I think about trading the 6.5TD Tahoe for a '99 or '00 Dodge B2500 (5.2) or B3500 (5.9) van for tax reasons as diesel engines are getting more and more expensive in road tax over here. The 6.5TD costs me nearly 2700$/yr. instead of 600$ for the 5.9 gasser. Fueling the gasser with LPG brings it down to the same cost per mile as the diesel.
Anyway, the question is: Is the B-series van any good for towing ? The US forces are currently selling a lot of '00 B2500 and 3500 extended vans for less than 2k$ in quite a good shape.
I need the space of a van (the bigger, the better :D ) to haul the kids, dog and junk in the back and tow my 6000 lbs flatbed trailer with brakes to the trails. The 6k lbs is with my junk on it, though. Anything particular to look at at the B-series ?

i would say anything you can pull with that gas version of a 2500 pickup the van can tow....maybe a few hundred pounds less bc of the extra weight the van might have over a pickup

I would probably try to get one with the 5.9L if possible. I've never towed with a Dodge van, but my 5.9L trucks that I have had have done fine for similar loads to what you're talking about pulling.

Your tax system sucks ass...
































Ours will follow suit. :(

Thanks guys, now the decision comes easier. I'll try to get the 5.9 anyway, just for the extra kick :D
And yes, our tax system sucks big time ! On top of that we pay 5.50$ / gallon for gas right now, thats why I gotta convert to LPG which is less than half of the cost.

I think the dodge vans are unibody....

BTT

This is the new tow rig. Bought it in the auction last week and bring her home wednesday. Costs 3k$ for a '98 3500 with 20k mls on it and the 5.9 Magnum V8. Comes with a/c, auto, tow package, tow hitch and the bigger cooling system for tranny and engine as it's a canadian model.
No rear seats yet, instead has shelfs on both sides which I will keep partly.

http://www.vebeg.de/images/losbilder/76467.019_big.jpg

Just as an FYI, Dad has a '99 Dodge 3500 5.9l gasser and a 5spd. I've personally scaled the gooseneck trailer with a load of sweet cherries at over 36,000 lbs gross. The 5.9l works hard on hills (Dad did get the 4.10 gears!) but it does the job.

36k lbs ????????:eek::eek::eek:
This would give me some quality jail time here :shaking: Max. allowed total weight incl. trailer over here is 15k lbs

BTT

This is the new tow rig. Bought it in the auction last week and bring her home wednesday. Costs 3k$ for a '98 3500 with 20k mls on it and the 5.9 Magnum V8. Comes with a/c, auto, tow package, tow hitch and the bigger cooling system for tranny and engine as it's a canadian model.
No rear seats yet, instead has shelfs on both sides which I will keep partly.


Look here for your tow rating. I know the chart is for 99's but I don't
think there was any difference fom '98 to '99.

http://www.trailerlife.com/downloads/99towingguide.pdf

Look here for your tow rating. I know the chart is for 99's but I don't
think there was any difference fom '98 to '99.

http://www.trailerlife.com/downloads/99towingguide.pdf

Great ! That's what I was looking for. The 7400 lbs is already above the max allowed towing rate for brake equipped trailers w/o air brakes here, so I'm fine with that.
I picked it up today and drove it home for 200mls. Runs great and shifts smooth, but shouldn't it have a speed governor somewhere around 100mph ? I was doing 110 without problems :D