Vans with boxes
- Thread starter greg334
- Start date
Dakota
Veteran Expediter
House paint and a roller LOL,
No, but I believe Penske will paint it for you for not too much.
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
After the wife backed into my passenger door, I took the Sprinter by the local bodyshop to see if they could fix it and talked to them about handling the other dents and dings, and touching up the various rust spots .....
A couple of guys that worked there came out and looked at it as the other guy was working on the estimate ..... and sorta winced at the prospect of painting something that large, commenting that it would be very pricey (... the paint alone)
jaminjim
Veteran Expediter
Stop by the house the next time you are in the area, I'm 3/4 of the way done painting the interior of my house. I have several rollers and between the two of us we could knock it out in a half hour. As far as the dings and dents go, I'm also 1/3 the way done on the tile job so maybe we could use 'thin set' or grout.
jaminjim
Veteran Expediter
No offense intended, but if he/she is that stupid why bother with them?
greg334
Veteran Expediter
I'm not offended, just bored.
I was tired of him boasting all the work he has been getting, which I know his revenue stream but not what he was hauling. I've talk to the guy for a while, he's pretty good guy expect for this one issue - "I can carry more than you". So I bet him breakfast he couldn't carry 48X48 pallets or totes side by side in his box.
transporter
Expert Expediter
greg if its 3 48 by 48 i put them one roll down the center. do to improvements i made i have a 14 footer.
Dakota
Veteran Expediter
drove a 14' Ford E350 dually rear cube today it had the 7.3litre diesel. I can say I was not impressed by the mileage over a gasser
I got 12.5 to 13
In a GMC with 6.0 a 16" BTW, I average 11 to 12
Both of these I drive at 70MPH
I am sure both would go up driving 60mph, but the diesel is not enough of a gain to offset the price of diesel
I got 12.5 to 13
In a GMC with 6.0 a 16" BTW, I average 11 to 12
Both of these I drive at 70MPH
I am sure both would go up driving 60mph, but the diesel is not enough of a gain to offset the price of diesel
DannyD
Veteran Expediter
I came to this thread to ask this very Q, what kind of MPG does this thing get? Now that it's answered, do ya get a fair amount of C runs w/ this truck or is it mostly Bs?
12 MPG seems tough. At the same time if the vehicle is thousands less than a Sprinter, that's a lot of gas. I ran some numbers, albeit w/out complete information, & figured that one of these would give about a $500/month head start on a Sprinter. The Sprinter could catch up in fuel savings at about the 4800 mile mark. After that the Sprinter comes out ahead.
I based it on this @12MPG would use 400 gallons for 4800 miles. $2.75/gallon = $1100. Sprinter @24MPG would use 200 gallons @ $3.00 = $600. Price of this was $7500 (per Gregs post) & Sprinter $30,000. The numbers may be off, but that's a starting point for my comparion.
Also, to the best ya can guess, what do ya think the MPG might be if ya were to drive 65?
Last but not least, I googled Penske & couldn't find where they were selling the trucks. Would anyone have a link for the site where they're selling these trucks?
12 MPG seems tough. At the same time if the vehicle is thousands less than a Sprinter, that's a lot of gas. I ran some numbers, albeit w/out complete information, & figured that one of these would give about a $500/month head start on a Sprinter. The Sprinter could catch up in fuel savings at about the 4800 mile mark. After that the Sprinter comes out ahead.
I based it on this @12MPG would use 400 gallons for 4800 miles. $2.75/gallon = $1100. Sprinter @24MPG would use 200 gallons @ $3.00 = $600. Price of this was $7500 (per Gregs post) & Sprinter $30,000. The numbers may be off, but that's a starting point for my comparion.
Also, to the best ya can guess, what do ya think the MPG might be if ya were to drive 65?
Last but not least, I googled Penske & couldn't find where they were selling the trucks. Would anyone have a link for the site where they're selling these trucks?
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Danny,
The trade off may not just be the money but the drivability of the sprinter over the box van. The other factor involved is livability, with the sprinter being a bit more limited in width then the box van.
Cargo weight capacity is another issue, which every way I cut it, outside of getting a light box on the chassis, the capacity is going to with a 10k truck 3200lbs stripped. When you add the driver ans supplies, it is about 2600lbs or there abouts.
The box van can haul more bulk, but not more weight so the question is how much will you use it compared to the sprinter?
If weight is an issue, a 3500 sprinter is a good trade off, with some modifications to the wheelwells it seems to be able to haul 3500 lbs with driver and supplies.
However the mileage is the biggest issue for many, with some in new box vans getting 16, the older ones seem to be getting 11 to 14, and from my experience with them a while ago 12 to 16 wasn't uncommon.
At todays prices, $2.78 per gallon on the EO fuel board, the cost for the box van is about 25 cents per mile (*at an average of 11 mpg). The sprinter's cost per mile with the EO fuel board price of $2.92 per gallon is 14 cents per mile (*at an average 21 mpg).
