Why Do We Use Custom-Made Package Cars?

[govols019]

Originally Posted by cino321

They might break down a lot, but they're one of my favorite trucks this company ever put out.

Mine too. We only have one left though at our center. Everybody wants that truck.

[hondo]

Originally Posted by upswrench

Pip, you hit the nail on the head with this post. I had 2 ---2003 sprinters in my fleet and just got rid of my last one. It took forever because they had so many junk sprinters laying around everytime I would lose a rear end they would just send me one from an ADA to install, same with the trans. the M/B parts were crazy in costs. Even if we paid $15,000 for the van new it caught up the the other cars real quick in cost !!!!! And the other cars are still on the road.. making money

What's the pattern failure? Do they just eat up the bearings and gears, or do the races spin and wipe out the housing or diff case?

[MechanicForBrown]

I guess by popular demand I need that smoking monkey of mine back huh? Well I though a little change to reflect the now in my life would be good, Allot of thinking going on lately on my part, and I've also kicked the smoking habit so I thought a smoking monkey wouldn't represent me the best! But I guess I do miss him so.............

[Big Babooba]

Originally Posted by MechanicForBrown

I guess by popular demand I need that smoking monkey of mine back huh? Well I though a little change to reflect the now in my life would be good, Allot of thinking going on lately on my part, and I've also kicked the smoking habit so I thought a smoking monkey wouldn't represent me the best! But I guess I do miss him so.............

Congrats on kicking the habit. Maybe you can find a monkey that's chewing gum.

[jds4lunch]

Myself being 6'7", I personally hate the sprinter vans. These are designed for air drivers who are 5'9" and shorter. We've also got a couple of the new Freightliner p7's which are nice trucks to drive, but they have the turning radius of the Titanic, and the beeping the truck makes every time you signal, put the hazard lights on, or don't put the brake on when shutting the truck off, is enough to drive anyone insane. Other than that, I find them a very nice truck to drive. Quiet, smooth ride, and they have a ton of room in both the cab and the cargo area. I also like how the cab dome light and the cargo dome light has a seperate switch, so during peak season I can leave the cargo dome light on full-time when I'm working in the dark.

[MechanicForBrown]

Originally Posted by jds4lunch

Myself being 6'7", I personally hate the sprinter vans. These are designed for air drivers who are 5'9" and shorter. We've also got a couple of the new Freight liner p7's which are nice trucks to drive, but they have the turning radius of the Titanic, and the beeping the truck makes every time you signal, put the hazard lights on, or don't put the brake on when shutting the truck off, is enough to drive anyone insane. Other than that, I find them a very nice truck to drive. Quiet, smooth ride, and they have a ton of room in both the cab and the cargo area. I also like how the cab dome light and the cargo dome light has a separate switch, so during peak season I can leave the cargo dome light on full-time when I'm working in the dark.

They are nice trucks! From a mechanics stand point, so far not many problems at all!! The turning radius does stink and they are very comfortable to drive, I like to take them out on road calls, one of the only trucks I can drive on the highway besides a Mack CH that I can use the cell phone if needed and not have to yell so the other person can hear me! Definite quality built into this machine.

[ol'browneye]

Originally Posted by soberups

The only reason we "loved" the P-8's and P-10's is because for years UPS had been forcing the routes into P-600's that were just too small. The average route in my loop had at least 700 cubic feet going out, so double trips were common. And once peak hit we were really screwed. The newer cars might have been bigger but they were still ergonomic nightmares that ultimately forced a lot of old timers into early retirement with chronic arthritis and bursitis in their knees, shoulders and wrists. And yes, I have delivered out of a P-400....it had 4 wheel drum brakes that locked up on wet pavement, no light in the package compartment, no reverse lights, a bulkhead door that was 2" shorter than the average driver, and a stick shift that would whack you in the nut sack every time you got out of the "seat" that was basically an upholstered board. Those things were flat-out dangerous.

LMAO

[BROWN430]

we had 2 sprinters that lasted maybe 4 yrs. total junk. on one of them the side door fell off 2 or 3 times and they were always being worked on for some reason. they swore we would never get anymore of that junk. we havent gotten anymore. i got one of the new p1000 atoumatics and it was a piece of trash also. pull into a dock in the snow , get ready to back to dock and the thing would slid sideways because the abs would tell the truck i was loosing tracksion. i would put it in low gear to go down a hill in winter and the truck would not slow down at all. would get stuck on level ground. i had a few whitenuckle days. finally i gave up and took my old 300000 mile manual tranny. old reliable truck back. never been happier.

