Time to get on the ball in Expediting

[LaPurr]

Hey gang,
The wife and I have finnaly made the decision to get out into the expediting thing. She just got her Class C CDL. And we are just determining on wether we want to go with a expediting coverted Sprinter as seen here [http://www.expeditersonline.com/am/listings/l0062.html], or to get a Chevy/GMC Cargo van. We are stongly leaning towards the Sprinter. We are going out on tuesday to test drive one. I am looking to sign on with FECC. and yes, myself and the wife will be running team, so personal space is a definit requirement, hence why we are looking at the above link (althou modified for a larger bed for downtime to spend personal time with the wife :+ , in the van, but hopefully a hotel/motel).

However, above is not the reason I started this post. I am looking for specifics on the type of benefits I can expect, or not expect from diferent companys. I am referring to health insurance, 401k (or simalar retirement plans), vehicle insurance discounts, and anything else that might pretain to benefits I am not thinking of. If the carriers dont offer health plans, whats a good alternative to this for myself and wife, that is still affordable, and wont break me when I need, heaven forbid, a ER visit.

Another thing, When we do decide to get into this, we are needing to know of good areas to be based out of. I am currently in St Louis, but I will also have the option of Denver, or Atlanta. I know some companys arent hiring out of certain areas, and others are. FECC, last I talked to them, are not hiring out of St Louis or Denver, I didnt ask about Atlanta. These 3 areas are whats available to me to use as my home address, as I will be selling my house, and when we take time off away from family, will use my condo. This is in the mountains of Colorado, so I couldnt use it as a home address.

Terry and Rene, I am hoping to be in Louisville this saturday for the Expediters convention. I am hoping to talk to you guys more, and get alot more info.

To some of the others who think that going class B is a retarded way to go, keep it to yourself. This is the only option we have available to us because of certain restrictions on my wife and the style of life during expediting we want to live. I dont mean to sound harsh, but I posted about my plans befor, as I was trying to get info, and all I got was BS about doing a class d or c, instead of getting the info that I really needed. Thankfully there are some here that do have the ability to read what I am asking, and reply accordingly.

 

[davekc]

As far as vans, Sprinters have more room and better economy, but are more expensive on the front end.
If you haven't already, check out the areocells. Something inbetween a stock chassis (Ford or GM) and the Sprinter
With regards to location with your choices, Atlanta first, followed by St Louis, then Denver.
On health insurance, some companies have group rates but are still pretty expensive. Depending on your age and health considerations, I think you will have to shop this.
If you can qualify, a medical savings account would certainly be a consideration.
My two cents worth
Davekc
owner
20 years

 

[LaPurr]

I have searched around for information about the AeroCell, but cant find anything. So lets start with the basic questions..

Is it below a 10000 GVWR? Who is it manufactured by? type of motor? How large of a vehicle are we talking? Will it be able to comfortably sleep 2 adults during downtime (since I am teaming with my wife)? Whats its fuel milage? Does it acomadate well for a 4'10" driver to be behind the wheel? Are they manual or automatic (and I mean fully automatic, no clutch)? I probly have a whole bunch of other questions, but thats enuf for now..

I really like what I am seeing with the sprinter, With the added space of the sleeper, and still having enuf cargo space for 2 skids, or even 4 (with hight top) if the skids are meduim in height. Since they finnaly got that seating issues fixed, The only furture concern I have is the EGR and tranny/motor. But the last 2 you have to watch with any vehicle. Althou the value of the GMC/Chevy setup is also atractive. I wont even look at a Ford. Althou they used to offer a good deisel (the 6.0 is not proven, and is not looking promising to be proven either), they dont offer the ride I am looking for. Since I will be teaming, I want a soft as can be ride. The wheel base of the Ford doesnt allow this, or even come close to the ride of the GMC/Chevy. And since they are finnaly putting a deisel in it this year, thats one thing I am looking at. Althou, I would gladly take living space of the sprinter, over the stuff the GM products have offered. I have aproxamitly 2 more months of dealing with what I have, befor any decisions are made. Selling my house being the top priority.

 

[merkurfan]

IF your looking for a proven diesel your options are limited. The Sprinter motor has proven to have issues and I have heard about rear axle failures when run near capacity, the new diesel GMC's are going to have a setup that is different from the trucks and thus unproven and I am not sure if they have solved the duramax's problems with headgaskets. About all you can do is look for a older ford with a 7.3 power stroke but you don't want a ford. I am not really sure why, I have a Ford with a 7.3 and it rides good to me. Has lots of room and would allow for a team to run rather comfortably. A setup like the ones shown in other posts (where the bunk has adjustable size) would work great in a ford with a hightop, or a GM for that matter.

