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Vans & Minivans Dodge Sprinter Dodge Sprinter
1262 messages, Last post on Nov 24, 2009 at 4:19 PM
You are in the Dodge Sprinter Forum. Your Host is Karens
Hello, my name is Frank and I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge on the Dodge Sprinter cargo van. I am a fleet manager for a dog kennel in Chicago,IL and just purchased and outfitted this van for K-9 use. Our company has the 153 in. wb. cargo 2500. I need to know what options are out there for this vehicle as far as its charging system. The standard alternator on this van is a 90amp. Is there any upgrades for this vehicle? I have A/C unit on top of the vehicle. It is used to cool the rear compartment. My problem is that while the rear A/C is in operation, I cannot use the front cab A/C, fan, or radio without my battery discharging. If someone can email me some info that would be great. It seems that most of the Dodge Dealers I've contacted don't know anything about this van and it's driving me insane. Thanx!
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Replying to: afd1 (Aug 25, 2004 7:32 pm) |
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A friend of mine is a real out-of-the-box thinker with a blended family with four young teenagers. Figuring that if they all wanted to take a friend he'd need room for 10, he bought a Sprinter. He took me for a ride last night. I was suprised at how agile and powerful it was. It had a Mercedes 5 cyl diesel. The interior was spartan, but it had the rear AC unit on the roof which positively refrigerated the interior in about 2 minutes. The U-turning radius was better than our 2000 Sienna (really, we tested them). It cornered suprisingly flat. The liftover height in the rear was excellent. The cargo area was enormous. Leg room was excellent, getting in and out was a snap compared to our Sienna. He claims he's getting 25MPG in mixed driving... if I didn't know him, I wouldn't believe it. There are downsides. It's NOISY, as you might expect. The seats are short-bottomed and hard, easy to get in and out of (think short run bus), but I wouldn't think they'd be comfortable for a long haul. He got out the door for less than a Sienna XLE. My family is smaller, so I wouldn't need one. However, if you need one, and can live with the noise, I'd think it would be a good choice. |
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Can anyone tell me where I can get a FL Sprinter in Flame Red or Black, 140" WB and High Ceiling? I have been desperately searching for one. After contacting 27 FL Sprinter dealers, I am at my wits end. Are there any websites/phone numbers that will tell me which dealer has what in their inventory? The Net has been thoroughly combed and I have only turned up the dealers and FL web sites. The sites below have been searched. Any state will be fine. fl-sprinter.com mysprintervan.com Thanx in advance. Larry You can email me at vampire  n2net.net with FL Sprinter in the subject line if you have any info for me.
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Replying to: 1stvampire (Sep 18, 2004 1:20 pm) I'd read that they were marketed through Freightliner initially because the target market was commercial fleet sales, and it was competing against bigger trucks. I still find it funny to see a VW van with a Benz engine sporting a Dodge grille and occasionally wearing a Freightliner badge on the back! I wonder if Dodge will also sell the Benz-powered version of VW's Eurovan that is sold through MB in Europe? |
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Replying to: 1stvampire (Sep 18, 2004 1:20 pm) |
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| I am just about to order a 2005 Freightliner Sprinter 140" wheelbase cargo van and then have it converted by Elk into a 9 passenger. One question - has anyone purchased the "heated windshield with rain sensor" option on their sprinter? If so - what exactly is it and is it a worthwhile feature? Thank you. | |
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I read this forum with interest and am considering a full-size van purchase for work. The Sprinter intrigued me, as I like what has been said here. However, Sprinters are a lot more expensive than a regular full-size van. I was curious, so I made some assumptions and made a mathematical model to see where the break-even point is for a Sprinter versus a full-size Chevy van. The assumptions may not be exactly right, but they are pretty close.. Chevy Van - 14mpg - $1.90/gallon gas price - $10,000 cheaper Sprinter - 22mpg - $2.25/gallon gas price Using these numbers, I calculated the $/mile for both vans. The Chevy had a cost about .135/mile, where the Sprinter had a cost of about .10/mile. Then I divided the price difference of the vans ($10,000) by the difference in gas prices per mile (.035 or so), to arrive at the break even mileage. The break even mileage turns out to be 300,000 miles! In other words, you have to drive the Sprinter 300,000 miles before its total cost is less than the Chevy full size van. Since there is no way I can see a work truck lasting 300,000 miles, the Sprinter does not make sense to me.
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I take it you used gas prices in your area for the Chevy calculation and diesel prices for the Sprinter? Steve, Host |
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Replying to: njroadie1 (Oct 19, 2004 12:47 pm) Also - the Sprinter supposedly requires much less maintenance - ie oil change is needed only every 20,000 miles per the product brochure. The Mercedes diesel turbo engine also comes with a 100,000 mile or 7 year warranty - does Chevy match that?. I have heard of Mercedes going several hundred thousand miles - but not too many Chevys. My current Chevy 1500 van runs ok but I am not enamored with it. Also - if you buy now - you can still in get the SUV tax loophole (which might also apply to your Chevy)which is now closing or narrowing greatly (pursuant to a federal law passed in the last couple of weeks) at the end of this calendar year. You can deduct the entire cost of your business use Sprinter this year if you buy now. (As I understand it - if you buy, for example, a $40,000 Sprinter now, and even assume that you finance it all, you can write off the entire amount from this year's taxes; I am not an accountant so talk with your tax adviser - but that is my understanding.) So - you also need to factor in the bigger tax writeoff in this year that you would realize if you bought the more expensive Sprinter versus the Chevy. When you do all that - I would be suprised if the Sprinter does not come out cheaper in the long run. Good luck with whichever one you buy. |
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