# best truck?



## arrow (Oct 23, 2007)

I'm about to go out on my own and looking to replace the old ford van I have now with something that will be dependable and be able to grow with a growing service plumbing business. So many options, looking for some guidence from the guys that have been there done that! alot of money, want to make the right choice the first time!


----------



## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

I think you want "something" with a walk in type service body, so you can quit crawling around on your knees in a van. Whether that be a chassis/cab, cutaway, cab over, step van, or whatever.


----------



## Noah (Oct 22, 2007)

Sprinter, UPS and FedEx use them for a reason:thumbsup:


----------



## Noah (Oct 22, 2007)

PS Arrow, good luck starting a business right now, it's pretty rough out here at the moment. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to have that 9 to 5 with overtime again, you don't appreciate the quiet until it's gone


----------



## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

The answer depends on where your service work is, if it is in a large city, you compromise storage for a vehicle you can actually park in the city, if it is in the suburbs, I have used both extended body vans as well as GMC cab over box trucks, The box trucks were nice for space and the fact that you can stand up in them.


----------



## arrow (Oct 23, 2007)

Thanks for the input. I will be working in suburbs, and country areas, parking won't be a problem. Fuel consumption will be. I'm alittle reluctant to get a big gas v-8, it costs enough to run a truck without a truck you need to fill up all the time. I drive a sprinter for my current emplyer, and it gets good milage, but a bit worried how the rest of the truck will hold up.


----------



## Plumber (Apr 19, 2007)

*Hmmm?*

I have an electrican friend that just bought an Ford van with a box on the back (Like A U-Haul truck) He bought his new with a Diesel in it big heavy truck gets about 16 mpg he was going to put a chip in it to help improve that mpg. Haven't seen or spoke to him for about 3 months. (more less run into him on certian builders)

I plan on buying me an diesel next year as my company takes a new direction.

Michael


----------



## gitnerdun (Nov 1, 2006)

Extended Chevy 2500, fits in a 8' garage door. weighs in at 8000lbs. Pull out drawers for fittings. Plywood floors with cardboard resting on top, the cardboard makes it easy on the knees and is useful for putting dirt on to ease backfilling. Those taller trucks are nice, but you still have to step up into them (knees). I have wondered how easy do they roll over? I try to keep the heavy stuff near the van's floor.


----------



## will plumb (Sep 22, 2007)

*Service Vehicle*

I've been working out of a Dodge Sprinter for about 2 yrs now. The comp. has 4 of them. We get great fuel mileage in city driving. around 20mpg loaded they have the 5cyl diesel Mercedes Benz with a turbo. The biggest problems we've had with them, is inter-coolers on two of them with less than 30k miles thankfully still under warranty and we seem to replace breaks a lot like every 15-20k miles. One of the guys took one to the other coast, and got around 28mpg loaded! They are awesome to work out of, and we get a lot of feedback from our customers about how nice they look. They aren't as bad as you think they would be in the wind, and the turning radius is unreal. negatives. I heard 08' will be the last year dodge offers the sprinter- since the two companies are breaking up? The new models are coming with a 6 cyl. mpg?, and i think the reason we eat up the breaks so quick is because of the great acceleration that they already have, you only get about 10' sticks on it. We had steps made up for less than $100.00 they make stepping in & out much easier, but we scrape them a lot going in and out of different parking lots, and driveways. 
I love working out of one, We have the biggest Sprinters they make height and length and when I had to go back to a F350 Van I was miserable.
If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know.


----------



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

I just placed an order on Friday for my first Isuzu diesel NPR HD with a Hackney P/2000 box. I'm supposed to have it in 5 weeks. I'll let you know how it is. I looked very hard at the Sprinters for a very long time but in the end got scared off by numerous reports of reliability issues. I'm a one man shop and I don't make money if my brand new 40k-50k work vehicle is in the shop warranty or not. Any truck can end up in the shop at any time but the sprinters kept coming up with about 4 or 5 of the same problems being reported. I'm not saying I would never buy one but as long as I am a one man shop I need something that I have a little more confidence in and I just have not heard about nearly as many reliability issues with the Isuzu.

