Cold weather considerations

[Vndlfsn]

We are moving up from a EuroVan and looking at Mercedes Sprinter 144 wheelbase Sportsmobile vans on the used market.

This is intended to be a daily driver for us.

We have found a 2013 that is nearly a perfect fit for us yet we live in Northern Wisconsin and are concerned about when the temps drop in the dead of winter.

Two things…will the engine accept a block heater? Is that sufficient to aid starting in negative temperatures?

Also, the coach battery on this particular year is located outside and underneath.

My understanding from the owner is that the coach battery is required to start the espar heating.

It’s not that we will be camping in extreme temperatures, but it still seems to me that cooler temperatures in general would greatly inhibit charging of the coach battery either via the solar panels or the engine.

Anybody with knowledge or experience to share?

 

[Fitz2]

After researching options I installed a lower radiator hose heater in my 2016 Sprinter, fairly straightforward and effective.

Is the coach battery an AGM? If so, if in good condition cold weather shouldn’t present a problem.

 

[jrobe-ClassB]

I live in northern WI with a 2017 Sprinter. It has been a good cold weather starting vehicle. I don’t have an engine block heater and have never needed one. I do store my van in an unheated garage but I do have an electric outlet and keep a battery maintainer on my Sprinter battery which helps. I also leave my coach AGM batteries on the coach charger all winter and have experienced good life spans on my batteries. We don’t use the van much in the winter but I run it once a month. I also run my Espar heater every month and it has worked fine with proper maintenance. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about the cold temperatures too much.

 

[Vndlfsn]

Thanks! We’re in Wausau!

 

[jrobe-ClassB]

Eau Claire but previously Superior. Read Fitz’s discussions about the emissions issues on older Sprinters. I would consider that more than cold weather starting. We have had good luck with our Sprinter but it is under 50,000 miles.

 

[maurshir]

Hello Vndlfsn
It is a small community, we chatted a week or so back about your review of our Sportsmobile rig last fall. Our unit saw Wisconsin winters a time or two. I believe MB put together a design suitable for cold weather. Ours started easily at temperatures down to things approaching -10, not quite the -20 or -30 you might see, but still cold. Admittedly we were not daily users and our drives tended to be long. Like one of the other folks, I "plugged in" the coach when we were not routinely uses the unit, as I am doing with the new unit.

 

[grinnelljd-SMB]

We have a 2018 Sprinter 4x4 on the shorter 144” wheelbase chassis and it has proven to be a quite capable winter camping vehicle.

We ordered the van as a cargo van from our local MB dealership so we were able to get some options to make it more winter ready. It was shipped to Sportsmobile north who did the buildout.

We ordered it with the auxiliary hydronic diesel heater which burns diesel from the fuel tank and preheats the engine coolant. This definitely helps with starting in the morning following an icy winter evening. It also helps to pre-warm the cab a bit.

A second option we selected was the heated windshield. Our windshield has an array of very fine wires running through it, similar to the defroster wires on the rear window of most cars. This makes short work of any ice clinging to the windshield making ice scraping virtually unnecessary. Very desirable given how large the windshield on a Sprinter is.

Of course, we also optioned it with heated seats. I wish they had offered a heated steering wheel as well, but sadly that was not available.

When you do your buildout, pay attention to where you run any water lines in your van. Our Sportsmobile has water lines in the floor in order to cross from the passenger to driver side as our fresh water tank and galley sink are on the passenger side while the shower and coach hydronic diesel heater (yes, our van has two hydronic heaters) are on the driver side. There isn’t much insulation below the water lines in the floor so if I don’t keep the van interior toasty warm, the loss of heat through the bottom of the floor can freeze those water lines. If I were to build a similar van I’d probably request they add a dc powered self regulating heat strip in the floor alongside the water lines in order to protect from freezing.

Finally, you may wish to consider insulating and routing your hydronic heater coolant lines around any external grey/black tank(s) you have mounted under the van in order to keep them from freezing. If you are not using a hydronic heater in your van you can add dc powered heating pads. I don’t have either in my van (yet) so I have to add some RV antifreeze to my grey tank during winter adventures. Don’t forget to also protect the dump valve from freezing.

 

[Vndlfsn]

This is super helpful! We’ve made an offer on a 2013 4 x 2 sprinter with a D5 espar heater.

How exactly do you use the heater to keep the coolant and engine block warm? Do you run it overnight?

 

[grinnelljd-SMB]

This is super helpful! We’ve made an offer on a 2013 4 x 2 sprinter with a D5 espar heater.

How exactly do you use the heater to keep the coolant and engine block warm? Do you run it overnight?

For the auxiliary heater there is an interface in the dashboard controls that you can use to set a timer for it to turn on at a certain hour. So you could program it and have it running to pre-warm your coolant in the morning. You should be able to locate a copy of the 2013 Sprinter manual online so you can see how this dashboard interface works.

I also opted for their rather expensive heater remote control which allows me to turn the heater on while still in my cozy home. I did read that this remote is no longer available though, for whatever reason, so you’d need to program the dashboard timer or seek out a 3rd party solution for remote starting the heater.

Once started, the heater will only run for a set period of time and can only be restarted a limited number of times before you have to start the van’s engine; likely to guard against depleting your starter battery. The heater will also not run if the ambient temperature is above 40F. I read this limitation was put in place to placate US government concerns about emissions from the diesel heater.