Van vs. truck vs. sprinter advice needed

tokenlubav

Seasoned Expediter
Hi all. Newbie here. What a great site.

I need some advice. I have a book business and one of the things we do is pick up book donations from all over the Midwest and a bit beyond. We need a vehicle to do pickups. A trip could look like this: we go to a university campus up to 400 or 500 miles away. We spend two days there collecting books from professors. The books are packed into small boxes (16x12x12) that weigh on average about 35 - 40lbs each. An average pickup would be around 75 boxes of books (3000lbs) but at times we could get double that many boxes or more. We then bring the books back to our warehouse, unload, and go out again the next week.

Until now we have rented Enterprise Cargo Vans or Budget Truck 15' foot box trucks. We are ready to buy but don't know what to do. We started off thinking that the box truck was the way to go, but then we realized that we would never stack the boxes to the roof and the payload capacity was almost the same as a cargo van. We thought about getting a Sprinter but they are real pricey. Our latest thinking is to get a cargo van and a trailer and to rent a truck for big pickups. I'm looking for validation of that thinking. In addition, a few questions:

1. (Stupid question warning) - do we need to pay close attention to the GVW? What are the repercussions for exceeding that number on a regular basis? Is it bad for the vehicle to do so? Do we need to stop at weigh stations?

2. What kind of gas mileage can I expect on a cargo van loaded to max?

3. Advice on best channel to buy vehicle. Ebay? etc?

4. I have always been nervous to buy a vehicle with more then 60k or 70k miles on it. Is that silly in this case? Can I buy a van with 100k+ on it and expect substantially more life on it?

Any advice/input is greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long post.

Best.
 

Dakota

Veteran Expediter
They do make cube vans 15 foot usually that hold near 6K plus they are more rare, but the gas mileage is low usually around 10. You can get the ones from Penske or ryder with under 100k for around 10K, they hold 3000 pounds plus they have a warranty
Sprinters are pricey but in return you get awesome mileage, but buying a used Sprinter is not recommended.
Cargo vans are cheaper and I have found the Ford Passenger vans we call them Amish hauler around here have the extended body and the heavy duty suspension but they are cheaper than the cargo van, drawback is that you have windows, plywood could fix that problem
Don't go for anything less then a Ford E350 or a Chevy3500 Those are the 1 ton van, I think they get around 15 but I am not a van guy so don't quote me on that.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Wow books, what a concept.

Oh sorry,

I would get a van, something inexpesive, like an E350 ford or 3500 GM product - extended van that is.

I wouldn't go down the box truck thing if you are going to occasionally fill it, it is a bit more expensive in the long run.

I would however rent a truck when needed because you will not have to deal with the expenses or the paper work (dot stuff).

Where to buy?

I would go to penske, Ryder, even enterprise has them for sale.

*dakota* you are too fast:D
 

Dakota

Veteran Expediter
Sorry Greg,
I might add you shouldn't go above your GVW it is illegal for one and also very hard on your truck, engine, transmission, tires, spindles, wheelbearings, suspension you get the picture
if your going over the GVW then rent a heavier truck or make two trips. But I'd stick with a van for fuel savings, initial cost, not having to log etc
Penske does have an under 10,000 single rear wheel cube with a 10 foot box, not sure how much they will hold though, that might be an option, but anytime you get into a cube your mileage drops dramatically a double rear wheel gets about 10 or 11
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
No need to apologize your just quicker than I am.

I think the 10 foot has a capacity of 3200.
 
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