Is a Sprinter for local delivery/Courier work overkill?

So I"m currently running a 1999 Savana 2500 I bought for not a lot of cash, a few months ago for a delivery gig, didn't plan on this being long term at the time, but it turns out to be a longer term career than I planned. Van has about 137K miles on it now, have changed companies/jobs and using it for van load courier work and local delivery of electrical equipment, a dedicated account of the courier company. Van's regular wheelbase, problem is I have to haul 10 foot sections of pipe several times a week, and they don't exactly fit well the way the van's configured now. Fixed bulkhead behind the front seats, no access door to the back. Also missing out on larger cargo hauls I believe from the courier company, who deals in a lot of airfreight. Have had a couple issues with the doors being too short for the pallet, having to break the pallet at the shipper and re-palatalize at the receiver. About 50% of my loads are the dedicated electrical stuff, of the remaining 50% about two thirds of that is "van work" which is or can be large items such as furniture, stuff on pallets, etc. Remaining stuff is what I call "filler" - stuff I could do in my wife's Prius. This may turn into a longer term deal than what I thought, and would like the option of being able to do proper expediter work should it come available. The current van is running ok, needs front brake work and a tuneup, but otherwise seems to run strong. Looks like heck, down to the bullet hole in the front fender and normal bare metal spots one sees in a lot of GM vans (what's up with that anyway?)

Thinking of going to either a somewhat newer and less used GM extended 2500, or maybe on of the Ryder rental Freighter Sprinters for sale in the area, one locally for $18,900 with about 150K miles on it. Not sure if a Sprinter would be overkill, could use the extra length and space, and the improved gas mileage would help a ton. Not sure if going from having a paid for vehicle but spending a lot on repairs vs newer (and assumed more dependable) and payments. Yeah, need to see if the bigger vehicle would equal more income.

Or do I just have a case of "new truck itis"? Advice from those with more experience is appreciated.

 

Going to be the standard answer of "it depends" My income's been going up as I get better at scheduling, routing, etc. My deal is unique to the company as I"m the only person doing a cargo van with dedicated account delivery stops. Last week was top gross at about $1100 before fuel, etc. Spent about $270 for fuel, so netted about $830. Rule of thumb is keep fuel and insurance costs down to 30% of gross, plan on putting aside 30% for truck/van expenses, rest is income, (of course you have to plan for taxes, etc)

The company I'm working with isn't a "bottom feeder" as far as price from what I gather from other drivers who have worked with other companies in the area. In St. Louis, and there's at least 4 major courier companies each with their own niche it seems. Most ads say 600 to 800 depending. I think the guys with cars in my company making closer to 600. We run everything from cars to cargo vans to straight trucks to semi's. Best to check out what's available in your area.

 

High upkeep and initial buy-in is what scares me off the Sprinter and making me take a long and hard look. The new Ford Sprinter variant is interesting, but I don't buy ANY vehicle new, I'd rather buy something a couple years old that's already taken the big first year hit on depreciation. And I"m not up to being a guinea pig for a new model in it's first year. There's also the Dodge Ram variant coming out, but lets see, a re-badged Fiat that was built in Turkey, but now will be assembled in Mexico. What could possibly go wrong???? But, I've read on other forums some drivers in Europe love the Ducato, so we'll see. Seems both the Ford and the Ram have been in the works for some time.

Conventional extended vans, Ford vs Chevy, I guess for me it would depend on what I found with what equipment at what price and condition. Personally I like driving GM products better, but that's just me. I suspect with proper maintenance both brands serve well. And I'm pretty picky about maintenance, wife says I take better care of my vehicles than I do myself.

Either way, going to be a bit of a "process" getting to this decision, and even after analyzing it every which way a bit of a leap of faith I suspect.