best 4 person windsurf van?

[dllee]

Get two small Van's. Independence and freedom.

[swchandler]

If one wants to get an easy to drive good sized mini-van with stow-and-go seating, there's the Chrysler Pacifica. A good friend has one, and he's found that it's been great for moving many larger things around, but I have to say that he's not a windsurfer. Yet, they're not inexpensive, running a range from about $38-42K on average. Lot's of cameras on the van to make getting into tighter places easy.

[carl]

Another thing to consider if parking on the street: cargo vans can be a target
for break-in because thieves think there might be contractor tools inside.
A passenger van may be less of a target and you would already have the rear seats installed. Just take out and get rid of the seats not needed and put racks in.
Also getting a custom shop to properly install rear seats in a cargo van may be expensive because of liability concerns and due to safety regulations that would have to be applied. Whereas in a passenger van, you're just taking seats out so no liability or safety concerns.

[isobars]

Honda Motors and our local Honda dealer keep insisting that we bring in our Odyssey for a safety recall on our middle row of seats. We keep telling them that those seats are hanging from our 12-foot-high rafters and will will remain there until we wear the vehicle out. They decline to make a house call.

Some of us are neither LDS, Catholic, nor soccer moms, and haul dogs and/or stuff, not people.

[coachg]

Ten months ago I was in the same boat as the OP; looking to replace my Toyota minivan with a modern cargo van. I made a list of needs & shopped around extensively. One of the needs was four passenger capability & only the Dodge Promaster had seating above two in the cargo category, but that was only for three. When looking into having seats installed in the rear I ran into the issues that Carl explained, liability for lack of rear passenger safety features like air bags. I then considered the Ford Transit passenger van but the starting cost was significantly higher for passenger van vs. cargo van & then you would end up having to store or get rid of many seats so I ended up going back to a newer minivan.

At least it was fun touring & testing all the different euro style cargo vans. The cargo vans are sweet & can carry a ton of gear but I had to be realistic; 80% of the time I windsurf I only use one board for the day & the other 20% just two. Sail wise I probably only use one sail 95% of the time on any given day. On a road trip to Izzy, O'neill or the Gorge; that is a different story.

Coachg

[Goodwind]

It would work if a used van is in consideration. For example, in the following link is a 2018 Ford Transit Passenger Van with a reasonably low mileage of 27,296 miles and a reasonable price of $26,499. Remove the three seats behind the driver, install a board rack in its place and add a sails rack above the seats, you have a custom windsurfing vehicle capable of seating four (see pics). Believe me, a passenger van is cooler inside than a bare shell cargo van under the hot Sherman Island sun.

https://www.enterprisevansales.com/vehicle-details/2018-ford-transit-passenger-150-xlt--mid-roof-7-passenger-captain-seats-van-4af442a3ed45473daa0725a63becc29a

[coachg]

Nice setup. I do believe you that a passenger van is much cooler than a cargo van under the hot Sherman Island sun but I have to ask, what the heck are you doing in your van at Sherman Island? I'm only in my vehicle long enough to park & then again when I drive away; the rest of the time I'm on the water or having lunch at one of the tables.
$27,296 is a little high considering one of my windsurfing buddies bought a brand new Promaster for $27,000 then built it out; insulation, fan, solar, etc..

Coachg

[swchandler]

To better highlight the Chevy van, I included the following photos. In the loaded up photo there are 6 of the 7 boards I kept in the van, to include 4 booms, 6 masts, sails from 3.9 to 8.3, and everything else under the sun. I also included a photo of the interior, less windsurfing gear, just before I disassembled the interior that I designed and built. The Chevy is far less boxy overall, and a bit more complicated to build out, it's still provided a lot of versatility.

As an aside, I still have the complete interior, less the plywood floor, should anyone be interested. Moreover, I have many detailed photos showing how it was all goes together.

[Goodwind]

Coachg, "best 4 person windsurf van" is what we are looking at. I just want to remind you that OP and your "main" criteria is a van that accommodates four. As you and others have concluded, the regulatory hurdles and expenses rule out cargo vans. Your friend actually got a killer deal with a new Promaster at $27,000. The cheapest Promaster Low roof 118WB is $31,245 today which is 18% more expensive than my $26,499 Passenger Transit. My Hot Sherman Island Sun reference is for the poor boards stored inside the windsurfing vehicles.

[coachg]

I wasn't suggesting the OP get a Promaster, I was pointing out that $27,000 was a little high for a used van with nearly 30,000 miles and used my friends van as a cost comparison. The dealer was asking $33,000 for his high roof Promaster and they were asking nearly $40,000 for the new van I just bought, not the $33,000 they were willing to take.

As I said it earlier; I don't think the OP has much choice other than some type of passenger van because of liability issues with installing rear seats in cargo vans. Down the road this will be a sweet option.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQut6ks3nSY&t=1010s

Coachg