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  1. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Snowmass
    Posts
    572
    If you have the means, i highly recommend one.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

  2. #52
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    Great, so more trust fund kids can drive on the pristine beach and shit and piss on it, along with their dog.

  3. #53
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    Quote Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles View Post
    I'm far from an expert but I will say this, I don't know anyone who has purchased a second Sprinter. The maintenance seems very expensive and frustrating.

    The van life thing is kinda getting outta hand. Luckily, the effort required to actually get out and "backcountry the fuck out of it" appears to be substantially more challenging than dropping $100K on a motel room substitute.

    Hopefully, once these yuppies decide that they want to move back inside they will off load their #espressowithview #livingroomatthetrailhead for pennies on the dollar and I can swoop in.

    Good luck to the OP and no disrespect meant. I'm just laughing at the fact that the consumerism that is #lookatmeI'mmountainyasfuck has moved from $3K fat bikes to RVs the price of a small condo so quickly, it will make you spill your kombucha on your ironic throwback lifestyle puffy.
    I only wish a small condo costs that much.

  4. #54
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Near Perimetr.
    Posts
    3,857
    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    Get off my beach!
    ...

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  5. #55
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    TennesseeJed
    Posts
    10,988
    Get a lightly used pre owned one and save money.

    I've sold quite a few Sprinters and they tank.
    "I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I think there's something to be said for that" -One For The Road

    Brain dead and made of money.

  6. #56
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    The Cone of Uncertainty
    Posts
    49,306
    They tank in value or they're like tanks?

  7. #57
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    Quote Originally Posted by Bobby Stainless View Post
    Get a lightly used pre owned one and save money.

    I've sold quite a few Sprinters and they tank.
    Buying something like that is not saving your money.

  8. #58
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Tejas
    Posts
    11,859
    Quote Originally Posted by Bobby Stainless View Post
    Get a lightly used pre owned one and save money.

    I've sold quite a few Sprinters and they tank.
    What are you talking about?! Perhaps that's true for the wholesale side you deal with professionally, but with private party and retail sales, used ones cost darn near as much as new ones, sometimes more. Probably because they're actually available.

    This is at least true for the 4x4 models. When I got my Sprinter for a work van, I searched high and low, nation wide for many months. I finally gave up and just ordered one new. Was like 6 or 8 months out when my dealer called and said a delivery fell through but the van the guy ordered was on its way, so I jumped on it right away. The value on it certainly did not tank.

  9. #59
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    here and there
    Posts
    18,583
    Uni Mog radio truck FTW

    Click image for larger version. 

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    watch out for snakes

  10. #60
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Near Perimetr.
    Posts
    3,857
    Quote Originally Posted by SB View Post
    Uni Mog radio truck FTW
    That one is a proper "flip window", so one can collect all the bugs s/he wants between the teeth, while doing 12 mpg.
    Just don't roll it.

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  11. #61
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    50 miles E of Paradise
    Posts
    15,570
    You need an Earth Cruiser
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    These guys are just around the corner from our shop
    https://earthcruiser.com/
    $200-250k

  12. #62
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    the gach
    Posts
    5,661
    Check out Alaska camper van conversions on insta for some hot ideas.
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  13. #63
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    YetiMan
    Posts
    13,370
    Quote Originally Posted by jm2e View Post
    By the end though, I would have paid a million bucks for something I could stand up in. It got to where my back would start hurting as I walked toward the van.
    In trucking world I shifted between low tops and ones I could stand in....same deal for me. You'd think it was a minor deal, it's huge.

    dark horse here, at least worth considering and fwiw, is that short buses are out there. I drive them at work, they're chevy 3500 and 4500 based, and they run and drive pretty well. We kicked a ford E450 7.3 powerstroke loose at auction recently and I think it went really cheap (>2k?) and it was a good runner.
    https://www.nextridemotors.com/used-...rcial_cutaway/


    I have a bud who spent absurd money on a sprinter and is really fighting dpf problems. I think if I were ever compelled to own one I'd do some serious research on how to manage that system or eliminate it, if that's even possible.

    as far as engines and mpg, seems to me like with those type of rigs the mpg is mostly about pushing air. The little engine still has to push that air....it just works harder at it.

