Cargo Van/ Sprinter

[laurentsbear]

I have an opportunity to purchase a 04 Pensky Chev 16' Cube Van for $11,000 with 75k miles ...Most of the Dodge Sprinter Vans sell for twice that.....I understand that breakdowns are common and repairs difficult with the Sprinter. I would be happy to hear from anyone that could offer me any advice. Thanks bear

 

[terryandrene]

Bear: What are your plans for the van? Is it a four or six wheeler? GVWR? Have you received a commitment from a carrier to lease the van?

The reason I ask these questions is that cube vans are becoming quite popular within the expedite community but there are drawbacks if the van is over 10,000 # GVWR. These vans' operators must maintain driver logs and many carriers don't want to use vans that require logs due to the extra burden on them. Additionally, van owners are plentiful and van leases are sparse at this time. My recommendation is for you to get a lease commitment before committing to a van purchase unless you have other uses for it.

 

[laurentsbear]

The van is rated under 10,000 # it has dualies r; My wife and I are planning to run team....We are considering Panther...We ran for FedEx from 2000-2002 .a fl70 22' Box... Ann does not want the stress of a large truck...i would be happy with a Classic Century Condo and double axles. she wants a Sprinter she can drive like a car.... A 16' cube van could carry
at least 4 pallets or more ...and i could build a comfortable Sleeper Bear

 

[terryandrene]

Pleased to see that you have a plan and experience with expediting with an expedite carrier. I've known of many folk, including me, that have gotten over 500K miles with a chevy van. A well maintained cube van for $11K sounds like a good value for the money and potential. My only concern now would be the weight of the van with you, your wife, your comfortable sleeper and all your gear. I'd guess you'll scale at 8000+ and therefore only have a 2000# capacity. It'd be a good idea to scale, estimate the weight of your modifications and stuff before you buy.

 

[dhalltoyo]

Cubes are tough on the pocketbook when pulling up to the fuel pump.

Considering the current amount of available freight, I am of the opinion that more than three skids will get loaded onto a C or D unit so the carrier can keep them moving and in the fleet. The operating cost for those units are markedly higher and when they sit empty, the owners get anxious and are prone to switch carriers or quit the business.

You may pay less at the onset, but a team will have the opportunity to run more miles and that translates into even greater amounts of fuel usage; therefore, it may cost you even more in the long run.

 

[laurentsbear]

You are absolutely correct... I was told the truck weighted in between 5-6 K W/ sleeper and drivers probably 7000# i will need to research weight of Sprinter and cube van...that would mean i could only carry 2500-3000# Do you know the average weight that is carried by a Van?

 

[FIS53]

Currently run a sprinter and have over 200,000 on it. Very few breakdowns. Only one that required a tow and that was under warranty. Otherwise all repairs have been sameday (non dealer garage), and only the tensioner break was a worrisome due to no water pump as I drove to a garage (not far).

Biggest thing with sprinters is that the regular maint is pricey unless you can find the goods for less than dealer (except filters). Dealer has good filter pricing (surprise).

The frontends do not have grease nipples so no greasing (not good), so front ends only last maybe 200,000-300,000 at most, transmission must be treated nice or better, get a decent cooler (sprintersotre.com) as they run hot too much and burn the fluid (up here dealer is $25/litre). Otherwise yes some guys have gotten a bad unit (seems to be a few out there). They do not like being driven hard, these things are a euro vehicle. Best part is fuel economy 22-26 mpg us gal.

Now GM has decent transmissions, frontend is greasable and the diesel gets pretty good mileage (for north american van). I got 500,000 miles out of my last one before I sold it and it still had the original transmission (had to use gm filters only due to others failing), frontend only replaced ball joints rest was factory and still tight.

So for me either would be fine but the GM I know can last if maintained. The Sprinter so far is proving to be a not too bad vehicle but I'm expecting the transmission to fail well before I get near 500,000.

Rob

 

[laurentsbear]

My intention is to get more miles ...with a Cube because I can carry more freight even though i will spend more money for fuel (than in a Sprinter) I will have less expenses driving a smaller truck...In a given area, I will have an advantage over a smaller cargo van.

 

[dhalltoyo]

If I owned a Sprinter, 2100 lbs would be max for me.

They are uni-body construction and I have seen a bunch that have misaligned doors due to twisting as the result of overloading.

My Chevy Express does not have a sleeper and I don't carry a lot of personal items, so I could actually load 3001 lbs if necessary.

Quite honesty, 90% of my loads are single skids and under 1000 lbs.

