Opinions on Freightliner Sprinter trucks

GaryDidier

Ken, I saw a fed-ex sprinter just today and asked the driver how he liked it. He said it was great. About 20 mpg, decent power and manuverable. I did notice it was a little narrow inside. they also seem to hold their resale value well.

Gary from Granville

Ken C.

My new company has three of these

and I've driven them a fair amount. In my opinion, their pluses are: good maneuvarability, seats give good back support, decent fuel mileage (diesel), good acceleration. They've got their negatives too: They're narrow, so not much floor space. This can be a problem when you have two guys working on a truck, with several tool boxes and tote trays, and you have to fit a water heater in. Lousy dashboard controls for lights, wipers and heating/cooling. They also seem prone to electrical problems (two of ours have have been in for electrical work). Another one also has a grinding noise during hard braking (no, it's not worn brake pads). The dealer said the brakes needed to be cleaned, but you gotta wonder about that. What do you guys think about these trucks?

Douglas Hicks

Sprinter Van

I have a Sprinter w/25,000 miles. I don't agree with every thing you stated. I also have Ranger w/canopy, a 1999 E250 and a 1994 Chevy Stepvan P32. I do the fire supression system installs and most of the sprinkler modifications. The other vehicles are used for extinguisher, systrem and sprinkler service. The Sprinter gets better milage than the other vehicles, has more usable space than the one ton chevy and the E250. I have storage bins and lots of usable floor space. The E250 cannot carry all the parts, piping, conduit, pipe fittings tools the Sprinter can, unless I stack stuff, which then falls over. The Sprinter is much quieter than the other vehicles, including the Ranger. My dislikes, the dealer is 300 miles away, the radio/cd player and speakers are junk, the electric door locks are a pain and I spent more than a Chevy or Ford would have cost. The A/C and heater are minimal. I do feel the Sprinter offers more value. I have plans to retire the Step Van next spring and get another Sprinter. This one I will special order so I can get the options I want. I will get the optional front and rear heaters, front A/C, bulkhead, optional mirrors, window on right sliding door, upgrade the seats. I will get a color, not white.
Now on another matter, I just got a laptop and small printer for the van. Anyone have experience with the Jotto desks or similar brands?

joel_4

Sprinter!!

We have two Sprinters. I love them. Won't ever buy a F/C/D again. They are not narrower inside than regular van but are narrower than a box van. Compared to a regular van the mileage is double. They turn tighter , you can stand up inside, and fit more ducts or taller equipment inside. Ours are saving enough $$$ in fuel costs to make up all but a small chunk of the payment difference. The radio sucks but that's an easy fix. No problems with ours had 1 for a year, just got the other one. Ours are 140' WB with dual wheels.

Maine Ken

You may just buy a Dodge again. The Sprinter is now labeled DODGE and no longer Freightliner.

How does the rear floor width compare w/ the other service vans? It looks really narrow from the outside.

Grumpy_2

Never looked at one up close-

Does it have a flat floor, or are there wheel wells? How many square feet of floor space? How tall is it inside? Heck, I should just go to the website! Nevermind!

joel_14

names

Still available as Freightliner here. Dodge has them too, but I doubt frieghtliner will give them up without a fight. Whatever, it's a Mercedes no matter who's name is on it. Mercedes owns frieghtliner and Dodge. They are just as wide, look narrow because they are tall. They have two hieghts around 66" and 73" inside hieght. 3 Wheelbase lengths to choose from. Our are 140"WB gives you a couple inches over 10ft for pipe inside,unlike our regular vans where pipe would have to go inside kittycorner. Long version gives you almost 14ft inside.