Quote:
Originally Posted by AThompson
Tomh, Are you saying you would not take a sprinter 170 4x4 (3500) off asphalt at all? I have seen some on gravel and cleared fire roads. Not many but some. Thoughts?
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Sorry, didn't mean to imply that. Some people have different definitions of off pavement and off road. Some will say that Class 1 and 2 are still a road (thus you are off pavement, but not off road), but that when you get to 3 or 4 you are on a trail instead of a road. So it just gets into semantics of what different people mean. Sorry about that. Part of my quote from above:
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomH
The 4x4 would help in snow and regularly graded dirt or gravel roads, but IMHO, this would not be a vehicle for off road use.
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I would take it on graded dirt and gravel roads. Those other limitations are things you have to think about though. I would recommend contacting Van Compass and Agile Offload to ask about skid plates, rail sliders, and suspension upgrades. Even if they are willing to upgrade the suspension with the things they normally put on the 144" vehicle, you might want to think about how much heavier your rig would be than a built out 144. They may be able to put even beefier upgrades (at least more leaves in the leaf spring) than they do the 144. They will need to know how much the rig will weigh built out (assuming they will modify it). I'd also contact Brian Furrow at SMB West and get his opinion on it. Because of the length of both the WB as well as the overhang behind the rear axle, I would expect that you'd hit bottom mid vehicle and drag the rear if you go beyond Class 2. You also need to be vigilant about baseball sized rocks jamming between the dual tires and causing a blowout. If you go where that sized rocks exist, you'd need to stop and inspect frequently. My guess is that on Class 1 and 2 it would do O.K. But I'm no expert. Call VC, AO, and SMB.
Talk to SMB-W about the Ford E-350 cutaway. They were looking at putting a high top on the Classic in another year or two and also at having a vertical walled box camper for it built in Europe and shipped over maybe another year after that. With the modifications SMB West does to the Econoline, it is an amazingly offroad capable motorhome for it's size. If you need sleeping room for extra kids, you could either take a tent with the Econoline or tow an Adventure Trailer with it, as it has great towing power. You should be able to do Class 4 and still tow that off road trailer. If you want to claim a camping spot and then go into a town, you could drop the trailer to claim the spot, then the E-350 will fit in normal parking spaces.
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