Sprinter Van

[DWC]

Any inmates with Sprinter Van experience? We rented a Transit last summer for our family vacation. It worked out Looking at picking something up for trips this summer. Don’t want to pay storage fees and looking for decent mileage for occasional Havasu trips.
Any insight, must haves, tips?

 

[rivermobster]

@whiteworks

 

[JFMFG]

Any inmates with Sprinter Van experience? We rented a Transit last summer for our family vacation. It worked out Looking at picking something up for trips this summer. Don’t want to pay storage fees and looking for decent mileage for occasional Havasu trips.
Any insight, must haves, tips?

@JLG614 can you give Don some insight since you recently got one?

 

[Romans9]

Rented several over the years and looked seriously at buying last year.

Consensus seemed to be that the transit was the best value.

 

[whiteworks]

I built my own out for my specific needs and it’s been great. Sprinter platform has been really good.

 

[DWC]

I built my own out for my specific needs and it’s been great. Sprinter platform has been really good.

Anything you can’t do without? I’m looking for 5 seats, decent size bed and solar/battery for basic needs.

 

[whiteworks]

Anything you can’t do without? I’m looking for 5 seats, decent size bed and solar/battery for basic needs.

Water, power, heat. That’s the foundation of a functional build.

25 gallons of fresh water in a pressurized system. I have quick release fitting with different fixtures, garden hose, faucet, shower. You can add propane powered water heater to a pressurized system very easily.

Two auxiliary gel battery’s that charge off alternator through a smart switch. My power consumption is low, and I don’t live in the thing so no need for solar. My battery’s will run the heater and fridge for a week without firing it up.

Epsar diesel powered heater. Best thing ever, add insulation.

Dometic fridge/freezer, same unit goes in jeep also.

Porta potty but we don’t use that, it’s for emergency’s only.

Swivel seats are great addition, my rig will seat 5 but it’s salty just three of us and the dog.i have a platform bed with space for queen air mattress on top and single for the kiddo below.

Wife and kid are good for two nights tops in this things and then they are like fuck you and fuck your hippy van bullshit. Better be someplace nice on night three with a spa tub and high thread count sheets. I built out a 144, it’s a good daily driver and fits in parking lots same a suburban would. That being said if I were planning on spending time in it I’d build out a 170 with a wet bath.

Mine is good for banging out miles and getting you 1000 miles down the road with minimal stops and the ability to be self contained and sleep in it when needed. If you have the dough the winnebego rebels are pretty cool, but it’s 10lbs of shit in a 5lb box.

 

[DWC]

Water, power, heat. That’s the foundation of a functional build.

25 gallons of fresh water in a pressurized system. I have quick release fitting with different fixtures, garden hose, faucet, shower. You can add propane powered water heater to a pressurized system very easily.

Two auxiliary gel battery’s that charge off alternator through a smart switch. My power consumption is low, and I don’t live in the thing so no need for solar. My battery’s will run the heater and fridge for a week without firing it up.

Epsar diesel powered heater. Best thing ever, add insulation.

Dometic fridge/freezer, same unit goes in jeep also.

Porta potty but we don’t use that, it’s for emergency’s only.

Swivel seats are great addition, my rig will seat 5 but it’s salty just three of us and the dog.i have a platform bed with space for queen air mattress on top and single for the kiddo below.

Wife and kid are good for two nights tops in this things and then they are like fuck you and fuck your hippy van bullshit. Better be someplace nice on night three with a spa tub and high thread count sheets. I built out a 144, it’s a good daily driver and fits in parking lots same a suburban would. That being said if I were planning on spending time in it I’d build out a 170 with a wet bath.

Mine is good for banging out miles and getting you 1000 miles down the road with minimal stops and the ability to be self contained and sleep in it when needed. If you have the dough the winnebego rebels are pretty cool, but it’s 10lbs of shit in a 5lb box. View attachment 1509922

Thank you. Great info

 

[whiteworks]

Also the electrical system is based on switch pro solid state platform, $500 switch but when you want add to appliances you just run a power lead and can program the circuit for whatever amp you want.

