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Started By
Message
Service van owners of the OT. New vans (small?)
Posted on 6/7/20 at 8:56 am
Posted on 6/7/20 at 8:56 am
my E250 super duty van has hit 315,000 miles. I just rebuilt transmission, now I'm having engine issues. So it's time to retire it.
I don't know if I want to go bigger or smaller. I rarely used the van to its full size and a lot of it is full of aging inventory I'll never sell.
A lot of people in my field are going to Trannsit Connects and Nissan NV vans and those little Ram vans.
Now I've always liked Chevy, but this last van going 300,000 miles before its first break down has me really looking into Ford.
I've test driven a few tall vans and a few small ones.
The Transits are nice, but that height will be rough to park with all the over hanging trees I see and would prevent me from serving a couple of condos I service like River Place.
So I looked at the Connect. I like it, but it's a 4 banger.
I was just looking to see if anyone else went from large van to small. Any regrets?
Do you prefer large?
My biggest competitor's entire fleet is the transit connects with the short wheelbase. I was looking at the extended wheelbase one.
Plus it's like $11,000 cheaper which is a plus.
I don't know if I want to go bigger or smaller. I rarely used the van to its full size and a lot of it is full of aging inventory I'll never sell.
A lot of people in my field are going to Trannsit Connects and Nissan NV vans and those little Ram vans.
Now I've always liked Chevy, but this last van going 300,000 miles before its first break down has me really looking into Ford.
I've test driven a few tall vans and a few small ones.
The Transits are nice, but that height will be rough to park with all the over hanging trees I see and would prevent me from serving a couple of condos I service like River Place.
So I looked at the Connect. I like it, but it's a 4 banger.
I was just looking to see if anyone else went from large van to small. Any regrets?
Do you prefer large?
My biggest competitor's entire fleet is the transit connects with the short wheelbase. I was looking at the extended wheelbase one.
Plus it's like $11,000 cheaper which is a plus.
8
Posted on 6/7/20 at 9:00 am to Napoleon
Chevy Express is the GOAT.
The Ford equivalent is the only thing I might replace it with, but the Chevy is reliable as it gets.
The Ford equivalent is the only thing I might replace it with, but the Chevy is reliable as it gets.
Posted on 6/7/20 at 9:01 am to Napoleon
They make Transits in low, medium and high roof heights. Get on Ford's web site. Or go to a dealer that has a fleet department. You may not qualify as a fleet (volume wise) but they will have the in house expertise to help you spec it out as you may like. Those transits are popular because you can configure them in so many ways.
Posted on 6/7/20 at 9:02 am to Napoleon
Toyota Sienna is a great van
Posted on 6/7/20 at 9:24 am to Napoleon
My dad has been driving service vans for decades. He loved the Nissan NV. Does not like the Ford he currently drives and wishes he bought a Mercedes work van instead
Posted on 6/7/20 at 9:31 am to Napoleon
Regular length Chevy Express. Those things just run forever. Same with the Ford E series. Both have been left unchanged for a long time.
The smaller vans don't last as long as the bigger ones.
The Sprinter vans are very nice, but they have expensive problems and aren't as reliable as the older-style American vans. I don't know much about the new Metris van though. I hear good things.
The smaller vans don't last as long as the bigger ones.
The Sprinter vans are very nice, but they have expensive problems and aren't as reliable as the older-style American vans. I don't know much about the new Metris van though. I hear good things.
This post was edited on 6/7/20 at 9:34 am
Posted on 6/7/20 at 9:35 am to Napoleon
My brother has a fleet of the nissans nv’s. I believe he’s up to 8 now. He switched from the fords over to the Nissan about 4 years ago. In fact all of his company vehicles are nissans from the sales persons car up to the nv3500.
Posted on 6/7/20 at 10:00 am to member12
One thing that turned me off to the Chevy work vans. You won't find one without the paint peeling. They turned me off. Everyone I see has flakes of paint coming off.
The E series is dead other than the E350 cab chassis. The big Transit replaced it.
I speced out a transit, most options are driver assist kind of things.
I want a side window because U turns without one sucks.
Other than that. I can add front cameras and storage. I like the Ford sync system. But the base has Bluetooth and fm radio which is all I need. I'll check out the chevy vans on Monday.
The Mercedes are the nicest but I'm not sold on the metris. It's a lot more money.
I can't stand how the Ram looks so I may not look at those. I looked at the nv Friday. The ford seemed to have more on the small vans.
The E series is dead other than the E350 cab chassis. The big Transit replaced it.
I speced out a transit, most options are driver assist kind of things.
I want a side window because U turns without one sucks.
