GMC Van Pro Package

Dell Hardison_2

Any experience with GMC or Chevy 2500 cargo van with pro package. Do side access panels seal well? Open easy? Last? Any input would be appreciated.

tommyoil

With all respect

to those GMC fans, mine is now and has been nothing but a disappoinment(which is a nice way of saying what a piece of S#@*T it is). First let me say that I DO NOT beat on my equipment. Its a 2001,70,000 miles and three sets of brakes going on four, starter,trans,radiator,battery,fuel pump, all the interior fell/falling apart. Cracked door panels, broken a/c vents,and thats the stuff on top of oil changes(synthetic) every 5,000 miles, regular trans service on the trans that blew, tune ups/belts/hoses, ect. And now today, one back door wont open. Thank God I do regular maintenance or who knows what would else would have happened. I was really disappointed in the fact that I drove a '76 Chevy until 2000 when I bought another GM product, this pile of junk. I shoulda kept the '76. I GAVE it to my mechanic who still drives it to this day. Next time its a FORD. I'm done w/ GMC. If you buy a GMC just remember what it stands for...... Get More Cash. You'll be needing it. Other than that, its been a great truck.

EJW

GMC

= Garage Man's Compainion. EJW

Al Corelli

We have a 2003 Chevy 2500 with the access panels.

Great van! Sure, there was a small issue with one of the panels (they're fiberglass) hitting the top of the body, but it has been adjusted and all is well.

It gets better gas mileage than our other van (2003 Astro awd) and has loads of storage. Plus, it drives like a Caddy! No minor or major problems. We had nothing but trouble with our previous vans (Fords), and could not be happier with the Astro and the 2500 series.

If you get one like the one's we've had (we have had 6 Chevys/GMCs), you'll love them too.

If they made the AWD in a 2500 series with the access panels, we'd have it already.
Looked at the new "Sprinter" vans. A little too "tinny", don't care for the steering wheel position, and not available in AWD.

Gotta have All Wheel Drive in the winter.

S Ebels

Another one or two or three

GMC = General Mass of Crap

FORD = Found On Road, Dead

Ford = Fix Or Repair Daily

Do yourself a favor and buy a Sprinter. Ours is averaging 22.1 MPG over the first 8,000 miles. 10,000 miles+ interval for oil change depending on your driving habits and environment. I'm Lovin' it.

thfurnitureguy_4

Trucks

I am still so surprised at all the good words about a Chrysler / Mercedes Venture . This comes after being on the service end of Mercedes and an owner of several Jeeps and Mopar trucks over the years. I never had a problem with the major mechanical parts of any of these ( Engine Trans) However all of the other stuff fell apart well before the 100k Mark. Switches, stearing boxs, head liners, paint, heater moters, water pumps. Countless Emission sensors. This was also the case with the Mercedes that came in for service. I like the shape and the size of the Sprinter But I am very gun shy of another Mopar/cedes. My Ford 350 is 125K+ and had no problems to date (2001 Gas job). Please keep in mind I am of another profesion and do not pack the weight you pipe twisters do. I do run the miles. Keep Us informed I am glad to hear the good words.

tommyoil

you forgot one

Fails On Race Day

Jeff Lawrence_24

another one?

CHEVROLET = Cracked Head, Every Vavle Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Day

One more for the pile.....

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EJW

Some more

1)Mopar or no car. 2)Yugo,car stay.

Bill_14

Sprinter Vans

A serious thread from August 2003 that you might find interesting...

----------------------------------------------------------
Date: August 06, 2003 09:29 PM
Author: joel (besinc@kersur.net)
Subject: sprinter vans

This is expounding on the e250 thread bellow.

Having grown up tinkering on anything with an engine buying work trucks has always been a gripe of mine. Primarilly because you where limited to the big 3. Having owned and driven numerous japanese and German nameplate vehicles over the years I've always found the big 3 extreemly frustrating. The lack of quality is astoundingly pathetic especially in the vans. Sure the old 300-6 was bullit proof but it had no power and they drink gas. The motors last on some, but the whole thing turns into a rattle trap. Something is always breaking, dash nobs/buttons. Sliding door parts, rebiulding front ends etc. My personal e-250 complaint is not the motor (yet) but the brakes ours has ABS and has blown out 3 calipers and multiple rotors (on rear)of which ford only fixed it the first time. I'm not the only one with this issue the dealer says they get them all the time and ford knows it.Oh the steering box fell apart at 12k miles at least that was in warrantee.

We just got our first Frieghtliner/Mercedes Sprinter and the difference is unbelievable! Much tighter, less squeaks and rattles, tighter turning radias, bigger payload, better view, you cant stand up in it . The list goes on. We've admired them in Europe for years and I've been waiting to get 1 for some time. With all it's versatility and 20-23MPG these are going to win big time. Just like with cars it will force the big 3 to step up to the plate and biuld something better. It is also very service friendly everything is easy to get at and maintenace like changing light bulbs or brake pads is a snap. Asuming it proves reliable we will slowly replace our entire fleet with these. Fedex and UPS has been buying most of what they can produce so they can be tough to get. Mercedes has a new plant under construction in the U.S. for this Van. when it's up they should be easier to get. Price is comparable to an e350 diesel but mileage is better and you can get way more in it.

