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Old 01-28-2018, 08:14 AM   #501
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I think they should look at an expanding drain plug like SMB does. I had a hose pop off my system during the night with the pump on and put about 20 gallons on the floor. A lot of it ended up in my XL storage box and I just pulled the plug to drain it. Not that it's needed very often but just thinking...

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Old 01-30-2018, 05:38 AM   #502
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I think they should look at an expanding drain plug like SMB does.
VC doesn’t have this up on their website yet, but there are pictures and a description on their Instagram feed. They are using the space for house batteries and an air heater, one picture shows an expanding drain plug in one corner.

FYI, my SMB Texas built box did not come with a drain plug, nor was there one in the one SMB West built box I recently looked at. The drain plug might be an owner-specified option, one more thing to be aware of if having this option installed.
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Old 02-03-2018, 11:14 AM   #503
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Collision Prevention Assist

This from a response I recently posted in Backcountryguy's build thread:

We do not have the Parktronic feature. What we do have is a camera front and rear and the few times we have parallel parked (I can count the number of times in the last year and a half on one hand) they have both served well. I have the spare and the Aluminess box on the back, in my opinion I get far more use out of them then I ever would of the Parktronic.

We do have the front collision sensor and we find that we turn it off most of the time. It activates at about 20 mph and it does a really good job of alerting you of obstacles in front of you, oftentimes too good of a job. For example, in freeway traffic at speed it lets you know when someone brakes in front of you and on windy two lane roads it lets you know when there is a guardrail or signs in front of you, but in both cases those are the times when we are very much aware of what is in front of us and we find the alarm sounding repeatedly annoying and sometimes distracting. Where we do find it valuable is in fog, both day and night. The valley tule fog here in central CA can be amazingly thick, at those times the front sensor is always on. BTW, there is a convenient dash mounted switch to turn these sensors on and off.

And while I’m at it, the lane change and blind spot sensors are wonderful, I can’t say enough about how they improve the safety and drivability of the van. If you are undecided about this feature I strongly advise you order it.

I had to drive from the Bay Area to Fresno and back yesterday, approximately 300 miles round trip. Traffic wasn't bad, considering it was a Friday in CA... (still plenty of it...)

I consciously chose to drive with the front collision sensor on. I left at 5:00 am and thus was ahead of some of the traffic on the trip down, in this case the sensor wasn't too annoying. The trip back was a different story. I made it about half way before I had to reach over and turn it off. From the MB manual: "Due to the nature of the system, particularly complicated driving conditions may cause the system to display an unnecessary warning."

As I said above, I believe the system is of benefit in fog (and blowing snow and heavy rain, although the manual says "...can be impaired in the case of...snow or heavy rain"). Did you know these Sprinters have a single rear fog lamp? (Page 81 of the 2016 manual.) For me, I believe both will typically be off, but when one is on the other will be also.
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Old 02-03-2018, 11:44 AM   #504
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.... rear fog lamp? Didn't know I had one until now. That explains why there are two indents when pulling the light switch to turn on the fog lights. The things you learn in this forum.
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Old 02-03-2018, 10:09 PM   #505
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Fitz,

I'm going to have SMB add the wire run from dash to rear bumper with switch as you suggested in anticipation of a possible Aluminess rear bumper at a later date. I do like the options available with the bumper, including the LED lights. Kenny says they are about 3 months backordered. My plan is to see how I like all the sensors associated with the rear bumper first, and also get the actual weight of the vehicle to compare with GVWR of the vehicle after all the Agile Off-road upgrades. Both the main and aux fuel tank full, 30 gal water tank full, maybe even add a couple hundred pounds to the interior as a load to see if our van can take the extra weight. I'll make my decision based on that.
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Old 02-03-2018, 10:25 PM   #506
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Backcountryguy,

From my experience, only the Parktronic sensors are affected by the rear bumper change. I don't know where the Parktronic sensors are located, but the others are behind the plastic panels that stay when the bumper is changed.

Big bumps off road make the front distance sensor register as a collision, that I do know!

Let's talk about weight and what to do about it. PM on it's way.
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Old 02-03-2018, 11:02 PM   #507
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My plan is to see how I like all the sensors associated with the rear bumper first,
I've got the parktronic feature. The front sensors are great and get used every day. I don't think I've ever relied on the rears. My backup camera obviates the need for the rear sensors. There is no doubt in my mind that a rear Aluminess bumper and box would interfere.
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Old 02-04-2018, 08:44 AM   #508
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I've got the parktronic feature. The front sensors are great and get used every day. I don't think I've ever relied on the rears. My backup camera obviates the need for the rear sensors. There is no doubt in my mind that a rear Aluminess bumper and box would interfere.
JFlo,

Are the Parktronic sensors controlled with a dash on/off switch? If so, is it one switch for the front and another for the rear, or does one switch control all? What I have found is that it is a simple matter to turn the front collision sensor off when not needed (FYI, the system resets every time the engine is turned off, thus it always defaults to on), I'm just curious how much control one has with Parktronic installed.
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Old 02-04-2018, 11:52 AM   #509
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JFlo,

Are the Parktronic sensors controlled with a dash on/off switch? If so, is it one switch for the front and another for the rear, or does one switch control all?
Fitz,

Yes, the Parktronic system is controlled by an on/off switch which resets each time the engine is shut off. The single switch controls both the front and rear.

The rear sensors are located in the plastic bumper.



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Old 02-04-2018, 09:29 PM   #510
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JFlo,

Is that a Van Compass rear step I see in the last picture? Nice addition.

If you are willing to do an experiment, I wonder how the system operates with the rear sensors covered, as with a piece of tape, to replicate having them obscured/removed with an Aluminess rear bumper with box and spare tire.

Does it throw an error code or ???? Do the front sensors still work when the rear ones are obscured? Inquiring minds want to know!
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