![]() If you don’t believe me, look at the stats. When’s the last time you tried to cram seven or eight people in a Caravan? That means a van that can not only haul her kids, but their friends, too. I consider her a really salt-of-the-earth person who looks for functionality in a product and wants to keep the family together. But I kept thinking about our neighbor Donna, a person I really admire. It’s tall and boxy and doesn’t have a lot of personality. She: I’ll admit that I wasn’t running out to the driveway to coo over the Safari. But I have to tell you, driving the lumpy Ohio Turnpike, it didn’t take long for me to develop a case of nausea to go with my leg cramps. With the big 4.3 V-6, you can tow a pretty sizable boat or trailer. OK, the all-wheel-drive option is a great feature and I don’t even mind the truck chassis. He: I’m sorry, but I’m not one of those enlightened buyers who have discovered the dubious joys of owning and driving a Safari or its counterpart, the Chevrolet Astro. Nine times out of ten, the woman is driving and the guy is snoring in the passenger seat. Besides, I’ve seen the caravans down I-75 at Easter and Christmas vacation. I agree that it is a little bit of a squeeze up there in the driver’s seat, but if you’re a short-legged, 5-3 person like me, you’re probably not going to suffer too much. She: You’re blaming the Safari for your big EEE feet? Now that’s fair comment and criticism. The cramp in my left foot from having no space whatsoever on the driver’s side was enough to convince me. I drove it from Detroit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He: I sure wasn’t sold on it and I didn’t even have to go as far as Disney World to make up my mind. We did – and at least half of the family was sold on it. ![]() If you’re towing a big boat or camper or regularly take your three kids plus grandparents to Walt Disney World on vacation, you may want to take a hard look at the Safari, which can seat up to eight people. And because it’s based on a truck chassis, not a car like many minivans, it drives like a truck. It doesn’t have a fourth door and unless you get the all-wheel-drive package that we had on our $30,560 test vehicle, you must settle for rear-wheel drive. The Safari’s looks haven’t changed much since its original design in 1985 and it has been a bit slow to catch up to competitors. (Duct taping the u-joints to keep the caps on is a good idea too.It’s easy to overlook – or even have a field day criticizing – the 1997 GMC Safari SLT AWD mid-size van. This keeps the drivesaft in the transmission to prevent fluid leakage. In that case, what I do (not with my van, but other RWD vehicles) is disconnect the drivewhaft at the rear axle and bungee it to something nearby. If you are only towing once in awhile, then the added expense of a disconnect would be hard to justify. to something with a manual transmission that can be flat towed without having to do anything more than connecting (an adustable) tow bar. and on a cold rainy day it is downright miserable! We are going to switch vehicles shortly. We tow our Ford Focus behind out motorhome on a tow dolly and it is a royal PITA!! I've got the procedure down, and can do it fairly quickly, but there is no getting around having to crawl around up under the towed vehicle. If you are using it as a toad, go with a disconnect (if available) as Gary suggested.
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