[soberups]

One of the best trucks I ever had...was a 1994 International P-7 with the Powerstroke diesel/ 5 spd manual combo. It had almost 300,000 miles on it when they sent it away....it was slow, but it had a great seat with plenty of legroom and it had the lowest step height of any vehicle in the fleet. With the power steering and 3 pt belt, it was a safe and ergonomically efficient work platform.

[cino321]

As great as you people think the Sprinters were... I beg to differ.

First off, if you're tall, this thing was a disaster. It had absolutely no leg room, was hard to get in and out of, and a pain when it came to sorting in the back.

During the summer all you could open up was the windows to let some air in. Guaranteed sweat box, might as well be a sardine can.

I also thought the visibility was terrible this thing.

[over9five]

Originally Posted by cino321

I also thought the visibility was terrible this thing.

Must be why every one of them had dents all over them.

[rod]

Originally Posted by soberups

One of the best trucks I ever had...was a 1994 International P-7 with the Powerstroke diesel/ 5 spd manual combo. It had almost 300,000 miles on it when they sent it away....it was slow, but it had a great seat with plenty of legroom and it had the lowest step height of any vehicle in the fleet. With the power steering and 3 pt belt, it was a safe and ergonomically efficient work platform.

I enjoyed my Int P-7 diesel also. I got it brand spanking new- the only new vehical I ever had at UPS. Going from an old P-800 with a zillion miles on it to the P-7 was like going to heaven. It actually had a clutch pedal that was easy to push down and the power steering was like having a 10 ton weight lifted off me. It did quit running the 2nd day I had it (it would only idle) so I called to the big shots in Minneapolis (no one answered the phone at my center- it was Friday you know) and they told me to check the throttle linkage from the pedal in the cab. They all but called me a liar when I told them there was none- its all run by some computer box connected by a little wire. I spent half the day ideling around town making my deliveries until they finally got a different vehical to me.

[upsguy72]

Originally Posted by Livin the Dream?

I'm serious - why do we use custom-made cars from Freightliner, gruman, etc?

I drove a Dodge Sprinter Turbo-Diesel the other day - Holy Crap! Power, comfort, accessibility.

Half the cost of what we spend on our package cars.

They Suck

[cachsux]

The sprinters here are all yard checker/shop trucks. Sboxes. The funny thing about them is they must have a consciousness about them as they are always trying to commit truck suicide by popping out of park and rolling away until they crash into something.

[LOUPS78]

I've driven everything from the old 400's (Internationals), 500's (Fords introduced in the late 70's), 600's(complete with vacuum brakes and windshiled wipers as well as wooden shelves and bulkhead doors), 800's(Ford , GMC or Internaional) 1200's (can't remember what the model was) a stint of oversized vans similar to an ambulance rated as a 300, (circa early 80's) and the 24Ft box trucks. I'm currently driving a 2007 Workhorse, 1000. Big V8, dual exhaust, gas engine, goes like a rocket. Very ergonomically designed, plenty of cab room, p/s, auto transmission, great heat and low to the ground. Best vehicle I've ever worked out of. The only downside that I can see is the mpg at about 4.8. I was surprised at the ineficiency of the vehicle. I average about 60 miles per day and fill up daily, 13gals. I'd be interested in hearing an opinion on the Workhorse cars from a mechanics viewpoint.

[soberups]

Originally Posted by cino321

As great as you people think the Sprinters were... I beg to differ.

First off, if you're tall, this thing was a disaster. It had absolutely no leg room, was hard to get in and out of, and a pain when it came to sorting in the back.

During the summer all you could open up was the windows to let some air in. Guaranteed sweat box, might as well be a sardine can.

I also thought the visibility was terrible this thing.

We had a couple of Sprinters for awhile, but we sent them away. They were just too small to contain any of our routes. I think there are still a few at the airport that are used for Saturday air.

[rocket man]

sprinter bad brakes

[chestermechanic]

Originally Posted by MechanicForBrown

LETS BREAK IT DOWN FOLKS;
p32 Ford 4.2L v-6, power steering and comfortable to drive, not much maintenance required.

