We looked at these RVs a couple of years ago and found them nice but cost prohibitive. We ended up buying a 3/4 ton Chev truck and truck camper for a little over 100k and haven't looked back. The truck and camper are easy to get repaired in any state or province, enough extra payload to bring along all the stuff we enjoy using including hauling a trailer, off- road capability and most campgrounds let us drop the camper and go into cities with just the truck. We look at these at RV shows and always walk away feeling good about our set-up. Thanks for reinforcing how good our decision was.
There's a lot of folks that love Sprinter based RVs and they work well for them. But if you want to carry a lot of cargo and have easy access to repair facilities pretty much wherever you go, there are other choices that may fit your needs better. I'm glad that you are happy with the choice you made. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject with us!
I have the same set up but looking at a 22 still new Regency Xalta Tour Ranger RL. The price is down to 110 which seems good. Big turn off is an 8 gal water tank. I have a 30 gal in the TC.
Just found your channel and subscribed. I'm 71, retired and looking to do some visiting and traveling. Never even camped before so this will be interesting. My wife wants no part of it, so it'll be just me and the pup hitting the road. Looking for a reasonable priced class B or campervan conversion for occasional walkabouts!
Hi Bob. Just try to learn as much as you can before buying your first RV. If you are sure that a Class B will do the job for you, get as familiar as you can with them before you make a purchase. And there's plenty of videos on my channel to help you learn more about RV life and camping too. I wish you best in your RVing plans!
I would be interested to know if you prefer the Sprinter over the Ford Transit (for full blown RV conversions on a cutaway chassis) . The Mercedes seems underpowered, even with the expensive diesel. Some manufactures remarkably install a 5000 lb hitch on a Sprinter and say you can tow over 3500 lbs...(Thor Tiburon). If you can stomach a Ford, it seems like the F350 or F450 are better base vehicles for anything except a true van conversion.
Hi Chip. I will be doing a comparison video on the various Class B and B+ chassis options pretty soon so that should help answer your questions when it arrives. And it's true that if you want to carry a decent amount of cargo with you on your travels, the Ford chassis on a Class C RV is usually a good choice. Thanks for watching!
I currently own a Transit on the Winnebago EKKO platform . I had a Sprinter , the 6 cylinder not the new 4 , and while it was a pleasure to drive the Transit has way more power and less expensive to maintain. The Sprinter was severely underpowered and prone to overheating on a long grade in the summertime. Having had both, for my needs I think I will stick with the Transit.
Very balanced and succinct video on this chassis. This would never work for my family due to the limited cargo capacity.......I doubt that the way we travel, I would be able to pack a ham sandwich in the frig without going over weight. But many love this type RV.
Hi Robert. Yes, the CCC is the Achilles heel of many of the Sprinter RVs out there. The manufacturers often just load up the RV with lots of features that also leave very little room for personal cargo from the RV owner. But I know several folks that just watch their RV's weight carefully and are very frugal about their personal cargo. And they are very happy with the Sprinter chassis. As always with anything associated with RVs, there are plenty of options to choose from out there and what works for some does not work for others. Thanks again for supporting this channel Robert and sharing your thoughts with us.
I own one. And I love it. A 2022 Sanctuary. But the repair facility issue, or lack thereof, is real. Know that going in and you're okay. It's a great "everything" car. But it does nothing exceptional. Know that going in.
I take it that the manufacturer doesn’t supply a link to certified chassis repairs shops anywhere? This would be helpful to the consumer. They could put it on their website or something.
I'm not sure about that Derrick, but many Sprinter owners say that finding a qualified repair facility for their chassis issues can be a real challenge in rural parts of the country. In urban areas and more populous states it's not as much of a challenge.
The information in this video is about any RV based on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis whether a Class B or B+. Of course, some also refer to the B+ RVs as small Class Cs.
