A question from this newie. Leaning towards the Promaster for DIY build out. Which is best for this 1500,2500 or 3500?
Greetings & Welcome!
3500 is always the heaviest duty choice. Best brakes, suspension, etc.
My question would be why spend so much more on newer, when there are far better and much cheaper options available? Depreciation is killer on newer vehicles, and we should be nearing a market correction.
None of the Euro Vans are nearly the quality of the previous American made ones. They don’t drive as good, and they don’t hold up as well. Even with the American made ones, the older you got, the better the quality, back when quality wasn’t just a another forgotten word found in the dictionary. Unfortunately, quality is continually losing ground to greed.
America is still the land of opportunity, but it can quickly turn into a failed opportunity if we don’t play our cards right.
Cheers!
"Learn more to earn more. Money making skills, not college." ~ Hidden Riches
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Super helpful. Thanks! I’ll wait for the right 350 to come along. In your opinion. How used are you thinking? I was thinking something with less than 30,000 miles. What year does the quality you mention change for the worse?
Greetings!
Both my van and my bus are 1973’s, the last year before government smog controls mandated in the USA starting in 1974. Built when comfort, quality, reliability, and safety still meant more than profits. Newer doesn’t always mean better, and hasn’t for quite a while now. Computers & cellphones are great for their purposes, but old school mechanical is still more reliable for things like vehicles and machinery. Not everything should be computerized. Fewer things that can go wrong, means fewer things that will go wrong.
Unlike electronics, mechanicals will usually give you fair warning of needed repairs if we’re paying attention. Mechanical faults are usually easier & cheaper to diagnose and repair than electrical gremlins & failures.
Newer vehicles are specifically designed to require more maintenance & repairs, and have a shorter life span than their older mechanical counterparts. Designed by the insatiable greed of the powers that be, to the detriment of everyone else.
So I choose quality, comfort, convenience, reliability, & safety over the “Newer Is Better” brainwashed mindset. Heavy metal instead of tin can & plastic construction, and repairable over disposable.
Each of my vehicles have over 500k trouble free miles on them, with nothing more than pro-active maintenance required,
Cheers!
"Learn more to earn more. Money making skills, not college." ~ Hidden Riches
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Greetings!
Miles aren’t as important as original design & maintenance. While newer technology can improve things, cheaper chintzier parts can compromise our safety and reliability, and severely weaken the possibilities that the newer technologies could and should acheive.
Cheers!
"Learn more to earn more. Money making skills, not college." ~ Hidden Riches
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Hi, I also think the 3500 option would be for sure the best. Regarding used van’s its hard to say what milage is good, really depends on the last owners. But when I’m looking for a van myself (or reccomending to clients) i would consider anything around 60k miles quite safe. Much over that and when you are trying to resell you might have some difficulties due to high milage.
Rain
KämpingVan
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Good info, Van_D! Curious… what make is your van and bus? Have you run into any issues finding replacement parts or mechanics capable of working on them?
Greetings!
1973 Dodge B350 Travco high top camper van with 360° of windows like a passenger van. 318 engine, & automatic transmission. The interior had been gutted when I bought it, so I rebuilt it to my specs. Much simpler than original, but 100% comfortable, convenient, & reliable. Bullet proofed by me.
1973 Silver Eagle bus, originally a Trailways bus, then it was a church bus when I bought it. I removed & sold the seats for more than I paid for the bus. The original bathroom was intact & working, so I simply turned it into a wet bath by adding a shower. It will currently seat & sleep up to 10 comfortably. I built it so family or friends could join me occasionally, and/or to retire in, in a trailer park.
Now that I have two traveling companions, the bus keeps us comfortable, and we can live & work while traveling. I’m towing a mini van for excusions & a grocery getter. I built it out as a 3 seater, but only a 1-2 person camper. I’ve slept in it, and worked from it, but never actually camped in it yet, even though it’s stocked & ready to accommodate all 3 of us by using a tent for the ladies.
Cheers!
"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid
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