P.S. In my opinion, having to change brakes every 15k to 20k miles is insane. I've been told, although I'm not certain if it is true that Sprinter rotors can only be turned once which means your paying for new rotors every 40k miles as well and none of these repairs/maintenance is cheap on a Sprinter.


----------



## Herk (Aug 1, 2007)

I'm looking at NPR's, too, but used ones. I don't know how soon I'll be able to get one, but I want the ramp and translucent ceiling if I can get it. I think lift gates are just ankle bruisers.


----------



## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

Noah said:


> Sprinter, UPS and FedEx use them for a reason:thumbsup:


actually, UPS is getting away from them...for a reason...:whistling


----------



## Noah (Oct 22, 2007)

What reasons? I've got one with 70k and had no probs yet(other than the automatic locks..), not even had to change the breaks. On average we get 22mpg loaded down/haulin ass:thumbup1:. I am still debating what to get next, maybe one of the Isuzus but I'd still like to hear of any problems with both.


----------



## Herk (Aug 1, 2007)

i was talking to a dealer today who had no involvement in the truck I may purchase, and he said the Isuzus' engines are good - the trannys can have problems. I'd like to hear from a lot of Isuzu owners before I take it as fact. He said they cost about $2500 to rebuild the transmission. 

I'll keep checking around and see what else I can come up with. I do know that there are a lot of them out there - local furniture companies use 'em. One furniture company has several - a really big one, a mid-sized, and a regular-sized one. The mid-sized has the tall box - too high for a plumber, I think. 

If I could afford it, I'd be looking at Hackneys.


----------



## 220/221 (Sep 29, 2007)

Best decision I EVER made was to go to full size 16' box vans. You can lock em up tight and everything stays DRY.

Build it out right and you will save countless hours of driving and rummaging for parts and tools.


----------



## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

Noah said:


> What reasons? I've got one with 70k and had no probs yet(other than the automatic locks..), not even had to change the breaks. On average we get 22mpg loaded down/haulin ass:thumbup1:. I am still debating what to get next, maybe one of the Isuzus but I'd still like to hear of any problems with both.


brakes at 15,000 miles...blown engines due to hitting the shifter at 75 mph that cost $10k to replace...inability to get parts or good repair manuals...

We run a sprinter as well...great truck as long as there are no problems...finding someone who is really qualified to work on them is difficult. We just had a problem with the truck surging and stalling. Brought it to the local dealer (who has certified sprinter techs) they tell us it's a shorted wire in the wiring harness...$700 and 2 weeks to replace...

One of our customers put about 2000 of these things on the road a few years ago as a test...they are getting away from them for the same reason as UPS. Anyway, talk to one of their onsite mechanics, he tells me to go to a nearby freightliner dealer. 

They find out it's simply some old codes stored in the computer from when the battery died 6 months ago. Reboot the computer. Runs great.

But, it still cost me 3 days lost time between travel and diagnostic time. 

And forget about taking it to a local mechanic, they can't get parts. 

But in terms of a useable truck, it's great to work out of. Great milage. They just need more guys overall to work on them.


----------



## L. B. Condulet (Aug 23, 2007)

220/221 said:


> Best decision I EVER made was to go to full size 16' box vans. You can lock em up tight and everything stays DRY.
> 
> Build it out right and you will save countless hours of driving and rummaging for parts and tools.


That's a very sweet rig, but doesn't it kill you having to climb up and down out of it all the time?


----------



## mickeyco (May 13, 2006)

220/221 said:


> Best decision I EVER made was to go to full size 16' box vans. You can lock em up tight and everything stays DRY.
> 
> Build it out right and you will save countless hours of driving and rummaging for parts and tools.


Do you actually use this truck, it is way too clean and organized, or did you take the picture right after the first time you set up the truck.:laughing:


----------



## Gene Murray (Jul 21, 2021)

arrow said:


> I'm about to go out on my own and looking to replace the old ford van I have now with something that will be dependable and be able to grow with a growing service plumbing business. So many options, looking for some guidence from the guys that have been there done that! alot of money, want to make the right choice the first time!


----------



## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

Is this your first time on the internet? Was there a point to quoting a 14 year old post?

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


----------

