Truck or Van?
- Thread starter stalllingselectric
- Start date
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blue spark
Senior Member
- Location
- MN
I drive on the ice all the time. Shaves 10-15 minutes off getting into town. Just not in a fully loaded econoline.electriciangirl said:
Ravenvalor
Senior Member
- Location
- Piedmont region of NC
problem with sprinters
problem with sprinters
I called the dealer about the Dodge Sprinters. After he told me how small the engines were I lost interest. I need a big engine for my big load.
problem with sprinters
I called the dealer about the Dodge Sprinters. After he told me how small the engines were I lost interest. I need a big engine for my big load.
360Youth
Senior Member
- Location
- Newport, NC
I haven't taken the time to read all the posts, but here's my FWIW...I prefer a van for the stocking capabilities and weather issues, but I work out of truck to be able to haul certain things that would not fit well or at all in a van and I just don't feel like dealing with a trailer. If I had to choose, it would be a truck.
sparky_magoo
Senior Member
- Location
- Reno
Ravenvalor said:
I'm not even going to comment on that statement. I drive like an old man. I wan't good pay. I don't want my boss wasting money on fuel.
srblx said:
I't a gift. I have been doing it for MANY years so I do have a little advantage. I remember about 30 plus years ago watching two electricians dig thru the back of their pickup looking for a fitting...a 1"x1/2" reducer bushing I believe. They looked like idiots to me and I never wanted to be those guys.
The best part of every job I ever had was getting the truck set up.
My two cents on T vs V
first I will say I drove the sprinter and its easy to drive but I get into too many a tight spots where my express can only fit. I can make some parking garages as well. Also the sprinter will set you back 30-35k, my Chevy 20-22k, I would take a lot of fuel savings to make 10-12k up.
I had several different trucks, from just pickups with floor box, side box, cross box to complete dually service bed. The regular truck is OK for small jobs or job-site truck, the full service bed is good for service and job-site but not good for in-town driving. (the GVVW was over 10k) My van is great for service and does pretty well for job-site work.
Bill
first I will say I drove the sprinter and its easy to drive but I get into too many a tight spots where my express can only fit. I can make some parking garages as well. Also the sprinter will set you back 30-35k, my Chevy 20-22k, I would take a lot of fuel savings to make 10-12k up.
I had several different trucks, from just pickups with floor box, side box, cross box to complete dually service bed. The regular truck is OK for small jobs or job-site truck, the full service bed is good for service and job-site but not good for in-town driving. (the GVVW was over 10k) My van is great for service and does pretty well for job-site work.
Bill
tallguy
Senior Member
I made up a little Excel spreadsheet for figuring this out recently... at $3/gallon and upgrading from 15mpg to 30mpg, it will take 100K miles to breakeven on a $10K investment. This of course does not include the time value of money. If anyone wants the Excel file to play around with it yourself, send me a PM.wagge said:
electricguy61
Senior Member
tallguy said:
Way to go tallguy! May I add that most folks don't understand the simple fact that a paid for vehicle that gets 10mpg is way more economical then a new rig, no matter how expensive the fuel or how great the economy. If the business is real profitable, it's better to buy a new vehicle then pay it in taxes, but most of us don't have that luxury.
Another recent thread pointed out that in a tight economy, the best thing to do is stay out of debt. Put the profits in the bank for the slow times, and if you buy new vehicles, pay cash.
slicer1982
New member
tallguy said:
Have you included in your calculations the extra lost time due to having to stop for fuel twice as often with the "cheaper" vehicle?
Also wonder how much could be saved over the life of the Sprinter if the diesel engine was converted to burn oil collected from area restaurants... fuel up the van while taking lunch = extra productivity.
tallguy
Senior Member
How much does it cost you to stop? How many gallons in the tank (old & new)? How low do you go before you refill? This could get complicated... :wink:slicer1982 said:
125,000 miles @ $10K net investment. If you consider that diesel prices average $3.30/gallon at the moment, it jumps to 147K miles. I hadn't considered that aspect in the original post.wagge said:
Doesn't sound too good to me unless you do a tremendous amount of driving or are exceptionally committed to helping the environment.
Let's just say for a moment that Iran & Iraq both go completely haywire (I mean worse than they are now), Hugo Chavez turns off the spigot in Venezuela, and unleaded rises to $5/gallon and diesel to $5.50/gallon. Your numbers are then 75K miles for a regular unleaded vehicle and 88K for diesel. Again, all that assumes going from 15mpg to 25mpg at a cost of $10,000.
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
My real world milage is 22-23 mpg. And this thing is NOT short on power or zip. It has a touch and shift type tranny if you need torque.wagge said:
Again, the sprinter is the best van I've had.
cschmid
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern cold country
tallguy said:
I will take a copy of your work..I will pm tomarrow..
stalllingselectric
Member
- Location
- California
Well it sounds like you can save money on the front end on the less expensive vehicles domestics and such. The fuel economy is really a wash when u compare the expense of the vehicle . I do know that i can right off all the fuel and save the initial capital for the business
Dave
Dave
chris kennedy said:
Hey, I agree on the power, well it not the power but torque and tranny gearing is very low. The AC works better than any vehicle I have seen. I though it was easy to drive but it would not be as easy to park in tight spot like the Chevy. For Rural work this might be the perfect van, but in Houston you will not see many.
My Chevy has 180k and still runs fine, it's the body and interior that takes a beating.
I would like to see how the sprinter holds up after 3-5 years, maybe I could afford to buy one then
the mid length sprinter is basically the same foot print as an extended chevy van, but with better turning radius.
when we ran the numbers (gas was 1.50/gal and diesel was $1.70 - remember those days?) our break even was about 21,000 miles per year...we average about 28-30,000 a year. Now, for our resi guys, we would never get one. They only did about 10,000 Miles per year.
and definitely, if you stay local, not the right truck. but if you travel for work, it pays for itself. NJ to Boston on one tank of gas...Lost in Boston trying to find the job site, driving in circles since they are incapable of putting up traffic signs that make sense, on one tank of gas...
when we ran the numbers (gas was 1.50/gal and diesel was $1.70 - remember those days?) our break even was about 21,000 miles per year...we average about 28-30,000 a year. Now, for our resi guys, we would never get one. They only did about 10,000 Miles per year.
and definitely, if you stay local, not the right truck. but if you travel for work, it pays for itself. NJ to Boston on one tank of gas...Lost in Boston trying to find the job site, driving in circles since they are incapable of putting up traffic signs that make sense, on one tank of gas...
LawnGuyLandSparky
Senior Member
emahler said:
This from a Jersey guy!?
What's the matter, the Boston signs weren't confusing enough? :grin:
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