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Here is my 2003 e450 with a 7.3 diesel with 83k on the clock.
It was a Red Cross disaster relief rig used to hand out food, water, blankets, etc. after natural disasters. It’s an ambulance package with a bigger box than a normal ambulance and the back doors run to the edges
Bought it after a buddy needed to unload it, and that following November he passed away pre-riding the Baja 1000. Besides the fact it’s a badass van, with that sentimental connection I don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of it.
Still building it out, but currently have an 8’ deep garage, running the wiring for the house, then I’ll wrap up insulation and finishing touches.
Sold a low mileage long/tall transit 350 with an ecoboost to get it. The girlfriend still lets me know she wants the transit back and will die on that hill. The ecoboost was easier to drive, was quieter, and got better mileage. But the box van has less body roll, rides better, the shape is more useable space, and it's way cooler pulling up to the track in this ol girl.
If you want a new van, go for it. They are sweet and it’s only money, you can always make more of it. But having been in your same position I did the box van route and I don’t regret it in the slightest.
Man this makes it even tougher! You basically said what I hoped wasn’t true lol. I can make do with a box van, yes a new transit is nice but it can be done still with a box van for a lot less. I’m going to drive one this week and make sure!
I am curious to hear people's opinions as well. Paging OB....
🙂😎
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The sprinter we had was a 2021 v6 diesel. Not a bad running engine but I didn’t put enough miles on it to hit all the reliability issues most newer sprinters have. There is no way the four cylinder sprinters would have enough power to haul around a converted van full of bikes
very effectively. But I haven’t driven one🤷🏻♂️…..main reason for buying the Ford Transit was the engine, the eco boost rules.
I personally have had no issues in the wind except with the sprinter. So crazy how the sprinters electronics react in the wind, they will basically lock up the rear wheels to limit sway in gusty wind, very very scary.
I posted a thread a while back that within a few years the racetracks will be thick with used Amazon vans. I work by a distro center and they are all over the place.
Regarding the Van vs box van, some people like me live in cities that will not allow commercial vehicles in the driveway.
My neighbor has a team green box truck, he has to keep it in a storage lot because the city won’t allow it at home. Shitty
There is a reason cities don't allow that, opens things up for abuse.
A good family moved in across the Cul-de sac from us last fall. He is a contractor with no place to store his 10-yard trailer/pro master van/2-ton dump truck/and his GMC diesel and GMC Denali except on the front yard of the home. Should have planned a little better but here we are.
Now the people across the street from new guy, next to me, retired and original owners from the late 60's, are not happy. Plus, the new guy ran over their mailbox. All will get remedied at some point, but right now it's ThunderDome.
Got to have a good HOA for those situations
OB917 are you still living in Carlsbad? That photo looks a lot like mountainview…. As a guy that always runs south for the winter to get some different tracks and sunshine, it’s cool to see people hitting the nw in the summer for a change of scenery. Killer van as well!
No such thing.
I've heard the disputes can be legendary 😯
Actually, the new twin turbo HO 4 banger puts out more hp and torque than that 3.0 6 cylinder. It pulls loaded just fine. Even the gasser goes pretty good, not sure for towing anything heavy, but it’s not a dog like the older diesels. And it has a 9 speed transmission which helps a lot too.
I know the ecoboost is badass, but it also can have its own set of problems. I’m in the car business and I’ve seen my share of issues with both.
Current Sprinter owner (2.0 HO diesel) and came from an F-150 with the EcoBoost. I had a lot of issues with the EcoBoost and wouldn’t own a Transit for that reason
Mine isn't an HOA, it is literally the city. If your vehicle has the name of your business on the side you are in violation.
The bad thing is I live in a Joe Lunch bucket city, it's not like it's a high end bougie city.
I like the drive on A1A from St. Augustine to Daytona 😎
I’ve never driven one with the four banger.
Pit Row
Seems like the old EcoBoost had manifold issue and a couple other things. No where near the issues sprinter engines have. Mine is the new ecoboost and so far so good, 100,000 miles with one set of plugs at 60k.
Sprinters for sure have their issues too, but there are also plenty with over a million miles on them. My 2018 EcoBoost had the wastegate rattle issue which requires turbo replacements, as well as the cam phaser rattle which had a recall. This isn't engine related but it also had the door latches freeze which meant the doors often wouldn't close during winter. There was a recall for that too. The previous EcoBoosts had the plastic oil pan which leaked. It seems like a common belief in the van world that the Sprinter is going to be all trouble and the Ford is perfectly reliable. My only point is both vehicles can have issues.
Yep still in Carlsbad, but the summer trip back to the NW is always fun. Especially for the MTBing. 🍻
I work in Daytona and when I have a rough day, I drive home via A1A instead of jumping on I-95. Just something about seeing the ocean makes the day not so bad.
Totally agree with you, both can have issues. I wanted a TN1 sprinter when they first brought them to the US so bad.
But fixing an ecoboost that’s in almost every ford known to man is easy peasy. But both company’s service departments suck these days so always hope not to have to deal with either having issues. Don’t get me started on my Promaster experiences lol
Very good point about dealer support, that’s absolutely true. Parts and service are both cheaper and more plentiful for the Transit. I have 2 friends with ProMasters, I’d agree with you that it’s not a good option lol
I follow your channel, nice job. I think you’re right on the lightweight bodies. I’m actually going to look at one tomorrow with the unicell. When I do the math and how I’m going to use it I just can’t get over the savings a box van offers. Who knows I may drive it for a month and still collect the transit.
Great info! Even though I have the trail on order I’m going to look at a box van tomorrow. Has the lightweight unicellular body, only a 14ft, low mileage. She’s a gasser but oh well.
I always wanted a Sprinter. Finally bought an old 2012 high roof 170" 3.1L Diesel 3500. It runs and drives great. I was surprised. It has so much room. I put up a wall and am in the process of making a platform for a mattress. Still have a ton of room behind the wall.
Of course with all these diesels after about 2007 the check engine light is on for "catalyst nox sensor under threshold bank 1". It runs fine but it's annoying. Anybody else have that issue?
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