 

[davekc]

The Areocells are built in Buffalo NY. Sounds like you have already convinced yourself to go with a Sprinter.
With regards to the Areocell, they build them on Ford or GM chassis.
They are under 10,000 lbs if speced correctly.
Only concern with Sprinter is they seem to be problematic and expensive to repair. With being a foriegn vehicle, there have been numerous posts about long delays waiting for parts. Major time delays can be expensive. With the criteria you have mentioned, it will be a tough call.
Davekc

 

[LaPurr]

We arent completely sold on the sprinter. The downtime issues are a big factor. No vehicle running down the highway + paying for a hotel = negative profit. I have seen, and actually have been in Terry and Rene's Limo. It is setup quite nicely, with me only finding 1 thing i didnt like, and that was the TV placement (big deal). I am wanting a deisel, and althou many have had good luck with gas motors, upon doing the math, it will take 2 years to recover from the extra expense of buying a deisel. And I am hoping that repair costs will be about the same, if not less. I am a mechanic (ASE Certified), and am able to work on my own vehicle. If I did buy a Sprinter, I would buy a spare EGR valve, and put it in my tool box. I hadnt heard about the rear axle bit, thats completely new news to me. Althou i have heard that there are problems when the GVWR is gone over (ball joints breaking, spindles shearing, axle cracks).

Keep the information coming in guys, need all the help I can get

 

[davekc]

For a standard gm van chassis, Terry has probably got one of the nicest that I have seen.
For the aero cell dealers, I will refer you to this link.
www.unicell.com
Hope that helps, or gives you something to compare.
Davekc

 

[dieseldoctor1]

Sounds like you have some time before making a decision about what to buy. You may want to look at this thread before you buy.
http://www.expeditersonline.com/cgi...az=show_thread&om=519&forum=DCForumID16&omm=0
It is about my Unicell. I was a diesel mechanic or service manager from 1958 until I closed the dealership in 1994 and think I have a pretty good eye for quality machinery. I looked the Sprinter over real good when I was shopping for a new van. I thought Jon Moser of Knoxville frlnr would faint when I laid down on the pavement and slide up under his sprinter lol. Bottom line I decided it would be a very expensive piece of eqipment to own. All I can find from talking to every Sprinter owner I can find, and researching on the web, is that my hunch was right. Also I understand from some FEDEX mechanics that they are starting to have major problems with theirs and they run short trips not long and hard like expeditors.Anyway I've been in this for over 7 years and keep my records on computer and nobody with a diesel has shown me where the diesel will save any money from the time you buy the van until you sell or trade it. If diesel and gas ever get to the same price then it would pay to go diesel, but as long as the difference is 10 to 15 cents it won't pay off.As far as Fords everybody has their preference. I had a 98. Put 367,000 miles on it. Did one brake job,replaced one alternator, three sets of spark plugs and tires and oil changes ever 10,000 miles and it didn't use oil when i traded it for my 2001. Put 377,00 on 2001. One brake job,one alternator, one fuel pump ,three sets of spark plugs and oil changes ever 10,000 miles. In other words I spent less on those two vans in 6 yrs than most Sprinter owners I have talked to spent on their Sprinters in the first yr. I have over 140,000 on my 2004 and have put one set of tires and one set of spark plugs on it. Averaged 14.3 MPG for all last yr,idleing and all.So ask a lot of questions, make notes and then sit down and decide which way you want to go. Good Luck! Dieseldoctor

 

[davekc]

Dieseldoctor1.......that is a great setup. I don't think you can beat that bed setup. What is your opinion on the larger aerocells?
Curious, as this has came up several times and you apparently did alot of research on these.
Davekc

 

[Crazynuff]

One reason I have heard for buying diesel rather than gas is if you sleep with the truck running there is a much higher carbon monoxide danger with gas . I know diesels take a lot longer to warm up in the winter . You won't get any real heat out of them until you run down the road unless you idle them pretty high for a while .

 

[dieseldoctor1]

Dave I really can't speak about the larger Unicells as I haven't even looked at them. All I can say is I went to the factory in Toronto and talk to the engineer who's name is Ping. She is a little lady with a strong Oreintal accent which didn't jive too well with my strong southern accent but we managed to comunnicate enough to get my body like I wanted it. You can call her and she can answer any questions and work with you on any changes you want. But be warned when they do something different from standard it costs like the devil. Dieseldoctor

 

[dieseldoctor1]

First off I urge you no matter what kind of vehicle you have if you are going to sleep in it get a good carbon monoxide detector!!!!!!!!Ours has went off twice in 7 years and both times it was someone that had parked beside us after we went to sleep and was running their engine. As far as diesel or gas they will both kill you.
Dieseldoctor

 

[LaPurr]

If I was running solo, I think the unicell would probly be a good idea. But, I am going to be running team, and the whole idea of a suspended bed above freight while the vehicle is moving just does not sit well with me. Not to mention, with some freight in there, my wife (very short) couldnt even get in the bed without me pulling over and actually giving here a boost into the bed. That just totally takes away from the comfort and conveinience that we are after. You did a very good job with your setup, but Terry and Renes setup is alot closer to where I want things to be, and the sprinter allows for that larger bed, which is definetly another plus. I think the sprinter or a GMC Extended is the direction we want to go in.

The wife has some line of sight issues in regards to the GMC/Chevy. Major line of sight issues with a Ford, and almost none with the Dodge Ram Van(but since they dont make them anymore...). The sprinter We will find out tomorow (I hope) as we head to our local Dodge Sprinter dealer to find out.