I have to take issue with some of the claims in this video. A diesel engine is just going to be more expensive to repair than a gas engine. In particular Mercedes Sprinter OM642 diesel engine can have all kinds of problems, especially early models prior to 2010 which can develop an oil leak from an oil seal buried in the "V" of the engine. This seal was changed in 2010 to a better material, but it very difficult and expensive to replace. The PCV valve can start to leak oil, the EGR swirl flap mechanism can clog up with carbon, the fuel injectors had a badly designed washer that was almost guaranteed to leak, resulting in "black death" carbon encrusted injectors, the glow plugs have to be replaced periodically (10+ years) and they can rust into the cylinder head, possibly resulting in them breaking and debris falling into the cylinder, requiring an expensive head removal. The glow plugs and the fuel injectors are very expensive, and expensive to replace. Oil changes are $300 at Mercedes, although I change the oil myself, but there's a lot of oil and it's not cheap, $100 for oil and filter. The oil filter is a pain to replace, you have to disassemble the can and replace the filter element. Mercedes dealers do not always have Sprinter repair facilities, it's a completely separate part of their company and requires a whole different investment by the dealer, and some opt not to do it. Considering Mercedes dealers are not as numerous as Chevy, Dodge, and Ford dealers, and you may find your self having to go to an independent diesel mechanic, and they are not cheap either. Mileage for a Class B Sprinter van can be 16 mpg, but for a heavier Class C motorhome based on a Sprinter chassis will be less, often 12-14 mpg. My 2008 Winnebago View struggles to get 13mpg on the highway, less around town. In summary, get a Ford Transit based motorhome with the 3.5 Ecoboost V6 instead, less problems and you can get the damn thing fixed at any Ford dealer.
I don't get what "claims" you are taking issue with. Basically you are saying that repairs and parts can be expensive, and repair facilities hard to come by. And that is exactly what I said in the video. If you are arguing about a fuel mileage difference of just a couple of miles per gallon, that's pretty picky.
That's a great suggestion Joan. And I will be making a video on the different chassis options for Class B and B plus RVs pretty soon. So stay tuned! :-)
We looked at these RVs a couple of years ago and found them nice but cost prohibitive. We ended up buying a 3/4 ton Chev truck and truck camper for a little over 100k and haven't looked back. The truck and camper are easy to get repaired in any state or province, enough extra payload to bring along all the stuff we enjoy using including hauling a trailer, off- road capability and most campgrounds let us drop the camper and go into cities with just the truck. We look at these at RV shows and always walk away feeling good about our set-up. Thanks for reinforcing how good our decision was.
There's a lot of folks that love Sprinter based RVs and they work well for them. But if you want to carry a lot of cargo and have easy access to repair facilities pretty much wherever you go, there are other choices that may fit your needs better. I'm glad that you are happy with the choice you made. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject with us!
I have the same set up but looking at a 22 still new Regency Xalta Tour Ranger RL. The price is down to 110 which seems good. Big turn off is an 8 gal water tank. I have a 30 gal in the TC.
Just found your channel and subscribed. I'm 71, retired and looking to do some visiting and traveling. Never even camped before so this will be interesting. My wife wants no part of it, so it'll be just me and the pup hitting the road. Looking for a reasonable priced class B or campervan conversion for occasional walkabouts!
Hi Bob. Just try to learn as much as you can before buying your first RV. If you are sure that a Class B will do the job for you, get as familiar as you can with them before you make a purchase. And there's plenty of videos on my channel to help you learn more about RV life and camping too. I wish you best in your RVing plans!
I would be interested to know if you prefer the Sprinter over the Ford Transit (for full blown RV conversions on a cutaway chassis) . The Mercedes seems underpowered, even with the expensive diesel.
Some manufactures remarkably install a 5000 lb hitch on a Sprinter and say you can tow over 3500 lbs...(Thor Tiburon). If you can stomach a Ford, it seems like the F350 or F450 are better base vehicles for anything except a true van conversion.
Hi Chip. I will be doing a comparison video on the various Class B and B+ chassis options pretty soon so that should help answer your questions when it arrives. And it's true that if you want to carry a decent amount of cargo with you on your travels, the Ford chassis on a Class C RV is usually a good choice. Thanks for watching!
