Need opinions/experience with a cargo van

[///M-Spec]

No kidding. I need to purchase/lease a cargo van for my company. We need something that has a 2800lb.+ payload capacity but has a GVWR of less than 4 tons. Must be bulletproof (not literally).

I'm looking at a Chevy Express/GMC Savana 2500 short wheelbase right now, which on paper looks better than the Ford E-series and way better than a Dodge Sprinter.

I've doing some research at various sites, but figured I'd hit up GTP since you never know who might be lurking around that has experience with these things and I've been surprised more than once at the depth of GTP membership.

Is there a substantial mechanical difference between the Chevy and GMC? Looks like badging and options to me at this point. Anyone have firsthand experience with one? Likes/dislikes? Anecdotal evidence on reliability? Is there even a reason for me to consider the Sprinter or E-series?


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[Duke]

I don't have a ton of experience with cargo vans, but in general, I prefer Ford trucks to Chevies. I can't imagine that is much different considering that both vans are (I believe) riding on their respective manufacturer's previous-gen truck platforms. In that generation, the Ford pickup was generally held to be better than the Chevy/GMC.

Our survey crews run Fords, mostly, but we do have some Chevs. Neither one seems particularly more or less reliable than the other.

One thing I do know is that judging from the amount of negative camber on every older Ford cargo van I've ever seen, they eat ball joints or UCA bushings pretty heavily.

 

[Joey D]

My dad has a 98 Chevy 2500 and it's been nothing but problems, it's already gone through a cooling system and an engine...yes it had to have the engine replaced with less then 90,000 miles on it. I can sort of understand the cooling system but not the engine.

He had a Ford van before that and it ran for 155,000 miles with no issues. It didn't go fast and topped out at 70 if you were pushing (this was due to the rear axle and the I6 engine).

I would say Ford over Chevy due to the fact I don't think Chevy vans are very good. But you can probably get a better deal on a Chevy.

 

[neanderthal]

theyll both get stupid stupid miles. ive seen plenty of examples of either with 300000 plus.

the ford has the swing arm suspension at the front thatll chew up the tires.

id go sprinter diesel.

 

[a6m5]

I also think Econolines are safe bet. They are everywhere around here. Mechanically, they are sound. Only couple of problems I've noticed in those vans are the shifter mechanism in the steering column(parts are cheap), and the rear door handle, which might be expensive.

I've driven E-150 & 250 countless times. I think they are good vans, but I have no experience with the Dodge/GM/Chevy.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> My vote goes with the Sprinter all the way, better diesel mileage, Mercedes-Benz diesel engine (it may be a noob here in the US, but the GM/Ford are the noob for the rest of the world). And a lot of people who traded their Ram Van/GM/E-Series said that the Sprinter is in a whole 'nother level. I got a couple of Youtube vids on the 2007 Sprinter:

CLICKY


CLICKY

(:

 

[1X83Z]

Buy the Chevrolet. The Ford is truck-like and antiquated, and it's hard to get stuff into them because the liftover is high. They're better for carrying passengers. Obviously the Sprinter is too expensive and extremely slow, and unless you need the space on the outside for advertising or the space on the inside for lots of stuff, it's not the one. Chevrolet and GMC actually update their vans (I believe they did so in 2004) and they've got the best all-rounders for cargo. As neanderthal said, they'll rack up crazy miles - go on AutoTrader and search for 'above 100,000 miles' and then sort by mileage from highest to lowest, and the top vehicles are always General Motors cargo vans (and vehicles where the dealer entered 74,000 as 740,000).

 

[///M-Spec]

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed in this thread 👍

I went to look at an Express 2500 this afternoon and after confirming the rear and side door opening dimensions, had to scratch the Chevy off the list. Reason: the openings are too short to load a full pallet of cargo. We could break the pallet down into two smaller ones, but that becomes an unacceptable expenditure of time and energy.

