which engine?

[Marty]

I am looking to buy a 10,000gvwr Chevy dual rear wheel Unicell Aerocell cube van. I have the choice of two gas engines. The 4.8L and the 6.0L or the 6.6L Duramax diesel.
I would be grateful for any opinions as for fuel mileage, reliability, maintenace costs and potential problems.

Thank you,
Marty

 

[chefdennis]

1st, before you buy one of those for this type of work, weigh one 1st...thet are nothing but heavy...the uni-cell is lighter then some depending on which body you are getting..

You might want to read this thred:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/for...forum/47102-considering-new-van-thoughts.html

Now as to which engine...the engine is just one componet in the "powertrain"...which transmission are getting? Which axle ratio is the chassis equipped with? Those are as important as the engine size.

Next are you using a Uni-cell "pool chassis' or are you Ordering the chassis from Chevy/Gmc and having it "drop shipped"...

 

[moose]

Marty,
i just seen today a used UniCell buddy sitting in Warren, O.H ,
looks very good from sitting at the stop light.
maybe 30 min. from your house . go check it out.
looks like that business is buying used cargo boxes, and can sell and install it on location, if you provide the chassis.
why buy new ?
PM me for directions if this info is of relevant to you.

 

[Marty]

I would order a chassis spected the way I want it and have it delivered to Unicell.
I was thinking of th 14 foot Aerocell dual wheel. My biggest concerns are the empty weight and the fuel mileage.
I have a 2006 Sprinter now and the cost of repairs and maintenance has skyrocketed. The cost of a new 2011 Sprinter as far as repairs go seems even higher from what I heard. Having to add this Blue Def stuff seems a little crazy.
As far as a cube van is concerned I only have one choice and that is the dual wheel Aerocell. It is the only cube van with space between the seat and the bulkhead. I am 6'5" tall and need my seat moved back to drive comfortably.

 

[chefdennis]

Marty, you have a PM..

 

[scottm4211]

As much as I like the 4.8, I don't think it has the stones for the application you're looking at. I'd go Duramax if given the choice.

 

[chefdennis]

I think a Areocel DRW with the deisel and the 6 spd allison would weight in the 78-8000 lb area,,before any persnal stuff and a sleeping area....there goes the cargo capacity....you can haul more then that Scott in your CV....just not "tall" sprinter type freight....

DRW Cube vans are just heavy...

 

[scottm4211]

Yeah that's true. Why not go SRW?

 

[chefdennis]

My srw 14 ft load floor 72 in door opening with a 6.0 weighted 6600 after I took "stuff" off...

 

[Brisco]

I think a Areocel DRW with the deisel and the 6 spd allison...

Ahemmm....it's already been proven that you can't get an Allison Tranny in a GM cutaway C/C vehicle.

Just thought I'd point that out.

 

[chefdennis]

is the 6 spd not an allison?? I know the 6 spd trans is available in a commercial cutaway...now if that is not the allison 6 spd...then GM is using 2 different 6 spds.which may be the case...but either way the diesel and the 6 spd adds a bunch of weight...

Ok, answered my own question..the cutawy uses the 6l90e, the HD pickups a 4500 seris uses the allison 1000 6 spd...

See as I pointed out to another poster that implied that i thought of myself as an expert , I do still learn stuff everyday...

 

[Brisco]

is the 6 spd not an allison?? I know the 6 spd trans is available in a commercial cutaway...now if that is not the allison 6 spd...then GM is using 2 different 6 spds.which may be the case...but either way the diesel and the 6 spd adds a bunch of weight...

Ok, answered my own question..the cutawy uses the 6l90e, the HD pickups a 4500 seris uses the allison 1000 6 spd...

See as I pointed out to another poster that implied that i thought of myself as an expert , I do still learn stuff everyday...

I kinda got a little obsessed with this today:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/truck-talk/47211-duramax-diesel.html

I just knew I was in the right cause I wanted to order a 3500 C/C Cutaway with the Duramax/Allison combo some years back to convert into a little RV Hauler with a sleeper and all. Was explained years back too why an Allison will not fit in an Express Series Chassis. I knew those Express Chassis (frames) have not been redesigned since what, 1998??? But yet there are people saying that you CAN get an Allison in these trucks. When in FACT, you cannot.

So, my OCD kicked in this afternoon and I had to just flat out prove to them that NO, there is no such thing as a Duramax/Allison combo available for these trucks you guys are using.

I'm better now............hopefully.

 

[greg334]

Wow....

GM makes their own 6 spd auto trans, and they buy the allison to stick in some vehicles.

IF you want an allison, you can find a dealer who can special order it for you - however they will have to jump through hoops to get it.

They also offer it in a van chassis (modified) for export and military orders with any engine you want in it with any rear end you want with it. Dealers here won't be able to order it unless they do export orders.

 

[Brisco]

Wow....

GM makes their own 6 spd auto trans, and they buy the allison to stick in some vehicles.

IF you want an allison, you can find a dealer who can special order it for you - however they will have to jump through hoops to get it.

Not in an Express series chassis..........

Chevrolet and GMC dealers cannot "special order" any option from the factory that is not offered for the line-up of vehicles they are placing "orders" for, period.

In other words, if a customer is "spec'ing" out a special ordered Express 3500 and one of his options is the Duramax, he cannot say "I want the Allison Tranny too, see what you can do". There are NO "Hoops" any dealer can jump through because the Allison is just NOT available for the Express series line-up. Again, Period.

Don't believe me, find 100 dealers all across the country and start discussing a special ordered Express vehicle (CV or Cutaway). My bet, not a single one will get a "special ordered" Duramax/Allison package through the ordering process.

Sure, you'll have the dealers out there that'll say "Yep, I'll get that pushed through for you"(Like the idiot who told whomever here that he WAS driving a Durmax Van with an Allison), but when the order is actually placed with GM and then rejected, you'll be getting a call back saying "Sorry, the Allison Tranny is not available for the truck you want".

Guaranteed....Trust Me....Period.