Recomended Service Van/ Truck

[Tuco]

I 'm thinking of purchasing a used AWD Chevy Astro Cargo van.  Do you think this is large enough?

AWD is for the ice in winter.

What do you like or use, what van works good?

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

If you live up north, AWD is a must... unless you wanna carry around a bag of sand and snow shovel in your van.

I have a Chevy Express 1500 AWD, full shelving package. More than enough room. I think an Astro would work but you may be tweeking your inventory more often.

Been eyeballing those Dodge Sprinters, too. I know a few other techs who run those and them absolutely love 'em.

[Moostafa]

Hello, Tuco, my large enough friend. May I suggest you go Green and use a yak. "Ah," you say, "but yaks produce methane and so cannot be considered Green." Touché, my friend! But if you have ever been at the receiving end of yak flatulence, you will come to appreciate the true meaning of Green.

[kdog]

Kind sounds like me after a feed of Barbecued Ribs and Red Wine - could gag a maggot !

Perhaps I could figure a way to supercharge the Ford Transit

[Tuco]

Thank you Samurai . I live in Alaska and have been doing some part time handyman work, but am trying to go more into appliance repair. I need some kind of van to get out of the weather and get my small inventory out of my garage

.

Moostafa, I like the way you think, but I need a more practical solution for my locality. But I guess if the yak angered me, I could enjoy a 3 day BBQ with friends and family.

[certified tech group 51]

what is the best way to grill yak ribs ??? out here in the north west, I have an astro van..... butI do not have ice and snow or Palenism to worry about..... plenty of room to carry parts and it helps if you ask the customer the complaint/ the problem   first,,,,to have the part on the van...............

[Tuco]

Tech 51, Thats a sweet lookin ride, like the back ground too....Thanks

[appl.tech.29501]

[user=45]Moostafa[/user] wrote:

Hello, Tuco, my large enough friend. May I suggest you go Green and use a yak. "Ah," you say, "but yaks produce methane and so cannot be considered Green." Touché, my friend! But if you have ever been at the receiving end of yak flatulence, you will come to appreciate the true meaning of Green.

Moostafa "<3" Yaks

Sniffin farts, carring parts

Cool ride, dung mound thrives

[john63]

Currently on my 3rd box truck (a real "green" vehicle too).

'04 Chevy Express 3500 dually cutaway 6.0 gas engine.

Twelve ft bed/box.

Side door & rear doors to enter/exit rear box. Inside full length door to access box from cab. Small desk & library and full shelving.

Stocked inventory that would give Marcone a run for the money...

Had everything else before current set-up. Once you get to this level of TOTAL service truck---you'll NEVER go back.

Pickups

Large Vans

Medium Vans

Compact Vans

Nope.

[Scottthewolf]

I totally despise the Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari vans. They are all JUNK. I've driven 4 of them and they all have the same exact problems.

1.) All the door locks, the ignition lock and the power windows stop working,  even the key won't unlock the doors anymore.

2.) They all have problems with the blower motor. last winter I went without any heat at all and no air conditioning in the summer.

3.) The windshield wipers work when they feel like it.

4.) They eat front brake pads and rotors.

As for the Dodge Sprinters, I've seen them turn to rust. The Dodge Sprinter is no longer available at Dodge dealers, now you have to go to a Mercedes Benz dealer and buy a Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van.

I like the Ford Transit Connect, looks very promising, but there is no comaprision for the Ford Econoline full size van. The Econoline is the king of cargo vans in my book.

[slantsixdan]

I am coming at this from the automotive side, not the appliance-service side, and I half agree with Scott: the Astro/Safari vans were sloppily engineered, cheaply made, poorly built and problem-prone. Sure, they built and sold eleventy million of them, but that doesn't mean they were good, it just means Americans are satisfied with junk. Witness how many Chevrolet Cadavaliers they've sold. Witness how many Big Macs and "Chicken" McPellets they sell. Popularity does not imply quality. The only upside is that because they sold so many of them, the many repair parts you'll need will be cheap and readily available. However, you will spend an inordinate amount of time fixing the van. On top of all that, they are very uncomfortable to drive. Nowhere to put your left leg, and I say that as a regular-height 5'9" man.

I also half-disagree with Scott: the Ford E-series vans are less uncomfortable to drive than the Astro/Safari, but they are not better engineered and not better built. They are an ancient, not-very-thoughtful, inefficient design with forty years worth of thrown-on updates. Interior fittings (door handles, gear shifts, etc.) aren't well made. Electrical system problems endemic to older Ford designs (underspecced wiring, alternator fires...). If you get the diesel, you get to listen to an engine that sounds all the time as if it is taking a stinky, wet and messy metallic crap…and wonder when it actually will.

The Transit Connect is too new on these shores to have a long-term track record of what holds up and what fails on them in North America, but they are much loved in Europe where they've been on sale for many years, regularly updated meaningfully (not just superficially like the E-series). Those I know who've bought a TC really like it so far.

