Sprinters hard to get again?

[Grampswrx]

Quigley transits are tough because a person is making the choice to spend $18k on the 4x4, so they are usually committed. This place usually has some in stock:

https://www.newbergford.com/van-headquarters

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by simplesez

Someone find me a Quigley Transit please. I've been looking for a while now. Hens teeth....

Buy a Transit and send it to Quigley for conversion. They still do used ones (within certain parameters) and new ones. That way you get the exact van you want and a brand new 4x4 setup.

[simplesez]

Originally Posted by Grampswrx

Quigley transits are tough because a person is making the choice to spend $18k on the 4x4, so they are usually committed. This place usually has some in stock:

https://www.newbergford.com/van-headquarters

Thanks. Newberg haven't had any for a while now. It is crazy.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by simplesez

Drive through Boulder, CO and you will see Winnebago Revel vans every few minutes.

Every can builder is busy for the next year in orders.

It is bonkers

Man, you aren't kidding on the Revels. Having just done a quick trip out to Colorado and Utah I was blown away. I bet I saw 50 in a week. E-series Sportsmobiles? I might have seen 5 the same week. We were in the hot spots like Moab, Ouray, etc. but still. The Revel is a hit for Winnebago.

[Steve_382]

Originally Posted by shenrie

This guy is always sitting on sprinters: https://www.emmotorsboise.com/

So, he puts wheels and tires on them and then jacks the price to $129,000 for an empty van? Yikes.

[ableami]

Originally Posted by tedujam

I have neighbors looking for a new Mercedes Sprinter or Ford AWD Transit and being told 1+ year waiting list by dealerships around here.

I have a new 2019 Sprinter for sale. High top, fully loaded. 0% financing until the end of the month.
Contact me if interested.
Curt 415.785.3757

[OurayMark]

Except for possibly during the 2017 Mercedes “dieselgate” stoppage by the EPA, I didn’t think 2wd Sprinters were ever really in short supply. But it seems like MB has never been able to keep up with the demand for the 4x4 versions. I checked out a few dealer websites Last week and as usual they have many RWD Sprinters in stock but very few high roof 4WD versions. Versions of those with seat spinners and second alternator brackets that most converters want are almost non existent.
Someone On this thread mentioned AWD Sprinters. Is MB making an AWD version now? I thought they only offered an option for part time 4WD with a low range transfer case as a secondary option? I read that the Transit offers an AWD option.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by OurayMark

Except for possibly during the 2017 Mercedes “dieselgate” stoppage by the EPA, I didn’t think 2wd Sprinters were ever really in short supply.
Someone On this thread mentioned AWD Sprinters. Is MB making an AWD version now? I thought they only offered an option for part time 4WD with a low range transfer case as a secondary option? I read that the Transit offers an AWD option.

I read somewhere that they are limited on the number of 6-cylinder diesels they can import a year. Which might mean they are buying EPA credits, and it's not actually fully compliant on its own (Ford did the same thing with the 6.0 diesel starting in '08). They also couldn't make the 4-cyl diesel pass, so that's why it was pulled as an option for the US. Which leaves the 4-cyl gas-turbo as their volume motor now.

The Sprinter has always been AWD, even though they marketed as 4x4. Four-Wheel-Drive implies full torque can be locked to both axles, which the Sprinter cannot do. It has a 1/3 front, 2/3 rear torque split. Ironically, the "AWD" Transit can fully lock the driveshafts together, providing full torque to either end. The Sprinter's low-range is simply an extra planetary set bolted on in-front of the AWD planetary.

[OurayMark]

Thanks for the response carringb!

I now see there are different definitions of 4wd vs AWD. When I worked as a 4x4 mechanic years ago we used a definition like the one shown below by Edmonds:

“ All-Wheel-Drive Pros and Cons
The best thing about AWD is that the driver doesn't have to make any decisions about engaging the system. Either all the wheels are being driven full time, or the system itself is designed to sense loss of traction and send power where it's needed. AWD is available on a wide variety of vehicles, from compact sedans to performance models to all sizes of SUVs, giving you a broad range of choices.“

Since my Sprinter requires coming to a full stop and manually shifting into 4 high or 4 low to engage the front axle, I think it would be categorized as a 4WD under this definition.

BUT, I see there are now also definitions stating that to be considered 4WD, a vehicle must provide equal torque to both the front and rear axle, and as you say, the Sprinter doesn’t do this. Adding to the confusion, as you say, the Sprinter manual calls its system 4WD in some references and AWD in others.

We rented a classic Land Rover Defender to explore Africa last February and it seemed to be both AWD and 4WD. A center differential spun all four wheels all the time, but one could manually lock the center differential to send equal amounts of torque to both. Sadly, unlike my custom rock crawler Jeep, it didn’t have air lockers on the front and rear differentials.