Gas engine: Sprinter or Transit?

[joelm]

I put down a deposit about 6 months ago for a Gas Sprinter (RB, High Roof) conversion. Gas is pretty important to us given all the issues with Diesel.

I've been set on a Sprinter for many years before ordering, but now, with Mercedes being vague about when gas engines will ever ship, I'm starting to have second thoughts.

This may be the wrong form, but I'd love to hear people's thoughts on current Sprinter vs Transit? What would I give up or miss if I switch my build to a Ford?
(Transit EB - High Roof -- Probably all wheel drive) would be the option.

Thanks in advance!

[mikracer]

I don't have any first hand experience with either platform, but with the Sprinters being out for several years, there is a lot of aftermarket support for them. Ujoint Offroad is working on an AWD lift for the Transit so at least something is in the works.

As far as gas motors, I don't think you can go wrong with the EcoBoost from Ford now that they have been out for some time. You can get some decent power out of them and people seem pretty happy with them.

[carringb]

I think it's crazy to consider a 2.0L gas turbo engine (sprinter) when a 3.5L gas twin turbo is available (transit).

That 2.0L is probably too small to operate under normal conditions without boost, which means fuel economy will likely be worse than the transit.

[Grampswrx]

I have an ecoboost transit and a 3.7 transit and they are both great engines. The turbo is really fun to drive. If I bought a sprinter, I would get a gas one. However, I wouldn't trade for a sprinter. I like my cheap service and cheap oil changes and not having to rely on the sprinter service centers. MB is bad enough, but of the 3 nearest MB dealers, only one services sprinters. No thanks. And I am in the center of the universe for MB (Orange County, CA)

[86Scotty]

I racked up 100k on an Ecoboost Transit in about a year working and playing. It's a phenomenal engine and a great van. It's a new platform so yes there were some early problems but all gone now.

Now that there is an AWD Transit available with the Ecoboost how can you go wrong?

[Charliesmom]

We had the same dilemma... Transit vs Sprinter. We wanted gas for availability and other issues with diesel engines. Service in rural areas could be a problem with MB. We like the look of the Sprinter a little better than the Transit. We also wanted 4x4. Thus, we eventually decided on a 2019 Transit HR 350 with Eco + Quigley 4x4. Our van is currently at the SMB West factory, as we speak.

[Charliesmom]

We had the same dilemma.... Transit vs. Sprinter. We wanted gas for it’s ubiquitous availability and the potential engine problems that can be associated with diesel mixtures and DEF. Also we wanted to have vehicle service capabilities in non urban areas that are not always available with MB. We like the looks of the Sprinter over the Transit and we wanted a 4x4. Thus, we decided on a 2019 Transit 350 HR 3.5 L Eco with a Quigley 4x4. The van is currently in the queue at SMB West, as we speak.

[joelm]

Thanks and good luck with the build! We don’t need the full size 4x4 since we plan to stick to roads or dirt roads at least. Looking forward to hearing how you like the van

[jrobe]

I would consider changing to a Ford Transit with the Ecoboost for our next van with a couple of caveats. I would have to be assured that the Transit could have a second alternator that worked as well as the Sprinter. We are completely dependent on the rapid charging of the second alternator with pretty minimal daily driving.

I would also look into have a small auxiliary diesel tank installed in the Transit so we could have an Espar diesel furnace. It s great using diesel for heating. We have a propane tank for cooking and hot water and haven't filled our tank in years. We could only get about 50 hours of furnace use on our tank though. It is a nuisance filling propane tanks. First you have to find a place to fill it and then the workers hate the hassle of doing it. I always wonder if they even know what they are doing. I would hate to go back to a propane furnace. A small auxiliary diesel tank (even 5 gal) just for the Espan unit would solve the problem.

On the other hand, we have had good luck with our Sprinter and have been happy with Freightliner dealers for service. In fact, we bought our van from the local Freightliner dealer. Sportsmobile North didn't care where we bought it. I also dislike the look of the dorky high roof Transit. Unfortunately the mid roof Transit is a few inches too short for standing.

[carringb]

The Transit has a standard 250-amp alternator and a 2nd 250 amp optional.

Diesel aux tanks are easy to install, but for simplicity, why not just run a gas Espar? You can use the factory aux fuel port for this, and the Transit now has an extended range 31 gallon fuel tank optional. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/f...Tech_Specs.pdf