Well there's no reason for the Sprinter to be as damn expensive as it is, except that's how much they charge for it. Very few people purchase them for other than business purposes, it seems, so they keep the price high.

I'm not sure expecting Ford to put a reasonable price on the Transit is realistic.

 

I had a van and did like having stuff stowed inside and easy to get to, but the wind always seemed to be coming head on and it knocked the hell out of the gas mileage. 16 to17 mpg verses 11 to 12 when bucking wind. I now have a pu and it is not nearly as effected mileage wise and between the extended cab and a large tote box behind the cab it carries everything nice and easy to access. Vans have alot of frontal area and gas isn't getting any cheaper.

 

I think the reason the sprinter is so expensive is there is no competition. Ford and Chevy have been selling 1970's style and technology up to this point and were no competition in terms of utility and economy.

Bob

 

 

$3900

1992 ISUZU NPR 4CYL.DIESEL,AUTO 147K MILES $3,900 OBO

 

I have always wanted one of those, but with a dump body instead of a box.

 

Isuzu NPR? LIBERAL TRASH!

 

For you.


How about an FRR that you could drive right up onto?

 

This weekend I will be towing my 20' car hauler (to an event) with a 2002ish Ford Excursion 7.3L Diesel that I borrowed from a friend of mine. It will be interesting to see what kind of mileage I get.

 

Keep that on the down low.

 

Sixshooter That first pic of the Nissan van looks interesting. What year is it and what engine and how much?

 

John they have a bunch of those on the lot in Burlington at the Nissan dealer. They run about 10k less than a Sprinter starting at around 25k new 2013 model come with V6 or V8 gas power. V6 looks a bit wimpy for towing. I don't think they are terribly good on fuel economy. The truck with that V8 is rated at 13/18. The ford V6 Ecoboost F150 on the other hand is rated at 16/22 and makes significantly more horsepower and torque than anybody else’s V8 gas offerings. I’m kind of not too keen on diesel right now because it’s running 40-60 cents more a gallon than regular gas and the engine cost thousands more up front and now with new engines you have to worry about additional fluids for emissions as well. I’m hoping the Ford is similarly priced to the Nissan.

 

If you stick your miata in a box truck, you can go over 55mph in the Republik of Kalifornia.

I like my $1,200 F150. ~14 mpg on 87 pump gas towing. I did the math before I bought it and at a $.50 delta from 87 to diesel and a truck that got 19mpg and cost me $10k, my ROI would take ~140k miles of towing... not counting the extra maintenance. Diesel that costs $.50 over gas is a distant memory for now and I don't see a lot of diesel tow rigs getting 19mpg pulling a basic tandem trailer/miata either. Sometimes it's good to be cheap and broke.

 

I get around 13mpg with mine when hauling... depends how heavy your right foot is. But it won't have any problems pulling it... especially in the flat lands.

 

Thanks Bob, I am very happy with my Dodge diesel pu, and wouldn't trade it for that Nissan or anything else after driving it for a season, it is nice to be able to go up hills and over mountains and not be shifting up and down all day. I was just curious as to the specs on that rig, sounds like the Ford is better

 

4.

 

Well turns out I am taking the car on a small open trailer instead. But I'll report back with the mileage just the same. Even though the Excursion is a Diesel driven behemoth, it still accelerates reasonably well pulling the trailer.

 

HA! Even my Tundra does better than that!

 

The 7.3s are not fantastic on mileage, but they aren't awful.

 

Well that sucks to hear. I was looking At a 03 ford panel van with the 7.3.
But hearing the points on the ROI, and not really knowing much about diesel besides the basic principals, I think I'll keep looking for a cheap tundra/sequoia.
Or maybe just a cheap beater truck.