New Mercedes Sprinter rig Antwerp Hoboken Belgium

[dahlio]

That Sprinter top heavy much? Seems like with a bad gust of wind it would blow over. How does it drive around turns?

[captainstandup]

The one I test drove was very stable, had great power and the ride along with crew comfort (in the cab) was great. Engine and transmission are Mercedes, and had a suprising warranty. If I remember correctly fuel economy was on the order of 16 mpg which was incredible. I should have bought a couple of them.

[Scaramedic]

You know what, I actually like it. I wish we could get out of the "Ford" mode for ambulances.

[captainstandup]

In the history of EMS there has never been a truer statement scaramedic. Ford has historically been of poor quality but since introduction of the 6.0 its utter junk. I have never seen or heard of a chassis that was worse than the 6.0 Fords. The four we have have literally spent more time on the shop than on the road! Problems have ranged from constant failure of seals below the turbo, which are a real problem to repair, to a total of four engine replacements. Virtually all of these repairs have been warranty but who cares? Having so many vehicles constantly out of service has been a real nightmare. And now their better idea is to add a two stage turbo charger. Just remember its virtually impossible to make chicken salad out of chicken sh*&.

In America we have become so accustomed to large ambulances instead of spending our dollars wisely. Now the trend is to purchase these huge critical care trucks with four door cabs and a $221,000 price tag and rarely use them to transport the critically ill. Now it seems more important to show off the toys than to deliver good care.