Other than that. I can add front cameras and storage. I like the Ford sync system. But the base has Bluetooth and fm radio which is all I need. I'll check out the chevy vans on Monday.
The Mercedes are the nicest but I'm not sold on the metris. It's a lot more money.
I can't stand how the Ram looks so I may not look at those. I looked at the nv Friday. The ford seemed to have more on the small vans.
Posted on 6/7/20 at 10:21 am to Napoleon
quote:
Everyone I see has flakes of paint coming off.
The E series is dead other than the E350 cab chassis. The big Transit replaced it.
They finally fixed that a few years ago. We had a couple that had to be fixed around the leading edge of the hood near the grill. (way back when, my old company had a fleet of trucks and vans. Freightliner, Chevrolet, GMC, Ford, Ram, Navistar, and the Sprinter. Also 5-6 of the previous generation Chevy Impala.)
The Sprinter (sold as a Dodge for a while) is not something you want to own long term. They have axle and diff problems and can get expensive in a hurry. They may have since fixed those issues though.
The Ford E and Chevy Express are the most durable vans and chassis cabs by far, excluding 5-6 years where Ford put extremely crappy Powerstroke diesels in the E. The gas versions were just fine, but those V8 Ford diesels had a lot of expensive repairs.
The newer Chevy Express has a 2.8L diesel that's very efficient and sturdy. It's not a replacement for the big gasoline or diesel engines offered by GM. If you aren't towing particularly heavy loads and just need a van, the 2.8L a great alternative to the Vortec gas 6.0L V8 - which is very reliable, but not particularly efficient. The Express with the 2.8L Duramax diesel is nearly as efficient as the smaller vans.
I'd give the 2.8L Express diesel a try if I were you....if you don't like the way it drives, no harm done.
This post was edited on 6/7/20 at 10:28 am
Posted on 6/7/20 at 11:20 am to Napoleon
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/7/22 at 9:38 pm
Posted on 6/7/20 at 1:30 pm to Buttoncollector
Hmm. To be honest. I'm intimated to go to Mercedes.
I guess I need to get over that and check them out.
I guess I need to get over that and check them out.
Posted on 6/7/20 at 1:40 pm to Napoleon
I drove a Transit for about a year before moving up to a larger, older 2500 Chevy van. The Transit wasn’t that bad. Ground clearance sucked for telephone work where we’re going through rough territory at times. And, we received notification from corporate that the vehicle could not have a passenger due to the equipment load putting the van at its maximum capacity. Otherwise, it had an aux input and power windows—two things my old 2013 Chevy doesn’t have. I drove it (the Transit) up to Atlanta one time, and it made the trip fine. FWIW, mine was a longer wheelbase but lower profile model.
Posted on 6/9/20 at 3:17 pm to FCP
Liked the Mercedes, but lack of dealer support bothered me. Went back to Ford. Spec'd out a nice transit 250. Couldn't get a price I wanted.
Decided to buy a transit connect because I liked the way it rode and it was more comfortable. Plus cheap too. $23k but I did get the extended warranty and stuff.
It's got tons of safety features. Let's me know when anything is around me, it doesn't let me tailgate though. Lol
Good work van
Decided to buy a transit connect because I liked the way it rode and it was more comfortable. Plus cheap too. $23k but I did get the extended warranty and stuff.
It's got tons of safety features. Let's me know when anything is around me, it doesn't let me tailgate though. Lol
Good work van
Posted on 6/9/20 at 3:19 pm to Napoleon
Weird thread. Do you guys all live down by the river too?
Posted on 6/9/20 at 3:33 pm to yatesdog38
I think Nissan NV are going out of production I saw? Also the Nissan's get horrible gas mileage as they are heavy.
We have a dodge promaster, typical dodge stuff handles break. But as far as driving and what not its great.
We have a dodge promaster, typical dodge stuff handles break. But as far as driving and what not its great.
Posted on 6/9/20 at 4:21 pm to Tigeralum2008
quote:
...and wishes he bought a Mercedes work van instead
We have an old one here at my shop. Last headlight housing we had to change cost like $400. The new ones are super nice though. I just wonder about viable service options.
Posted on 6/9/20 at 5:00 pm to musick
quote:
Chevy Express is the GOAT.
215k on my 2500 express. runs and pulls great. pull out catering trailer and race cars literally every week. no problems until here lately and thats with the GM Passlock security bullshite. its a common issue it seems, but boy can it be a pain in the arse. mine won't even hard reset, have to undo the positive on the battery for a day or so and then its back good to go
Posted on 6/9/20 at 7:57 pm to yatesdog38
quote:
Weird thread. Do you guys all live down by the river too?
Search for "van life" on YouTube.
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