Anyone have any advice on buying a step/delivery van?

[nashopolis]

I've found much of the collective knowledge on ADV. a big help over the years and thus I ask a very non motorcycle related question.

I am interested in buying a large delivery van for my business - the sort that fed-ex and the frito-lay guy uses.

I'm going to put a mobile shop in the truck and drive it to places around the area to teach workshops etc. Right now I'm looking at a few different vans locally but I know zilch about machines this big. What should I look for in a good one and what should I watch out for.

They seem to break out into diesel and gas - I've never owned a diesel but folks tell me it is the way to go in big truck. Dually wheels seem nice to have as well. There are some with a lot of extras like generators and AC units but they often seem to be rigged or just beat down in my price range 3-5k. My thought is that it will be smart to focus on a solid van, engine and drive train and then add what i need accessory-wise and know that it is done right. I see vans in this price range all day on CL - the trick is to find the god one I guess. Thus the question - how to spot one.

I'm looking for thoughts on what it will take to run and keep a used step on the road (cost wise) and anything that might be a surprise to someone unfamiliar with this sized vehicle. I want to be ready for the unexpected as much as I can be.

Is there a place to go on the web where people talk about step vans like we do MCs? or somewhere besides ebay and CL that I can find a good selection of used vans?

thanks for your help as I strike off in a new direction!

[nashopolis]

ps I will definitely have a place to strap my little honda passport on the back!

[slobinski]

I drove a Chevrolet P30 step van for a while as a work truck. Absolute piece of crap, from one end to the other. The swing doors wouldn't stay shut, it leaked, rattled and drove like a barge. We had problems with the rear axle and replaced the transmission twice. It would break steering stabilizer bolts now and then, and was prone to flats on the inside rear duals.

A pretty miserable vehicle. Look elsewhere.

[QualityAir]

Take a look at Sprinter vans.

[facetjoint]

Grumman Mfg. makes a body that fits on the 1 ton dual wheel chassis that looks like a a tater chip delivery truck. They are aluminum body so rust is seldom an issue. G.M. and Ford are usually the chassis that are under the body. Myself I'd opt for the Ford chassis. It is usually an E-350 chassis. I'd look for an older one that had the Ford 300 inline 6 cyl. engine it it. No power house by any means but bullet proof. Most any mechanic can work on them. Parts are cheap and easy to get. U.P.S. ran them for years for bazillions of miles. If you do not know diesels, stay away especially the older ones that have lots of miles on them. They can cost a lot of money real quick.

If you check local university surplus equipment auctions, they show up on them fairly often for a song. Also scan the papers for local rural Fire Depts. They use them and sell them as surplus but much harder to find. You can usually view the equipment 1 or 2 days before the auctions. This is a look only. The auction co. will not let you drive them and will problably not start them so you can hear it run till the day of the auctions. So you have to be prepared once it hits the block.

Hope this helps

Bill

[AtlantaViking]

Just a note on the Duallie setup on the rear end.

Only get a duallie set up if you honestly need the extra weight capacity they offer. The reason I say that is they are brutal when unloaded and depending on whether you are carrying cast iron wood working equip. or the lighter stamped steel stuff - you may or may not need it and if you don't - don't get them.

No one ever takes this into account, but if you get a rear flat with a traditional single wheel setup - you know it immediately and you take care of it. With a Duallie, you may not be aware that one of your tires is low/flat on a trip and what happens is you destroy the tire (and possibly the one next to it as well). So what could have been a simple patch/plug turns into a complete tire replacement. Ask me how I know

Dualies are great if you really need the capacity - just make sure you really do is all I'm sayin'.

Good luck.

[nashopolis]

Thanks for the responses - good tips

I'm going to have some pretty heavy stuff in there probably 1200lbs - 1800lbs
hopefully not more than that

I found a low mile diesel with something like 20k on it and one with 60k
what goes wrong with diesels? I hear they run forever. But I know they need maintenance to get there.

where does one find all the accessories to fit out a truck to work in - ac units and generators? The RV store?

[GB]

Off to Shiny Things. Equipment is for bike stuff.

[AtlantaViking]

A little more for ya...

Since Diesels are compression ignition, they don't have spark plugs, distributors, or any of that crap. So immediately you can see why they are more reliable since there is so much less electronic crap in there.

Second, since they are compression ignition, they require quite a bit of compression to ignite the mixture, meaning the block, heads, and connecting equipment need to be pretty stout - hence another reason they don't seem to break as much (heavy duty build).

Where I have had problems with them was in the injector pump. That sucker produces ALOT of pressure in order to squirt fuel in there under such high compression. Anyway - they are expensive if they fail, but there's not much that you can do to test it other than see if its running ok. Hell, other than checking the water separators and oil condition testing I don't know what else to even look at it...

[Boondoggle]

Toothy bought a similar van not long ago, if you can find the thread he might have made some mistakes that you could learn from.

Old diesels- for GM, check www.thedieselpage.com and/or www.thedieselplace.com for good info on their old 6.5 (and older) stuff. Use fuel additive- the new low-sulfur doesn't have enough lubricity for the old lift pumps and injector pumps. I like Power Service (says the guy who got 225,000 miles out of the original pumps and still has the original injectors in).

If you get an old GM turbo diesel, get temp gauges, those things were ass-backward engineered and will cheerfully grenade themselves. (says the guy who had to replace the motor at 150,000 miles )

I'll let a Ford guy (PecosBill) talk about those, I've driven but never owned one.

[CaptTeach]

Check with your local U-Haul or other rental fleet. They can check for box trucks that are coming out of service. U-Haul has the complete vehicle history showing all service including if the engine or tranny has been replaced. The trucks will be in your price range and have a larger work area than a step van.

[2speed]

Originally Posted by AtlantaViking

A little more for ya...

Since Diesels are compression ignition, they don't have spark plugs, distributors, or any of that crap. So immediately you can see why they are more reliable since there is so much less electronic crap in there.

Not true anymore. Modern diesel have a shitload of electronic crap in there. I know that the 7.3l Ford had a recall with the cam sensor that would make the truck just quit are random times.

Is access from the drivers seat to the back important?

If not, just get a F350 sized 14 foot box truck.

[gatogato]

The Dodge Sprinter 2500 vans look very practical. I have heard that they are very reliable and with the diesel you will save a lot of money in gas. The only thing is that they are still pretty expensive. To get a used one you are talking at least 10k.

[Warney]

Power company surplus vehicle auctions are a good source for Step Vans.

[nashopolis]

the computer ate my response last night

So I like sprinters but want more space (I think a panel van has more space... right?) and I can't afford one anyway

I tested this step van locally yesterday - it seemed pretty nice
international diesel - started right up ran well - I couldn't seem to get it over 50 on the expressway though - the owner said they had driven recently up to 65-70
I don't know what to think as I only went a mile or two mostly up hill and anyway I felt like I was flying at 50! I'll risk sounding like an idiot and ask the question

why would I have this problem? Do you really need 2 miles to get a monster like this up to speed?

or is it not shifting up into overdrive - I had it floored and I think it was running about 3500 rpm if I was reading the gauge right

I have never driven a panel van - boy that was exciting to learn in heavy traffic! I was too focused on keeping it in the lines to see if I missed an overdrive switch or something like that and I couldn't see anything else I could've done wrong - I did have it in drive not first, second or third.

This thing has a ton of torque - It was an electric company van and looks like it pulled a trailer - would they have put in a governor? could it be geared low for towing?

I like the van and might buy it if I can figure this one out - reckon it is time for another test drive with a friend in tow.

So what kind of mileage should I expect from a diesel vs a gas engine?
more to investigate!

thanks