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Sprinter vs. Cargo Van

Moot

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Somewhere here on E.O. in the last few days was a post about cargo vans vs. Sprinters, pros and cons of each. I couldn't find it so I started this thread.

I am on my second cargo van and into my 12th year of expediting. If you are over 48 inches tall, which I am at at 70" and shrinking you may want to consider the height advantage the Sprinter offers.

Below is a photo taken about 3 hours ago after I exited the rear of my van carrying dirty clothes and 2 gallon jugs of oil.
 
jaminjim

jaminjim

Veteran Expediter
The wound appears to be a bleeding belly button. How in the world did you snag your button hole?
 
hondaking38

hondaking38

Veteran Expediter
ouch after the first 2 years of using my sprinter and being used to just standing up, i decided to mount a shelf, side to side, within 30 minutes i banged my head on the corner 3 times...after the second time it brought tears to my eyes, i put foam padding on the edges, and havent hit it since
 
Turtle

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
"Oooh! Look! There's a bug on my nose. Quick, someone take a picture!"

Thats what it looks like to me. Then again, I see Jesus in the clouds. No, wait, that's Pedro. Never mind.
 
Moot

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Okay, I see it now. It does look like a nose. But it is really my head. I have wide patch of bare skin that runs down the center of my head from front to back.
 
Turtle

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
What's that black "void" at bottom right? I thought that was your left nostril. I was actually going to ask what kind of camera and macro lens you used to take the picture of a semi-squished flying ant on your nose.

But if that's your head, wow, that musta hurt. <cringe>
 
Moot

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
The black void at the bottom right of the photo is the hair on the left side of my head. I have a wide "part" down the middle. Next pay check I'm buying a hockey helmet and some Rogain.
 
F

FIS53

Veteran Expediter
Well had my sprinter over two years now. Has over 200000 miles. Few problems so far so has been quite reliable. Fuel economy is good as i can get 650 miles out of a 26 gallon tank. Now maintenance is a wee bit expensive but not a lot more than the GM i had before. So there are some quirks. One thing is install a tranny cooler as they overheat too easily.

The height is great. Love climbing in back and being able to stand up after strapping etc. Another good point for mine is that snce I removed the perma bed and such I've got over 3000lb load capacity. really nice for a few loads like the New Brunswick I had last month. Got the load as was too high for a regular van and of course no one wanted to take almost 3000lbs in a van all that distance. So I took it. Sprinter ran great and handled fine.

Now everyone talks about requiring a big motor to climb hills and you need tons of HP etc. Well the Sprinter proves that a smaller decent engine can do quite well and handle things. NOt only did I manage to keep up to the transports in the hills but I got good fuel economy as well. I had a GM with the 6.5 diesel in it and was good but this is fine for hauling loads even though only a 2.7. It is optimized with the transmission, turbocharger and such according to load so even though it's not a rocketship it works.

Rob
 
dhalltoyo

dhalltoyo

Veteran Expediter
Me too!

At 6'4" I have made it a rule to crawl in and out of the van on my knees. One bump on the head was enough for me.

For those who have always owned GM cargo vans a lateral transition to a GM cutaway chassis with a Spartan Body will give you adequate head room and load height. A 12 foot box with a SRW comes in a 9600 GVWR. You can set the bulkhead to leave 8 feet of cargo space and have a decent sleeper area.
 
highway star

highway star

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Turtle said:
Then again, I see Jesus in the clouds. .
Click to expand...

When I look at the clouds I usually see either the Michelin Man or the starship Enterprise.

Moot, you know I was kidding, right? You're on the VERY short list of people whose whining I'll put up with. And, it still looks like your nose to me.
 
TJ959

TJ959

Veteran Expediter
Looks like a nose to me too. Buying a Sprinter will not cure you of being a klutz. I still find ways to bang my head, knees, elbows, and anyting else that hurts. It's time to add more padding and carpet to my Sprinter as soon as it warms up a little. I have already added more padding to myself.
 
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