The Ford E-series openings are slight larger, but several inches short as well.

At this point, it looks like the Sprinter may end up getting the nod simply because it is much taller than the Ford and Chevy and has absolutely HUMONGOUS rear doors. The side doors are pretty decent too. We should be able to use a forklift to drop a whole pallet into one without too much trouble.

Too bad the Sprinter is anemic compared to the Ford and Chevy. And the factory warranty period is much shorter as well. And it's expensive.


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[TheCracker]

As a limey my views on the US cargo van market are extremely limited, in fact limited to the Dodge Sprinter that we get over here as the Mercedes Sprinter. I rented the largest one possible when i moved house the other year. It was big enough to fit the entire contents of our 3 bedroomed house in a load and a half. Access was sufficient enough to easily fit double beds, sofas, dining room tables, large fridge/freezers, washing machines, etc, etc. I don't know which engines your 'Dodge' Sprinters get over there but the Turbo diesel that i rented was plenty powerful enough to haul 2/3rds of a house with very little effort. It seriously shifted when empty too 👍

 

[///M-Spec]

^

Thanks for your impressions. We get the turbo diesel here too. I believe our Sprinter is very similar to yours. We also have an optional V6 petrol mill that cranks out 254 hp/250 lb-ft.

I'm sure the diesel is a fine motor; it makes pretty decent torque and gas mileage stomps the Ford and Chevy V8s. But with just 154 hp, I'm just concerned that it may lead to some hairy merging situations. The NY/NJ area has a lot of short on-ramps that merge into thick, very fast flowing and hyper aggressive traffic. I would feel much more comfortable if a 300 hp/300 ft-lb stump puller were in there.

Fully loaded, gross vehicle weight will be almost 4 tons


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[TheCracker]

Well, like i said, the one i borrowed happily carried 2/3rds of my house contents up and down the many steep hills that Sheffield consists of plus some motorway miles as well. Although 154bhp doesn't sound much it's the torque figure that matters when you're hauling isn't it?

...but if you must have overkill...

 

[1X83Z]

Well, like i said, the one i borrowed happily carried 2/3rds of my house contents up and down the many steep hills that Sheffield consists of plus some motorway miles as well. Although 154bhp doesn't sound much it's the torque figure that matters when you're hauling isn't it?

Both figures matter when you're trying to get going - I think the 0-60 hovers around 20 seconds. That's just dangerous. It's also considerably more expensive than similar vehicles.

 

[///M-Spec]

I'm American. Overkill is our national trait.

Besides, I don't think I'm going to end up with much of a choice. All the Sprinters in inventory seem to be the diesel. A test drive is definately in order, I might very well find power is quite adequate.

If not, maybe I can 'chip' the Sprinter


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[Duke]

Dude.

Buy the Sprinter. Find a wrecked Ram dually with the Cummins turbodiesel and Alison transmission. Merge the parts and end your merging issues.

 

[TheCracker]

Both figures matter when you're trying to get going - I think the 0-60 hovers around 20 seconds. That's just dangerous. It's also considerably more expensive than similar vehicles.

Why is it dangerous? Afraid the Civic boys will pwn you at the traffic lights? A decent torque figure is all you require to shift all that weight when you're actually on the move.

Anyhow, test one and see what you think.

*edit* - Brabus do a useful 224bhp/480Nm conversion on the diesel version.

 

[///M-Spec]

Dude.

Buy the Sprinter. Find a wrecked Ram dually with the Cummins turbodiesel and Alison transmission. Merge the parts and end your merging issues.

Now you're talkin'.




No no no... we need that factory warranty.




Seriously, will that "bolt right up"?


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[Duke]

Why is it dangerous? Afraid the Civic boys will pwn you at the traffic lights? A decent torque figure is all you require to shift all that weight when you're actually on the move.

Knowing the area this vehicle will be used, a 20 second 0-60 time (if that's a real figure) would be extremely dangerous to drive every day, particularly loaded. He's going to need that thing to move out of the hole with authority.