I may have a few extra buttons that do cool things

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Rented one last weekend. Solar, a nice battery bank, 144”, East/West sleeping, and diesel heater were awesome. I would have loved AC if it were mine. The sprinter chassis was super comfortable and ate up 400 miles like it was nothing. I’d keep it light and simple.

https://adventurewagon.com/pages/about

Modular Ford Transit Campervan Vans

Vandoit produces Modular Ford Transit Camper Vans in Blue Springs, Missouri. Vandoit is the leading expert in modular camper van conversions.

vandoit.com

 

[boatpi]

Anyone seeking to purchase a late model Mercedes Sprinter diesel 8 passenger model, DM me. My neighbor has his for sale, these are hard to find locally, no industrial use history, he is original owner, about 65G.

 

[Boat 405]

Any inmates with Sprinter Van experience? We rented a Transit last summer for our family vacation. It worked out Looking at picking something up for trips this summer. Don’t want to pay storage fees and looking for decent mileage for occasional Havasu trips.
Any insight, must haves, tips?

I have a sprinter van as my daily for work. 2020 Sprinter Van 2wd. It's a great van. Loaded with 1500 lbs of tools and gear. I highly recommend getting the Falcon adjustable shocks for the van. I put them on and it's a night an day experience. Driving with any side wind gusts makes life easy. Renntech makes a few nice odb2 plug in chips that add power, change certain functions. Mileage is about 16-18 with the v6 diesel. I really like mine. Driven it about 50,000 miles so far. The distronic cruise control is so nice on longer drives. I added a 200 watt solar panel, a victron charge controller, an ARB fridge freezer that all runs off the spare battery under the passenger seat. It's charged off the engine when driving but the rest of the time it's disconnected (factory did it that way) The solar panel and charge controller keeps the battery topped off all the time so I never worry about the battery draining from the ARB that runs 24/7

 

[DWC]

Rented one last weekend. Solar, a nice battery bank, 144”, East/West sleeping, and diesel heater were awesome. I would have loved AC if it were mine. The sprinter chassis was super comfortable and ate up 400 miles like it was nothing. I’d keep it light and simple.

https://adventurewagon.com/pages/about

Modular Ford Transit Campervan Vans

Vandoit produces Modular Ford Transit Camper Vans in Blue Springs, Missouri. Vandoit is the leading expert in modular camper van conversions.

vandoit.com

Thank you.

 

[JLG614]

I picked one up last year. I chose to go with a ford transit only because I didn’t want the Mercedes engines. Nothing against them I just wanted the eco boost engine. I also went with the 350 HD to get some better ride out of it. Ours is nothing special but works for what we need. We use it as kinda the play family wagon, if we go to the beach, track, river, San Diego, etc. the absolute main thing for me was having AC all the way through. A lot of them only have dash AC and then you have to add batteries, solar, and a roof ac. I still don’t know what I want to do with mine so I didn’t want to have to put in all that work to build it out. I took out the first bench and the last bench to have more room and storage space. It has an inverter and tv built in so it works awesome for the kids. We load up the bikes and hit the track or the beach all the time. My wife has an expedition too and she honestly likes driving the van more.

 

[DWC]

I picked one up last year. I chose to go with a ford transit only because I didn’t want the Mercedes engines. Nothing against them I just wanted the eco boost engine. I also went with the 350 HD to get some better ride out of it. Ours is nothing special but works for what we need. We use it as kinda the play family wagon, if we go to the beach, track, river, San Diego, etc. the absolute main thing for me was having AC all the way through. A lot of them only have dash AC and then you have to add batteries, solar, and a roof ac. I still don’t know what I want to do with mine so I didn’t want to have to put in all that work to build it out. I took out the first bench and the last bench to have more room and storage space. It has an inverter and tv built in so it works awesome for the kids. We load up the bikes and hit the track or the beach all the time. My wife has an expedition too and she honestly likes driving the van more.
View attachment 1509994
View attachment 1509995
View attachment 1509996

Thanks for the intel. The full AC is no joke. Our rental didn’t and the drive from Vegas to Zion was BRUTAL. Stopped for lunch and it took an hour to cool down.

 

[Rivrat]

AWD 2500. They suck to drive in the wind and mine is even the low roof option.

 

[JLG614]

Thanks for the intel. The full AC is no joke. Our rental didn’t and the drive from Vegas to Zion was BRUTAL. Stopped for lunch and it took an hour to cool down.

Yup they definitely need full AC. This was our first trip to Parker in it with decent summer heat and ours did great with the full ac. Kids were nice and cool in the back

 

[Backlash]

Not a Sprinter van, but damn, I'd love to have this!!

