Sprinters...good or bad??

mlts22 wrote:
I'm on the fence. Ford E350/E450s are good and time-tested. Sprinters get good gas mileage, are reported to handle better than the Fords, and have the M-B mystique about them. However, the cost difference between a Sprinter and a Ford chassis can buy a lot of gasoline.

My biggest critique with Sprinters is finding service. I live in Austin, which has an excellent Freightliner and M-B shop, so where I live, the parts are expensive, but I know where to go if I have to deal with a CEL or even worse, a LHM condition (Sprinters have multiple degrees of limp home modes), and the Scangauge II doesn't fix it.

Were I in another part of the US, service depots might be an issue. Sprinters require alternate "A" and "B" upkeep. One is supposed to drain and refill the DEF tank at those service intervals, or urea crystals might create problems down the road.

My second biggest critique are small items. I need another ignition key for my Ford, I can authorize one if I have two masters. The M-B has to go to the service station. I lose all my keys to a Ford, I attach a terminal, wait 10 minutes, and add two masters. The M-B goes to the garage, possibly to have a chunk of the computer replaced. Same with remotes. A Ford remote is cheap and easily added/removed. If I want a numeric keypad on a Ford, that is trivial to buy, stick on, and program. The Mercedes requires a fiddly one that sticks on the inside of the windshield, and I have no clue if it might work with the 2014 model.

Were I to have a Ford chassis, diesel emissions stuff isn't an issue, and the Ford V-10 is extremely reliable. My only possible gripe is probably having to find a good RV suspension shop to add (and install) aftermarket items to make it handle better, but that is subjective.

Another factor is the generator. You can get diesel generators, but usually a Sprinter based rig will use the LP gas. For some, this is fine. If you live in Texas where A/C is a must, it may not be enough run time.

If I had to choose between a Ford E-450 chassis versus a Sprinter chassis, I'd lean towards the Ford, assuming everything else is equal. The $10,000/$20,000 chassis cost difference is a lot of gas saved. Plus I get a lot more run time of a generator from a 56 gallon Ford gas tank than one running from a 26 gallon Sprinter tank.

I was on the fence until I drove a Sprinter. The livability of the cab and the way it drove sold me. I just couldn't bear the though of driving another Ford (and I drove the latest Fords too).

I find maintenance on the Sprinter easy. I do my own so it's no big deal cost wise (except oil which is spendy)....I buy stuff on line. The Sprinter is obviously designed as a fleet vehicle and it seems to show. Lots of room under the hood to work and tasks are pretty easy. For instance he oil filter is right in front of your face on the top front of the engine. Unlike the Ford you don't have to go on a mining expedition to get to things like belts.

Did I mention the room in the cab?

BTW, I am hearing that parts prices have actually gone DOWN since MB took over the Sprinter in North America from Dodge. I do know MB dealers actually stock parts unlike many American ones.

You do need to account for fuel consumption of the truck/generator combo when doing your generator run time comparison. The gasser will be a sub 10 MPG machine with the Sprinter at 15. The diesel genny gets a bit better economy than a gasser too.

ron.dittmer wrote:

mlts22 wrote:
Sprinters.....reported to handle better than the Fords,

I have never driven a Sprinter chassis of any type. But I can say that I own a 2007 E350 chassis motor home that did not handle well when new. There are affordable solutions to the handling problems which would still save you $11,000 to $12,000 compared to the same rig built on a Sprinter. Then your E350 will handle quite beautifully, possibly much better than a stock Sprinter.

We love how our E350 handles today after our investment in handling improvements. We spent $3900 back in 2007 having a truck suspension shop take care of it, but today you can do it for a fraction of that, especially now that there is so much help on this forum to assist in doing most of it yourself.

Thanks for the input. I have an E350 22 foot hybrid B type motorhome and my brother has a triple E similar to yours. I would be interested to hear what you have done to improve your handling.

Thanks in advance.

Mich F wrote:

overbrook wrote:


On the Sprinter Talk Forum, they recently ran a poll with this question - "Would you recommend a Sprinter van?"

The results?

54% of Sprinter owners said they would NOT recommend a Sprinter.


Sprinter Talk Forum

Bill (former Sprinter owner)

Interesting link, but it's not right the way you're presenting the results. According to the poll 17.58 percent said they wouldn't recommend the sprinter, 46% said they would. Those numbers don't jive with the votes though. It looks like they haven't bothered to correlate the votes and %s. It's more like 25% said they would recommend them all the time, and 10% said they wouldn't. Of course all those %s for the negatives have to be adjusted also.

the main thing to consider is the many of the people who post on the sprinterforum live overseas-they are not north america. most of the rest of the world is predominenly diesel. they have plenty of facilities and know how about diesels.

in the USA it is the opposite. we use mostly gasoline. diesel expertise and repair are not easy to find

mlts22 wrote:
Sprinters.....reported to handle better than the Fords,

I have never driven a Sprinter chassis of any type. But I can say that I own a 2007 E350 chassis motor home that did not handle well when new. There are affordable solutions to the handling problems which would still save you $11,000 to $12,000 compared to the same rig built on a Sprinter. Then your E350 will handle quite beautifully, possibly much better than a stock Sprinter.

