What is more comfortable after driving 700 miles a straight truck or sprinter?

T270_Dreamin · Jan 24, 2013

I have a class b cdl but have never driven a straight truck that many miles.

Seems they have much better suspensions and you guys running straight trucks feel the road less. If you look under a t700 kw you see a gap of air like a few inches.

I wish my sprinter was more comfortable but I think I'm getting banged up hard on the road. I don't think new shocks would improve it that much the 2017 sprinter is very far away, I'm sure that will ride nice.

Jenny · Jan 24, 2013

Depending on your sprinter nation seating has an air ride seat for the sprinter.

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T270_Dreamin · Jan 24, 2013

Really!! Can you post up a link? I just spent $450 on a seat that came out of a $90k automobile. Got it out of junkyard but you still get banged up with no air suspension and I miss my armrest so much.

Jenny said:
Depending on your sprinter nation seating has an air ride seat for the sprinter.

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BigCat · Jan 25, 2013

Straight trucks bounce pretty bad. My t/t is horrible with a 45000 load though. Some bumps I come off the seat.

RoadTime · Jan 25, 2013

I don't have air ride or anything in my sprinter. But after coming off of driving straight trucks, I was amazed at how far I could drive a sprinter without feeling exhausted. There is also a lot greater mental exhaustion involved with a straight truck that should not be discounted imo. And like BigCat said, straight trucks can bounce pretty bad.

mjmsprt40 · Jan 25, 2013

I don't recall the 2005 Sprinter I had being all that uncomfortable. Admittedly, I had thought about getting one of those air seats from a TT, but thought it might not work well because of not having a reliable air supply. Still, drove several hundred miles in mine without ill effect just with the seating it had when it came from the factory.

For the very worst, I think one of those old VW vans will take the cake. Say, a mid 1960s van. The steer axle is right underneath the driver's seat and you feel every bump.

Jenny · Jan 25, 2013

I will try to find a link

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T270_Dreamin · Jan 25, 2013

BigCat said:
Straight trucks bounce pretty bad. My t/t is horrible with a 45000 load though. Some bumps I come off the seat.

What about the 2013 volvo vn 64 300 or a frieghtliner cascadia, any one rode in one of those. I heard the volvo rigs ride smooth. Big cat I thought you were in a volvo? I rode in a mid 2000's international tow truck once and i was not impressed.

T270_Dreamin · Jan 25, 2013

RoadTime said:
I don't have air ride or anything in my sprinter. But after coming off of driving straight trucks, I was amazed at how far I could drive a sprinter without feeling exhausted. There is also a lot greater mental exhaustion involved with a straight truck that should not be discounted imo. And like BigCat said, straight trucks can bounce pretty bad.

Can you go into detail about the mental exhaustion? So 90% of trucks are semi's on road. Do you think those guys enjoy their job or is it too exhausting compared to a sprinter?

runrunner · Jan 25, 2013

T270_Dreamin said:
I have a class b cdl but have never driven a straight truck that many miles.

Seems they have much better suspensions and you guys running straight trucks feel the road less. If you look under a t700 kw you see a gap of air like a few inches.

I wish my sprinter was more comfortable but I think I'm getting banged up hard on the road. I don't think new shocks would improve it that much the 2017 sprinter is very far away, I'm sure that will ride nice.

A Bed!!!!!!!

Moot · Jan 25, 2013

T270_Dreamin said:
Can you go into detail about the mental exhaustion? So 90% of trucks are semi's on road. Do you think those guys enjoy their job or is it too exhausting compared to a sprinter?

Years ago I read a study on driver fatigue comparing pulling doubles/triples vs. single trailer 5 axle rig. I believe it was published in CCJ. The study concluded that pulling multiple trailers was significantly more demanding and fatiguing than pulling a single trailer.

From this study one could conclude, although it wasn't included in the study, that driving a straight truck would be less tiring than pulling a 53 footer. One could further extrapolate and and could reasonably assume that driving a Sprinter is less demanding than driving a straight truck and a standard cargo van would be easier than a Sprinter.

scottm4211 · Jan 25, 2013

My short Sprinter is a breeze

mjmsprt40 · Jan 25, 2013

Moot said:
Years ago I read a study on driver fatigue comparing pulling doubles/triples vs. single trailer 5 axle rig. I believe it was published in CCJ. The study concluded that pulling multiple trailers was significantly more demanding and fatiguing than pulling a single trailer.

From this study one could conclude, although it wasn't included in the study, that driving a straight truck would be less tiring than pulling a 53 footer. One could further extrapolate and and could reasonably assume that driving a Sprinter is less demanding than driving a straight truck and a standard cargo van would be easier than a Sprinter.

I drove a TT locally for a couple of years, it didn't seem that bad for the most part. At least as long as I didn't have to drive his GMC. That thing was miserable, and when running bobtail it would shake your fillings loose. The tandems would get to hobbyhorsing unbelievably bad.

Sprinters and CVs are pretty much the same, except of course that the longer wheelbase vans ride a bit easier than shorter units do.

About mental exhaustion: Keeping up with all those regulations would be enough to tire anybody!

HighwayRover · Jan 25, 2013

Our Volvo 780, 40 foot straight truck rode nicer than my F350. I just changed the seat mounts on our E350 and gained about 3 inches of foot room while adding about an inch and half to the seat height. Now the E350 feels like the Volvo seat. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it does on long hauls.

Turtle · Jan 25, 2013

Oregon Aero Softseat
It turns the Sprinter's auf Deutsche seat into a butt-caressing thing of beauty.

xiggi · Jan 25, 2013

I never thought sprinters were rough was always surprised how good the ride was actually. The seat itself might be a little firm but great ride for a cargo vehicle.

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paullud · Jan 25, 2013

xiggi said:
I never thought sprinters were rough was always surprised how good the ride was actually. The seat itself might be a little firm but great ride for a cargo vehicle.

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The longer wheel base seems like it would give a pretty nice ride.

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T270_Dreamin · Jan 25, 2013

xiggi said:
I never thought sprinters were rough was always surprised how good the ride was actually. The seat itself might be a little firm but great ride for a cargo vehicle.

Sent from my Fisher Price - ABC 123

I changed my seat in the 06, what year is the one you drive?

BigCat · Jan 25, 2013

T270_Dreamin said:
What about the 2013 volvo vn 64 300 or a frieghtliner cascadia, any one rode in one of those. I heard the volvo rigs ride smooth. Big cat I thought you were in a volvo? I rode in a mid 2000's international tow truck once and i was not impressed.

I am in a 2008 volvo vnl 640. It rides ok til you fully load it. My man boobs are giving me black eyes lately though.

I have driven cascadia too but to me they all ride the same. And yea s/t and t/t are really mentally exhausting. I can do 20 hours straight in a car but I'm lucky to get 10 in t/t.