Best kind of van for truckmount

So I'm looking at replacing my current van. FORD E350. High miles, 14' dually box van, bad fuel economy, more problems with dually tires than any regular van I've ever owned. I've been eyeballing 06 or older Sprinters, the new RAM Promaster, a smaller 10" box van or just a good old extended cargo. Fuel economy is important. I've heard the Sprinters can be problematic in terms of feeding into the fuel line for the extractor. My question to owners of regular cargo vans: Do you feel overly cramped for space. What kind of fuel economy do you get. I've heard Chevys do a little better in that regard.
Question to non traditional van owners: What are the +/- of your set up. Any complications with fuel supply?
Thanks for the help.

Definitely go with extended van Martin. I did my own fuel tap It was a pain the first time but I got pretty good after redoing it a couple of times  I have Ford and it's been very reliable.

What truck mount are you installing? Are you using a fresh water tank?

I've got a White Magic Pro 1800. I really like it but it needs some SERIOUS maintenance. The aluminum tanks need repaired(both fresh and waste) and the engine leaks oil like crazy. I'm getting a backup van going so I can take my other out of commission for a while to refurb it. What king of MPG to you get in your van? I hear the Chevys with the small V8s do pretty well. That's actually what my backup is (1988 Chevy G20). It has the 4.8L and gets me about 14mpg towing an open single axle trailer.
I was talking with the local carpet cleaners store and he said taping into the Sprinters fuel line messes with the fuel injection. ???
I'm really intrigued by the Sprinters because they are supposed to get 25mpg on a regular basis. That's a huge savings.

I just spent most of the summer researching this very topic for myself.  Personalty, I find vans to be very cramped and costly for engine repairs due to tight working space for the mechanic.  Their only value is that they fit in a garage and can be kept warm in the winter...if that is an issue for your area.

If staying with a cargo van, do get the extended length.  It may only be a couple of feet longer, but it allows you to mount your wands horizontally instead of at an angle which keeps the floor plan from getting clogged up.  That is a huge difference in space control.

As for Ford vs Chevy?  If you are driving in city mostly, then choose the motor that is most efficient.  That motor is the one with the best torque rating per rpm.  Horsepower means nothing if strictly driving through the neighborhoods, it is the torque that gets you moving.  The Ford 5.4 is actually better in that way than the Chevy 6.0, 5.3, or 4.8 and matches the old GM 5.7 of years past.  Could look into converting to CNG as well if your area supports it.

As for non-traditional choices, there are some good ones.  The Sprinters look great and drive great, but you will drive all day before you find a happy owner....they are expensive to repair and have some serious issues.  Unless you really like the looks that much, I would run from the Sprinters.

Dodge Promasters look like a great vehicle with the front wheel drive, but they are too new to know what is in store with them.  I see they already had a recall for faulty key switches, so they are off on the wrong foot already in my view.  Give them a few years before pulling the trigger on new models like that. I also have doubts about how well that front wheel drive will handle the heavy weight of our industry.

What's left?  You could go with an aluminum Step van with a cummins diesel and allison transmission.  They will never rust out and that drive trane will out-last roaches.  The only real issues are that you would have to cut out a side door for TM access and climate control might be an issue.  You can pick them up pretty darn cheap.

I ended up going with the Isuzu NPR trucks.  They have proven themselves over the last 15 years as being reliable and parts are easy to find.  The tilt cab makes repairs simple and they handle better than any van I have ever driven.  I think a gas model might be the best option as you can have them serviced at any shop as opposed to struggling to find a diesel mechanic that knows anything about Isuzu engines.  Most shops will not be able to read the diagnostic codes and the scanner costs about 5k to purchase.

That is some great info. Thanks.
I have the same reservations about the Promaster. No track record. I've spoken to lots of happy Sprinter drivers but no owners. BIG difference.
What kind of MPG do you get in your Isuzu? I've been intrigued by those as well. In my current 14" box van I had a door put in the side. Not too big a deal.
I really like the look of the little 10' box vans with the single rear axle too.
Part of me wants to really downsize to something more maneuverable and part of me knows I'll miss the space. I definitely would not go with anything smaller than an extended cargo van though.

Mileage on my NPR is not real good at around 14 mpg due to the height of the box catching so much wind. A wind jammer mounted on the cab roof would probably get me to about 16 mpg.

I like the 10 foot cubes as well and almost went that route, but it still leaves you with high repair bills due to tight space around the engine. Still, you can be well organized in a cube.

