Runnin in a Sprinter

[TeamBud8]

I have always looked forward to runnin in a Sprinter.Until now...The last couple days has been hell on me.I can't stand the dang blasted thing.High winds make it impossible to steer.Let alone a big truck coming by and blowing me off the road,no matter how much weight I carry,nothing seems to keep from heading towards the shoulder.Anyone experience this,or am I just plum crazy? I think I'll go back to a regular van !

 

[MDB1]

How many miles do you have on your Sprinter? Maybe you need a front end alignment or maybe you need new shocks.

 

[bryan]

Hi

Your problem might not be the Sprinter.I have been haveing a hard time with a Ford.Just been real windy lately.Which is good because now I don't have to rake my leaves;my neighbor does.

 

[cheri1122]

Just remember, Bryan: what goes around, comes around, lol - you could wind up [no pun intended] with all the leaves in 5 square miles, when the wind changes direction!

 

[Packmule]

Has anyone tried Airtabs on their Sprinters. Seems to work well on stright trucks.

Dan

 

[DannyD]

I have always looked forward to runnin in a Sprinter.Until now...The last couple days has been hell on me.I can't stand the dang blasted thing.High winds make it impossible to steer.Let alone a big truck coming by and blowing me off the road,no matter how much weight I carry,nothing seems to keep from heading towards the shoulder.Anyone experience this,or am I just plum crazy? I think I'll go back to a regular van !




I've ranted enough about how brutal my sprinter was. I sold mine after owning one for about 6 months at a huge loss. The short answer to your question is "yes, I've had problems w/ mine." If ya'd care to look back on this site you'll find plenty of sprinter rants & also a few from people who like em.

I agree you'll be a lot happier if ya go back to a Ford or GMC van. Good luck to ya.

Take care,
Danny

 

[TJ959]

Yup, the thing heads for the ditch every time a big truck goes by on a windy day. I think it's just a little timid. I still like it though. You just have to show it who the boss is and take command. Still, If I had it to do over again I might have bought a Chevy cutaway instead.

 

[TJ959]

By the way. My alignment guy says all you can do on a Sprinter is set the toe. Nothing else can be adjusted. Besides, it did the wind dance thing when it was brand new. Back in the old days I had a 1967 Dodge van that was almost as bad.

 

[guest]

Sprinter 3500 vs. cutaway (06 E-450 12' CUBE VAN - 6.0 DIESEL to be exact.

The cutaway can be had for very close to what would be paid for the sprinter. what are the negative aspects of buying the cutaway instead of the sprinter. (other than higher xpenses for fuel)?

Trying to figure what will stay the busiest

I'm a rookie, please bear with me.

Thx

2A

 

[RLENT]

>what are the negative aspects of buying the cutaway instead of the sprinter.

Assuming that you are talking about a 2006 Sprinter 3500 Cargo, with the Sprinter you won't have to log or scale since it is under 10K GVWR. Not sure about the '07 models on GVWR.

 

[guest]

Thx rlent,

Do you think the added requirement of logging and scaling is a fair trade off for the increased cargo area.

It seems to me running a cutaway would allow you to be much more versatile/able to accept a wider variety of loads...

Thank You,

2A

 

[RLENT]

Dave,

You're asking the wrong guy .... I'm just getting started myself and haven't ran my first expedite load yet - so I'm no wealth of experience. Having gotten that out of the way, personally I'd rather not log and scale - that's part of the reason we own a Sprinter (2500 SHC 158" wb) - the other reasons being fuel economy and ease of driving.

You know you can get a Sprinter in a cab & chassis (cutaway) config - and I think the GVWR on the 2006 models is under 10K (.... on the 2007's it might be over) .... but you won't have the payload capacity of an E-450 (with either an '06 or '07 Sprinter.)

I'd suggest researching the forums and archives for C-units and how busy those running them stay ...... since that's basically what you are talking about.

 

[cncbill]

I would have to say it would not be a fair trade off unless you could carry the 5000lbs a "c" unit usually specs to. I drove a "d" unit team, never a "b" , but certainly would be alot nicer to avoid the logs and other obsticals involved in breaking the 10,001 lb range.

 

[highway star]

You can get a Ford or Chevy cutaway that stays under the 10k GVW. The box isn't quite as big.

 

[guest]

I like the idea of a cutaway under 10k
Keeping under 10k seems like it may be the right vehicle class for me, as a rookie.

Appreciate all the replys.

Thanx,

Dave
2A

 

[RLENT]

Kim wrote:

>You can get a Ford or Chevy cutaway that stays under the 10k GVW.

That's true you can - and even Sprinter cutaway ..... but Dave's original post mentioned an E-450 which has a GVWR of 14K or so.

 

[MSinger]

The first year for the Sprinter cutaway was 2004. It had a gvwr of 9990#. In 2005 the gvwr went up to 10,200 and remains current. Not sure what the new body style 2007's will be but it will most likely be even higher since they are increasing for even the cargo van models.
I run a 2002 GMC Savana 15' cube with a 10,000# even gvwr and a 350 gas. This is a former Penske rental and they can be had fairly cheap with good fleet maintenance records. There are usually several found on Ebay. I average 11.5 mpg but my company pays me "cube rate" which is currently 33 cents a mile more than "van rate" so I come out ahead and still have the versatility to take a van load if it is real slow. I love the extra room and the pass through door from cab to box.

 

[guest]

Thx msingr

That sounds like the way to go to me.
Does GMC, ford, or chevy offer any thing like that with a diesel engine (cutaway under 10k lbs)?

Thx

Dave
2A

 

[letzrockexpress]

Apparently Sprinters and "mean people" have something in common!

 

[RLENT]

Thanks for the clarification the GVWR - when I read your post it reminded me that I had read that somewhere along the line ...... but had forgotten it.