Those who have Sprinters seem to like them a lot; they are much more fuel efficient and maneuverable than the stone-age Ford and GM full-size vans. They don't seem to need a lot of repair but when they do need it, it's going to cost. So you have to choose whether you want to spend a lower level of money and time on a constant basis, or a higher level of money once in awhile.

The only rust issues I've seen with the Sprinters have been with vehicles that have been hit (paint scraped off down to bare metal) and not repaired—and I'm in Toronto, where even a rust-prone car's tires and turn signal lenses will rust quickly. You really get to see which cars have effectively rust-resistant design and build in Toronto—the Aerostars all disappeared long ago, one hardly ever sees an E-series/Econoline or Chev/GMC full-size van older than 1999 or so, the first fifteen years of Astro/Safari vans are gone and the later ones are rapidly going away, and believe it or don't, there are still scads of first-generation ('84-'90) Chrysler minivans in surprisingly solid shape on the roads.

Now into the realm of my particular field: The Sprinter, which is sold in North America by both Freightliner and Mercedes, has by far the best lighting system of any of these we're talking about—so what, right? Well, time not spent repairing a hit service vehicle means time spent making money with it. A vehicle with amber rear turn signals (like the Transit Connect or the Sprinter) is up to 28% less likely to be struck from behind than an otherwise identical vehicle with red ones (like all the other vehicles we're talking about here). A vehicle with side turn signal repeaters (Transit Connect or Sprinter) is I-don't-recall-how-much-but-significantly less likely to be involved in a lane-change, bicyclist, or pedestrian collision. And a vehicle with better headlamps (Sprinter) is obviously less likely to be involved in a nighttime crash than a vehicle with poorer headlamps.

If you've got mountains of money left over after you send most of it to me, John63's idea is a good one, and if I were speccing such a truck, I would not even bother looking at Ford or Dodge (oops, we're supposed to say "Ram" now); it'd be based on a Chev or GMC, probably w/diesel engine.

[Tuco]

Last week I went to a GSA truck auction in hopes of purchasing a cheap, good, used cargo van.

I was quickly out bid on a 2002 AWD Chevy Asrto Cargo van with 40K miles.

Sold to the public at $7000. I was shocked how fast the price went up. ....I ‘m still looking around

Might have been a good deal, but not on my budget.

[BrntToast]

i like the look of the transit, also the cargo area you get for such a small footprint, which makes parking alot easier, however.... i could drive a new caravan into the ground every 2 years and trade it up for a new one and never come close to spending the kind of money they want for a transit

but when the snow gets heavy up here and the roads close i get my pick of calls cause most techs dont have one of these stocked with parts

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3276506/1988-suzuki-samurai-winnipeg-mb-ca

[kdog]

Very Nice !

[kdog]

I been lookin' at a Jeep Patriot, pretty economical, roomy enough to make work - and doubtful that you're gonna get stuck anywhere, they got some fancy transmission that is variable as opposed to gear ranges. They're pretty easy on the pocketbook too, especially if you get one WITHOUT a/c - them's just get in the way up here for the 3 times you'll use it

[SANTA]

I use a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee for my service calls and personal use. I folded the back seat down and cut 3/4 inch plywood to fit. The back section is for tools and parts and the middle section is for extra parts or groceries or my dog, he loves the flat surface for moving side to side in his attempt to see everything out the windows. I live in northern Minnesota so this is the perfect service truck for me and I don't have the expense of 2 vehicles.

[Scottthewolf]

I thought your other vehicle was a red sleigh powered by 8 reindeer? LOL

[SANTA]

Ha Ha. It's actually 8 wolves chasing the lead reindeer

[Tuco]

Anyboby ever use a pick-up with panel sides/utility tool box bed?

[Budget Appliance Repair]

Are you talking about the cheezy tool boxes that mount up on the edge of an actual truck bed?

Or a pickup truck with an actual UTILITY BODY.

I run a 1991 Dodge Dakota 3.9L V6 with a utility body that was factory installed on the truck.

I got it about 5 years ago with only 68,000 miles on it for $2,800, (needs a paint job very badly

but don't have anything else to use if I let it go to be painted).

[kdog]

How 'bout postin' a pic of that beast, Willie ?

[Tuco]

Or a pickup truck with an actual UTILITY BODY.

I run a 1991 Dodge Dakota 3.9L V6 with a utility body that was factory installed on the truck.

I got it about 5 years ago with only 68,000 miles on it for $2,800, (needs a paint job very badly

but don't have anything else to use if I let it go to be painted).

Yes Utility body.

[appl.tech.29501]

Just got my boxes mounted

[john63]

Looks sharp

[john63]

Anyone own the new Nissan NV van?

If so---what are your impressions of this vehicle?