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  jay steinke September 24, 2011 at 11:33pm

  I have a 2004 Dodge Sprinter I'm selling. 83000 highway miles, stored indoors for the winter. It's a high top cargo van with a partition behind the drivers seat. Excellent shape . An incredble ride. I'm asking $18500 firm.
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  Leo Charette September 20, 2011 at 5:21pm

  I pulled a trailer for a few years, but like you, my preference was to not pull a trailer. The trailer was a nice intermediate step and gave me a chance to save up for the van and gave me time to better understand my needs.
  
  Last summer I sold the trailer and bought a Chevy Express 2500. This was a good decision for me. I would encourage you to befriend a dealer (Ford or Chevy). Funny story, I was at an art show and this gentleman and his wife came to my booth. He love one of my pieces but I could tell he wasn't going to buy. In our conversation I learned he was a Chevy dealer. I told him I was looking for a used cargo van and if he could find a good deal at auction we might be able to work a deal for the art. Sure enough I got a call a few weeks later and I bought the van for a little over 10k with new tires and he got the piece of art to hang in his office. The van had 50k miles and was very clean.
  
  If you buy a van, get one with a protective cage between you and your cargo...this is a must. And if you can, it is also helpful to get wall liners with tie down rings. The walls and tie downs have been great for me. The walls also buffer some of the road noise. Once you get the cargo van, it is very easy to build it out to your needs.
  
  The chevy has performed perfectly and I have taken it over 25k miles this year. That big honking V8 engine will climb any mountain effortlessly. Good luck.
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  Jim Parker September 20, 2011 at 11:01am

  By far the best solution for the average artist is a van. Ford is the most common, with the extended length. A larger engine will haul better (E250), but it won't necessarily get better mileage. Others have mentioned Enterprise as a good place to look for used vans.

  Sprinters are another option. Higher inside, more room than a van, better mileage. Downside: not as easy to have repaired. Uses diesel fuel, which may or may not be a blessing.

  Trailers are great when you want to keep your show inventory and display equipment packed and ready to go at any time. Personally, that's what I use, and I haul it with a truck designed for the task. Hauling a trailer with a small vehicle may overload the transmission and drive train, and cost you big repair bills down the road. Be sure to check Gross Vehicle Rating for your car -- it will tell you how much you can tow. Usually the figure includes passengers, load in the tow vehicle as well as the empty weight of the trailer + trailer contents. Trailers weigh more than you think. Even a small empty trailer can weigh 800 pounds.

  Here are a couple of posts on the subject, from my own perspective.

  The Evolution of the Artanic

  New Season, New Trailer, New Shows

   

  HTH
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  Michael Ries September 20, 2011 at 10:59am

  I'm not comfortable pulling a trailer, but thanks for the advice.
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  Jim Parker September 20, 2011 at 10:54am

  Actually, a trailer should be insured separately, at least for liability. When my trailer was stolen (locked in a Marriott Town Place Suites parking lot in Forth Worth), the trailer insurance covered the replacement cost. My business insurance covered the contents. It's a good idea to be sure that your trailer is covered, and it's unlikely that your automobile policy does that.
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  Michael Ries September 20, 2011 at 7:45am

  Thank you - I was expecting to have to build a false floor for storage of our tent - thanks for the inpuut
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  Robert Wallis September 19, 2011 at 10:25pm

  I just picked up a 2009 Ford E350 XLT 11/12 passenger van from Enterprise Car Sales on Pendleton Pike in Lawrence. The price was about the same as a used mini-van at $20K with 36K miles on it. The floor space is 10 feet from behind the front seats to the rear door. I have the 7 foot Pro-panels, and the legs will slide over the top of the first row seat, so only two seats need to be taken out. The seat brackets aren't flush with the floor like a minivan and instead stick up from the floor, so you either arrange tubs around them or add a floor to go above the brackets. I've arranged around the brackets, but the wasted space isn't a big deal as the extra room is unbelievable compared to a minivan.  I will make a removable floor with plywood and 2x4s that will be in sections for easy installation. The drawback to the larger van is the gas mileage which is 15mpg, but both Chrysler extended minivans I had did 20-21 mpg.