[Fot] Towing

[BillDentin at aol.com]

In a message dated 01/28/2010 1:03:01 PM Central Standard Time, 
riverside at southslope.net writes:


> Any body try one of the airport
> shuttle bus Diesels??
> 
> 

Amici...

For the last four or five years I have been towing a 24' enclosed trailer 
and a race car with a 1995 Chevrolet G30 (One Ton) cargo van.  It's previous 
owner was the National Guard (Texas).  I bought it on ebay in the summer of 
2004 when it had just over 40,000 miles.  Inside I mounted peg board on one 
side and shelves on the other.  It will store and carry pretty much anything 
I want to bring along.  A one ton van is a beast size wise, is sprung like 
a five yard dump, but it has a very civil ride, and is very comfortable.

This vehicle has the early 6.5 liter diesel engine (not Chevy's best effort 
ever).  Starts and runs just fine, but tends to struggle a little bit on 
steep hills.  It used to be even worse, but I've helped myself quite a bit by 
converting to Marine Injectors (thanks to FOTer Mark Craig), and also 
opening up the exhaust system.  The latter made the van sound more like a race car 
than the race car.  At some point I would like to convert to a Marine Pump 
as well.    

I've used a bunch of different tow vehicles (cars, panel, pickups, 
converted vans) down through the years.  All of them had their good and bad points, 
but I really like this big One Ton Cargo Van, and I don't have a ton of 
money tied up in it.

Bill Dentinger