All things Sprinter (Mercedes, Dodge, Freightliner)

the same reason people go to the Farmers Markets instead of the local convenience store

I'm flattered but more of a fan than guru.

It wasn't the resonator, there are a couple cracks in the hose that leads from the turbo to the intake. I had the owner powerbrake it in gear and I got a blast of air from the cracks.

you mean the resonator eliminator..
http://www.riordanco.com/our_products_catalog.htm#sprinterTurboResonator

I did a replacement resonator on mine the first time, and if I had kept the van, would have gone with the eliminator for the second. It would actually be a good spare to have on the van in case you blow on the road.

In my case, the van would go into limp home on anything resembling a hill, but run fine otherwise. What I figured out after a lot of trial and error, was that if I monitored the engine load on the little OBD reader I had plugged in, if I kept it under a certain threshold, it wouldn't go into limp mode, and I managed to make it from GA, through TN and into VA like that. I frequently had to downshift and slow down up hills to make it. Sucks when this stuff happens on a Sunday afternoon and everything is closed...

It was the classic resonator coming apart at the seams. It was version 3 resonator that blew, and was replaced with a 5. Not that that seems to make them any more reliable.

No. The factory one which is sitting in the front seat of my car for return to the dealer on Monday. The hose failed.

They rust just the same in Europe. Many people drive high mileage rusted out Mercs. The drivetrain is/was great, but their bodies are a known issue. I've always had VWs, while lusting after Ivecos, just because they used to be as reliable and their bodies resited much much better than Mercs, plus they were cheap. Fords in comparison had much better bodies than both, but I didn't like their engine back then.

I too vote for a Sprinter for your needs- BUT only if you need it like yesterday. If not, I'd suggest you wait until the Transit, Fiat/Iveco show up (this wasn't meant to offend any Sprinter owners). In one year it seems the full size T series Transit will be on the market, and GM should follow shortly. Of course, this would mean buying new, which probably is kind of expensive for the use it gets.

A Sprinter makes sense if you're doing lots of miles, otherwise it's more of a want than need- awesome tall roof aside. Meaning that while you get better fuel economy, but not by much with the new model, compared to the other diesel vans on the market, you also pony up quite a bit of a premium for that great interior space. From an economic perspective doesn't make any sense, but if it comes to being able and wants, then to hell with rationality

If you're heart is set on Sprinters, I'd suggest looking at a Sprinter cube van- they're cheaper than vans, you only have to worry abouit cabin rusting out (which usually rusts last), and you have a ton of room- but getting in and out it's a bit of a hassle.

Lastly, check a rasied roof Ford or GM vans, or a Unicell- those fiberglass bodied vans. You might find out that they might suit your business- there was a rasied roof E350 7.3 PSD with 55k miles for 15k obo on Ebay, for example. .

The tech who services our water filtration system drives a Chev van with the Unicell van body. He was telling me it's brutal in crosswinds and he carries lots of extra weight over the rear axle to compensate for the lightweight body (in winter).

Not that it might not be a good choice, but something to be aware of.

Yeah, we have a box truck as well as a van. I'm thinking just another cargo van will be the more economical decision. My heart says sprinter, my check book says ford

I think that sums it up pretty well; from all that I've heard and read, the Ford/Chevy vans are going to be much easier on the pocketbook.

Too much wordage... not enough pictures!

Love my home away from home!

All righty, they wants pics.

Mine isn't as pretty as the one above, but my winter project involves some remodeling, insulating and soundproofing. As the instigator of this thread, I give you this!



Mine is a '03 'Dodge' 2500 140" super high top. The partition above is right at the back of the sliding door. This gives 7' to the rear doors, which is not enough for an R1100GS- unless parked crooked. Hence the 'beak hole' in the partition. I'm leaving the partition where it is, its well fastened, and in a logical spot.

Beware that pink stuff is 'squeaky' even locked solidly into place, it can find ways to squeak. However, it does make a decent thermal insulation. There's lots of R's there. I'm tearing that stuff out, and going nuts with insulation.

Insulation is topic of much debate at sprinter-source.com Everyone's got their ideas. I may post a thread over there once I get finished up. I'd love to have a Geek-mobile, but I have a feeling, mines gonna be the cheap-ass geekmobile.

I've gone crazy with raam audio's dampening material, along with the shiny bubbles insulation and recycled denim insulation batts. We'll see how it works out. I have definitely got rid of the 'tin can' sound in the doors. I'm anxious to give it a road test.

I'm also adding wiring for lights and accessories, plus a house battery under the pass. seat.

<a href="http://s398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/showkey_bucket/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_0962.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/s/showkey_bucket_IMG_0962.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Your insulation install looks a lot like mine:


Last weekend I removed the headliner and installed an overhead shelf in it's place and began insulating the roof area over the driver/passenger. It will be a couple weeks until I will get a chance to mess with it again. I hope to finish the interior insulation then it's on to the carpet covered finished walls. Mine's a lot like yours in that I'm trying to do this on an uber cheap budget.

So what are your plans for heating a cooling? Or are you just doing it for noise?

The thing I figured out after a while, is that unless you plan on installing some sort of heater, and active cooling, then there is little reason to insulate other than for noise. If parked in the sun, it will get hot fast, and stay that way. I had just a thermostat controlled vent fan, and I would regularly cook during the summer. Same problem in the winter.

Unfortunately, the diesel heaters you can install that are vented properly are bucks, but worthwhile if you're really going to make it into a camper. For cooling, there are basically no options unless you're going to plug in somewhere, or run a generator. Even with a pile of deep cycles all charged up, you probably couldn't run AC long enough to get you through a day.

Might want to look into some of the RV based gens that can mount under the back of the van. Probably the best way to go, even if the initial price tag is rough.

My insulation thinking has been mainly for noise. If I really need the cooling, I'm thinking go with an top RV A/C unit, or a fan. Of course, with an AC unit, I may need to pay attention to highway overpasses. Needing an AC for summer heat could be a problem, but then that's a $40-70 hotel room with shower problem.

I have no delusions about batteries and AC units. I have found, that with the pink styrofoam, it would stay cool inside. Of course, that's not opening it up during the heat. Using the van as a Pit Shelter or open tent would change that completely.

I've seen the prices on those ESPAR diesel heaters, and they're evil high. I don't really plan on really cold camping, and if I'm cool, I do have a 12v blanket or a good sleeping bag.

I insulated mine for both road noise and temperature control. My reason for me was sound though. For heat I have a small Mr Ready indoor rated heater and for a/c I have a small portable air conditioner that I can run off of a small portable generator. As of now I'm not worried about conditioned air. My main focus is to get the walls finished up so I can try to figure out what I am going to do to install some sort of a removable bed surface.

On a side note I also picked up a cheap shower rod and shower curtain from Target last week. I have it installed just being the drive/passenger area. It makes a BIG difference in temperature control and noise as well. Definitely worth the $15 it cost.

One thing to really watch, maybe after you've had it insulated a while is to, is tear into it and make sure you aren't rusting the inside walls. If moisture gets in there and gets trapped, then those inner walls will get surface rust fast.

Insulating the cabin should improve highway fuel economy in the summer months, since the cabin will eventually cool off and let the compressor cycle. Otherwise, you're trying to refrigerate a big steel box and the A/C will have to stay on full blast just to keep it tolerable inside.