I had an AWD safari I used as a work van for years when I was a finish carpenter. I loved that van and it would go anywhere. Btw Chrysler brought back AWD last year or the year before
One all purpose vehicle
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Ugly and noisy the Aerostar was. Not sure it is classic material but I see one still running around every once in a while.
It would pull a pop up camper with 4 bikes 3-6000 miles every summer for 10 years. A transmission failure was the only time it really let us down. It was a favorite game to car spot other donor vans. And to see what would eventually replace the van. Practicality won.
can’t say the same for the ford. No one was sad to see it go. Was replaced by a Sienna, and that by another sienna. Neither had AWD and my dad didn’t miss it.
It would pull a pop up camper with 4 bikes 3-6000 miles every summer for 10 years. A transmission failure was the only time it really let us down. It was a favorite game to car spot other donor vans. And to see what would eventually replace the van. Practicality won.
Yes, that was the GMC version of the Chevy Astro. They are still cherished for compact camper conversions. I missed buying one several years ago by an hour. Ended up getting a Eurovan camper instead.
I had a Pacifica hybrid as a rental, the electric portion is a joke. At full charge it was something like 30 miles and after a 15 minute freeway drive it was 0.
In the week I had it I never saw much difference over a normal van and it definitely doesn't deserve the $8k premium over the base model.
I considered a Pacifica instead of the Dodge and tested the hybrid. It is a different animal than the Volt's drive system and imo not as refined. A visit to the Pacifica forums showed that owners were dissatisfied that the gas mileage was not much more than the regular van. In the end that helped sway me to getting the Dodge used from Hertz. They had both, but Pacifica's mileage was higher and the price was too (+$6,000). The Pacifica was more car-like and fancier, but I needed a more practical utility vehicle. The Grand Caravan's mileage was low (24k) and the price was good ($18k) for a 2 yr old vehicle. It's the GT version with all the bells and whistles.
The eurovan campers are really nice. I think nicer than most of the Astro/safari ones I have seen. But I like the Astro van itself better than the VW
It was a nice van and I kept it for a few years, but then went larger to a couple of RoadTreks, then to a camper on the F150. Eventually, I got off the merry-go-round and gave up on having a camper for my wife. She simply is not a camper. It's a shame, we stayed at some beautiful spots. There are a lot of special places out here. The Dodge is soooo much simpler and practical. Fortunately, she still concedes to a once-a-year, overnight campout with friends in it.
My wife is currently trying to convince me to get a camper. I am not sold on the idea yet haha. My idea of camping is carrying everything in on a trail still. But she is slowly converting me to a more luxurious form of camping.
Careful, that's how it happened to me too. We had a weekend where it was raining, so instead of tenting borrowed my parents trailer, next year we owned a fifth wheel. That one burnt down in a fire at the dealer, so I wanted to get a smaller one, she wanted a bigger one, so we got a bigger one. Now this is our idea of camping:
![[Hearth.com] One all purpose vehicle](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/297/297378-eefff5e316d44f3e7869ffaf8328127c.jpg?hash=6BEoJS_j-x "[Hearth.com] One all purpose vehicle")
Sooner or later it comes down to economics. Paying for the higher cost, the fuel, maintenance & upkeep, higher park fees, insurance, etc. for a vehicle that sits idle 95% of the time gets old.
![[Hearth.com] One all purpose vehicle](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/297/297631-9fbea7c43d2f93b86a64340c8f7e759f.jpg?hash=gieWQGl4u7 "[Hearth.com] One all purpose vehicle")
Got a new battery for the Silverado yesterday. Was concerned at first, it idled very low and stalled a few times. Let it sit for a couple hours, then it idled fine after starting. Drove it for about a mile then was fine. Maybe the CPU had to reset?
While working I'll keep this as a backup vehicle.
While working I'll keep this as a backup vehicle.
tlc1976
Minister of Fire
Yes that’s common. After the battery is disconnected or gone dead, the computer typically has to relearn the idle.
Ok thanks. Even a 2002 I guess. That wasn't the case with my first 3 cars from the 1970s!
Very normal. Only thing that may be worth doing is cleaning the MAF sensor, being dirty they can make the start up after replacing batteries a rougher.
