Old Van- flip it or pimp it?

Hello all! I recently bought a 2005 Chevy Astro and built it out for storage and sleeping, as well as laying a complete cover of deadening matt and some foam matt for insulation. I have a medical condition where I am more sensitive to noise and bright lights, and on a recent road trip I found driving the van (from 75-85mph) very unpleasant- loud, and very bright at night with lights in rear-views. Do yall think its worth putting some money into further developing the van? and if so any solutions to these problems? or will a 2005 astro always be loud and unstable in those conditions and I should try to sell?

many thanks!

Kyle

Greetings!

You didn’t mention whether it is a cargo van or a passenger van. A stripped out passenger van or a cargo van is always going to be considerably louder than a stock passenger van with the floor, walls, and ceiling left intact.

Astro’s of that age weren’t really designed for that much speed either. Considering my full sized high top van probably gets at least as good gas mileage, and drives as quiet as a Cadillac, I wouldn’t waste my time on an astro.

Cheers!


"Gutting or stripping a rig is usually a very bad choice." ~ VanLife



Thanks for that response van_dweller! It was a passenger van. Yes the gas milage is crap, may be the time to start looking for an upgrade!

Greetings!

Mine’s and oldie but a goodie, a 1973 Dodge Travco camper van. 1 ton with the high top and windows all around, the same as a 15 passenger van. It has the 318 engine, gets 15/18 mpg, and is approaching 500k miles on the original engine and transmission. In the 10+ years I’ve owned it, it has needed no major repairs only minimal maintenance, and I’ve put 250k miles on it myself.

I bought it for $750, but the interior had been stripped. The owner discovered they were in way over their head to restore it, so they sold it at a $6k loss to me. Promoters online had convinced them to gut it, toss everything, and start over, even though it was in good shape to start with. I restored the floor, walls, and ceiling from wrecking yards, but wasn’t to interested in restoring the entire original interior. Getting it live in ready cost $200-$300. Not bad for a marvelous house on wheels, and I’ve certainly got considerably more than my moneys worth out of it.

I’ve also had good luck with cheap 70’s Dodge powered motorhomes. Had several for under $1500 that were move in ready when I bought them. These old Dodges just seem to run forever. Decent mpg too.

No sense spending big bucks to do a conversion when it can be done so cheaply, or something move in ready can be bought so cheap. Just steer clear of owner built or modified stuff because never know about the quality or safety of what some non qualified person has done.

Cheers!


"Gutting or stripping a rig is usually a very bad choice." ~ VanLife



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