Tow vehicles

[Crazyswede]

the real downside to the ural is the fuel economy. the 375's with the petrol engine were good for about 2.5 to 3 mpg. the 4320's had a 10.8 litre diesel V8 and were in the 5 to 7 mpg range. oh...top speed about 50 mph with stock drivetrain.

[DeLorean]

No diesel is the a big drawback for the Astro.

I would say the major drawback with the astro van is the fact it's a deathtrap...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kuSghb7P7U

I would not drive one of those things.

[KPAero]

Top speed won't be an issue. With the ability to ford rivers and traverse deep mud bogs I won't be bothered with highways, I'll just head straight towards my destination.

5-7mpg doesn't sound bad, I'd only be looking at about ~40 gallons of diesel to get to Burke. I'd say the downsides would be clearly outweighed by the benefits of owning such a bad ass rig. That settles it then, where can I find this Ural?

Ural would probably be pretty safe too, especially with a top speed of 50.

[KPAero]

No diesel is the a big drawback for the Astro.

I would say the major drawback with the astro van is the fact it's a deathtrap...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kuSghb7P7U

I would not drive one of those things.

Not a bad point. I also don't really see the benefit of an Astro over a full size van as a tow vehicle, especially when regular vans appear to be more plentiful.

check out how well this pontiac does in the crash test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7gSxmk1 ... re=related

[Crazyswede]

Top speed won't be an issue. With the ability to ford rivers and traverse deep mud bogs I won't be bothered with highways, I'll just head straight towards my destination.

5-7mpg doesn't sound bad, I'd only be looking at about ~40 gallons of diesel to get to Burke. I'd say the downsides would be clearly outweighed by the benefits of owning such a bad ass rig. That settles it then, where can I find this Ural?

Ural would probably be pretty safe too, especially with a top speed of 50.

do a google search for "vermont unimog" should get you to the webpage. the safe thing about a ural truck is that the front bumper is probably at the height of a suburbans windshield.

[SwedeSport]

Totally cool, but where would you sleep in this.

[SwedeSport]

This is big enough to put a sleeper box up front toward the cab.

[99Super]

No diesel is the a big drawback for the Astro.

I would say the major drawback with the astro van is the fact it's a deathtrap...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kuSghb7P7U

I would not drive one of those things.

Yeah, I think you've said that before but fact is, they have a very good crash history. I have yet to see one in the yards with anything more than minimal crash damage. If you look at the IIHS ratings, they are substantially better than average. Certainly better than the infamous Ford 12/15 passenger vans. Known for wiping out whole sports teams and Mormon families...

The advantage of the Astro is the AWD and tow capability.

But hey, to each their own...

I mean, as long as we are just wishin', I'd have a Ford E-350/ Chevy 3500 Diesel Sportmobile w/ the Quigley 4wd conversion.

john

[Geoff]

Right after I got my E350 7.3L Diesel there was an older E350 (gas) that had a 4x4 (maybe Quigley) conversion on it for sale for $500 in my town. I think the van was pretty trashed but I had some sick fantasies about buying it and pulling the 4x4 conversion stuff out and putting it into mine. Of course someobody reminded me that I should spend the time on real cars instead :-P

[turbo stephan]

do a google search for "vermont unimog" should get you to the webpage. the safe thing about a ural truck is that the front bumper is probably at the height of a suburbans windshield.

Thanks for the info. I love the 8x8 MAN Truck http://www.vermont-unimog.com/MAN-KAT4x4.html. Reminds me of Germany. Also, my Dad was a truck driver and MANs were clearly the best. They took over the "Unterflur" concept from Buessing. Unterflur literally means "under the floor" and describes the location of the engine behind the cabin and underneath the cargo area. This is an older truck but check out from 40s onward http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj7VZaLlKBw

[DrewP]

I just found this guy, this would make a killer paddock truck:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ct ... 54234.html

Onboard generator that puts out 110v and 240v, onboard air compressor, storage cabinets, yada yada yada. It's almost certainly gas, but there's a decent chance the 3500 has the 454 and they actually move OK.

[Geoff]

All you'd need is a carport and you'd have a basic garage.
Too bad it's so far away.

You might want to try this place: http://www.upstateautosalesinc.com/ in Hoosick Falls, NY. Snakes Malone recommended it to me. I've been by a few times and usually drive through the lot when I pass, just for kicks. They have tons of used utility trucks, etc. Their website is no good but call for current inventory. The last time I went by they had at least 100 Astro Vans, plus all sorts of other stuff.

[Crazyswede]

All you'd need is a carport and you'd have a basic garage.
Too bad it's so far away.

You might want to try this place: http://www.upstateautosalesinc.com/ in Hoosick Falls, NY. Snakes Malone recommended it to me. I've been by a few times and usually drive through the lot when I pass, just for kicks. They have tons of used utility trucks, etc. Their website is no good but call for current inventory. The last time I went by they had at least 100 Astro Vans, plus all sorts of other stuff.

its about an hour from me and on my way to the KTM/Husaberg dealer if you need info on a particular van/truck.

[KPAero]

Tow vehicle acquired! 1998 Chevy 2500 van. Just drove it home, more to come later.