Sprinter Type II Units

Silly question - we all know that UPS trucks "look different" than a regular panel van, right? (The front-end is funny-shaped). Had anyone ever seen a UPS truck being used by someone other than UPS?

No... you know why? The truck is a trademark-type-thing, and they destroy them when they are no longer serviceable.
 
Sprinters

I personally think they are ugly looking - too top heavy looking. I have driven one and didn't like the layout of the cab too much. I don't like how the steering wheel is horizontal, too. Its not a big enough vehicle to have wheel like that, it doesnt feel like you have good control of vehicle. The engine does not have much power and is sluggish.

On the flip side, the driver does have good visability and good turning radious. Company owners love them becuase of the limited maintenance required. They can go 10,000 miles on an oil change and over 100,000 to the first scheduled tune-up.

If I had to pick, I would stick with Ford. B)
 
Jon said:
No... you know why? The truck is a trademark-type-thing, and they destroy them when they are no longer serviceable.
Click to expand...

I was reading that it was a liability thing. But yea, they strip them of any usable parts and then the rest is cut up for scrap.

Due to tax issues & paperwork (further compounded by Sarbanes-Oxley) a lot of computers meet the same fate.
 
Jon said:
Silly question - we all know that UPS trucks "look different" than a regular panel van, right? (The front-end is funny-shaped). Had anyone ever seen a UPS truck being used by someone other than UPS?

No... you know why? The truck is a trademark-type-thing, and they destroy them when they are no longer serviceable.
Click to expand...


You will also notice there is no make/model identifying marks ie: Ford, Mack, etc......;)
 
We have two Sprinter (Freightliner) ambulances, by Demers, at the commercial service where I work, and 5 Ford type II (AEV) and a Ford type III (Horton) for bariatrics. I like them (Sprinters). The service I volunteer at has two type III Lifelines, one a Ford, the other a Chevy. I would love it if the volunteer service would consider a Sprinter for our paid day staff. The Lifelines cost about $170k, the Sprinters about $80K. In rural areas transporting two Pt's may be more common, but in the urban and suburban areas where I work, we rarely have more than on Pt. The company I work for also staffs a nearby volunteer service on weekdays. They have a Ford type III similar to our Horton, and a HUGE International truck-ambulance (Gargambulance?) that almost everyone hates, including the volunteers.
 
Mercedes Sprinters here only in Australia.

Skip to 3min and you can see an arrest being run in the back off one.

(this is a Australian docco based on new paramedics entering the govt ambulance service in NSW, Australia)

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3pXMI1Q6Gk&feature=fvwrel[/YOUTUBE]

Its squished, but roomy.
 
Road shotgun in a Type II Spinter a couple days ago taking my friend to the ER, there was so much legroom I think I am in love. Granted this was in New Zealand but I certainly liked it, it seemed to ride a lot better than the E-Series.
 
We have three different sprinter units that our 24hr crews use. One is made by road rescue, and the other two by wheeled coach.

The Road Rescue has a ton of leg room up front, and it's great for long trips if you're driving or riding shotgun. The Wheeled Coach however is terrible. If you're a taller person you'll find your knees almost touching the dash. You have to make a choice, either you have a little bit of seat recline and your knees are crunched up, or you sit straight up and get a little leg room.

The rear on both is pretty standard for a type II. It's workable, but its cramped if you have more then 2 people back there. I've done a lot of long distance transfers with a vent, IV pumps, and the LP12. Once you get it all situated it's not that bad. On the other hand if you have to bounce around from the side of the patient to the head of the patient it can be a bit of an acrobatic act. I don't mind working in them, but I do miss the medium duty rigs we had in Maryland.

Driving them is hit or miss as well. Our units have a single rear wheel, which was a terrible mistake. With a dual rear wheel I think they would be a lot more stable then they are. Driving in snow is a challenge, the older Road Rescue will shut off the motor if the wheels start to spin. The newer wheeled coaches seem to have phased this out. They do very well on long distance trips as far as ride and fuel economy is concerned. The only down side is the wind. If you catch a good cross wind it will blow the rig almost into the other lane. The rig is basically a giant sail.

I'm not to involved with the maintenance the trucks have had. I do know the other truck has around 150,000 and has been through 3 transmissions. The 2 newer trucks only have 50,000 on them, but we're concerned we may be replacing them later. We seem to be filling the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) quite a bit lately. This is a feature that's been added on to the newer trucks. Once the vehicle runs out of DEF it will not allow the vehicle to start. One of our crews found this out the hard way about 150 miles from base.

I would like to see my company use them as long distance haulers. Utilizing type IIIs for our 911 areas in town. However I don't see this happening any time soon.
 
So many comments on how "ugly" they are, I didn't realize that EMS was about looking pretty. From what I have seen of them in Europe and Australia they are an amazingly versatile vehicle and I would sure enjoy the head room instead of being hunched over with my military grade back pain all the time.
 
I think they look just fine. They're my favorite units to drive. We have some new, giant Mods that look nice but damn are they heavy and slow and SO WIDE!
 
Slight change in topic-- does anyone know the height of the sprinter mods, off hand? I'm interested in those with a box and those without (my suspicion is that the "bump" on the back for the lights is the tallest part.
Ideas?

Thanks!
 
emt.dan said:
Slight change in topic-- does anyone know the height of the sprinter mods, off hand? I'm interested in those with a box and those without (my suspicion is that the "bump" on the back for the lights is the tallest part.
Ideas?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

In an attempt to refute the claim that they "too tall and top heavy" compared to E-series Type IIs I think I found most of them to be 9' 10," just like must other Type IIs. I was also under the impression that Sprinter Type IIs keep their stock roof so the vehicle data sheet off Mercedes website should be accurate.

As for the Type IIIs I imagine that's up to the manufacturer.
 
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