What's the best commercial van Veeky Forums? I run a store that sells vintage furniture, housewares...

What's the best commercial van Veeky Forums? I run a store that sells vintage furniture, housewares, and clothing and need a new van for hauling stuff.

I'm using an old GMC Safari (pic not mine but similar) with close to 200,000 miles.

What I'm looking for:

>2 seats
>Reasonably comfy because I sometimes drive 10+ hours a day when I'm going out of state to buy stuff
>At least 10 feet of space behind the front seats

I don't need something super powerful, most of the stuff I haul around is big rather than heavy. Any recommendations?

get one of those new Nissan small vans.

You can find a nice mid or late 2000s Econoline with under 90k miles for pretty cheap. That's what I'd shoot for.

...

Why not spend your 3-5k making your current van better? Repair it, redo seats if necessary, vinyl wrap it with your business.

OP here, a few more details:

I can afford to buy new within reason (under $50,000)

Right now I'm leaning towards a Mercedes Benz Sprinter or a Ford Transit.

How much are you looking to pay? If you're looking at new, the bigger Ford Transit van is pretty nice.
>lots of space
>better fuel economy than most vans
>tall enough so you can actually stand while you're in back
>good turning radius
>comfy

Because it's pretty beat up and it doesn't look good. When you show up to buy a Hans Wegner couch and the potential seller sees you rolling up in a van that's busted up it's not always the best start to a meeting.

Express van with the 4.3L V6.

After experiencing both for years id say it's like a bigger better made astro van.
>Back doors that don't close on you
>Fairly comfy on road trips but I never drove for more than 5-6 hours
>Feels more solid

Do you hate your money?

This. You can find a fleet sale e250 and it will be the perfect vehicle. Or, you can get an ex rental moving truck. Even though everyone beats them up, they're maintained pretty religiously.

That's the point. If it looks nice, the age doesn't matter.

I drove a sprinter for a store across Virginia for a year and it worked well. Tons of space, pretty comfortable, and very quick for it's weight

That's theft deterrent. Nobody will break in to your crappy van or try to steal it.

>under $50,000

holy crap, you don't need to spend that much.

get a small box truck. the isuzu NPR is the go to commercial fleet vehicle for regional use. they last forever and are piss easy to fix.

you can get them used on CL for less than 10k. bonus feature, you get a nice billboard to paint your business logo on.

your current van will go 300-400k with good mantince, that chevy 4.3 is indestrutable

Alright OP, you're in luck, because I just spent the last 6 months researching this from top to bottom. I ended up going with a Transit 250 (3.7L V6) for $29k but there are some other considerations you should make depending on your situation.

1. Number of seats

Benz is currently the only manufacturer to offer a factory third seat (all 3 up front). In theory, you could convert a passenger cargo van by removing some rows or fabricate a bracket to mount a seat to a cargo van but it's not really the same. So if you want 3 seats, consider Benz.

2. Fit/Finish/Quality

Unsurprisingly, Benz is the best when it comes to the overall fit and finish of the interior and driving experience. It's just really nice. With that said, the Ford Transit isn't bad at all either. The interior is a little plasticy but it's very easy to clean and is very spacious. The base model head unit includes full bluetooth audio streaming/phone sync etc.... it's all very modern and functional in both Benz and Ford.

3. Power/Comfort/Economy

The Benz I test drove was the new turbodiesel 4 cyl worker cargo van they are shilling in the USA. It's weak as FUCK. Your top speed is around less than 100mph and is very slow to accelerate. Very little passing power. Even the worst engine configuration on the Transits is like 300+ lb/ft torque and is loaded with power from top to bottom. Towing capacity on both is the same somehow.

Economy on my transit is about 18 highway 14 city. Dunno about the Benz.

The Transit and Benz both have fantastic seating positions (very high up) and are comfortable for long rides. Sturdy, upright seats. They are both solid. The Transit is higher up than the Benz

Last thing I want to point out is that Benz is also the only one to offer a 4WD configuration currently on their cargo vans in the USA. So if that is important to you, then you'll have to go with Benz as the rest is RWD.

The sprinter vans are pretty nice. Test drive everything you can before you make a decision though

>It's weak as FUCK
Really? The 2012 turbodiesel Sprinter I drove was pretty quick. Maybe mid-6 0-60

that is because you drove the 3L V6 turbodiesel, not the new i4 turbodiesel they use in all the latest worker vans

Yeah that explains it

Thanks vanbro!

>Your top speed is around less than 100mph and is very slow to accelerate.

And to think they call it The Sprinter

>under 150 HP
>weighs over 5 tons

fuck that shit

Don't you need some kind of commercial license to drive such a vehicle?

Rams tradesmen promasters arent too bad a van.

Its the only fwd in its class.


The fullsize nissan van is my personal favorite because its a true paneltruck not a van

What's the difference between a panel truck and a van?

No. You don't need a CDL to drive one of these either and they have air assisted brakes. btw these use the same amount of fuel as those shitty mini trucks.

>Tall enough that you need to watch out for low bridges
>More of a pain in the ass to load than a van
>More of a pain in the ass in urban areas
>Not even in the same category as what OP wanted.

Doug de memeo xD

Eurofag here. I drive a 2016 Ford Transit 2.0 4cyl 140hp Diesel for work every day.

It's alright. Seats 3 people fairly comfortably, takes 2 tons in the back, pulls a 2.5 ton trailer easy. Top speed around 100 mph. 23 MPG average in the 9 months I've been driving it.

hijacking this thread

wat to look for in a cheap (

Itt: a lot of people who have never used a work van

The Isuzu user had a good idea but it's only downfall is comfort. You do not want to drive those for more than two hours at a time. Although they are built very well, and with the 6.0 some of them are optioned with they are surprisingly quick for a box truck.

Since you need 10ft of room behind you you're going to need to look at transits, sprinters and the like. Personally I don't have experience with these vans, but I will say if you live anywhere where it's cold don't get a diesel. You will regret it.

Depends on where you live. In my state all I had to do was get a chauffeurs license, which was an absolute joke. It was a 15 question test, while you wait in line you can pick up the brochure and by the time you get called up you already know all the answers.

Kinda scary that's how much it takes to be able to legally drive something up to 26,000 pounds.

that van is just begging for /vanlife/

We should have a vandwelling thread sometimes.

I've slept in my van before, it wasn't fun. >Estate sale 8 hours away
>They had what appeared to be an Edouard Cortes painting
>Prices aren't usually listed on estatesales.net, but there was a $500 price tag hanging off it on the picture they had
>Drove and got out in front of the house at midnight
>Slept in the back of the van for 4 hours
>Took my camping chair out and sat in the yard so I'd be first in line for numbers
>Slept in the chair a bit too
>Severe neck pain the rest of the day

No idea how people live in vans, that was a miserable night. I made bank on that painting though

>starts off post by saying none of us know what we are talking about
>then proceeds to reiterate the exact models we were already discussing

>if you live anywhere where it's cold don't get a diesel. You will regret it.

Is it a problem even if you get a heater? I can get pretty cold where I live.

People keep them insulated and furnished. It's like a compact, aerodynamic RV for fewer people.