NLB

For your 2003+ model years which door is better: the sliding door or the folding doors? By better I mean more reliable, more functional.

I'm looking at getting a 3500 passenger. I've heard of the folding doors getting bound up, I've heard of the sliders sticking. So which one is more reliable long term? What other points do I need to consider?

Also, anyone ever see a conversion for a remote slider? Minivan's have had them for 10+ years and I've never seen them on a full size. I love my dual remote sliders on my minivan!


NLB

StevenQ

Sliding door. Keep it clean and lubricated and it will fine. Barn door always gets dented from hitting opening passenger door. Hinges are failure prone and not cheap to replace. Secondary door hinges seize up from lack of use. Lubricating often is important if you choose this.

NLB

Thanks to DTrucker1 for posting the multiple threads about the problems with the hinges. I guess I'm not clear on whether it's an easy fix or not tho...and I still don't know what to think about the slider.

MrRob

Sliding doors are noisy (& are just as likely to ware out), so when camping I prefer the barn doors on our Roadtrek to the sliding doors that are normally found on euro vans.

Our RT has a shortened strap on the front barn door to prevent it (and the ground effects) clashing with the front passenger door.
I would prefer a sliding door on a van that wasn't a camper.

jampg

I tried them both. My vote.... Cargo doors.
My 2011 has a slider and I'm not real impressed with the ease of opening and closing. One other issue I have is when the van is parked on a grade like at a boat ramp and someone opens the slider.. look out because its going to slide open and hit hard when it hits the end of the track. This door needs to be dampened to prevent damage.

Now the cargo doors... Easy to open and close just keep the hinges well lubed.
My 2 cents.

tech2

if you don't lube the door pins regularly, the cargo doors will seize. If they are lubed every oil change with the proper lubricant they work fine.

the sliders work well and would be the choice if you don't maintain your vehicle.

auto sliders are expensive to fix if they break or you can just cut the cable and voila, manual sliders.

NLB

I've never seen auto-sliders on a full size van...are they available? How much does it cost to add them aftermarket?

tech2

your right, they don't make a sliding door for a full size van. Gm doesn't even make a mini van anymore let alone one with sliding doors.

NLB

My wife wants the slider....so if all goes well we will be getting a 12 passenger '11 3500 this week.

I want the barn doors, but, such is life.

NLB

Well, that fell through. They sold it before I could make it there. It was 3k less than other comparable ones, so I'm not surprised.

On the topic though...I have test driven one and found that the sliding door is not like the olden days. The slider was easy to open and easy to close, even to close tightly. I didn't have my 7 yo with me for her to try it but think she could definitely do it from the inside.

So, I'm not opposed to the slider now. And there are drawbacks to the cargo doors, so...