Sprinters..Love Them Or Hate Them?

[MrFedEx]

I've noticed an increasing number of UPS Sprinters on the road and wonder how they're being received. We've got a large fleet of them and they have always gotten mixed reviews. A lot of drivers don't like them because of ingress/egress issues and the walk-in versions bother people taller than 5' 9" because they're always banging their heads. Our mechanics hate them, and they cannot be based at a FedEx location more than 25 miles from a Freightliner or Dodge dealer qualified as a Sprinter Service Center due to all of the warranty work that needs to be performed.

The last I heard, FedEx isn't ordering any more of them and is going back to ordering Econoline vans and step-ins.

 

[Phil800101]

From a loaders perspective, I absolutely HATE Sprinters. I used to load for a driver who could not drive a full size package car for medical reasons. They had him driving one of the smaller package cars, until one day they wanted him to try the Sprinter. What a mess! I can't even begin to describe what a P.I.T.A. that thing was to load. The shelves sucked, the space sucked, and there was this weird wall or cubicle space or something behind the passenger side that made loading even more difficult. I barely got half of his load in the thing, and I'm talking the truck being floor to ceiling front to back full. Thankfully, they only tried that for the one day, and about a week later he resolved his medical issue and was able to drive a full size package car. But yeah, unless it's being used for running a few early a.m. packages or shuttling or something like that, I think Sprinters are total crap from what I've seen.

 

[david cassin]

we have approx 40-50 here in dublin branch and our drivers seem to like them.we got a batch of 20 odd in 2006 with a aluminium/fibreglass body p45/p50 i think we call them last year and they are roomy,only 90 bhp.the older sprinters could do over 100 mph and boy were they quick.
they buy in bulk from mercedes in europe a couple of thousand at a time and obviously get a big discount.fedex in ireland have mixed vans as there are alot of owner drivers so they pick their own vans.ford transits/renaults and sprinters.the older sprinters had probs with the hinges on the back and side doors,the new 2007 models are much bigger and more powerful and there are alot on the roads of ireland.
cheers happy thnksgiving to ye all in the us of a.

 

[mattwtrs]

It depends on your delivery area. I liked them in the fall, winter & spring for comfort but they are too hot in the summer, not enough ventilation! The quick acceleration and handling gave me a chance to get done earlier than being stuck in a P500. The trips in my center have all changed and the Sprinters were too small to hold the cube. The 4 Sprinters, P47's we had are now gone to the boneyard or other centers. The P500's are being replaced with P700's. I think after Peak and by the middle of next summer they should all be gone too!

 

[MrFedEx]

Most of the UPS Sprinters I see on the road are the high cube type and not the unibody van type that we have at FedEx. It appears that UPS was a bit smarter in buying a cab and chassis and then installing a walk-in body that actually has some room for movement within and adequate capacity.In this configuration it might be a good delivery vehicle.

 

[wadep]

The sprinters are the biggest waste of money since pas. I run a 400 km (240 mile) extended run , although nice and smooth on the highway, as soon as you get them onto gravel, snow, sand or anything other than pavement, you can't get them moving. The traction control kicks in and slows you to a crawl. When entering onto a highway from a soft surface roadway, you step on the gas, the traction control kicks in, and the van falls flat on it's face. Extremely dangerous here in northern Canada where we are dealing with ice covered roads 4 months out of the year.

As far as the interior goes. The front roofline keeps getting in the way of my big fat head. I'm 5 ft 10 and the roof line is an inch to short to stand up strait in. And who the H. E. double hockey sticks designed the shelves in every u.p.s. worldwide? Is it to much to ask for a little bit of a tilt towards the wall, so the packages stay on the shelves and not implode to the floor crushng every second package. Might even cut down on damage claims. But what do I know, I'm to intelligent for management, I am but an hourly *LOL*

 

[Dirty Savage]

They are too small for me. Can't stand up in the back and I have to fold myself in an out of the vehicle. The ashtray was a nice touch though.

 

[Mr Fedex]

I love the Sprinters.Not as big as a truck but bigger than a van.Plus all the new ones are Benzes!!

 

[Mr Fedex]

Most of the UPS Sprinters I see on the road are the high cube type and not the unibody van type that we have at FedEx. It appears that UPS was a bit smarter in buying a cab and chassis and then installing a walk-in body that actually has some room for movement within and adequate capacity.In this configuration it might be a good delivery vehicle.

I agree.They all have room to stand in so i agree with you that Fedex made a good choice with a good delivery vehicle.

 

[brett636]

I drove sprinters on a few occasions as an air driver. They were ok, but I found them to be a bit of a pain to hop into and out of since there wasn't a much room in the cab as there was in a standard package car. They were also awkward to load and unload when you had a lot to pickup. My building has since gotten rid of all its sprinters and econolines and now use strictly package car sized trucks.

 

[splozi]

Someone here has a fetish for resurrecting ancient threads.