looking to buy a cargo van

[Phoenix4774]

I don't mind searching too much, the most annoying thing is that searches with only three letters don't work, like "GMC."

A good newbie faq is a good idea also because newbies simply do not know what to search for to begin with.

 

[bobwg]

If your going to team believe me when I say you will very much appreciate the extra space a sprinter provides. You can buy your own oil and filter and get it changed at walmart for about 110.00 bucks total and that is using synthetic. No need to pay 150.00 or more.

So Walmart charges you $110.00 labor ? so where do you get your oil and filters and how much for them? if you pick up your oil and filters some place other than Walmart you add the cost of the oil and filters then add your time and fuel used to pickup some where else and then go to Walmart sounds like by the time your done your up to around $150.00 and if the $110.00 includes the oil and filters if you add in your time and fuel stopping some place to get your oil and filters then runing over to a Walmart all together $130-$150 I just make 1 stop and its done just saying trying to save time and money by not running around making alot of stops just like people go shopping to all different stores checking prices then they find a price they like did they really save money by the time you figure the time they spent and the fuel running from store to store?

 

[Turtle]

No, you can buy your own oil and filter, and then have them change it at Walmart, and the total amount it'll cost you, including the oil, filter and the Walmart labor, will be about $110.

If oil is $7.50 a quart, 10 quarts will run you $75.00. A filter is $10, so that's $85.

A Fumoto Drain Valve to replace the oil plug is $22, and you can open the valve and drain the oil into a 3 gallon gas can, change the filter with a filter wrench and ratchet, and do the whole deal in a truck stop parking lot in 10 or 15 minutes without spilling a drop.

I run in and buy three quarts oil nearly every time I pass by an Autozone. Each $20 purchase gets me a point, and 5 points gets me a $20 credit. I dump the used oil at Autozone next time I'm there to buy another 3 quarts.

 

[bobwg]

No, you can buy your own oil and filter, and then have them change it at Walmart, and the total amount it'll cost you, including the oil, filter and the Walmart labor, will be about $110.

If oil is $7.50 a quart, 10 quarts will run you $75.00. A filter is $10, so that's $85.

A Fumoto Drain Valve to replace the oil plug is $22, and you can open the valve and drain the oil into a 3 gallon gas can, change the filter with a filter wrench and ratchet, and do the whole deal in a truck stop parking lot in 10 or 15 minutes without spilling a drop.

I run in and buy three quarts oil nearly every time I pass by an Autozone. Each $20 purchase gets me a point, and 5 points gets me a $20 credit. I dump the used oil at Autozone next time I'm there to buy another 3 quarts.

What ever your not counting the cost to go Autozone (time and fuel) for the parts and oil and then go back again to dump the oil and get more oil and parts and then over to a Walmart again. so again easier and just as cheap to make 1 stop at Frieghtliner and do everything at one time

 

[OntarioVanMan]

What ever your not counting the cost to go Autozone (time and fuel) for the parts and oil and then go back again to dump the oil and get more oil and parts and then over to a Walmart again. so again easier and just as cheap to make 1 stop at Frieghtliner and do everything at one time

I do believe Turtle said...'every time i pass by an Autozone"....there is NO time spent nor fuel to do this...

As you have to actually drive to a Freightliner dealer hence still costing you time and fuel...

 

[bobwg]

I do believe Turtle said...'every time i pass by an Autozone"....there is NO time spent nor fuel to do this...

As you have to actually drive to a Freightliner dealer hence still costing you time and fuel...

yes i drive to a frieghtliner dealer just like Turtle has to drive to a Walmart that has a shop not all Walmarts have shops so i still do everything in 1 stop

 

[OntarioVanMan]

yes i drive to a frieghtliner dealer just like Turtle has to drive to a Walmart that has a shop not all Walmarts have shops so i still do everything in 1 stop

whatever works Bob...it is all good..

 

[ebsprintin]

If Turtle parks at a Walmart like I do every night, there isn't a lot of driving involved in that either. But then I do do my own changes, so I only need the Walmart as a place to turn in my waste oil, which I don't have to drive to since I'm already there.

as for looking to buy a cargo van... don't try to get too creative. Average everything you see in the free classifieds and you should end up with a pretty generic choice. Once you are in your plain jane, generic cargo van (bought with cash) then get creative with the next one. Plain Jane is the secret. Plain Jane is good. It's hard to go wrong with average.

eb

 

[brycey2010]

I have decided to go with a 2007 Chevy Express 2500 extended van with 60k miles, 4.8 V8, I would have liked the 3500 extended but hard to find around here, and i have to get started ASAP to still use the Fedex job offer, in fact im scheduled to be in Ohio next week for orientation, thats 1100 miles from my house, gonna be a busy few days getting the van and fitting it out to Fedex standards. I need to find some E-Track, all the other stuff i have from my OTR days....

