Sprinter back to E series

[jimmyrig]

After 2 weeks and 1700 miles mostly mild dirt trails I do have an appreciation for the Sprinter. The ifs front end made miles upon miles of washboard almost okay. The Sprinter did take some challenging spots without much gruff. I did however miss the low crawl ability of the E350. Have any of you made the switch back to an E series SMB ? I am seriously considering switching back.

[Steve Hunt]

Very curious on the replies to this as well. I thought this through the best i could having never owned either and went with the E350. Build-out is in process and wrapping up in a few weeks. So many trade-offs compromises to consider between. I'm sure I'll continue to second guess it even after I take delivery.

[jimmyrig]

We decided to try the Sprinter out as a platform because so much of our travel is slab vs dirt. Did the NMBDR with very little struggle, other then DEF system failure covered by MB. This could be a side note ( finding a dealer when repairs are needed).
I am a long time off-road explorer/ off-road racer/ fabricator. I did feel there was little I could do to repair the Sprinter other than basic code reading and trouble shooting.

My Pros & Cons

Pros:
Comfort- living in and out of, and driving
Space - I am short enough 5-10 I can walk back to front with the top down. We have a fixed rear bed so the pop-top cushions removed.
MPG I was averaging 15 mpg aired down and off road
Age- Newer vs old ( in theory all systems should work)
Warranty

Cons
New- lots of computer controlled systems/ complex ( but this is true of all newer rigs)
Warranty- Fine if you have a MB dealer near
Off-road- The need to hit obstacles with higher momentum vs crawls
Lack of locking diff options ( this would help the above)

When I was off road I missed my E-350 When we made a 6 hour slab run across tribal lands I was happy to cruise in comfort.

[WhitH]

Just curious if you've ever considered a Chevy or GMC? Yes, they are more rare than either the Ford or MB but they offer the option of low range crawling along with the smoother ride on dirt roads that IFS provides. I just did 190 miles of dirt road from Crater Lake up to Sisters at the end of last week and was very happy with mine. Good combination of some pretty good climbs along with fairly high speed dirt roads with some washboard.