(http://forums.invision.net/Index.cfm?CFApp=2&Message_ID=49965)

Mark Eatherton1

Ford mans version...

First On Race Day :-)

ME

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Dave Bush

GMC's

I've loved every GMC work truck I've ever had.

I have a '95 3500 Vandura out in the driveway. (Backup truck) The thing is bulletproof. 210K, and the ONLY major component failure, and to this day, I cannot believe it, is the pass side control arm SNAPPED in two one day. Just broke, was in reverse, backing up to the shop, heard a large thunk, then no motion followed...

What a flaming nightmare to find a new control arm.

The '03 3500 Cube has 100K on it as of this week, and the only problem has been brakes. REAR brakes. I'm on my fifth set of rear shoes, and the third set of front pads. I've never experienced such odd problems, but they are, for the most part, fantastic vehicles.

The sprinters look, well, fragile, to me. They're also a little narrow, after working out of the cube for two years plus.

Anyone work out of those space-age looking bubble-mobiles? We have a competitor running a couple of them. You really want to laugh when they pull into the wholesaler, but they seem to really like them, so ya gotta be nice...

Had a '98 Ford E2500 a couple years back. Not a bad van, never got used to he sliding side door, or the overdrive button, but it was relatively trouble-free.

The older Dodge Ram vans were just plain scary when near gross weight.

jackchips_2

Fix or

Repair Daily.

That's the way I heard it when I ran Ford pickups (no vans) with bins but the second line was "but you can find parts in the gutter".

I had no problems with Ford for over 15 years and the company I've been with for the last 15 runs all Ford vans.

Jack

S Ebels

Fact of the matteris............

The Sprinter is not a Chrysler/Mercedes venture. The Sprinter is 100% designed and built by Mercedes right down to the little three pointed star in the window glass. It's a design that htey have sold the heck out of in Europe for a number of years.

jerry scharf_3

side story on Dodge

Turns out that the Dodge brothers were engine/transmission designers for Henry Ford. Like so many other folks, they got fed up with the boss and went on their own. T50 years later, the heritage of the best engines lives on, and the rest of the car is an afterthought. The engines never die, but it's astounding how poorly the rest of the car held up.

I stopped having to tend to these in the 80s, so I don't know if the tradition continues. I moved to tending to Volvos and now buy new cars and expect them to work.

jerry

S Ebels

My brother in law

> I've loved every GMC work truck I've ever

> had.

>

> I have a '95 3500 Vandura out in the

> driveway. (Backup truck) The thing is

> bulletproof. 210K, and the ONLY major component

> failure, and to this day, I cannot believe it, is

> the pass side control arm SNAPPED in two one day.

> Just broke, was in reverse, backing up to the

> shop, heard a large thunk, then no motion

> followed...

>

> What a flaming nightmare to find a

> new control arm.

>

> The '03 3500 Cube has 100K

> on it as of this week, and the only problem has

> been brakes. REAR brakes. I'm on my fifth set of

> rear shoes, and the third set of front pads. I've

> never experienced such odd problems, but they

> are, for the most part, fantastic

> vehicles.

>

> The sprinters look, well, fragile,

> to me. They're also a little narrow, after

> working out of the cube for two years plus.

> Anyone work out of those space-age looking

> bubble-mobiles? We have a competitor running a

> couple of them. You really want to laugh when

> they pull into the wholesaler, but they seem to

> really like them, so ya gotta be nice...

>

> Had a

> '98 Ford E2500 a couple years back. Not a bad

> van, never got used to he sliding side door, or

> the overdrive button, but it was relatively

> trouble-free.

>

> The older Dodge Ram vans were

> just plain scary when near gross weight.

S Ebels

Experiences differ

And I don't know why. My brother in law owns a farm service business and he has 4 of the GMC 1T vans with Knapheide lo profile service bodies on them. Both of his heavy trucks are GMC (18,000gvw) also. He tells me that the heavy trucks are nearly constant maintenance ranging from door hardware failing to front ends, clutches, suspension and brakes. Neither of them are above 80K miles yet and he has to figure an average of $800 / month for maint for each truck. The only thing that has held up good in these 2 trucks is the Cat diesel engine.

The 1T vans return about 12-13 mpg and suffer the same failures as the large trucks. Needless to say, he is not going to replace these with more GMC products. His guys are begging him for Sprinters after driving ours.

I agree that lack of 4wd is a handicap in the Sprinter up here in the snowy, muddy, slimy Northwoods of Michigan.

jeff_51

to all you guys working out of vans

If you ever have the gonads to buy something else, like a UD diesel or sprinter or even just a cube van, you'll never go back to a van again. I'm back to working out of a van again, (Boss expanded to three times his old size in a month) and could only do it by buying used vans. HATE IT. I told him I get something differant by next summer or I'm gone. I swore I would never go back to a van,(haven't worked out of one for a decade) and if I didn't like the boss so well, I wouldn't be doing it now. You might as well be working out of a model t as to be working out of a standard van.

Mitch_4

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