Full-Size w/ Flippac or Sprinter/Promaster?

[FarmerFrederico]

Any help you can provide would be appreciated! I was nearly dead set on getting a Tundra with a 6.5 or 8 foot bed with a Flippac but stories about terrible MPG's with the 5.7L are turning me off. Now I'm considering a 2008 or newer Dodge 2500 with diesel with Flippac or a 2010 or newer Sprinter/Promaster with the shorter wheelbase. Need to haul/sleep wife, two kids, and dog plus gear...decent MPG for this type of vehicle are my next priority.

Off road capability is not at the top of my priority list but driving in snow is. I would be using this to transport bikes and skis in Front Range Colorado on wintery mountain roads most weekends. Trips to Fruita/Moab/Zion 3 times a year. Maybe I should wait for the 4x4 Sprinter?

Thanks for your help! Suffering from analysis paralysis!

 

[Darwin]

Why a 2008 or newer Dodge? Nice interiors but you will likely get better mileage in the 03 to 07 5.9, less emissions, more reliability. My 97 dodge diesel with manual gets over 20 if I cruise slow on the freeway under 65 with a shell on the back. If you are not looking for serious off road but need 4wd. you could get a light slide in camper, and the kids and wife might like that better, maybe not though. Personal opinion but I think you are the right track looking at dodge full size over a tundra, same or better fuel economy, more power, more room. The lack of 4wd I would think kinda puts the Promaster out of the running.

 

[MotoDave]

As a data point my '12 Tundra Double Cab 4x4 with the 4.6 V8 gets a pretty consistent 18-19mpg on the highway at 65-70 mph. Push the speed and it does drop off. I did a trip this past summer from Bend, OR down through crater lake, lassen, tahoe and 395, trip average was 18mpg with all the camping gear in the truck. Good enough for me. If you don't need to tow all the time (and it sounds like you don't) the smaller engine is a good option.

I have a cab height camper shell, I'm guessing a flippac would drop the mpg by 1-2?

 

[Clutch]

Diesels are super spendy to maintain and fix. What little you make up in mileage you loose elsewhere.

A plain jane F150 with the 5.0 will get 17-20 HWY, it just doesn't have the power of the Eco-Boost, however I think the 5.0 is plenty powerful.

Sprinters sure are nice, the no 4WD keeps me away. Well you could convert them, but you have to spend a ton of cash.

 

[leelikesbikes]

isnt the new pro master front wheel drive, i think it would do ok in the snow with some good tires on it, the low deck hieght due to the lack of rear diff is cool too, i think it would make a sweet dirtbike hauler/camper

 

[FarmerFrederico]

lee - I know of you...some day I'm going to take a class from you if you are still offering them at Valmont. Would you ever consider the Promaster over the Sprinter? A sprinter is what you have, right? Do you camp in it?

 

[Clutch]

isnt the new pro master front wheel drive, i think it would do ok in the snow with some good tires on it, the low deck hieght due to the lack of rear diff is cool too, i think it would make a sweet dirtbike hauler/camper

The walls are a little straighter than the Sprinters, yes?

http://www.promasterforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12825

 

[MT6bt]

x2. My 98 12 valve gets great MPG as long as I stay below 75. At 75 I average between 18-20 mpg depending on winds. As long as you keep the weight down, I'd say a tundra would be a great option and I'm sure since it is Japanese you will have a more reliable vehicle than a dodge-if you were to keep everything in stock form, that is.
If you're going to be hauling a lot of weight in the bed and/or towing anything, I'd say get a dodge, hands down. Throw a truck camper in the back of a tundra and you're likely going to wish you had a bigger engine. That's just what I've read, though. Not sure what the third gens are like as far as power goes.

Why a 2008 or newer Dodge? Nice interiors but you will likely get better mileage in the 03 to 07 5.9, less emissions, more reliability. My 97 dodge diesel with manual gets over 20 if I cruise slow on the freeway under 65 with a shell on the back. If you are not looking for serious off road but need 4wd. you could get a light slide in camper, and the kids and wife might like that better, maybe not though. Personal opinion but I think you are the right track looking at dodge full size over a tundra, same or better fuel economy, more power, more room. The lack of 4wd I would think kinda puts the Promaster out of the running.

 

[Cole]

FWIW, I'm also in Colorado and drive the same places you do. :sombrero:

I've had several full sized pickups over the years that I always liked. Camped and wheeled in them quite a bit.

Now I have a Sprinter and no way in hell will I go back to the impracticality of a pickup truck for a family adventure vehicle :coffeedrinkno hardcore wheeling involved)

The van offers 100x the functional space for a family adventure vehicle. Store bikes inside, stand up to get dressed for sking/mountain biking, have a full sized bed, run the diesel furnace to stay warm. (flippac is a tent, so has tent like heat control)

My long wheelbase 2004 (158") Sprinter is about the same length as a full size 4 door pickup, (short of longbed depending on brand). It's easier to park with the tight turning radius. I've got 14' of cargo/family room compared to the 6-8' bed of a pickup.

I'm 6'2" and can stand up inside it.

Check out some of the OutsideVan videos on Youtube and the van builds on their site.

 

[Cole]

 

[mhiscox]

There are strengths and weakness to everything, but having the living quarters accessible to the cab will, especially with a family, prove to be an advantage to you each and every time. If you like the Promaster, it's cheaper and is a little easier to build out; the Mercedes is the more highly engineered. The key point, however, is that if the chassis is up to the sort of traveling you will do, the van configuration is impossible to beat for all-around useful.