Am I fooking nuts?

[eddyturn]

Spent 2 years tracking down and buying a very, very good specimen of a Ford350 from 2009. Built by SMBW in 2008. Found it last July at Austen for a pretty high price but with a 6L engine with only 12k miles on it.

Dumped some money into engine, like Blue Spring, Sinister Coolant Filter, EGR Delete as I am in Colorado. Some other stuff like big steel Trail Ready front bumper with Warn 12k winch and some extra Aluminess out back. New inverter and AGM and took out the microwave and installed a usable cabinet. Some other investments like tools and such and got the hot water working again along with the furnace. New high end stereo and speakers and an Edge CTS gauge to watch it all work wonderfully.

Trouble is with my worsening arthritis it's a bitch to drive on some roads so I have been thinking of selling it as there is a yuge demand and going with a Sprinter that should be a bit bigger but easier to drive without all the solid front axle wandering. We don't really 4x4 it much so that's not a big deal anymore.


Nearest MB shop is about 220 miles away so not an easy remedy when something breaks. Here, we have guys that will work on all but the Espar stuff in the current van.

If I were to sell now and take a profit, I could order the van and start on it before delivering to an outfitter. Just some thoughts. Care to share yours?

Bob

[KTMRIDER]

Sell it, make a profit and build what you want. Common to go through a few vans before you figure out what you need vs want. Making a profit is icing on the cake in this expensive hobby. Life is short....
Eric

[Flux]

Do you need the 4x4 for snow?? Would you get a 4x4 sprinter??

Also, is it an SMB 4x4 conversion or a quigley?? If Quigley, there are some options for smoothing out the ride. Not as sure about the SMB 4x4 conversion.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by KTMRIDER

Sell it, make a profit and build what you want. Common to go through a few vans before you figure out what you need vs want. Making a profit is icing on the cake in this expensive hobby. Life is short....
Eric

I can't say it any better than this. ^^^ These things are the best rigs in the world until the day you realize they aren't (for you or for whatever reason). Good thing is they probably are for someone else.

[TomH]

220 miles is a long way for maintenance. Freightliner does sell Sprinters too; any of their shops in the area? Ford is everywhere, so what about a Transit?

[rallypanam]

Agree with pretty much everyone, if you don't love your van, sell it and get something you do.

[BroncoHauler]

Here's a pic I just snapped of some members and lurkers on this forum who just read this thread.



How long before the "I sent a PM" and "Give me more details" posts start?

BTW, as others have said, nothing wrong with going another direction, but at least test drive a Sprinter, if not a camper converted Sprinter, to make sure that would even work for you before unloading your SMB. Would hate to see you in the same situation just a few months down the line.

Another option might be for you to take it to Agile to swap out your existing 4WD for a TTB 4wd conversion.


Herb

[eddyturn]

All good info and suggestions gents. Thanks. It will be used for snow travel to and from the slopes. 4 wd on a Sprinter will be a must have. Got someone in town gonna let me test drive his when he gets back from NM. Ford - Maybe something will get done through MG Metalworks that might work for me. Bigger van than the Sprinter. Took it from Durango to ABQ for a motorcycle appointment and towed the bike down to BMW. Long drive for service but hopefully it won't need much. I'll check for someone local that can do the simple stuff. Still at the drawing board. The SMB suspension was pretty rough in a few places along US 550. Bad enough you have to watch for drunks all the time let alone dips and bumps and other such road damage. The Sprinter would have handled that nice. If Ford had their shit together with 4x4, I'd sure look at that as they are local.

Bob

[TomH]

I think you can get the Transit converted to 4x4 with a 2" lift.

[GBreezy]

I recently had Agile install the RIP kit on my 09 Quigley because of the rough ride. It helped it out tremendously and makes driving it much more pleasurable. I recently drove it from DGO to ALB on highway 550 and it was great. Just a suggestion.