2013 Winnebago 188hp Mercedes 24ft
I' m thinking of buying the above RV. How reliable are the engines, etc. appreciate any info you can give me.
Forum Discussion
- Thanks for your replies. I'll have to think about it. Maintenance and availability of qualified shops could be a problem.
Ketchman wrote:
I have a similar class C, a Prism on a Mercedes 3500 chassis. I have just finished a 100 day trip to Alaska and back to Florida. I am very pleased with the performance of my Sprinter engine and chassis. Like any other engine you must pay attention to insure cooling systems, air filters, and engine oil are changed and maintained on a proper basis. We were very pleased with having oil and filter changes at Jiffy Lube. The engine takes 13 quarts of oil and we use synthetic as we did a lot of grade climbing. The engine and transmission system makes this coach climb like a goat. I am a believer in the system and would say go for it.
I'd bet $100.00 you have the wrong oil in that engine. Like said above, it has to be 229.51 spec 5w-40 synthetic. Several brands available but hard to find out in the field.
I would never, ever, ever let Jiffy Lube, WalMart or any other quick lube place touch that $15k replacement cost engine- After a certain unnamed lube joint caused $2000 in transmission damage to my old truck by slicing open an ATF hose, there is no way I'd ever trust my vehicle to those shops. I much prefer a good independent shop, a decent dealer, or in a pinch, me with an oil evacuation pump (I use one of these because it sucks up the sludge that builds up in the oil pan, and newer European cars don't even have a drain valve anymore.)
Sprinters have been well discussed. I would highly recommend either you doing the "A" and "B" servicing yourself (and it consists of more than just an oil change, especially the "B" one), or having a good dealer or shop which can handle Mercedes vehicles do it. Ketchman wrote:
I have a similar class C, a Prism on a Mercedes 3500 chassis. I have just finished a 100 day trip to Alaska and back to Florida. I am very pleased with the performance of my Sprinter engine and chassis. Like any other engine you must pay attention to insure cooling systems, air filters, and engine oil are changed and maintained on a proper basis. We were very pleased with having oil and filter changes at Jiffy Lube. The engine takes 13 quarts of oil and we use synthetic as we did a lot of grade climbing. The engine and transmission system makes this coach climb like a goat. I am a believer in the system and would say go for it.
Ketchan, I hope the guys at JL are using the correct oil. If it is a V6 it has to meet the 229.51 spec and not many oils do. It needs to be that (low ash) spec or you are setting yourself up for a premature DPF failure. Just using syn is not good enough. Lots of places are not familiar with this. 13 qts of 229.51 every 10K miles. Personally I wouldn't let JL near my engine. I used to work at an independent VW/Porsche/Audi shop and we repaired their work more than once.- I have a similar class C, a Prism on a Mercedes 3500 chassis. I have just finished a 100 day trip to Alaska and back to Florida. I am very pleased with the performance of my Sprinter engine and chassis. Like any other engine you must pay attention to insure cooling systems, air filters, and engine oil are changed and maintained on a proper basis. We were very pleased with having oil and filter changes at Jiffy Lube. The engine takes 13 quarts of oil and we use synthetic as we did a lot of grade climbing. The engine and transmission system makes this coach climb like a goat. I am a believer in the system and would say go for it.
- You can use the forum search tool to search the class B and class C forums for the term 'Sprinter'. You'll have to sort out the posts pertaining to the current V6 engine model from the rest, which isn't always easy. I doubt you'll find a lot of pertinent posts since that's relatively new model. My own objections are the lack of service locations, price of service, and LP generator.
Jim, "I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money." - Service is very expensive on the Mercedes Sprinter and finding a dealer to perform the work is challenging. Call around to different dealers and ask if they will work on a motorhome conversion Sprinter. When you find one that will do any work, ask what they charge for different services. You will be quite surprised.