    My view of size is that you'll get used to whatever size you choose and learn to manage it. The ticket for dense urban areas may be to find parking and taxi/uber/rent/public transit to your objectives.
    imho if you want to off-road in an RV, get an F350 with a rear locker, 35's, and a slide-in. Good to go.

  14. #64
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    TennesseeJed
    Posts
    10,988
    Quote Originally Posted by AustinFromSA View Post
    What are you talking about?! Perhaps that's true for the wholesale side you deal with professionally, but with private party and retail sales, used ones cost darn near as much as new ones, sometimes more. Probably because they're actually available.

    This is at least true for the 4x4 models. When I got my Sprinter for a work van, I searched high and low, nation wide for many months. I finally gave up and just ordered one new. Was like 6 or 8 months out when my dealer called and said a delivery fell through but the van the guy ordered was on its way, so I jumped on it right away. The value on it certainly did not tank.
    I deal mainly in the luxury coach ones with TVs and captains chairs and such. I imagine all the aftermarket parts and upgrades that add to the cost do not hold their value on resale. I guess the 4x4 ones are in higher demand or not as plentiful.

    Id buy a fifth wheel trailer or pull behind camper before I got a 100k offroad sprinter type deal.

    These are 50k loaded up and you can detach it from your SUV/Truck. Probably could find a used one in the 30s.
    Last edited by Bobby Stainless; 03-25-2019 at 06:09 AM.
    "I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I think there's something to be said for that" -One For The Road

    Brain dead and made of money.

  15. #65
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    here and there
    Posts
    18,583
    Is the back of that pull behind an outside kitchen?

    For TGR types there should be a "dancer" pole opshun with lights.
    watch out for snakes

  16. #66
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Dystopia
    Posts
    21,054
    Sprinter has limited service stations and sometimes failures.
    Ford transit is bland, but 2020 they have factory awd. Wonder if that pops this van bubble.
    . . .

  17. #67
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    5,531
    Quote Originally Posted by Meathelmet View Post
    That one is a proper "flip window", so one can collect all the bugs s/he wants between the teeth, while doing 12 gpm.
    Just don't roll it.
    FIFY.
    Quote Originally Posted by XXX-er View Post
    the situation strikes me as WAY too much drama at this point

  18. #68
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Vernon BC
    Posts
    1,765
    Quote Originally Posted by Bobby Stainless View Post
    I deal mainly in the luxury coach ones with TVs and captains chairs and such. I imagine all the aftermarket parts and upgrades that add to the cost do not hold their value on resale. I guess the 4x4 ones are in higher demand or not as plentiful.

    Id buy a fifth wheel trailer or pull behind camper before I got a 100k offroad sprinter type deal.

    These are 50k loaded up and you can detach it from your SUV/Truck. Probably could find a used one in the 30s.
    100% agree.

    Although, you don’t get the hipster van life cred.... just lots of livability and versatility... and I don’t think you can monetize a blog about that. It’s like blogging about NOT being vegan.
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  19. #69
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    in a frozen jungle
    Posts
    2,370
    probably a bit of a pain in the ass to tow that thing around and park in the Pearl District....
    Scientists now have decisive molecular evidence that humans and chimpanzees once had a common momma and that this lineage had previously split from monkeys.

  20. #70
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    here and there
    Posts
    18,583
    Click image for larger version. 

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    watch out for snakes

  21. #71
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Shadynasty's Jazz Club
    Posts
    10,248
    $50K just seems absurd for a small tow camper. Life is going to suck towing anything that big on trails where the armor is actually going to come into play. In reality, if its taken off road, it's just going to be dirt and gravel roads. In that case, get an R-Pod for $15K, put a lift on it for a couple hundred, and use the other $35K for hookers and blow and hotel rooms.