We love how our E350 handles today after our investment in handling improvements. We spent $3900 back in 2007 having a truck suspension shop take care of it, but today you can do it for a fraction of that, especially now that there is so much help on this forum to assist in doing most of it yourself.

overbrook wrote:


On the Sprinter Talk Forum, they recently ran a poll with this question - "Would you recommend a Sprinter van?"

The results?

54% of Sprinter owners said they would NOT recommend a Sprinter.


Sprinter Talk Forum

Bill (former Sprinter owner)

Interesting link, but it's not right the way you're presenting the results. According to the poll 17.58 percent said they wouldn't recommend the sprinter, 46% said they would. Those numbers don't jive with the votes though. It looks like they haven't bothered to correlate the votes and %s. It's more like 25% said they would recommend them all the time, and 10% said they wouldn't. Of course all those %s for the negatives have to be adjusted also.

I'm on the fence. Ford E350/E450s are good and time-tested. Sprinters get good gas mileage, are reported to handle better than the Fords, and have the M-B mystique about them. However, the cost difference between a Sprinter and a Ford chassis can buy a lot of gasoline.

My biggest critique with Sprinters is finding service. I live in Austin, which has an excellent Freightliner and M-B shop, so where I live, the parts are expensive, but I know where to go if I have to deal with a CEL or even worse, a LHM condition (Sprinters have multiple degrees of limp home modes), and the Scangauge II doesn't fix it.

Were I in another part of the US, service depots might be an issue. Sprinters require alternate "A" and "B" upkeep. One is supposed to drain and refill the DEF tank at those service intervals, or urea crystals might create problems down the road.

My second biggest critique are small items. I need another ignition key for my Ford, I can authorize one if I have two masters. The M-B has to go to the service station. I lose all my keys to a Ford, I attach a terminal, wait 10 minutes, and add two masters. The M-B goes to the garage, possibly to have a chunk of the computer replaced. Same with remotes. A Ford remote is cheap and easily added/removed. If I want a numeric keypad on a Ford, that is trivial to buy, stick on, and program. The Mercedes requires a fiddly one that sticks on the inside of the windshield, and I have no clue if it might work with the 2014 model.

Were I to have a Ford chassis, diesel emissions stuff isn't an issue, and the Ford V-10 is extremely reliable. My only possible gripe is probably having to find a good RV suspension shop to add (and install) aftermarket items to make it handle better, but that is subjective.

Another factor is the generator. You can get diesel generators, but usually a Sprinter based rig will use the LP gas. For some, this is fine. If you live in Texas where A/C is a must, it may not be enough run time.

If I had to choose between a Ford E-450 chassis versus a Sprinter chassis, I'd lean towards the Ford, assuming everything else is equal. The $10,000/$20,000 chassis cost difference is a lot of gas saved. Plus I get a lot more run time of a generator from a 56 gallon Ford gas tank than one running from a 26 gallon Sprinter tank.

MarshaNichols wrote:
I just heard some negative things about the M.B. Sprinter Diesel. Any opinions on this? Then another person told me that the 2013-2014 were okay. So I am confused. What are the experiences out there??

On the Sprinter Talk Forum, they recently ran a poll with this question - "Would you recommend a Sprinter van?"

The results?

54% of Sprinter owners said they would NOT recommend a Sprinter.

The reasons offered include:
Maintenance and parts are too expensive 20.00%
Overly complex control systems 19.39%
Lack of qualified service centers and mechanics 25.45%
Aftermarket support small 16.97%
Not built for heavy duty service 8.48%

Sprinter Talk Forum

Bill (former Sprinter owner)

most issues with sprinter involve the diesel. if you could buy a sprinter with a gas engine they probably would be better liked.

Yep, I do love my Ford V10.

fortytwo wrote:
the engine may go into "Limp Home Mode" - only operates in reverse and 2nd gear. The only way the code can be cleared is by a dealer with the proper test equipment and software.

I have owned two Sprinter motorhomes, one a Class C Winnebago View which I bought new, and the other a Class B Great West which I bought used.

I loved the way both Sprinter units handled, but after several limp home mode events and parts failures including turbo resonators, alternator ($1,200), fresh air sensor, EGV, return fuel relief valves, and finding myself stranded at Dodge dealers that didn't have parts, I could no longer trust the Sprinters, and replaced them with a Ford V10 on the e350 chassis, which has proved to be extremely reliable.

When I owned the first Sprinter, I was advised by The Sprinter Store to carry a Scan Gauge II so I could clear the Limp Home Mode condition myself. I bought one, and it allowed me to keep the Sprinter drive-able when Limp Home Mode occurred.

Imagine being in Montana or Wyoming or in remote parks where the nearest authorized Sprinter repair center was 300 miles away and being broken down. That happened to us with both Sprinters.

After being stranded several times, my wife said 'No more Sprinters!'.

Like my local Fedex driver told me, "When they run, they are great. When they are broken, they are expensive to fix."

Bill