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tonyou812

tonyou812

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North New Jersey
Have any of you guys worked out of those new Doge Sprinters. They seem like they might be more efficient and comfortable, to work out of. No constant bending over. I do a lot of service work and i like to be ready as best i can.
Anyway any feed back on how they handle and stand up to the old "Trusty E350", would be greatly appreciated. I am talking my test in July and currently studying. This site is unbelievable what a great tool to have. I cant wait to get home and read the new posts or look for some answers that are giving me some trouble. :grin: later .
 
I work out of a step van... Utilimaster. Grumman is basically the same thing. Looks like a UPS truck or a bread delivery truck. I looked into the Sprinters and found them to be too expensive and appear to have service issues from my research on the net.
 
tonyou812 said:
hows their service records?
Click to expand...
Same as any domestic truck of the same year. They're just a Chevy or Ford (1 ton, in my case) truck underneath, with a big aluminium box built on top. The only drawback is that it takes nerves of steel to drive at speed down narrow city streets, and you'll go through a few side mirrors a year from slapping street signs. It is nice that they are domestic, so you can have them serviced almost anywhere, as the components are common and recognizable to any mechanic. With the Sprinters, I understand much of the mechanicals are "special" to the Sprinter.
 
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We have recently switched to the Freightliner (same as Dodge Sprinter); we had Ford E-350's for years. This is a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel.

My guys love these vans.

My business partner was against purchasing these because he thinks they are ugly, He pays all the bills after 2 months of reduced fuel bills he wants to change the complete fleet (several of my tech drive 200 plus miles everyday)

I drove one to Florida, I could not get comfortable for 900 miles, but I finally figured out the problem was with the safety cage. I could not recline the site or push it back completely.

We did not get the extra long with the raised roof, a friend of mine did and you can live in that van.

All in All WE LOVE THESE VANs
 
They seem like a great van. But for me, with the low miles we put on our vans, the increased cost of $10,000 - $15,000 would not justify the purchase. We generally do about 10 - 12K miles a year on a van. Sometimes less.

I have heard the service horror stories. My cousin is my mechanic and he has a customer with maybe 5 of these vans. When the fuel pump (I think) went bad, there was only one place in the state that could service it. The van was down for over 2 weeks. I'm sure that service will get better as they become more popular.
 
Step Vans for us also. They are great unless you need to go somewhere like a parking garage. We have 2 a 10K GVWR with a 14' box and 12K GVWR with a 12' box. The boxes are 6' 6" tall.

In the winter time or rain we can bend a few pieces of pipe inside the truck.


Mechanicly they are just a Chevy or Ford 1 ton truck. They do make some bigger GVR's with Cummins, International, Isuza, & Freightliner Diesels.

They are a lot more secure then a van.

Most powertrain / chassis parts for the ford or GM you can get at a parts store or dealer easy enough just like a pick-up or van. For the body mechanical parts you can get many parts from Mill Supply. Things like a taillight might be $10, a heater mirror $30, heater switch $5 or the knop $2. It's because they are built with more universal parts and have used some of the same parts for 30 years it keeps the price down. I remember a E-250 I had needed a dealer only heater switch $50, knob $15, side mirror $180 aftermarket (not heated).

The GM chassies are built by WorkHorse, they purchased the stepvan division from GM a few years ago. If you go to the Ford comercial truck site you can price and build chassis. It is the same as a E450 or E350 van or cutaway only its listed as a stripped chassis.

The body builders are:
Utilimaster http://www.utilimaster.com/walkin.html
Morgan Olson (formally Gruman Olson)http://www.morganolson.com/
Union City Body (I don't know if they are still building them)
Boyertown (not building an new ones) http://boyertown-trolley.com/step-vans.html
Theres one more in business I can't think of.

Anyway they make a sprinter look like a toy.
 
Van's of the Trade

Van's of the Trade

I have just rolled past 50 thousand miles on my Freightliner 2500 SHC. Changed the oil and put one air filter in it. Not bad for a Germany van. Got 17.75 MPG on the last tank. Carry a load of just over 7000 lbs everyday. The drop down ladder racks kinda kill's the mileage but thats life. Plus, I like the idea that a 6' ladder can stand up behind the door. Every truck has it's own pro's and con's. Since I am getting a little older now I can see the advantages in the step vans that have the thur doors which offer access to tools and supplies from the outside as well as the inside. Just my thoughts.
 
John:

I received my new truck(Dodge Cummins diesel) in early September, was out of work a month due to illness and have been working restricted hours since then, I now have 11,500 miles on this new truck (truck came with 27 miles on the odometer).

Mercedes diesel is known for high mileage, with minimal problems. An associate of mine has a Mercedes diesel (basically the same engine as these vans) with 370,000 miles, had basic engine issues, but the car still looks great and runs like a top.
 
It's funny to hear about a fuel pump on a sprinter going bad. I have a plumber friend of mine who had a couple of sprinters. Liked the fuel economy until the fuel pump went out. Then it cost a fortune and couldn't find anyone to fix it. He switched to GMC box trucks. Hasn't had any trouble yet. Make a heck of a presence on the road. I say skip the Sprinter, stay with the domestics. They are cheaper in the long run.
 
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