    I agree with CoreShot. With the AWD Transit on the horizon, it's hard to imagine the added money and potential headaches of the Sprinter being worth it.
    Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

  22. #72
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    South Central
    Posts
    745
    Quote Originally Posted by bagtagley View Post
    $50K just seems absurd for a small tow camper.
    Concur^^^

    Could be why the company is no longer in business.

  23. #73
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    1,887
    I called 6 dealers offering to pay cash for their listed price on a 4x4 sprinter in November. I couldn't get any of them to take my money. I couldn't get the local dealer to return calls or emails. One dealer leveled with me and said they only sell to end users as a last resort because they can get more from upfitters/conversion companies.

    I was pretty deep into the research/planning on this van and I have a list of options that might help anyone trying to build their own base camp van. The heater options are pretty subjective. I was going to go factory before I knew I wanted hot water. I think aftermarket is the way to go there, but there is a factory option that makes the aftermarket unit easier to install (sorry, I don't remember what it is, but the sprinter forum would tell you).

    If you really want to dig into options, this is the wrong forum to ask. You'll need to talk to the special folks that inhabit the sprinter-forum.com
    You'll need to get familiar with the "special equipment handbook." Can find a copy here: https://sprinter-source.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=70962 It's 124 pages. A lot of it is confusing at worst and under-explained at best. Searching for info will generally lead you back to the sprinter forum where opinions vary.

    Here is a preliminary list of the options I was going to go with to make ski base camp before I got my truck and camper. The most imperative option from my research was factory swivel seats, believe it or not. Definitely don't overlook the little things that are hard to add later (like grab handles or the 2 stage sliding door).

    2500 4x4 (or 3500 with X31 super singles)

    Packages:
    - C01 -driver comfort
    - C03 - active safety
    - F01 - swivel seats (if this can be done as a package, or break it out into separate options: BE2, S87, S88, SD2, SR8, SR9)
    - X04 - multifunction wheel
    - X07 - high idle variable
    - X22 - hitch package
    - X30 - high and low range

    Options:

    - F49 - heated windshield
    - H12 - aux heater
    - HY1 - heater remote
    - H15 - heated seat
    - H16 - heated seat
    - H88 - rear prep
    - D03 - high roof
    - D13 - roof rails
    - C45 - stabilizer
    - ED5 - PSM
    - F68 - mirrors
    - FR8 - camera
    - FZ9 - master keys
    - LG0 - Xenon
    - N63 - aux alternator bracket
    - P47 and P48 - mud flaps
    - RM1 - winter tires
    - R98 - black rims
    - T12 - 2 stage sliding door
    - T74, T85 and T86 - assist handles
    - W70 - windows
    - W54 - rear door 270

  24. #74
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Snowmass
    Posts
    572
    Yeah, the factory Espar hydronic aux heater is nice. In addition to making it easier to add an air heater, it preheats the engine coolant so you can hop into a warm vehicle without having to idle the engine (which supposedly leads to DPF issues).

    Factory swivels are money as well, the aftermarket ones sit much higher and are a bitch to install. I'd suggest the aux battery setup as well. We ended up pulling it, but it enables much easier wiring of an underhood battery bank (we run 250Ah via to 6 volt golf cart batteries in series). Plus you get a bigger alternator out of it.

    We got ours direct from a dealer, I wrote a script to alert me of any 2500 4x4 high roof and hit up the dealer within an hour of it getting posted. Actually got it for about $3500 under sticker, shipped cross country. Previous buyer dropped out and the dealer was in Alabama. Guess they don't have the same waiting list like we do out west.

  25. #75
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    19,814
    Mercedes with halogen headlamps is a big disappointment if you’ve ever had the Xenon. Never buy a modern Benz without the upgraded headlamps. Jmo.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

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