1997 ford e-350 econoline diesel for sale by owner - San Diego, CA - craigslist

UP FOR GRABS 1997 FORD E-350 15 PASSENGER DIESEL VAN 7.3 NEEDS NOTHING READY FOR A CROSS COUNTRY TRIP CALIFORNIA BUYERS VAN IS """SMOG EXEMPT """.JUST SERVICE ALL FLUIDS AND FILTERS REPLACE A/C...

sandiego.craigslist.org

 

[Backlash]

Another...... I'd have to swap out the wheels though. It's already outfitted with a pop-top.

2000 ford e350 super duty diesel for sale by owner - Encinitas, CA - craigslist

The ultimate "Anti-Sprinter" camper!! I see a lot of people who spend $100k just to drive the kids to the beach; never taking their rigs off road for more than the dirt path thru Ocotillo. Also,...

sandiego.craigslist.org

 

[DWC]

Not a Sprinter van, but damn, I'd love to have this!!

1997 ford e-350 econoline diesel for sale by owner - San Diego, CA - craigslist

UP FOR GRABS 1997 FORD E-350 15 PASSENGER DIESEL VAN 7.3 NEEDS NOTHING READY FOR A CROSS COUNTRY TRIP CALIFORNIA BUYERS VAN IS """SMOG EXEMPT """.JUST SERVICE ALL FLUIDS AND FILTERS REPLACE A/C...

sandiego.craigslist.org

Those are pretty badass.

 

[SJP]

These look pretty cool. Fun for regional travel. Would be nice for my boys race program back east.

 

[rivermobster]

FWIW...

We have a ML350. Same power train as the Sprinter. It's 11 years old now and still runs like a top. 90MPH out Rice and you don't even feel the speed

Gets around 30mpg on the highway at normal driving speeds. A full tank will give me around a 525 mile range.

I've fixed 2 oil leaks so far. Trans still shifts perfectly.

I'd take this power train over a Ford every time. And ya all know I'm a Huge Ford fan!

 

[Backlash]

FWIW...

We have a ML350. Same power train as the Sprinter. It's 11 years old now and still runs like a top. 90MPH out Rice and you don't even feel the speed

Gets around 30mpg on the highway at normal driving speeds. A full tank will give me around a 525 mile range.

I've fixed 2 oil leaks so far. Trans still shifts perfectly.

I'd take this power train over a Ford every time. And ya all know I'm a Huge Ford fan!

I'm not a Ford fan and I'd still take one of those E350's with a 7.3. You'll get the solid front axle, 4wd, a reliable motor, parts readily available almost anywhere..... And it doesn't "Look" like a Sprinter van. I know there are people that love those things...... I am not one of those people. Hahaha!!

 

[whiteworks]

So here is something to think about, the ford econoline platform is basically a 40 year old concept. Super solid vans and I had one for close to a decade. I had the econoline van in service still for the first year I had the Mercedes sprinter and after driving the sprinter for a while it was down right sketchy feeling to drive the ford. The Quigley solid axel conversions for the econolines are stout and if your headed down to Baja and beyond I’d run that program. That being said vans in general are a terrible 4x4 platform, if you live in high country and get snow often the AWD sprinters would be a good thing, but they are 3” higher (go climb in and out of one), they ride pretty harsh, and get worse milage. So before you pull the trigger on anything go drive them all, pull in a parking lot, put it in a tight spot etc…

I’ve been thinking about selling mine if anyone is interested LMK.

 

[rivermobster]

I'm not a Ford fan and I'd still take one of those E350's with a 7.3. You'll get the solid front axle, 4wd, a reliable motor, parts readily available almost anywhere..... And it doesn't "Look" like a Sprinter van. I know there are people that love those things...... I am not one of those people. Hahaha!!

They are definitely not the most attractive vehicle, you're absolutely right about that! But no one is driving a Van for looks.

As far as reliability and parts availability? I'm going with Mercedes diesel over Ford every time.

That van you posted would be bad ass, if it had a later model 7.3. Those early ones were gutless.

And like Dylan said.

There is no comparison in how they ride. Best to drive both yourself and compare. Be sure to compare the mpg while you're at it.

Shit...

Looks like Mercedes discontinued the dual turbo diesel V6 in 2023. Bummer if anyone was thinking about buying new. CPO lease returns could still be available though?



And on a final note about that van you posted? That was my dream when I was younger. Today? Probably not.