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Old 12-05-2019, 09:49 PM   #1
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ISO: Transit or Sprinter 10ft SRW Box Van

Title says it all - in search of a used Transit or Sprinter cutaway boxy with a 10ft box that has >72" interior standing height. I know that this seems to be a bit of a unicorn vehicle, based on my searches, but they must be out there. I'm interested in the Transit or Sprinter platform due to the significantly better MPG than Econoline platform (although I am curious what MPG the Sprinter/Transit platforms get w/ the 10ft boxes).

It seems the majority of the boxes on these platforms are 12/14ft with the dually rear wheels, but I've become intrigued by the 10ft box van conversions that I've seen lately for a few reasons:
  • same footprint as a standard length van
  • full standing height... although I'm 6' and unfortunately most boxes are exactly 6' interior standing height leaving no space for flooring/insulation/ceiling.
  • square body - greater area to work with, easier to work with than curved van.
  • transit can be converted to 4x4 and I suspect the aftermarket options with them will only continue to expand in the next 5-10yrs. If you got ultra ultra lucky you might be able to find a factory 4x4 sprinter platform or AWD transit (in a few years)

I've found very few used vans that match this description - I actually saw a sprinter for the first time last month with a 10ft box and SRW. It was a fish delivery van in Seattle, almost followed it until it stopped lol. Just figured that I'd put it out there to see if anybody sees anything in the cragislist/internet sleuthing. Also open to input from others regarding their thoughts on this platform.

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Old 12-05-2019, 09:55 PM   #2
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Here are a few examples of what I'm looking for. These two actually exactly match the search... just not used, so a bit pricier. Although $35k-ish isn't all that bad for the fact that it should be a platform that could last for a very long time. Oh - also a significant preference to rear barn doors compared to a roll-up door. I've seen people replace the roll up doors with barn doors, but that'd just be one added step.

10ft box van- the black rims make it look surprisingly slightly less goofy
10ft utility box- the roof ladder & roof racks already on this one are an added benefit. also like the possibilities with the exterior accessible boxes
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Old 12-06-2019, 08:11 AM   #3
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Yeah, you do not want a roll up door. They are loud and impossible to insulate or seal. The one way I think a roll up door could work is if you built a wall a couple feet forward of it giving you a cool roll up 'garage' door for storage/bikes/junk and then a sealed interior.

The key to these is finding one you can put a camper side door in like burlydirtyhippy did over at Expo. You've got to have the right one for the job. The second one you linked is absolutely awesome for all of that exterior storage but no good for adding a door of course.

Another idea for a solo traveler is removing the passenger seat and using that as a walk in door. I personally think living out of just the side doors and rear door would get really old in a camper even though the added side walk-in door takes away from your living space.

I really dig these links. The future is getting brighter. I've been looking at these for awhile and have not seen any new ones in this price range.

I'm sure you already know this but these things are mostly hard to find because they're hard to search for. They're listed in the wrong places on CL, etc. usually and people don't know what to call them. Panel van, box van, box truck, delivery truck, bread truck. With any of these searches you have to wade through a million big moving type trucks and all of the totally destroyed old Penske/Budget rental type trucks.

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Old 12-06-2019, 09:28 AM   #4
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Yep - agree with you on all of your points. Burlydirtyhippy and another guy on youtube were the two that really inspired my search for these. Still waiting to see somebody do it with a transit/sprinter body (I know there are a few trying to build their own composite boxes on transit cutaways.

The search terms for "box vans" is one of the most annoying things. I only discovered in the past couple of months that most people actually end up calling them box trucks, even when they're on a van chassis. Go figure.
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