Uh oh.

[rallypanam]

I suppose I should wrap this thread up.. sold the Sprinter before the holidays to couple in Oregon.. They were super stoked to get one, their local dealer told them there were #65 in line for a short wheelbase tall roof 4x4. 65!!!

Anyway, strikes against the Sprinter.

1. Got stuck in my driveway. I live in the San Francisco, on a hill, and nosed into my driveway downhill at an angle to get out of the street to grab something. Put it in reverse to back up and spun tire, traction control kicked in, spun more, traction control kicked in more, and I didn't move. Had to put it in 4x4 to get out. Dry pavement btw.

2. Changing tires (again on a hill), blocked left rear, jacked up right rear. Once tire was 1"-2" or so off the ground the whole van rolled backwards, as the left rear had lifted as well. Serious lack of articulation on the rear end!

3. Generally worried about when in hell I have time to build out a van.

4. Generally worried about getting stuck and/or breaking down.

So, back to old faithful, the mighty 7.3 with now nearing 130,000 miles.

P.S. One issue 1 and 2, I'm sure both issues would be mostly solved with Agile RIP, better wheels and tires, and some more weight in the back.. but it wasn't an auspicious start.

[arctictraveller]

I'm sure the Sprinter had it's advantages, but I just didn't see it working for the kind of exploring you like to do.

[grinnelljd]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Try finding a 144 tall roof 4x4 cargo in anything other than white!

Correct, the Mercedes dealer here had a few 4x4 hightops, but they were all white.

I ordered one in the stone grey color in July 2017 and it took until August of 2018 to be built, shipped, and delivered to Sportsmobile North. Then they had it for a few months and finished it the first week of December 2018. You can get the color and exact van options you want, but it takes a long, long time to do so.