Sprinters (Diesel) seem to average 22 mpg, but you have higher maintenace costs with any diesel and Sprinters in particular. If you read through the posts by Turtle you can learn pretty much everything there is to know about Sprinters.

The best I ever heard a dually cube getting was 9 mpg.

Since you are a team it would take some adjustment going from a D unit with a sleeper to a standard cargo van. In fact, whenever a straight truck driver asks me about expediting in a van they get excited about the freedom to move around the country after unloading, not having to log and not having to scale...right up to the point when they ask, "Where do you sleep?". That usually ends the conversation.

 

[terryandrene]

Van, or B, loads used to be 2000# but as competition got wilder, some carriers would haul up to 2500# for van tariffs. Some carriers now call a van load as much as 3000#. Your currenet carrier of choice, Panther, I believe, allows you to determine, within reason, your weight limits up to 3000#. When they say between 5 and 6K, it means they don't know and are guessing.

I'm certainly no cube van authority, but my guess is that the extra weight of the cube and the dualies is closer to 6500 than the 5000 guess. Better get it weighed than be sorry after you build a sleeper and add a fridge, microwave, wall, cabinets, luggage and two people with full fuel tank, E-Track and all your safety eqpt, tool box and all the other stuff you already know you want.

 

[laurentsbear]

what is the weight of your average shipment....Do you carry 2 or 3 pallets... what does your truck weigh... what size sleeper .....Are you happy with the engine....What does it cost to replace transmission....new engine the truck i am thinking about buying is a 2003 with 300k the price is 13,000.00

 

[laurentsbear]

you are making a believer out of me......I was told 12-15 mpg. I will check out the Tuttle thread....this is my first forum ever on the internet...b

 

[laurentsbear]

I had forgotten the weight issue ....It was volume that was my focus. Since the Cube Van is only rated at 10k then logs become necessary...and so do Chicken Houses..The stress level is already increasing thinking about how i am going to explain to
Ann why we need a bigger truck .

 

[terryandrene]

No Bear, Logs don't enter the picture until 10,001. Scale houses are necessary in a few States, but not all, as with the C's and D's. Why not get a C and do it right withour scrimping on the weight issue. You'll also be saleable at most of the nationwide carriers.

 

[laurentsbear]

Back to the drawing board....... there really isn't much difference between D and C units except a D unit gets more loads, Thank you both for your help....i will do more research... We are doing this for the money ... Nevertheless, Ann wants a kinder and easier way of expediating....I want her happy..."if mama is not happy...then no body is happy"...

 

[terryandrene]

Good luck with your research. There's a wealth of info on the EO archives, so take a look around and enjoy the ride.

 

[RLENT]

I wouldn't say no one is looking for Sprinters - who told you that ? Sprinters seemed to be preferred over normal cargo vans from what I can gather - due to the increased height.

As far as the 77 cpm goes, make sure you figure in the FSC (fuel surcharge) as well - that will add to the rate per mile.

I don't know what Fedex Custom Critical pays exactly - except that they pay by percentage - as does my carrier, Bolt Express. Percentage is a double edged sword - sometimes you make more, sometimes less. The biggest problem with Home Delivery (besides the amount of work you have to do for what you make) is the type of driving it is - essentially city type driving - stop and go all the time. This is very hard on a vehicle, compared to highway driving. (My son is a FHD contractor with 3 Sprinters and 5 routes so I know what the maintenance costs are like)

Doing expedite, you will be doing much more highway type driving - and your maintenance costs should drop significantly. Less wear and tear on brakes and tires for one.

Dunno if the Fed is currently looking for more vans or Sprinters - last time I looked on their website it said they were not but you should check there or even just call. My carrier, Bolt Express was recently still contracting Sprinters, so if you come up dry with the Fed and still want to make a move give Mark or Anne @ Bolt a call.

 

[jrcarroll]

There is only one rule to follow if the two of you decide on a Sprinter. Maintenence..........don't wait to fix it till after it is broke. If you do wait till it breaks the costs skyrocket and life of the van gets real short.
follow the schedule, with 1 exception. Trans service every 40,000 to 60,000 miles.

 

[dhalltoyo]

Ah, you now have given me the most critcal factor to consider...mama!

If you are a team, get C unit with a nice sleeper.

Your wife will be happier; therefore, you will be also.

 

[laurentsbear]

You are right ...a B unit too small.....a cargo van under 10GVW with a sleeper leaves only 2000# for cargo....
a cargo van 14' Cube with 14GVW allows at least 4000# of cargo
on 4 pallets Now ,tell me how we drive 5hrs. on and 5hrs off Bear