โJul-15-2013 05:22 PM
โAug-12-2013 05:38 AM
โAug-12-2013 05:33 AM
โAug-11-2013 08:50 PM
โJul-20-2013 04:26 PM
โJul-17-2013 03:54 PM
Wayne Dohnal wrote:
Some of the Sprinters were delivered with Kumho tires which are prone to blowouts. Others have Continentals which are doing well. For replacements, Michelin is the overwhelming favorite.
โJul-17-2013 03:24 PM
John & Angela wrote:This is what we had done back in 2007 at a truck suspension shop, for the $3900 I mentionedron.dittmer wrote: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.mlts22 wrote: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.
Sprinters.....reported to handle better than the Fords,
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.
โJul-17-2013 02:50 PM
โJul-17-2013 01:27 PM
โJul-17-2013 12:50 PM
overbrook wrote:John & Angela wrote:
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.
The quickest way to get a huge handling improvement is to increase the caster to LH +5.3 Degrees, RH +5.5 Degrees.
To do this, the alignment shop will need to add INGALLS 594 Adjustable sleeves. After the Caster is adjusted properly, your e350 will handle much like a SUV.
For details see Adjust Caster in Ford E350/e450 for better handling
Bill
โJul-17-2013 10:03 AM
John & Angela wrote:
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.
โJul-17-2013 09:56 AM
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.
โJul-16-2013 08:48 PM
ron.dittmer wrote:mlts22 wrote: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.
Sprinters.....reported to handle better than the Fords,
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.
โJul-16-2013 08:25 PM
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.
โJul-16-2013 06:05 PM
mlts22 wrote: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.
Sprinters.....reported to handle better than the Fords,