New to the forum. I just bought a 2021 Express Extended. It has the 6.6. If anyone has any questions I'll try and answer them.

 

Hi PJ,

was wondering how much road noise is there in the empty van? Looking at the same van and it might be a while before I could start on an interior build.

What are your intentions for your new van? I am wanting the extended van because I am just so tired of trying to fit bikes; motorcycles and camping stuff in a short bed truck. (Not all at once).


is the total inside height from floor to rib about 49”?

thank you,
Jon

 

I don’t think it too offensively loud. It is definitely less tin canny than my 05. The doors on it were very loud to close. The stock rear speakers might as well not be there. I just installed new ones yesterday. I listen to a lot of podcasts and I do have to turn the volume up pretty high occasionally to hear what they’re saying but that may be just the volume of their voices. Overall I’m really happy with it so far.

 

I used my 05 for work at first. I do auto glass and it was my full time gig up until about 5 years ago. I then transitioned it to mostly a camping van. I built a bed deck and mounted it in the rear of it. I plan on insulating it and am leaning toward spray foam. I have lots of customization plans for inside and out and I’m gonna try and get a YouTube channel up and running to document it. My current full time job gives me a lot of inspiration. I’ll post pictures of what I work on and of my 05.


My current day job involves working on these.

Coach interior.

Before I built the aluminum bed deck.

Aluminum bed deck under construction.

Typical outside setup when camping.

This is sort of the inspiration for the outside

 

At the middle rib of the interior the height is about 54”. With the light fixture it’s about 52 1/2”. And the rear opening is at about 49 1/2”.

 

The big box stores sell 1/8th inch plywood underlayment and I just got three sheets to do inside of my 94. $11 or so each. Very flexible but less likely to warp the way hardboard will, and it can be stained if you want. But I also found headliner material online for $10 a yard (60"x36") which I will do the upper three feet on each side, and got a nice carpet remnant at the big box store for $2.50 a square yard which will do the floor and lower side panels. A neighbor tossed a couple of sliding closet doors and I picked up to see if I can use them for a bed surface or something. I think they're hollow core though so trimming them may make them junk. But free is free, it's that or go buy another sheet of plywood and go a little thicker.

 

Congrats on your new van. I guess my only question would be have your driven a 6.0L L96 with the 6 speed to be able to compare the difference between the two engines. Ive had my eye on the new van just for the 6.6L but I got my 2019 for a dang good price and the tow ratings are identical but i understand in the real world that 6.6L is probably a big improvement. Also is your van a passenger or a cargo?

 

I actually bought a used 2020 with the 6.0 before I bought 2021. I got to looking at the 2020 and started seeing signs of repair and it had supposedly never been wrecked. I found the the left inner fender had been wrinkled and not fixed. At the very least the fender had been damaged. They came and took it back and undid the deal. I bought the new one at a different dealership a few weeks later. The power in the engines I would say is pretty close. I only drove the 2020 for 3 days and it for sure had much more power than my 2005 4.8. On the interstate I can be traveling with traffic and hit the gas to pass and it moves. I can hit the governor real quick.

 

It is a cargo extended. I don’t have anything in it at this point but it will eventually have a full stealth camper setup.

 

I was somewhat lead footed for the first few days and the MPG was a little concerning. I decided to try and be a bit more disciplined to see what the MPG actually would be. I’ve been driving with the cruise control set at 5 MPH over. I took a day trip from where I live to Tampa and the average got up to 17.8. The last few days it’s come down a little to around 17. I’m happy with that and will continue it to see what the average levels out at.