 

[LaPurr]

RE%3A Time to get on the ball in Expediting

Accident, disregard..

 

[LaPurr]

Well we went and took a test drive in a sprinter extended raised roof tonight. I was really impressed by the size of the interior, and the electronic adjustable headlights, Making it so you arent possum hunting when loaded. just flip the switch, and it brings the headlights down to the ground. My wife could easily drive it, with very good visability, even better then the GMC or Ford, althou the air bags scare the hell out of her. Our main complaint, the seats are horridly uncomfortable. Maybe I am just used to the seats in my Cadillac, but they were very stiff, and unforgiving to me. They told me they just recently issued a recall about the defective EGR valve. So thats at least a small benefit.
So heres the breakdown

Sprinter $36000 - Not setup for expedite, Would cost roughly 4000-6000 to setup (Bed, TV, and all the other stuff)

Sprinter $44000 - Expedite setup with bed, VCR/TV, 120V power supply, and everything else that is listed in the one in the link in my original post.

GMC Non-Diesel - $19000 - Not setup for expedite, Would cost roughly 8000 to setup (turtle top, bed, TV, and all the other stuff)

GMC Deisel - $26000 +/- (no set price yet) - Not setup for expedite, Would cost roughly 8000 to setup (turtle top, bed, TV, and all the other stuff)

I havent found anyone that sells these GMC models with the expedite setup. The AEROCELL is out of the question. So where do I go next?

Suggestions, thoughts, ideas?

 

[davekc]

#36,000 on a new sprinter is too high. Should be around $32,000 (non sleeper)
Davekc

 

[LaPurr]

By the time you include the $$ for the idle option, conveinience groups, power windows, lock, and what have you, it was just a shade over 36000. That was the Extended WB and raised roof.

 

[LaPurr]

Upon further investigation, I think I might be going with Panther II rather than FECC like I had originally planned. Since I have decided to dig in my heals from the get go, PII allows me to buy an older van, and give it a "try out" so to speak. So instead of dropping 22,000+ on a new van, I can drop about 4-6000, and be started out with alot more in my pocket, and less expenses because of no loan payments. At least thats what I have read about them allowing older vans. Is this true?

EDIT: This is true, i just contacted them about the whole thing, and asked to be sent a info packet. Is there a color requirement for PII? Does it have to be white?

 

[merkurfan]

That is what I did.. I had 2 trucks from my previous contract, one was a 94 Mack and a 96 E350 diesel. Panther said no to the mack (to old) but yes to the Ford. I jumped on it. I paid 3000 for the ford last year (I bought it on ebay ) and it has a 2 foot hightop (a 6'5 man can sand up in here!) and is about 11 feet to the rear doors. I have a 3 foot sleeper and 8 foot cargo area. I love it. For a team your probably going to want to do some sort of cargo door so you can have more room to sleep. I am just waiting on a load (I got there before it was ready) and this run to NC will turn the 300,000 mark. The van had about 250 on it when I got it. I have replaced the rear brakes, the ball joints and the glow plugs. Total after I built my sleeper 4500 bucks. I don't expect any major repairs for at least 40,000 although it will be due for a pair of rear tires in a month.

As far as color most are white but I have seen some blue and black vans and trucks, so white is prevered but must not be required. I also ran in to a driver that is driving a much older than 96 Ford (I think it was a 93) he told me they don't make you get rid of a older van as long as it does not cause a lot of failures (fail to deliver on time) I think he said he was getting close to 1 million miles on the van.

I might suggest staying away form a van with a top as high as mine, the van was 9'3 tall before the qualcomm. It is now just under 10 feet. You can't just roll through a car wash or drive through with it. However, the room to stand up is great!

When shopping for a van stay away from the Fords with a 4.3 (or 4.2 can't rememeber) V6 engine. You'll find them in the E250's. They are junk. You'll be replacing it every year. Get a 5.4 gas or diesel. Chevy/GMC look for a 4.3, 5.0 or 5.3.. And since your going older, why not get a 1 ton extened dodge since your wife can see while driving it I had a 91 before the ford. That thing was HUGE I think it is a foot longer than Ford or Chevy. I suggest getting at least a 3/4 ton with 8 bolt wheels, but a 1 ton would be best.

 

[LaPurr]

The Dodge One ton is definetly one of my Top picks. Followed by GMC, and Ford last. The dodges are extremely easy to work on (I think), and the motors are almost indestructable. Problem is, finding one that isnt a passenger setup (all windows) and doesnt already have alot of miles on it, or been owned by a construction/painter company. They usually tear them up pretty bad. Im hopin to find a 01 Dodge 1 ton EXT cargo setup, with power windows, locks, Cloth seats, cruise, and AC. Stereo isnt really important as I have a in dash GPS/DVD system that I am going to install. The only problem I have heard with Dodges is that the rear doors dont open to the required width. I am wondering if this is true, and does it matter if it is the Barn door setup, or the single HUGE door.