The trade off may not just be the money but the drivability of the sprinter over the box van. The other factor involved is livability, with the sprinter being a bit more limited in width then the box van.
Cargo weight capacity is another issue, which every way I cut it, outside of getting a light box on the chassis, the capacity is going to with a 10k truck 3200lbs stripped. When you add the driver ans supplies, it is about 2600lbs or there abouts.
The box van can haul more bulk, but not more weight so the question is how much will you use it compared to the sprinter?
If weight is an issue, a 3500 sprinter is a good trade off, with some modifications to the wheelwells it seems to be able to haul 3500 lbs with driver and supplies.
However the mileage is the biggest issue for many, with some in new box vans getting 16, the older ones seem to be getting 11 to 14, and from my experience with them a while ago 12 to 16 wasn't uncommon.
At todays prices, $2.78 per gallon on the EO fuel board, the cost for the box van is about 25 cents per mile (*at an average of 11 mpg). The sprinter's cost per mile with the EO fuel board price of $2.92 per gallon is 14 cents per mile (*at an average 21 mpg).
DannyD
Veteran Expediter
Hey Greg,
I've always had a tough time getting the exact cpm for any vehicle because the miles one may get during a particular month can vary. Ie, a $700 payment + 300 insurance on a van getting only 4000 miles/month is quite high. If that same van can get 10K miles/month it's obviously a lot lower.
Your numbers seem about right though. So figuring a box would be about $600/month less than a Spinter (payment + insurance) one would have to drive about 4285 miles/month to break even. Less than that & a box is more effective & more than that a Spinter is.
Repairs & preventative maintenance I've got to believe would be more on a Sprinter. I'm not sure how much though. So that would raise the break even miles up a bit.
You noted some other factors in there too. These are personal decisions. More width vs more weight, etc. I've had such terrible luck w/ my Sprinter awhile back that I'm leary of getting another one. A lot of people I worked with hated thiers also.
At the same time I see others on here who like theirs just fine. So maybe they've worked out a lot of the bugs. I've seen Ryder Sprinter rentals on the road. They're white & maybe that would be a good avenue to look at.
The perfect vehicle IMO, at least for me, was the one David Hall posted on about a year ago. If I'm not mistaken he got 15MPG on that. I've seen more & more of those types of vehicles on the road recently. I just haven't seen any that are under 10K GVW for sale. My hope is that when I'm ready to buy one there will be. If not, it'll be a box/sprinter decision.
I've always had a tough time getting the exact cpm for any vehicle because the miles one may get during a particular month can vary. Ie, a $700 payment + 300 insurance on a van getting only 4000 miles/month is quite high. If that same van can get 10K miles/month it's obviously a lot lower.
Your numbers seem about right though. So figuring a box would be about $600/month less than a Spinter (payment + insurance) one would have to drive about 4285 miles/month to break even. Less than that & a box is more effective & more than that a Spinter is.
Repairs & preventative maintenance I've got to believe would be more on a Sprinter. I'm not sure how much though. So that would raise the break even miles up a bit.
You noted some other factors in there too. These are personal decisions. More width vs more weight, etc. I've had such terrible luck w/ my Sprinter awhile back that I'm leary of getting another one. A lot of people I worked with hated thiers also.
At the same time I see others on here who like theirs just fine. So maybe they've worked out a lot of the bugs. I've seen Ryder Sprinter rentals on the road. They're white & maybe that would be a good avenue to look at.
The perfect vehicle IMO, at least for me, was the one David Hall posted on about a year ago. If I'm not mistaken he got 15MPG on that. I've seen more & more of those types of vehicles on the road recently. I just haven't seen any that are under 10K GVW for sale. My hope is that when I'm ready to buy one there will be. If not, it'll be a box/sprinter decision.
Brisco
Expert Expediter
Here ya go:
Used Trucks, Tractors and Trailers For Sale - Penske Used Trucks.com
Also, Penske sells their trucks in "Bulk" at auctions all over the country, so you may find a Penske truck sitting on the back lot of your local Chevy dealer. I know Classic Chevrolet (GM's highest selling dealer in the country going on 3 consecutive years now) over here in Grapevine always has about 20-30 "Used" Penske Hi-Cubes in stock. They're real good sellers to the Mexican Contractors here in DFW Mexico.
Dakota
Veteran Expediter
I think they sell them at the individual Penske lots, the ones that have service and fuel. Next time I am in there I will check the flyer at the front desk.
Jack_Berry
Moderator Emeritus
Jack_Berry
Moderator Emeritus
Jack_Berry
Moderator Emeritus
Dallas Smith Corp - Low Floor Buses, Vans, Trucks, Chassis Cabs, Trailers, and Components
there is always this option.
greg the 220 is what comes to mind. i don't have the notes handy.
there is always this option.
greg the 220 is what comes to mind. i don't have the notes handy.