New company now new vehicle...thoughts?

[Solstice]

You can get a ford 250 with power lock window for 20 k left over brand new with binds


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20k new..?? how do you do this.... i will soon be in the market... maybe sooner for that price.....

I agree about weight.. my 2004 chevy z71 almost all tooled up is weighing in at 6800lbs ... i need a 3/4 ton

[lytning]

Sprinter at 8600 lbs

[jmsmars1]

I personally am waiting to find a gently used NV for the right price. Rear wheel drive, tons of room, and made by Nissan, which in my experience means darn near bulletproof.

[ga-hvac-tech]

20k new..?? how do you do this.... i will soon be in the market... maybe sooner for that price.....

I agree about weight.. my 2004 chevy z71 almost all tooled up is weighing in at 6800lbs ... i need a 3/4 ton

Sprinter at 8600 lbs

Yeah...

When a van is loaded out (which means I have everything I need or want right there... ), my Express 3500 LWB weighs around 8500 or so.

Something to think about: When driving a vehicle that weighs 4 tons... defensive driving is a must. The damage (or worse) that big thing could do... is not worth getting to the next call 5 minutes sooner.

My first van was a 1/2 ton... it ate tires and brakes... and eventually ate a tranny. Overloading a van just does not work. It is a pay now or pay later deal... but you WILL pay.
To me... not having to do the endless trips to the tire shop and the brake shop, and the mechanic... well that is a plus. Now all vehicles need maintenance... however they do not need tires every 15-20K, brakes every 15K, etc.

Think of it like this: A van is a tool... buy quality tools...

[ga-hvac-tech]

I personally am waiting to find a gently used NV for the right price. Rear wheel drive, tons of room, and made by Nissan, which in my experience means darn near bulletproof.

That is probably what my next van will be... however my Express is just getting close to 100K... so it will be a while.

Sad that the US manufacturers cannot make a van as good as the foreign ones can... says something we really need to address in this country.

[Af7171]

You forgot about adding leaf springs every 3 years .


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[ga-hvac-tech]

You forgot about adding leaf springs every 3 years .


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Yeah, you are right.

I put shocks with a coil spring on them... did not help much.

[BNME8EZ]

I have been driving a Express 3500 for 15 years. When I ordered it I made sure it had the positrack rearend and the 5.7 V8. Between the weight and the locking differential I can go about anywhere. After the original tires wore out I put on Michelin M+S which made it even better. We don't see as much snow as Maine but 6-8" is not uncommon, plus being rural mud roads are not uncommon either.

One concern I had about the Sprinter/ProMaster is side winds. We get 30 MPH winds on a regular basis and driving down the highway with that kind of a cross wind the less profile the better. We used to drive box vans, what a pain to fight those things in a crosswind.

[DMFHVAC]

So the other day, I looked at the Pro Master, but it only had the low roof. I got inside of a high roof promaster with the short wheel base that is owned by a hvac/plumber guy and wow...holy mother effin' wow is there so much room in it. He said he has about 3k worth of supplies on it at all times and carries much more when he is moving a boiler, etc. He said it also owns the snow too. He is about 2 hours north of me in Maine, where it's no uncommon to get 10-15" of snow per storm...

Anyway, after reading the comments here and after looking hard at my van today, I think I will go with a van. I am going to stop by the Ford dealer tomorrow and test drive the new Transit. Looks like a Sprinter and they just got it in. It will be between the Pro Master and the Transit. I like the high roof a lot and since this is going to be my van for 10 years, I want comfort and ease of use.

I must say, making a vehicle decision is tough!

Thank you all for your replies so far!

[pctech]

you're in my stompan grounds i would stay clear of quirk Chevy nice trucks over priced deals big time.
if you really want a good deal go over to south Portland and pape Chevy and speak to Ben Welch he is a friend of the family and he will get you the best deal possible
sprinters are a grate van the transit connects the full size are good but unless the drive train has changed they are horrible in the snow.

[pctech]

have you or any one had trouble logging on the site using the normal log in boxes in the top right corner?
when i try it says invalid user name or password
but if i find a post and click on it so it asks you to log in and i put my user name and password in it logs me in normally and i can post ect.
i reported it to the site admin known as DAD
earlier in the night Google chrome said the wall of shame was being served ads by some ad company that is known for malware ect
was a big red screen scared the )) out of me.
but for now it seems to work i hope.
i told dad about that as well so he can look in to it

[DMFHVAC]

have you or any one had trouble logging on the site using the normal log in boxes in the top right corner?
when i try it says invalid user name or password
but if i find a post and click on it so it asks you to log in and i put my user name and password in it logs me in normally and i can post ect.
i reported it to the site admin known as DAD
earlier in the night Google chrome said the wall of shame was being served ads by some ad company that is known for malware ect
was a big red screen scared the )) out of me.
but for now it seems to work i hope.
i told dad about that as well so he can look in to it

I just had to log in with my Mac because my Windows laptop just went off the wall with the Anti-virus software freaking out every time I opened hvac-talk.

Back to the topic, I am going to go look at the 2500 Pro Master high top today and test drive it. A dealership locally has one for $32,000 with the options I want, even though I was looking for a 1500...

[pctech]

can you post pictures of it once you buy it would love to see one if you can can you tell us what dealership sold you it or is that not allowed in this forum?

[pctech]

it was going off because the site got hacked and they messed with the log in boxes and redirected to adult porn sites ect never seen the lovely bright red alert screen in chrome before
but the PROS who run the site got it fixed.
ticks me off that someone would do that to a site that is for pros to share advice problems ect.
its not like we make money off the site geez.

[ga-hvac-tech]

it was going off because the site got hacked and they messed with the log in boxes and redirected to adult porn sites ect never seen the lovely bright red alert screen in chrome before
but the PROS who run the site got it fixed.
ticks me off that someone would do that to a site that is for pros to share advice problems ect.
its not like we make money off the site geez.

I imagine it was also about infecting the computers of all the folks who frequent H-talk...

I would run a deep and thorough scan of my computer if it were me.

[pctech]

done it came up clean i stopped doing anything the instant the warning came up and Google chrome shut it self down to protect it.
i have a switch between my cable modem and the computer flip it once and no internet connection its a life saver

[TACKERDOWN]

I've also been researching these vans. Promaster 3500 extended high roof - I got to Dr one without the manufacture cage in place. This allowed me to move the seat back to where I was comfortable. I'm 6'2. The driver door window partition it's right in the center of the mirror and I'm not to sure about the sprint car throttle and break set up. Nice and Pepe though.
Sprinter Freight liner 170" high roof - turbo 4 diesel good low end response and a comfortable ride with better visibility but highway passing power lacked. It has a lot more space in the back though. The interior was a little nicer in the other two. jmo
Transit - Pepe like the RAM but with a better view and for me the ride was a little more comfortable than the Ram. I didn't get to drive the extended Trans yet and I don't care for the short wheel base extended look. Just looks unnatural. Lol. If I can swing it I really would like the Freight 170 because I'd be able to load everything I need on shelving rather than a bunch of crap on the floor.
I service and install everything from oil res. To light commercial and just started testing the water with refer work.

[ohmy]

I wanted a 4x4, but for the so few times we need them (Boston) I opted for the ford 250. like the look , no problem with weight and gets me out of the weather.