dberladyn

Thank you for that. Man, you have more options than I do! I like the extended, looks good.

sneakinup

This is what was in it...(first pic) Prisoner compartments. That is why there is a rear air system.

Second pic is with everything out... obviously.

It took me about 3 hours to remove the interior prisoner compartments. Hundreds of rivets! Now I have about 700 lbs. of 1/8" sheet aluminum to take to the recyclers.

There was just a bare painted metal floor, so I went to Home Depot and picked up some nice gray heavy duty carpeting with a plastic cushion moisture barrier and cut it all to fit. It really came out nice.

dberladyn

That interior looked cool enough to consider keeping. You could have run a side business rounding up... some kind of unsavory people.

I'm looking forward to figuring out my gas. If I can get over 500Km per tank in town, I can live with it. I'm still interested in the details of a fuel conversion though. Right now I am enjoying telling people I simply had the van "re-painted".

dberladyn

Hi,

I thought I would share. My first tank came in at 21.4L/100Km, the former van was averaging 19.7L/100Km over 4 months. As a bonus, I made my minimum Km's per tank requirement, so I am very happy. Hopefully it averages out even better.

Thank you to all who pushed me. Each day the decision is growing on me. I think I am really glad I did it.

PS. Although I do drive with a light foot, I love the fact that the power is there. I haven't used it and in due time I will give it a try, but you are all right. It's a real pleasure to drive.

greenfire

Glad it worked out for you. Even when you do use the power the computer is very efficient as how much fuel it feeds. Also don't forget your tire pressure is different on a 3500.

tsbrewers

obviously late to the party, but you will love the 6.0l, i love my 3500. My gas mileage was better than I expected too (about 14mpg average)

But, personally I couldn't have made the jump to black.

dberladyn

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I cringe at the black, yet it looks soooo good clean.

Honestly, I am still on the fence about fuel economy. I just filled up the tank for the second time and for reasons I don't have time to explain, I have not tracked the fuel properly, other than the fill odometer reading. The DIC stated 21.4L/100Km and the fill calculation worked out to roughly 25L/100km. I know it burned more fuel, it's noticeable when I watch the gauge while I drive.

The power is fun, but I still haven't really used it. I'm more interested in staying light on the pedal.


BCM UPDATES and my trip to the DEALERSHIP

One of the deals when I bought the truck was that they were going to install and enable the compass module. For the first time ever I had someone at a dealership (management) agreeing to install factory options that were not included in the original build (even though the sticker said it should be there).

Downtime is expensive for me, but I wanted that damn compass! I went in and paced the lot while the truck was in Service. It's surreal seeing your old ride on a lot. It really is! My old van looked foreign, but somehow familiar.

Anyways after 4 hours of having their "top" Electrical Tech on it... this was the outcome. Please remember I was tired and not in a skeptical, slightly aggressive personality state. I really wanted this, but I was so tired this day that I almost could have done without it. I don't sleep, but that's another story.

After nearly 4 hours the Tech told me he couldn't do it. I know he tried, at least he looked like he did, he was a good guy. But also, having said that, I know he didn't want to screw up a customer's brand new truck or rack up so many hours that his boss... chewed his *** off. Anyways, the outcome was I couldn't have the compass enabled because I had OnStar.... But if I had the factory Navigation he could enable it. I think this had something to do with the Compass module and the existing wiring harness.

Normally I would get upset and consider this as BS, I see Passenger Savanas with Onstar and a Compass. But, I know the guy put in the effort. Personally, I think he... it doesn't matter what I think, I'd probably be wrong. I've avoided thinking about things too much because I don't want to be upset. The dealership tried, right from the top down. Either that, or they put on a good show.

In lieu of not getting a working compass on the DIC the dealership is buying me the molded plastic panels for the cargo area. I know what their cost is, and honestly, it's not a bad trade off! Because of the Left Hand side doors, the kit isn't in stock. I won't get them for three weeks. I even get headers above the doors. My van is so uncommon, the biggest outfitter here in my city hasn't even seen one! They were impressed. Incidentally, so was the GM Tech, he had lots to say about what a great work van I bought. He sees all the beat up 1/2 tons come in, over worked and overloaded.

I'm happy, I just hope I can manage the fuel in the coming years.

tsbrewers

if you have an android or iphone, download an app like "fuelly" it makes it very easy to keep track of mileage, etc.

dberladyn

I use a different app, one that tracks daily mileage, all expenses, everything. It's easy, but I use it on tablet and the mount broke, so I am lazy... I forget to do it which is really bad. I do all the fill ups, but I need to get back to daily mileage tracking. The program will actually calculate what each trip cost in dollars.

sneakinup

Gas mileage update.... 4th tank of gas run through with combination driving. 80% local, 20% highway. 15.24 mpg this time around. Way better than I thought. I drive very casually. No jackrabbit starts, stay within a few miles of the posted speed limits, and generally baby the van. After all, it is a cargo van. Although, it is also a 2 seater.

In the next few weeks I have a long run to do that will be all highway. I will be interested to see what kind of mpg I get.