 

[Turtle]

Like OVM said, I don't go out of my way for much of anything, especially something as routine and pedestrian as oil. When I'm driving right past an Autozone I'll stop in. I drove right by two of them today while on a load. Stopped both times. Got three quarts each time.

I do it that way for two reasons. One, every three quarts is a single $20 purchase, which gets me a point, and after 5 points I get a $20 credit. Two, it's precisely so that I don't have to take time out of my day to go buy oil. The filters I buy 10 at a time and always have them with me. At any given time I may have anywhere between 3 and 20 quarts of oil. If I've got more than 20 quarts, I'll wait until the next oil change to start grabbing more oil.

When Autozone has the Mobile 1 synthetic 5-quarts and a filter for $29.95 I rack up, since that's equal to one free quart of oil and a free oil filter (the oil is $7.50 a quart, give or take), plus a point towards the 5 points. The last time they had that special, back in May I think it was, I had 45 quarts of oil in here by the end of the month.

I do my own changes, usually in a truck stop parking lot. The Fumoto Drain Valve makes it a no-brainer, quick and easy and no mess. It drains into the goose-neck spout of a 2.5 gallon gas can. So I waste no time driving anywhere to get my oil changed. I'll dump the oil the next time I go to an Autozone, even if it's several days or a few weeks before I stop in at one.

If I didn't do my own changes and relied on a dealer to do it, I'd be doing the same quick and easy and would take it to a dealer, like a Freightliner (I can't see myself taking a Sprinter to a Walmart, regardless, but that's me), but I'd also be providing the oil and filter for two reasons. It's as cheap or cheaper than they can provide it for, and I'll be absolutely 100% positive of what kind of oil they put in there, since a lot of dealers, especially Freightliners dealers, are known for putting in Mobile 1 Turbo Diesel, which is on Approved List and is perfectly fine, and it's what they use in most of their Freightliner trucks.

 

[aileron]

Turtle,

About a year and a half ago when I met you and Eddie at the J in SC somewhere I saw the Fumoto valve and the gas can on your van and I installed one on mine and I bought a gas can and I have been doing my oil changes on the road. Last one was in a sams parking lot in Michigan.

I use Mobil Delvac oil which is about $11 a gallon, and I buy the filters 10 at a time for about $8 a piece, so my oil change costs me about $38 including taxes. Works so far after 370k.

 

[LDB]

Do you guys use a big funnel to direct the oil into the gas can? Where do you dispose of it later on? Have you ever run into trouble with a location where you were changing the oil? Just curious of the logistics.

 

[aileron]

Do you guys use a big funnel to direct the oil into the gas can? Where do you dispose of it later on? Have you ever run into trouble with a location where you were changing the oil? Just curious of the logistics.

No funnel needed. The fumoto drain valve has a little pipe in it probably 1" long and the gas can fits right onto that pipe, open the valve and the oil all goes into the can.

I take it in to Advance Auto Parts, or Auto Zone, or Walmart, and I am sure there are a few more who accept used oil for free. And like Turtle said, whenever I drive by one, I stop in and drop the oil.

I never ran into trouble changing my oil, but I try to be discrete about it. I usually park away from other vehicles and people, and I am done very quickly.

 

[Turtle]

The drain valve can be bought with or without a nipple. Without the nipple and it's just an open hole, same as if you unscrewed the regular drain plug, and the oil will come out like normal. The one with the nipple allows you to do a couple of things. One is to attach a hose to it, in order to direct the oil precisely into the drain container. The other, and is what I do, I use a gas can with one of those gooseneck spouts on it, and I simply put the open end over the nipple, and the nipple pretty much holds it in place. The oil then drains into a small gas can. Without the nipple you'd need a funnel or a large drain pan, like normal.

I usually dispose of the used oil at Autozone, since it's quicker and easier than doing it at Walmart, but I've done it both places. I've also dumped it once at my mechanic's when I was there and remembered I had a container of used oil back there. When I change oil, disposing of the used oil is not exactly high on my list. I'll do that the next time I happen to go to Autozone. Sometimes that's several days or even weeks before I dump it. Once I was all ready to change the oil and remembered I hadn't dumped it from the last change. For that one I had to make a special trip a mile up the road to dump it.