I currently own a Transit on the Winnebago EKKO platform . I had a Sprinter , the 6 cylinder not the new 4 , and while it was a pleasure to drive the Transit has way more power and less expensive to maintain. The Sprinter was severely underpowered and prone to overheating on a long grade in the summertime. Having had both, for my needs I think I will stick with the Transit.
Very balanced and succinct video on this chassis. This would never work for my family due to the limited cargo capacity.......I doubt that the way we travel, I would be able to pack a ham sandwich in the frig without going over weight. But many love this type RV.
Hi Robert. Yes, the CCC is the Achilles heel of many of the Sprinter RVs out there. The manufacturers often just load up the RV with lots of features that also leave very little room for personal cargo from the RV owner. But I know several folks that just watch their RV's weight carefully and are very frugal about their personal cargo. And they are very happy with the Sprinter chassis. As always with anything associated with RVs, there are plenty of options to choose from out there and what works for some does not work for others. Thanks again for supporting this channel Robert and sharing your thoughts with us.
I own one. And I love it. A 2022 Sanctuary. But the repair facility issue, or lack thereof, is real. Know that going in and you're okay. It's a great "everything" car. But it does nothing exceptional. Know that going in.
Thanks for sharing your experience with a Sprinter RV!
I take it that the manufacturer doesn’t supply a link to certified chassis repairs shops anywhere? This would be helpful to the consumer. They could put it on their website or something.
I'm not sure about that Derrick, but many Sprinter owners say that finding a qualified repair facility for their chassis issues can be a real challenge in rural parts of the country. In urban areas and more populous states it's not as much of a challenge.
A friend of mine just bought a 2023 looks nice found a screw that goes through the running board by the drivers door screwed into nothing!
As long as RVs are built by hand there will always be things that aren't built the way they should be. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Does this also apply to class C?
The information in this video is about any RV based on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis whether a Class B or B+. Of course, some also refer to the B+ RVs as small Class Cs.
I have to take issue with some of the claims in this video. A diesel engine is just going to be more expensive to repair than a gas engine. In particular Mercedes Sprinter OM642 diesel engine can have all kinds of problems, especially early models prior to 2010 which can develop an oil leak from an oil seal buried in the "V" of the engine. This seal was changed in 2010 to a better material, but it very difficult and expensive to replace. The PCV valve can start to leak oil, the EGR swirl flap mechanism can clog up with carbon, the fuel injectors had a badly designed washer that was almost guaranteed to leak, resulting in "black death" carbon encrusted injectors, the glow plugs have to be replaced periodically (10+ years) and they can rust into the cylinder head, possibly resulting in them breaking and debris falling into the cylinder, requiring an expensive head removal. The glow plugs and the fuel injectors are very expensive, and expensive to replace. Oil changes are $300 at Mercedes, although I change the oil myself, but there's a lot of oil and it's not cheap, $100 for oil and filter. The oil filter is a pain to replace, you have to disassemble the can and replace the filter element. Mercedes dealers do not always have Sprinter repair facilities, it's a completely separate part of their company and requires a whole different investment by the dealer, and some opt not to do it. Considering Mercedes dealers are not as numerous as Chevy, Dodge, and Ford dealers, and you may find your self having to go to an independent diesel mechanic, and they are not cheap either. Mileage for a Class B Sprinter van can be 16 mpg, but for a heavier Class C motorhome based on a Sprinter chassis will be less, often 12-14 mpg. My 2008 Winnebago View struggles to get 13mpg on the highway, less around town. In summary, get a Ford Transit based motorhome with the 3.5 Ecoboost V6 instead, less problems and you can get the damn thing fixed at any Ford dealer.
I don't get what "claims" you are taking issue with. Basically you are saying that repairs and parts can be expensive, and repair facilities hard to come by. And that is exactly what I said in the video. If you are arguing about a fuel mileage difference of just a couple of miles per gallon, that's pretty picky.
Can you do the other 2 chassis out there, please: the Ram Promaster and the Ford?
That's a great suggestion Joan. And I will be making a video on the different chassis options for Class B and B plus RVs pretty soon. So stay tuned! :-)
Thanks for the video!!
You bet Robert. And thanks to you for watching and commenting!