Step Vans

[andyinchville]

HI All,

I've been vending for awhile now using an older 1985 Chevy P30 step van (16' Grumman Olson body).

It is a Great vehicle for vending in except that it gets horrible mileage (about 6.8 MPG overall since I started using it.....On the highway it can get as good as 8.2 or so MPGs.....).

I have been looking into a diesel step van and I am going to hold out for one w/ a Cummins engine

(my Dodge Pickups get about twice the mileage of my old gasser dodges so I am hoping for similar when I get a diesel step van).

I just missed out on a 1981 step van exactly like mine except for the 4 cyl diesel....I was soooo disappointed to miss out.

Attempting to find an older truck with the 4bt (cummins) is like looking fpr a needle in a haystack.

With this in mind I was thinking of possibly finding a Freightliner MT 45 or similar w/ the 6 BT cummins.....although they cost a little more (well, about double aarg!) I can swing the extra $$.

My main concern though is how hard is it to get a Freightliner worked on?....I don't think parts are quite as readily available as the older Chevy P30  or Ford chassis.....I bet parts would be quite a bit more $$ too?

I have no experience w/ Freightliner and was wondering if anybody out there had any input on this....IN terms of ease of servicing , parts availability, parts cost etc...

Also, do you think I would be giving up too much in terms of mileage by going from a 4 BT  to a 6 BT?

I would prefer an automatic but I was surprised (and disappointed that some of the newer Freightliners have no "park" position and rely exclusively on the parking brake (trans mounted)....THAT sounds like a problem / accident waiting to happen.....I would prefer a real "Park" position.

Are there aftermarket manufacturers for parts for Freightliner or is Freightliner the only place to get parts from?

Sorry for the longish post but I really need to get better mileage!

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Andrew

[mission vending]

I used to have a P30 too, was really happy to get rid of that beast.

A freightliner sounds like a little overkill. Look at Isuzu, Mitsubishi or something like that. I have two Isuzu's and you'd have to steal them to get them away from me. They are SOOOOO easy to work on with the tip over cab for routine maintenance.

For the more involved service work I think it's more important to find a good diesel mechanic, whether at a dealer or indy.

I get 10-11 with the new one and 12-13 with the older one. The difference caused by the new emissions requirements that started with 2008 models