Anyhow, test one and see what you think.

This is truth.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Actually, according to Road&Track magazine, they made a very funny comparison between DHL, FedEx, and UPS. The Sprinter tested was a last-gen model (one was a 2500 and one 3500) and both of them came in 'round 18+ sec 1/4 mile. Thats not bad considering the Protege5 I used to own ticks 'round 17 seconds.

CLICKY ON PIC FOR THE ARTICLE:


(:

 

[///M-Spec]

Why is it dangerous? Afraid the Civic boys will pwn you at the traffic lights? A decent torque figure is all you require to shift all that weight when you're actually on the move.

Anyhow, test one and see what you think.

*edit* - Brabus do a useful 224bhp/480Nm conversion on the diesel version.

Perhaps you've got us confused? I'm ///M-Spec. He's M5Power. I'm the one buying the van

.....

So after a morning's worth of number crunching and hallway debates, the purse-strings holder shot the Sprinter out of the sky. Priorities were reassigned and our big trucks will continue to move all the pallets around. That means Chevy and Ford are back in the running because the mission now is to haul cases and half-pallets, not whole pallets.

Good thing too, because I can buy barely used '06 Express 2500s all day long for HALF the asking price of an '05 or '06 Sprinter.


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[kennythebomb]

Are you happy with that solution?

For some reason that picture above just makes me chuckle.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Oh well, so the Sprinter was kicked out huh? (:

-> But of the two (between GM and Ford), I'd pick the Chevy Express 2500. For some odd reason, I've always have a bad feeling with Ford's. Plus I think that GM has that extra-long warranty that they keep on blabbing 'round the TV ads. (:

 

[///M-Spec]

Are you happy with that solution?

For some reason that picture above just makes me chuckle.

Mostly. As long as our route supervisor/foreman, salespeople (who get a say in which of their customers get what and when) and drivers are okay with the setup.

It's a slam dunk in terms of justifying the purchase because it'll take half as long to pay. More over, it'll take 10+ years for the diesel Sprinter to offset it's much higher price with fuel efficiency and I don't plan on keeping either van that long.


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[Tornado]

That means Chevy and Ford are back in the running because the mission now is to haul cases and half-pallets, not whole pallets.

While I'd take the Sprinter in a second, I understand why you'd wanna drop it out.
So, between the Ford and the Chevy, the Chevy all the way. The Ford hasn't been updated since George Bush was president, and while it is to be redone rather soon, if you can't wait all you can do is grab the Chevy.

Edit: Looking at the pricing, why does it cost $75 for an extra set of keys with the Sprinter, but only $7 for extra keys for the Express.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ I think thats because, the Sprinter has an immobillizer equipped within the key. Plus the Sprinter is considered an "import" because it is made by Mercedes-Benz (that the reason why its so expensive for its class). (:

 

[TheCracker]

Perhaps you've got us confused? I'm ///M-Spec. He's M5Power. I'm the one buying the van

Believe me, i know the difference between you two - i was aiming the post in two directions, perhaps i should have been clearer.

 

[coldblooded69]

The chevy is better... go for it!

 

[///M-Spec]

Ah, you Chevy lovers will be happy to know we picked up 2006 Express 2500 RWD standard wheelbase a couple of weeks ago. Only had 20k on it and was a solid deal.

I won't bother to post pics I'm sure you all know what an Express looks like.


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[The Vanishing Boy]

-> In case for people who doesn't know what this van looks like:

-> Congratulations on your van purchase.

(:

 

[///M-Spec]

-> Congratulations on your van purchase.

(:

Is that pic supposed to be some sort of joke? If it was, it's not very funny. I've got people driving that van you know.


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[Tornado]

Well, actually, that doesn't appear to be that bad of a reaction to the crash. The engine area looks to have absorbed all of the impact, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of Isuzu Rodeo Effect.