Windsurfing vehicle, Mini Van ,SUV,Honda Element or box van

[sergem]

[carl]

[isobars]

I was speaking more about the driver than the vehicle. All this talk of driving slowly, Priuses (my neighbor's first-gen Prius can't maintain the 40 mph speed limit on the hill we live on), Granny, etc. sounds awfully laid back. Man, when it's windy and I'm not "there" yet, fuel mileage is the last thing on my mind. You know what they say: getting there is half the fun. Heck, my old original Astro van got me from Albuquerque to Hood River in 19 hours with ease, and half of that is two-lane blacktop. Even my motor home is fun to drive on twisty two-lane blacktops when my priority switches from fuel consumption and cops and deer to the OEM speed governor and maximizing my shred time. You guys are sweatin' the difference between 30 and 40 mpg while I'm down in the single-digit range. Oh, that I had such things to sweat.
But I bought it @ closer to a buck a gallon and ain't going to dump it now. ;-(

Make sure whatever you buy is comfortable and suitable for all your priorities in the long haul, so those cross-country trips will be remembered as GOOD times, not hard work. Once you buy and modify a gear-hauling vehicle, the idea of changing vehicles and starting over is a real turnoff. I built my first SERIOUS conversion knowing full well I may have to change a few engines and transmissions before I had to build another one. And, for me, that was a good decision.

\m/

[carl]

[isobars]

[U2U2U2]

[keycocker]

In the past hiway deaths were not classified by car types.My nephew at GM said that last two years they broke the info down into catagories and the most deaths occurred in SUVs, according to him. He cares because his job is to market SUVs, and he mainly tried to talk about how safe your family would be in his cars.
It was all the rollovers that made them win the deathtrap award, but a large group also died from losing control in evasive situations.
It would be reasonable to guess mMke is good at those driving situations, but maybe some obese guy from Texas bragging on his cell phone about how safe he is in his Hummer...

[U2U2U2]

Measured the Element , behind drivers seat is only 5', 8 ' on passenger side "with" the seat down flat, which now means just 1 seat. Height is ok for 3 or 4 boards, but would have to be very creative to fit them into some rack, and they would take up lots of width. The Odyssey is slightly better on length, behind drivers around 7', same concerns as Element on passenger side, and rack.
Have yet to look at Toyota & Dodge or Chrysler products.

I don't intent to live out of this, or camp extensively, an occasional night rather than a hotel when on the road, so a platform with a matress would do. No plans for a fridge. I do want it to carry 3 or 4 boards that are 8' long, and have a usable passenger seat, not interested in plowing snow or driving on the beach, the MPG difference is not a problem
The mini-vans unfortunate ,DO no more for me on interior room than a older Isuzu Trooper I had.

At this point I'm about just about ready to look only at cargo vans, the General Motors AWD versions look interesting, Fords seem to be the most popular, I don't see this as a daily vehicle or for use for amost anything else, except windsurfing gear.
should be no problem to change the seats for something more comfortable ,
finding a good used one may be a problem, I think most are in commerical use, and may not have the best of care. The majority of posts have been very helpful, so thanks to all

[carl]

[carl]