monstrocity

Hi guys,

Recently I've been considering expanding my collection with a conversion "travel van" for the family.

GM seems like the way to go. I think I could get a 15yo nice well-kept Savana and Express van, including TV and other goodies, for around $10K or less. And where I live it could qualify for dirt-cheap collector insurance if it was 2000 or older. So even if I only took 2-3 major family road trips per year it would be worth having.

Questions for our esteemed group here:

-What are the best years/powertrains to look for?
-Any preferred customizers like Explorer, Rockwood, and so on? Any to avoid?
-Anything to watch out for once they get a little older (sunroofs, electronics, and so forth?)
-I'm sure performance and handling isn't great. Anyone have performance mod tips?
-Is there a forum for these vans?
-Finally Canadian angle: is there an issue importing these from US to Canada? I've imported a car before but seem to recall special rules for these kinds of vehicles.


Would love to start a discussion I think there are some real good values out there.

belmor

I bought an 08' GMC conversion van at an auction when I was a car dealer to bring to Florida to work on my boat before we moved here.

It had the 6.0L and was a big, heavy pig that got less than 10 MPG on the interstate.

If you are looking at 15 year old vans they should be in the $3-6K range, no more and that is if they are really nice. Mechanically they are pretty dependable, the electronics will be extremely outdated. I can't speak for the converters.

For price comparison, the van I bought had less than 30k miles on it and cost $65,000 new, I paid $18k at a dealer auction and sold it for $22k a short time later.

~B~

White Out

No clue about the newer vans. I had a '92 TMC base. It did quite well for what it was. If you're looking for pre-'00, that's going to be the same van. LS based motors didn't start until '99 in the trucks.

Based on my '00-07 Yukon XL, Yukon Denali & Tahoe experience; get the 6.0 if you're going to only use the truck with a lot of weight. The Denali would get same mpg towing a Subaru as it did with one person in the truck. Sensibility says go with the 5.3 if you're going to use the Van frequently, but the 6.0 doesn't weigh any more and puts out significantly more power. MPG in the conversion van, especially with a roof extension is going to be very low.

I don't know if it's an option, but don't buy the 8.1.

Personally, I would go with a used LSx based Denali XL for road trips over the van. Throw some TV's in the headrest and call it a day. Much easier to sell when you're done with it too.

monstrocity

Thanks guys that is some good info.

Belmor: thanks for the pricing tip. I was checking autotrader and a few van specialist dealers. But on CL you are right there were plenty of cheaper vans in the $6K range. It still seems like great value but I have read online that anything not OEM (like seats, trim) is pretty flimsy after 15 years. You can see by the pictures.

White out: Thanks for the engine info. Denalis are cool but as a "hobby car" I am more in to a van. Seems more retro and unique.


Anyone have info on the best builders? Or builders to avoid?

White Out

No clue about who's the best builder.

I sold the TMC when it was 8 years old. Everything held up very nicely.

Closer_2001

I'd search hard for a Duramax equipped rig from someone who had a similar idea and wants to upgrade to a Sprinter or something a bit larger. Other posts indicate what I'd expect - but outfitting these things and making mechanical repairs is where your cost will be, not on acquisition.

If you could make minor electronic and mechanical updates to something already pretty cool - I think you are ahead of the game. My insurance company already provides pleasure use designation which should help...