Our family is looking into purchasing a 15 passenger van. Probably a Chevy. Just wondering if you have/had one what your thoughts are.
My friend has had an Econoline van for forever. I think it's close to 15 pass. Even though her kids are all moved out she won't part with it, she loves the people & cargo capacity. I've known her 10 years & she's had the same one that whole time.
Hi C.,
I have a 15 pass van, and I love it! We bought GMC, but friends of ours bought the exact same model from Chevy. They are great vans. They now have Stabilitrac, which helps keep them stable and they are much safer than they used to be. Also, you don't need any type of special license to drive them. In Colorado, you can drive up to 15 passengers without a special license.
We have 6 children, but take out the last seat so that each row carries two children comfortably. The kids love the van. I really like driving it. It isn't the easiest to park, but you figure that out easily enough. With the last seat removed, we have tons of space in the back for things like groceries, strollers, anything you buy (furniture, etc.!). And, when family or friends are in town, we just pop the back seat in and we're good to go! Love it! I highly recommend it.
We ended up going with a 12 over a 15, though we has originally planned on a 15 and test drove only 15s. We ended up finding a great deal on a 12 out of state (via Craigslist) that was too good to pass up. Since we didn't really need the extra three seats, we jumped on it. After having driven all of the 15s we looked at, the 12 felt like a compact! lol (We had a Suburban for years and it really didn't feel much different from driving that)
One thing to think about is that with 15s, the back bench is right up against the back doors, really not leaving any space for anything back there. The 12 has plenty of space behind the back bench for anything we've ever needed to stow there-a big help!
We have a Chevy Express and absolutely love it!
Also, just fyi, our insurance didn't even bat an eye when we checked about getting them, and there are no restrictions in most states as far as licensing as long as you aren't using it as a shuttle where you are constantly transporting others for a business, etc.
Ours is not a 15 passenger but it is a fullsize conversion van with a high top. I love it. It is a GMC, hubby is a Chevy man. We are about to go over 200,000 miles and it's still going strong.
There were so many issues with the 15 passenge vans flipping when a blowout happened while driving on the highway that many child care centers stopped using them. The state didn't make them stop but they chose to for safety issue.
If I were looking to buy a larger van I would look into buying a 12 passenger van. The frame is not as big as the 15 passenger van and they don't flip as easy. But if you really need a 15 passenger vehicle then I suggest looking into those mini buses that transit companies are using now.
The ones shown on the front page of this add go from just over $20,000 up to several hundred dollars a month.
http://tescobus.com/
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http://busgroup.com/childcare_buses.htm?gclid=CO2pvaXV-KA...
my grandma has one, and its awsome! Drives like a small car. and all the rows are roomy enough not cramped. Hers is a chevy.
15 Passenger vans can be very dangerous mostly because they are used sporatically by people who have very little experience on this type of vehicle. If you look at the statistics, the vast major of accidents with this van happen on fieldtrips and church outings. As they are driven by teachers and faculty that have average driving skills and no additional training. These vans are very top heavy and can be unstable if not driven correctly, so I would suggest that you look into some type of advanced driving course to teach you how to better handle the van before you purchase one.
The problem is the height and the length of the frame and not the number of seats or people inside. I would agree that if you have the option, looking in to a 12 passenger van is safer and possibly more economical.
We had a Ford Club Wagon when I was growing up (family of 7) and it was great. It was designed to hold 8 people, but it had room for another seat in the back. We drove it across the country and even hauled the horse trailer with it. My dad finally retired it after 300K miles when the all the kids moved out and the extra space was not needed anymore. I am not much of a car person, but I do know that the vast majority of the public transit vans and the smaller campers are on Ford chasses.
Yes, you do need a Class C CDL to drive a 15 passenger van in Colorado. I am not sure if that applies if you only carry your family, but it is probably not very realistic to think that you will never have someone else in your van. Plus, the purpose of the extra license requirement is to require the extra training that is essential to keep these van safe.
We had a Chevy 15 passenger van for a while. It was reliable and nice for carrying around a big family. It was, however, a gas guzzler (no surprise there) and it was a pain to park. Unfortunately, they are also not the safest vehicles to drive. Because of their tall profile, they are prone to rolling easily. We actually just had some friends have a terrible accident in their 15 passenger van because the driver over-corrected and rolled it, killing one of their children and injuring four other people in it. If you need all the room, you don't have a lot of choices. If you don't need as much room, you might careful consider your other choices. Good luck.
My family had one growing up and it was great for trips (we had 8 people in our family) so it gave us all plenty of room...just be prepared for the question "what church are you guys with?"...once we got that a few times, we just figured out a funny response to tell people!
As far as luggage room, we would just pull out the last row of seats and had LOTS of room for all our luggage!
I've never been able to bring myself to go ahead and purchase one. I really don't like them. However, if it came down to it, I'd choose the Chevy over the Ford. Looks nice, and more "stable" to me.
Brother has one with his 7 kids and they love it.... so do my kids when we get together as they can all ride with cousins. He has had it for over 10 yrs. and bought it 2-3 yrs old from a university. Hasn't had any big problems with it and drove it to Alabama to live a while, then Arizona to live and visit SLC then to move here. Come to think of it, they drove cross country to OK and N. Dakota too. You could even check ebay motors or if you are willing to come to utah, ksl.com autos. good luck and drive safe.
Oh, FUN!! Well, it could be. ;) I learned how to drive a large van like that when I was 16. We liked our chevy. It was fun actually! I don't know of any other large vans like that, though I'm certain they exist!! Good luck!
Check with your insurance company if they cover them. Most do not, at least for schools and churches. Also, check the current laws, but I know a friend of mine's mom had to get a CDL to drive one if she was taking anyone other than immediate family with her. I know the churches we've been at have preferred the Chevys. I'm not sure why, though. We did have a Dodge at one place. As far as safety goes, it seems the 12 passenger vans are much safer, at least according to the insurance companies. Taking the back seat out of a 15 passenger does the same thing as long as you don't use that as added cargo room.