I usually do my changes at a truck stop parking lot. Since a lot of people end up working on cars there, anyway, it doesn't stir up a lot of attention. Never done it at a Walmart packing lot. I figure that it's nice enough to let me park there, I don't want to overstay my welcome, especially since the have an oil changing business on the premises. A couple of times I've been in the middle of changing the oil, people will see the can underneath the van, the hood up, and me walking around with ratchet or something, and they'll come over and ask what's wrong, and if I need any help. When I tell them I'm just changing the oil, they get real interested in how I can do it so quickly in a parking lot and without a mess.

I recently changed oil and filter, fuel filter, cabin air filter and the fan blower motor in the J parking lot on the north side of Houston, and nobody said a word. Of course, all of it start to finish was half an hour.

Once, on a Sunday afternoon, I ventured around out to a laundromat to do laundry, as I needed a commercial washing machine for the sleeping bag. While the laundry was washing, I changed the oil.

 

[ebsprintin]

The slowest part of the oil change process with the fumoto valve on a Sprinter is pouring the oil.

eb

 

[guido4475]

Where do you change your oil? at home or on the road? what do you do with the old oil ? does the $75 include your 1 hour labor? I get the oil changed at Frieghtliner because I dont have my own place anymore I got rid of my apartment(they had rules against working on cars in the parking lot anyway) I put my stuff in storage to cut down on expenses especially since I am out here on the road weeks and months at a time. On the road it is easier to let Frieghtliner do the work they have the filters and oil and most important a place to gid rid of the old filters and old oil and not just dump the old oil and filters on the ground like you see at the truck stops and other parking lots and I dont get dirty and can be doing other things while they do the dirty work. As they say to each is own way of doing things

I change it at the house, dont even have to jack it upany, as fat as I am.I just reach under from the driver side, and use a 3/4 wrench,loosen the plug, and let the 15 qts drain into my pan, change the filter at the same time.Then grease the driveshaft with the air grease gun, and the steering/suspension.Then fill the oil with 1 qt lucas.The old oil gets put back in the containers the new oil came in, and I take it to autozone and dump in the winter,or my freind comes and gets it and uses it to spray the bed of his dump truck for when he hauls asphalt.If I am on the road, and it gets time to change it, (5,000 miles), then I buy it all at Wal-Mart,and have them change it for a cost of $30.00 labor.Fuel filter and air filters get changed around 20-25,000 miles.Tires get rotated and balanced every month, or 10,000, whichever comes first.Doing it myself, I dont get dirty, I wear those surgical gloves while doing it, and throw them away when done.

 

[guido4475]

332587 miles on a 2005 GMC 3500 extended body with the 4.8 V8...have replaced the waterpump, alternator (twice because the brushes were worn out) and had the trans rebuilt (the trans is the same one used with the 6.0 except that the computer is programed different)....

I have carried 3000 lb of freight several times and over 2500 lbs on a regular basis with no problems whatsoever that could be contributed to the size of the engine. Fuel mileage is between 16.5 and 18, with alot depending on my driving habits. Maintainance cost might be a bit higher then some because i use 100% synthetic oils and lube rater then "dino" oils....

As to what to buy, why buy anything other then what would give you the best chances to make as much money as you can? The extra load floor length, the extra weight capacity should be the only consideration when choosing what you buy.

As for buys a sprinter as your 1st vehicle, I'd personally stay away from them, only because they demand alot more attention to detail than a Ford / Chevy /GMC....not that they are bad vehicles, just that you can get by alot easier in a "slush bucket" American van until you have educated yourself on the business and made the decision to stay in.

Now all of that being said, If you are looking to buy a "NEW" CV, I'd be looking at the Chevy / GMC 9900 gvw srw cube with a 6.0 . 6 spd trans and the 3:42 rear axle.....that is what I am looking into right now...i just have until aug to depreciated and use the investment tax credit on the current cv I have...then there will be a new one coming, with the chassis and box being built to my specs and then the box finished my me as i want it.

Very smart thinking.

 

[guido4475]

I do believe Turtle said...'every time i pass by an Autozone"....there is NO time spent nor fuel to do this...

As you have to actually drive to a Freightliner dealer hence still costing you time and fuel...

When I had a Freightliner the wait time alone to get in the shop was terrible.That is what turned me off about a Freightliner, the service.Turtle has the right idea.We always pass by an Autozone in our travels, and he makes it profitable to stop and get the oil and utilize their point system to his advantage.

 

[fastman_1]

Where would I get one of those drain valves? We are looking at sprinters.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Where would I get one of those drain valves? We are looking at sprinters.

FUMOTO ENGINEERING