a Question for you Sprinter drivers

[Sprint'n'Go]

Probably aimed at Dava in particular......

I have just completed a weight saving exercise on my van with a resulting reduction of 99kgs (and thats without sacrificing any pies!!!)
4kg of this is from removing the undertrays from the engine and gearbox area. I wouldn't be worried about this except my van has the automated Sprintshift gearbox and there are a number of electromechanical components and sensors together with the associated wiring dotted about the box. Am I going to regret exposing this area to the inevitable roadspray and dirt that has previously been largely kept out by the covers?

 

[Cnics]

Whilst i'd be a little concerned about removing such items may i ask what else you have removed to gain 99kg? or is it just a personal clear out. Speaking of which mines a mess inside, although i think getting it to run is more of a priority.

Rob

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Whilst i'd be a little concerned about removing such items may i ask what else you have removed to gain 99kg? or is it just a personal clear out. Speaking of which mines a mess inside, although i think getting it to run is more of a priority.

Rob

I have an advantage in the lightening game as I have a luton van. Some of the things I have done are not possible with a panel van.

spare wheel/carrier/jack/tools - 36.5kgs
2 x passenger headrests - 2.5kgs
undertrays - 4kgs
lighter goods trolley - 4kgs


lighter floor panels - 23.5kgs
remove 3 x body crossmembers - 28.5kgs

Some of the above items may sound drastic but I desperately need payload, as another member recently said they are usually loaded to 110% and I know it is even occasionally more in my case (I try not to but sometimes I just get it wrong).
Spare wheel has only been needed twice in 13yrs to get me going again so I know at some point I will end up calling out ATS who I have just opened an account for that reason.
Rarely carry passengers.
flat goods trolley was 18mm ply and is now 12mm, same as new floor and also marginally smaller.
The original floor was 15mm and has been reduced to 12mm as I never use a pallet truck or drive a forklift into van which I am sure it was built to withstand.
Same for crossmembers, some were at 16" centres and I have spaced them evenly at 24" which has made 3 redundant (one was a mere 7" from the next which was a result of some rectification work done when new, the lazy b'stards couldn't be bothered to take it out!). I am convinced this has not weakened the body integrity as I have looked at their more recent bodies which use ali crossmembers at 24" spacing.

There is still scope for more as I can remove the stainless nudge bar (7kgs of vanity) and the 12 disc cd changer with wooden shelf(can make do with my Mp3 head unit really) will lose another 3kgs taking the total saving to 109kgs. Perhaps I should put the undertrays back and lose the nudgebar instead?

anyway, sorry to ramble but you did ask and I always run a tidy ship so there is no other excess junk to be removed unless anyone else has a suggestion (I already considered checking the weight of alloy wheels but the cost is prohibitive).

 

[dava]

Why me! Do you think I'm fat, dont believe what my wife told you LOL, it's all bought and paid for. The only thing I can say is yes weight is a key factor with you boys, (my old man runs a haulage company furniture and storage) and all are lutons of one sort or another. With this type of cargo, it's space that counts 24 tonne Ategos dont get overloaded sad to say, so I can see where your coming from. However, that said, these trays play an important part of any vehicle, apart from keeping the weather out, they also ensure that air is being drawn through the radiator and not from underneath and loosing the cooling effect from the fan. Our srinters at work run at max weight all the time and we cant realy get away from this, so we just have to put up with it, this is shown in the rate we change pads and discs, if we get anyware near 8/9k out of a set we've done well, but it's a well documented fact that sprinter brakes arnt up to the weight they can carry, so much so that the new one has uprated discs etc to cope with the heavier loads.
Back to eating pies.
Ray

 

[Cnics]

I suppose my 19 stone 4 doesn't help matters

I get about 20k out of back pads and 3 times that out of front ones. I've suspected there may be a problem there somewhere but nothing that people can find, just alot of weight in the back. it was probably me who said i run at 110% all the time, its not strictly true, but quite often i find that last speaker or amp going in just tips the balance.

its worrying to see some of the vans (not just sprinters) going past practically dragging on the floor. Some of the local shops in my area seem to get about 13 tonnes of produce delivered in a 311, They have to go an extra 4 miles around the next village to come in from the other side to avoid the speed humps which are FAR FROM high. I've also seen the overload your van and tow a rear heavy trailer trick used, it doesn't work!


Rob

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Why me! Do you think I'm fat, dont believe what my wife told you LOL. However, that said, these trays play an important part of any vehicle, apart from keeping the weather out, they also ensure that air is being drawn through the radiator and not from underneath and loosing the cooling effect from the fan. Our srinters at work run at max weight all the time and we cant realy get away from this, so we just have to put up with it, this is shown in the rate we change pads and discs, if we get anyware near 8/9k out of a set we've done well, but it's a well documented fact that sprinter brakes arnt up to the weight they can carry, so much so that the new one has uprated discs etc to cope with the heavier loads.
Back to eating pies.
Ray

I don't think you should be on a diet Ray, you are perfect the way you are I only ask you as you appear to have vast experience with sprinters so may have come across any problems caused by removing the trays. Did a fast run down the M6 yesterday and the engine temp did rise when pushed hard but it always does it and never touches 100 degrees, it varies from about 83-84 degrees when pottering to 97-98 degrees when flat out thrashing continuously. I am mainly worried about introducing reliability problems.
Its funny about the brakes, I always get 50-60k out of a set (F+R) and because of this minimal wear I buy genuine pads. I have also never manged to induce brake fade and I have tried! Because of this dependability I am reluctant to buy non genuine pads as it could be an expensive saving.

its worrying to see some of the vans (not just sprinters) going past practically dragging on the floor

I know, I worry like hell when my van passes the 4 ton mark and it has even been at 4.5 occasionally and it looks obvious, but not nearly as bad as some vans you see. Everyday I see vans that must be running at at least 5-5.5 tons.

 

[dava]

Loads of our's have the tray missing for one reason or another and we dont realy have any problems running without them. The temp thing is a personal thought as I never drive them for any length of time. Your right with the pads though, stick to the kosher ones and if there is problems then you've got some where to go with them, we've had brake fade loads of times but it goes with the teritory for us, we retro fitted telmar retarders and although it up the weight 700kgs, it helped the brakes and increased the pad life x2.
Back to me diet.