Re: [NSVC] Van or trailer?

Personally, I'd go with a van (My Dad had a 9 passenger
van for 10 years, which I learned to drive in). Why? Well,
with either vehicle, you CAN rent a trailer, if you need it,
however, the van can take more people on a trip than a
truck. Also, anything in the van is more secure than stuff
in the truck bed. Say you wanted to go mountian biking,
you can haul your bicycle inside where it is secure. If you
go camping, you can toss your stuff in the van without worrying
about stuff flying off a truck bed, and it's weatherproof.

People (kids) can walk around the back of a van and will not
be tied to their seats on a long road trip. Also, you can haul
around your kid's soccer team ... ;) Heh heh...

Gas mileage? I'm guessing about the same, since the truck bed
is none too aerodynamic (unless you take off the liftgate, or drive
with it off). But in high winds, a van is not fun to drive! It's like
driving a sailboat down the highway!

The back of a van (especially if it has a fold down bench/bed) is
a good place to sleep, especially if you've gone to a party far
away from home and drank too much (don't tell my Dad).

But, like I said, I have a soft spot for vans, particularly the big
ol extended Econolines.

Also, with a van, you can legitimately have some day-glo "paintings"
iwth black velvet background in your wood panelled rec room that
say "Super Van" or "Shaggin Waggin" or "Keep on Truckin'".
Plus you can hide the entire A-Team in it!

Just be warned that, whichever vehicle you get, your freeloading
friends will keep borrowing it to move!

Also, what's this "Haul your bike" crap? It has an engine, you know?
You might as well buy some leather chaps, a beanie cap and grow
a beard and beer belly for your trip down to Sturgis.

;)

V


----- Original Message -----
From: "Erik Weber" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 11:53 PM
Subject: [NSVC] Van or trailer?


I need a new daily driver. I also need something to haul my bike.

Van:
pros -- bike is sheltered, easier loading and unloading (one person can do
it), could camp in the van in a pinch
cons -- not good for a daily driver

Truck with a hitch:
pros -- good for a daily driver
cons -- must rent a trailer if I want my bike sheltered, loading and
unloading without a trailer sucks (tougher for one person)

My first idea was to buy a work van with no back seats and mount my
front-tire holder to the floor. Then I started thinking about a truck with a
hitch because it's a better general purpose vehicle and because I can rent
5x8 (covered) trailers from U-Haul for $20 per day.

Not sure what I will do yet. Anyone here using a van, and what do you think
of the van option? If I knew the right van to look for it would help.

Erik

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