[Link: remotecentral.com]

We use the Chevy Express, but found that we needed to use the 2500 and 3500. The suspension and brakes fail very quickly in the 1500 - Seems that a fully loaded van weighs too much for the suspension on a 1500. The V8 also becomes a necessity when driving up hills and such.

Jeff

No Ford guys out there? We use Windstars for the smaller stuff and in the city for easier parking. They work out real well. We also use the E250's and E150 for hauling bigger stuff and bigger job's but still occasionally break ot the trailer for big screens and chairs. They all get emptied everynight and repacked the next day with what is needed for the job, since we started this practice you can always find what you need and know when something has gone missing.

Mine is the white 2001 Dodge 2500 Van.

They don't make them anymore... It's a lot like my '78 Dodge Sortsman van I had. years ago.

www.jetrack.info (my pic's and ladder storage solution)

I am just finishing up installing the double sided electric ladder rack on my sprinter. I will post a review and parts list soon. I did a ton of research, and feel that we have perhaps, the nicest, and most installer friendly install rig out there.

We use 3 vehicles at work, depends on the job. We have a 2004 Chevy Avalanche, 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan, and the big brute, a 2003 Chevy Savana with a Unicell conversion. The bubble van is the best thing to use, 7' ceiling in the bubble and lots of room. We got hit by a drunk in the fall and it made only minor damage and didnt affect our path as we drove, the drunks truck got smoked though. I love 1 tonne axels.

[Link: unicell.com]

Our model uses the two doors instead of the large one, much faster for getting only one tool.

I can understand the hesitation of some against the bog boxy Sprinter.
After all, regular cargos like to drift a little in a stong wind if they don't have much weight in them.

If they would be accepted in the US, Mercedes might import the CDI powered baby brother to the Sprinter so we could get 30MPG from a 3/4 ton cargo instead of 10-15, as well as getting that famous MB build quality and MB diesel reliability.



I would buy a couple of these in a heartbeat. (sorry Chevrolet)

Where's Coach Steve??
I would be interested to hear his thoughts on the gas vs. diesel breakeven analysis after fuel and maintenence figures are tabulated, and also another viewpoint on the wisdom (or lack thereof) regarding the Biodiesel tax credit issue.

set out to buy an Astro size van used a couple of years ago when I was in your shoes. Ended up finding a 1 year old Express 3500 extended whellbase decked out with the interior shelving and roof racks. Got it from Plumber who was retiring.

The thing is 22' long....just a monster, but I have not regretted it a bit as we easily fill it with TV's electronics etc.

Bought it for $12K with 40K miles on it. Had it for over two years, but another now has about 70K miles. Never a problem with the machine. We will have it until it dies.

for additional vans we will take a very close look at the Sprinter with the Diesel....just for the gas milage factor. The Chevy gets about 10mpg, which has sucked here in San Diego as we consistantly have the highest if not the second highest gas prices in the country

Am I missing something, how do you post pics??

This thread has a ton of info on posting photos, but note that the imagemonster thing crashed so a lot of them are broken files now.

[Link: remotecentral.com]

Thanks 2nd Rick,

Heres a pic of the inside of our E450 w/ util. box. We also have an E250 and F150 w/ trailor that I'd like to trade in for more of these as soon as I can afford it.



Sorry so big..

This message was edited by Evil Twins on 06/06/05 19:38 ET.

How do you keep all the cable (esp the spools) on the shelves. Mine would be on the floor before I left the driveway. Maybe its just the way I drive :)

They do slide a little but there's a little lip that stops anything from falling. The spools I just stand them on end and they dont budge.

I need to get my boxes off the floor. I think the ladder rack needs to come off the shelf also... Had a h*ll of a time putting a 50" DLP in there today...
For those of you wanting to know how to post a pic. Put your pic on your hard drive, go here [Link: imagemonster.org]
Browse for your pic, upload it. You will get a list of links. Copy the link that says "To link your image in HTML" Come here, and paste it. Done.

I bought a Sprinter at the end of the year for a tax write-off. It is the 140" WB with the tall roof.

At first I had buyer's remorse, since it ended up costing me $40K with shelves. But when gas started going up, I realized that I had made the right choice. I'm getting about 25-27mpg and we push it hard .

Loaded, it handles well. It gets windy around here, especially when driving through the desert. So far it seems very stable, even in high winds and fast cornering.

It can be parked in places that I have trouble parking a Grand Caravan. Amazing turning radius.

It is not quite as comforable to drive as an Express or Savana. The steering wheel is locked in an upright position and is unadjustable. One other problem with the Van is the electric locks are a little crazy. They work, but they just don't make much sense.

It is Mercedes all the wall through, so hopefully we won't have the usual Chrysler transmission problems. The diesel engine is suppose to be good for a half a million miles. Try that on a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. It's a true truck and handles weight very well--it actually drives better with more weight (within reason).

If you don't have to go into parking garages too much, I would reccommend the tall version. It's easy to find what you are looking for on the shelves since you can walk around fully erect (I mean standing up).

For a small vehichle for service calls, I am planning to get a Toyota Scion wagon. It gets about 35 miles a gallon and is fun to drive. You can park it in the smallest of spots. Not a lot of room for tall laders, but it will comfortably carry a four-foot stepladder for service calls, plus basic tools and a few parts. A six foot ladder would probably fit nicely on the roof.

For the price of a Sprinter with shelves, I could almost buy three Scions. I would be interested in hearing the input of anyone else who has tried one.

I plan to add one or two more vehicles to my fleet this year, and I am not sure what will work best. I like the Sprinter for the big jobs, but I think smaller vehicles may be better for some jobs. What ever we get, gas mileage is a major concern. I just can't handle 11 miles a gallon at San Diego prices (gas is about 40 to 50 cents a gallon more than in most parts of the country).