I just find it strange that a 1-ton used cargo van with 140k miles is still more expensive than a used medium duty vehicle (NPR as an example) with a diesel and less miles. I couldn't find anything when I was searching for a van for less than $12-14k with high miles, yet bought my NPR with only 105k on the 5.2 diesel for $12k.

Oh, one last note on the NPR's, the 2007 and newer models use diesel exhaust fluid and have heavy emissions package, so there could be trouble from a maint. stand-point if you don't have a good diesel mechanic that understands those systems. I would either go with a newer one with the bugs worked out (2010 plus) or do what I did and go with a 2005-2006 model...same motor without the emissions issues.

14-16 mpg on a box truck is actually really really good mil spec.    Try a F super duty with a hydraulic dump that gets 6-8.      Sprinters can get great mileage and look great.  

If your using a box truck now I wouldnt step down to a cargo van,    I went out recently in our smaller van and it was fine but man its not easy to work with when your used to a box truck.    

It all depends on what your business entails.     We need space in our box truck because we are adding more services as time goes on and need space for lots of gear.

Having both, I would say go either Sprinter or another newer box truck and Turbo Diesel for sure. Gas box trucks are terrible with mpg

Ouch, 6-8 mpg! Then again, you are driving a mobile textile cleaning plant, so that is understandable.

I do like those Sprinters...I've been told by the FedEx guys that the Mercedes versions have been the most reliable, followed by Freightliner, and finally the Dodge when they still made them.

6-8 was on our dump truck years back. 14000lb dump so you cant complain with how much time it saves hauling material.

but getting 15 in the isuzu im pretty content. I actually get less than that with our express, I think that one is around 12mpg max

I have had vans from all 3 of the major mfgs. Just one Dodge van and the rest
Ford and Chevy. As far as drivetrains at least pre 2004 I preffered Chevy . I just got
more miles out of them. Right now I have a 2003 Chevy with a 6.0 litre engine. 120,000  and runs like new. Like the way it goes down the road. Not really familiar with
the new Fords and Chevys though. I am sure they are both going to do well.

Geeeez, I don't know what you guys are doing to get such good MPG, but I sure don't with my Ford E250 5.4L. V8

Altho it's hard to calculate true MPG when working because my TM is using fuel from the vans tank, but even so I average about 120 driving miles for 30 gals. of fuel used.  But I mostly drive light to light avoiding the FrWys around here due to traffic, and most jobs being within a few miles.

Even so, I'm looking at 4 mi to the gal at that rate.........I must be doing something wrong (and I drive it like a 95 yr old Asian G'ma talkin' on a cell phone), or honestly isn't in effect in this thread?

Davey Cracker wrote:Geeeez, I don't know what you guys are doing to get such good MPG, but I sure don't with my Ford E250 5.4L. V8

Altho it's hard to calculate true MPG when working because my TM is using fuel from the vans tank, but even so I average about 120 driving miles for 30 gals. of fuel used.  But I mostly drive light to light avoiding the FrWys around here due to traffic, and most jobs being within a few miles.

Even so, I'm looking at 4 mi to the gal at that rate.........I must be doing something wrong (and I drive it like a 95 yr old Asian G'ma talkin' on a cell phone), or honestly isn't in effect in this thread?

LOL @ Asian grandma
Well first off, are you using premium gas or regular unleaded ? Premium gas will boost that by a couple extra mpg.
Second of all, you work by yourself, that TM is running twice as long as I am or may be even 3 times as long with the way you work ( meticulous ).
Third of all, your van is older and has lots of miles, in a few years I'm anticipating my mpg drops like crazy too, that's why I always encourage upgrading your trucks after 8 - 10 years because just the gas savings alone is going to be about $ 100 or more which helps paying the monthly payment of that newer van.
Oh I get about 8 - 12 mpg ( including my 1.6 liter gas guzzling TM )

You made some good points, DP.........Damn you!!

how do you factor mpg with including the tm usage?

Pretty impossible as I said.......other than I get about 120 miles for 30 gals of fuel burned, including what the TM is using.

Premium fuel and lucas fuel additive can make a big difference.

My mileage, even heavily loaded is around 11 driving, but when stationary and the butler running, it is thirsty. Like Dp pointed out, being solo much of the time that tm is running longer than it would with some help.

When I clean my commercials, that van is at fast idle for 6 hours straight and sometimes as much as 8 hours and drinks a little over a quarter tank (just over 7 gallons).

Now that I think about it....that really isn't bad. Heck, it is like driving across Nebraska every night, so 7 gallons is pretty acceptable.