best trucks

[desi 14]

what do you guys think the best trucks are for hauling your rigs?

[Henry B. 4]

I would have to vote for a Chevy Van.

I've got 2 ford vans now but just picked up my chevy about 4 months ago and I'd say it's probably my favorite out of all the vehicles I've used in the past. Including a ford pickup I used to have. (gas hog)

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Sprinter Van, hands down. It's made by Freightliner. Mercedes-Benz diesel engine. Plenty of room to mount equipment, goes easy on the fuel, superior milage, and an engine that will outlast just about anything.

We love ours.

Beth

[Henry B. 4]

I think your sprinter van is pretty cool but for the price of it and the height problems (ladders) I'd rather buy two vans.

If your going to mount a system inside a van then yes, it would be the best choice. I prefer trailers though. You guys have another rig mounted in a truck which I personally like better than the sprinter.

My concern with rigs inside a vehicle is what happens if the vehicle breaks down or has to go in for extended maintenance or worse, a car accident. You could be out of work for weeks unless you have a back up rig.

[Pams Pressure & Clean 64]

I've always been a Chevy guy.

We use a Chevy Z-71 1/2 ton to haul around our gear and it does well. We have a 12', dual axle, open trailer, with electric brakes(you gotta have a trailer with brakes if you want to be at all in the realm of safety while hauling water), that is well balanced and reasonable fully loaded, (but not over capacity) and haul water only when necessary.

If tomorrow I won the lottery or landed a mega huge contract, I'd plunk down the cash for a shiny new Chevy 2500 Crew cab, 4wd w/ the Duramax diesel, but right now I just can't make myself fork over $45,000 for a new truck.

Your situation, based on your truck budget, what size trailer, amount of water you may carry, on board chems, and all the gear you have, will have more of a determining factor on what truck is best, but suffice to say that if you are going to haul a trailer 14' or less and not haul the tank full of water except on infrequent occasions, a 1/2 ton truck will do. Otherwise, look for a 3/4 ton.

FWIW, it seems that (for 1/2 ton gas burners) Fords are slightly underpowered and tend to lack carrying capacity, Dodges get hideous mileage and tend to burn intake manifold gaskets, and Chevys are ready to go to work every day without compromise :):).. My 2001 has 154,000 miles and runs all day every day. Except for regular maintenance (brakes, tires, tune-ups, and oil changes), I've had no major mechanical issues.

[ROBERT MCLAUTHLIN 14]

2001 gmc sierra 2500hd extended cab 4 door with 8 ft bed, 8.1L (496 cui) gas hog 125,000 miles it runs and starts like the day it came off the lot. Only problem I have with it is stupid b/s power mirror switch burnt out had it replaced and burnt out again. The only thing I would change is a sliding back window. Other then that I would buy another maybe the duramax gas is getting to expensive.

[Douglas Hicks 128]

I bought the first Sprinter van in Oregon used for fire suppression work. Great work van, 20 MPG, would get more if I did not drive 75/80 mph, lots of room, I can stand up in it. I have more usable room and milage than the E250, better milage than the Ford Ranger, handles better than the E250 and Ranger. Recently I took a ton of used lightingand fire alarm batteries to Portland, Still handled great, no difference in mpg or speed. Installed storage racks, auxillary heater in rear, work bench and interior lighting in back, urethane insullation. I've got 35,450 miles in a year. Bad points, a lousy radio/CD, 600 mile round trip for warrenty work. So far Freightliner has painted the 1/4 panel, replaced both rear shock and an injector is to be replaced on Tuesday. I like mine so well I am going to get another in December. And yes, I get the new one, I am the boss.

I could have purchased Ford or Chevy or Dodge, but there is some satisfaciton in driving up to my customers place of business and being asked what my van is. I just point to the name plate, "powered by Mercedes". I then say that my cusomers deserve a company that only has the best equipment and the best customers. The only bad response I have received was from a competitor that drives crap. They also do crap work.

Douglas Hicks

General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Nice to meet a fellow Sprinter lover! :) There is another pwing company here in MD using one, and also a cleaning company - carpets and windows and janitorial stuff... not to mention the florist/nurserys (height advanatage for tree transportation) and the Fedex and UPS are using them too.

We priced the most heavy duty largest (longest) body Chevy van at the same time we got this, and the difference was not double. In fact, it was only a few K difference.

Also we LOVE the skip payment option. With freightliner, you can skip three payments a year. We skip December, January, February....it doesn't do anything to your payments (no hidden extra costs). You simply have the other three months spread over the months when you are paying. VERY nice.

Anyone who is looking for a truck should go and look at one of these, and think really long and hard about the differences. We ended up making a pros and cons list on the trucks we were comparing.

Beth

p.s. we also own a Ford Ranger and a Chevy S-10

[James 624]

Do they come in four wheel drive or how do they handle snow ?

[Scott Stone 604]

The funny thing is that it all depends on the area that you live and work in. I prefer a pickup and trailer. If for some reason my truck should ever break down, and it has happened once due to a tire guy not tightening the lugs, I can take another truck of my wife's excursion. I like that option. I also like that I do not have the fumes inside.

Starting out, I had a toyota pickup and loaded all of hte stuff in the bed everyday. I eventually got a little trailer, and a hot box to go with my pressure washer. As time went on, I moved up and now I have three trucks, two wash rigs, and really reliable vehicles. The vehicle of choice for me now is an f-250 or f-350 superduty with the diesel engine. Reliable decent mileage and can pull a trailer really well. Of course, it all depends on what kind of vehicle you like...

Scott Stone

[Brad 14]

Beth can you post a pic of your Sprinter van?I'm not sure what they are.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Sure :) glad to share it. I honestly do not know if they have a 4 wheel drive model. Ours is not. One of the pickups has a Hydrotek in the bed too, but the other doesn't. We also have spare cold units we can add to any one of the units. The Sprinter has plumbing to add a second machine off of the supply tank, so we can run three wands.

Around here the winters can be cold enough that we need to have at least one truck with a unit enclosed in it since we added Kitchen Exhausts and those are done at night in the cold. If we were a mild weather state in the winter, we might have done it differently. Anyway, if you have a backup unit (or a couple in our case) then if the truck is in the shop it is not an issue.

Best thing I can say, is consider various scenarios when you plan your fleet, and whatever decision you come to should make sense for your plans for future business. Think of weather, job types, machine care, etc. It's all important. For example our machine is mounted in the Sprinter in a way we can easily access areas for service and routine care, as well as ventilation.

Beth

p.s. http://www.fl-sprinter.com/Cargo/cargo.html