. These would get 28MPG on the highway with the auto trans, so he is expecting to get around 35MPG with the manual. Plus, you can easily convert these to run on used vegi oil- This one is the older, IDI engine- I have sucessfully run my VW IDI engines on used vegi oil for over 20 years. You have to be METICULOUS in cleaning the oil, on your install of your system, , ONLY running on vegi when the engine is 100% up to operating temperature, and switching back to dino well before before shutting the engine down. If your meticulous, you can be successful-and, here in NC, you are legally exempt from fuel taxes if you run on vegi.

Why is he expecting such a huge jump in highway mileage?

The 1st gen Sprinter (1995 - 2006) had a 5 speed manual or 5 speed automatic. The Mercedes 722.6 auto locks the torque converter in 3rd - 5th gears. I can't see a 25% boost in fuel economy for steady state highway cruising from just a transmission swap

[Fat Charlie]

A pig is a pig. A manual's real mpg boost comes from being able to not be in gear all the time, and a full size can can't do that well at all.

[Hersbird]

I'm actually talking to a dealer about a new 2020 Pacifica Hybrid. I believe the 2021 Toyota will be a better van long term, but they have a bunch of incentives on the Pacifica (probably because of the Toyota) and this year I'd qualify for the full $7500 federal tax credit not available to the Toyota. So a Pacifica with a $45000 msrp ends up around $29000 bottom line. That's still a hard swallow. If Toyota would do a Sienna "Prime" like the Rav4 Prime, then it would probably be a no brainer. I aslo wonder if I should wait for the 2021 Pacifica as they seem to show incentives available as well but probably not quite as much. My dealer has 4 2020s to chose from with the same 45k msrp. I was going to try and get in on the 2020 tax year but now there is no hurry except those Van's might sell and I'll have to wait a whole year to file the 2021 taxes for the credit.

[redpoint5]

Don't know what the competition is there in Missoula, but I generally send a request for best price offer to every dealer within 60 miles and make them compete against each other.

I've got a friend that went from a Leaf, to a Prius V, to a Pacifica plug-in. Really enjoyed the trip to Sacramento in it. It's got some very minor quirks as far as braking and acceleration go, so if you're sensitive to those things certainly do a thorough test drive first. I find the quirks interesting and nothing else.

The Pacifica is still on my radar as well, but I've never spent more than $17k on a vehicle, and am in no hurry to part with the money I've saved.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Don't know what the competition is there in Missoula, but I generally send a request for best price offer to every dealer within 60 miles and make them compete against each other.

I've got a friend that went from a Leaf, to a Prius V, to a Pacifica plug-in. Really enjoyed the trip to Sacramento in it. It's got some very minor quirks as far as braking and acceleration go, so if you're sensitive to those things certainly do a thorough test drive first. I find the quirks interesting and nothing else.

The Pacifica is still on my radar as well, but I've never spent more than $17k on a vehicle, and am in no hurry to part with the money I've saved.

That dealer is actually Dave Smith in Kellogg Idaho which is the #1 selling Dodge dealer on Earth last time I saw. A small town that brings in buyers from all over the country with their pricing. Missoula doesn't even have one in stock and they have about 8 or 10. Had it been in town I probably would have pulled the trigger in 2020 but I was too busy to drive over 2 hours and over the pass with only Christmas day off in the last 3 weeks. Now I'm back in no hurry mode. It doesn't look like the 2021 hybrid is anything more than a facelift. The regular van has some better stuff mainly AWD but that's not an option on the Hybrid (although the Toyota can be had in hybrid and AWD). We already have a Town and Country so I doubt it's much different but I should try and drive one first. Hopefully the Toyotas will be in stock so I can see if they are head and shoulders better to be worth the $10,000 extra they will cost.

[Fat Charlie]

It's not much different, it's just the newer version. My only recommendation is that if you plan to keep it for the long haul, don't get the AWD. Traditional platforms with a regular t-case are great, but an FWD platform with a PTU just doesn't have that kind of mechanical reliability.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

It's not much different, it's just the newer version. My only recommendation is that if you plan to keep it for the long haul, don't get the AWD. Traditional platforms with a regular t-case are great, but an FWD platform with a PTU just doesn't have that kind of mechanical reliability.

Do you know how the Toyota AWD works? I know on the Rav4 Prime the added rear drive is all electric. We have had a couple of AWD Dodge minivans in the past and they have actually been flawless. One had over 250,000 miles on it 3.8 motor, 4 speed auto and AWD all untouched. The 2001 we had tore its front fascia off driving it in snow so deep it was plowing.

That said, the Pacifica in general hasn't gotten the best reliability reports. One of my best friends bought the first year and it almost qualified for a lemon buyback, while our 2011 Chrylser is just about to turn 100,000 miles without anying but brakes and fluids changed.

[Fat Charlie]

I don't know the Toyota, but I do know the Dodge. I'm in Parts, and without a lifetime service contract from the factory (which they aren't currently offering), you couldn't give me one. The platform itself is great- our 2011 has almost 235k right now. It would be higher, but she's been working from home a lot this year.

They've done a great job upgrading the minivan over the years, spreading upgrades over the years so when a "new platform" come out, a lot gets carried over. We've had a couple rentals over the last few years and we're happily replacing the 2011 with a 2021. An FWD.

[Isaac Zachary]

Oh man! For the longest time (and probably still) my dream van was a Toyota Previa with the diesel option. Living here in the States meant it was never available, but I so wish I had jumped on an imported Previa diesel engine I saw years ago on eBay and had gotten a Previa to put it in.

I don't know what it is about the Previa, but if I ever need a hauler I'd probably get an old Previa instead of anything else. Preferably a diesel engine imported on an older stick shift Previa or the super charged engine that came out circa 1995 onward on an older pre-1995 stick shift Previa. I might even go for an AWD version.