Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The ones I have seen are really delivery trucks at best. I don't see roofing contractors using them. Old Hickory said it best. My larger point is how did Detroit relinquish their iron clad grip on what was truly an all-American segment? If the Econoline had to evolve, why didn't it? There are no big secrets to be learned form Nissan, of all things, for building cargo vans.
I heard that. Not listening the the men who use them hard and need them to be built that way either. Better stick to the floral shop and rose, daisy running by day outfit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by winkosmosis
OP, this is why the American vans stagnated and are now gone. Because these guys who buy are very traditionalist so they assume what they're used to is best
It's because they are battle proven and tested by guys like me. They get used very very hard. Try sliding a 44"x44"x3" solid concrete slab out the back of one of these new junkers. The bumper is plastic, not to mention I wouldn't think of having a piece of 3/4" plywood screwed down to the floor like we do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stonepa
Funny - they've been using Sprinters, Transits, and the big Ram/Fiats all over the world for a lot of years and 'somehow' make this all work. They make 4WD models, various roofline heights, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 ton versions, etc. Fantastic vehicles that actually work. Chevy Express and Ford Econolines are dinosaurs. I know a lot of people like them because you can buy them used for dirt cheap. However, given all the members of my family that have Chevy and Ford work vans, their experience is that they a JUNK. Transmissions slip, intake manifolds crack, rust rust RUST, oil leaks, weak brakes, frames cracking, etc. Cheap prices equal cheap quality and Ford and Chevy milked those platforms for too long.
The Econolines rambling around have more in common with 1970s/1980s F-Series trucks than 2000s-2010s. That not a bad thing.
The older vans are tried and true. The motors are proven and parts are plentiful.
Demand is shifting to small businesses and fuel economy crap is going down.
Daimler/Fiat and FoMoCo decided that it was a lot cheaper to redesign their Europe-based vans to pass muster with FMVSS standards than to rehabilitate designs dating as far back as the early to mid-1970s. Only Nissan has seen fit to create a van lineup based on the old truck-based V8-powered format (and only because IMHO they needed something to help amortize costs for the full-size Titan.
I have two e350's a 96' cargo van and a 98' cutaway van with the triton engine. Both have about 180,000 miles on them and they run like champs. You can't kill them. They will rust away and fall apart before the motors stop working.
The old saying is if it ain't broke don't fix it, but for the type of business i'm in many companies require trucks/vans 2004 or newer so it limits my options who I can contract myself out to. So I will have to up grade the van soon. The good news is tjis, there are plenty of late model Ford Vans out there and prices will drop steadily now that the New Transit is on the road.
Took a trip to the scrapyard today while at work in our '86 Chevy 20 junk/trash truck. I was doing things to that truck I never would with one of these new ones again today. That truck is reserved for that duty and it's all we use it for. The odometer has rolled at least 3 times and it still runs...... Runs rough, but you would too with a 366,000 mile 350 V8.
That truck takes the most abuse as any and gets beat to death. It always comes back for more when it fires up every few weeks when I take our scrap to cash it in. Many times the money I get for the scrap is worth more than the truck that hauled it. lmao
The guy in the scrapyard office laughs about it. lol
He told me again today....."still drivin' that old turd I see"! lol
I said it's almost 30 years old and still runs.......you can't ask for more than that. He got his money worth for sure.
Let's face it, ford, chev, gmc, was not the first. But as an ex-motocrosser I love the extra space at the top. I would have had one of these things foo-shooo.
You guys may be right about Older=stronger. But we gave back Iraq so $1.75 gas is gone.
I kind of like the new Ford Transit. I was a the Ford dealership the other day and they had a Transit outside on the lot. I'll just say this... they are absolutely massive. About as wide as an Econoline, but much taller and longer. I have a feeling they will sell well. One of the major limitations of an E-series was always the interior height.
My dad still has an 85 G Series van with the 6.2 Detroit. The only real problem with it was the engine.. those 6.2 diesels are bad for developing cracks in the heads, so you end up having to remove the head, drill into the crack, tap it, run a bolt into it, grind off the excess, and smooth it out.
Aren't these new vans using passenger car engines and transaxles -- which are going to crumble to pieces like all those Chrysler and Honda passenger car power trains that they tried to use in their vans?
Aren't these new vans using passenger car engines and transaxles -- which are going to crumble to pieces like all those Chrysler and Honda passenger car power trains that they tried to use in their vans?
The Promaster is the only full sized one that is FWD. That one I would seriously avoid.
The mini cargo vans are FWD. Nissan's has their super unreliable CVT and Ford's uses their ubiquitous 6F35 conventional automatic (not the DCT). The GM City Expressed is a rebadged Nissan.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