P500 Gmc 292 and 4.3L straight 6 and v-6 JUNK, trucks just fall apart and are forever being worked on.

P500 Work horse 6.0L v-8 gas and V-6 diesel International, also JUNK diesel engines have issues out the ass and the body wiring sucks!! although the gas engine is much better.

P700 Freight liner straight six Cummings diesel, engine is pretty solid and the body stinks, major frame issues, they are slowly going to the big junk pile of metal near you!

p700 International, 7.3L v-8 diesel, good engine, strong and long lasting, body is OK, nothing to major to deal with, will be around for the remainder of its 20-25 year cycle.

P700 Freight liner MB904 Mercedes Benz straight 6, so far so good, only problem so far is they can't move out of there own way!!, good ergonomics, good steering and brake feel. we'll see.....

p700 Cummings straight six Isb engine (new) so far they are good, powerful, QUIET, and feel good to drive.

p800 GMC 4.3L v-6 time has proved this truck to be solid, all kinks worked out and other than the occasional engine and tranny replacement its a legend.

p1000, GMC 4.3L, same as previous.

p1000, freight liner MB904 6, just the same as it's p700 little brother.

p1000 Cummings ISB 6, same as p700, but Bigger!

p1000, International T444E v-8 and VT365 v-8, the first engine is proven to last, the second should have never been made from an automotive stand point! PROBLEMS running good breakdowns are eminent, smoking and low power will happen!!

p1000 Ford, straight 6 Cummings engine, this truck stinks of breakdowns, hydraulic park brakes suck and cause most of them. should have never been built for us!

And then theres the 1200's and 24' trucks, majority of which are Internationals and are generally OK

sorry to tell you but the MB904 are 4 cyl's that why they cann't get out of there own way

[bbsam]

Just for comparison, Ford Triton v-8's and v-10's are unbelievable. i At our Fedex Home delivery terminal, we have many p500's with over 400,000 miles on the origal engines and transmissions. Granted they aren't hauling 18,000 pounds, but for the most part once they're fired up in the morning, they run all day. Lot's of hours and lot's of miles.

[MrFedEx]

Originally Posted by upssup

The problem with Sprinters is the amount of maintenance required and since the word Mercedes is on the parts box the cost of parts is terrible. If you have to replace an engine or transmission it is usually expensive enough to justify scrapping the car! Contrary to popular belief the Sprinter is as much or more than the rest.

I was told we're no longer buying them, due to previously mentioned maintenance issue. Purpose-built (custom) vehicles usually far outlast regular vehicles pressed into commercial service. The oldest walk-ins we have that I know of go were built in 1984 (W600) although there might be older ones out there. Unless they have some sort of bad design flaw, all of our vehicles (except Econolines and F250's, Suburbans and other non-customs)are supposed to go for 20 years before they can be retired.

I'm guessing most of the Sprinters will last about 5-8 years. They are junk.

[UPSBOI]

Originally Posted by satellitedriver

This is the War Pony I ride every day.
A 1988 with 800,000 miles on the OD and it is the tightest car I have driven for UPS.
Very few mechanical problems.
The only problem I have is the way the windshield wipers swipe.
They only cover about 40% and the right side mirror can not be seen during a heavy rain.
If it is night and raining, it is a very unsafe vehicle to drive.

And they handle so well when you a new set of tire! NOT!

[rod]

I think the most challenging one I drove was a 1946 Dodge I had one peak season about 1972. I could only imagine how many miles was on that piece. It had a shelf up front in the cab that you could line up about 25 stops. It had about 20 toggle switches on the dash--19 of which didn't seem to control anything.

[over9five]

Originally Posted by rod

It had about 20 toggle switches on the dash--19 of which didn't seem to control anything.

What was that commercial? The guy's standing in his living room asking his wife, "What does this switch do?" as he's flipping it on and off. Then you see outside the home and the neighbors garage door is going up and down smashing her car!!

Wonder what you were REALLY doing when you played with those switches???

[Old International]

You should be happy that you never had to deliver out of an old P4. Slant nose front, low bulkhead door, lously driving position. Old ford 300 inline six, louder than Van Halen, and when you hit the brakes- you went faster...........

[City Driver]

off topic but today i put an old international (bobtailing) into high reverse, i swear that thing idled at 30