Back in 2004, when I bought my Sprinter, I did a lot of research on them. That version had been in production for about 10 years and the consensus was it was good for 300,000+ miles with good maintenance. I talk with Fedex drivers that delivered to us about them, and even though they hadn't been in the states too long, they already had over 100,000 miles on them. The only complaint of the drivers was they had to use the sliding door which was a lot heavier than the doors in the older style vans. They liked the drive, comfort and seating position.
I wanted a turbo diesel and couldn't find a B with one. If you look back in the forums, I was one of the first to own a Sprinter and caught a lot of grief because it was only rated at 154hp. Now, I can't use the van enough to justify keeping it.
Topless, I too got one early in 2005, put 65000 miles on it , remember all the discussions but loved it anyway. How come you can't use it enough to keep it?
We have 21,000 miles and more than 100 days out in our current Sprinter and have a total of 3.8 hours of generator use. Check out the sizes of the Onan diesel generators compared to the propane generators and you'll know why propane.
Davydd
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter B Camper Van
Visited states in an RV
applegater wrote: Topless, I too got one early in 2005, put 65000 miles on it , remember all the discussions but loved it anyway. How come you can't use it enough to keep it?
Life changes. My mother-in-law has Alzheimer's and she's not ready for full time care, she needs frequent visits from my wife. We moved her to a retirement apt about 10 miles away, she was 200 miles away. My wife is also taking care of my youngest son's baby, now 6 months old, during the week while they work.
Just no time to go anywhere. The upside is it's just stored inside and not degrading in the sun. I keep float chargers on it, so everything is ready. Our last weekend trip was 1-1/2 years ago and one in 2010 before that. Not what I intended when I bought it.
I was able to see inside of one of these Sprinter Roadtrek units yesterday. Very nice, but I was disappointed to find out that these diesel units have a PROPANE generator. I was expecting it to have a diesel generator, not propane. That seems cumbersome to have to go get propane for generator usage. The water heater, refrig, using propane in small consumptions is workable, but the generator using propane is a turn off in practicality for me. I make a special trip to go get propane, and only have to go get refilled a few times per year. The guy comes out there eventually, he fills, you gotta go inside and wait in line to pay, and has to be during banking hours. Most of the propane dealers around here have limited hours and never open on Sunday, limited on Saturday. I wouldn't want to have to deal with that to power my generator. I want to run to the convenience store whenever and fuel up.
* This post was
edited 04/21/12 08:27am by kmb1966 *
I agree, most campgrounds have propane, but in our Roadtrek, we are seldom at a "campground", and just like this weekend, we are at the rv park at a casino, and there are no spots available for hookup, so we are running off the generator. There is no propane refill at the casino rv park.
topless wrote: You can buy propane at almost every private campground.
And many, if not most, RV dealers - or, such has been my experience. Some aren't particularly happy about selling "only" propane refills, but, they will.
There's apparently not a small-enough diesel generator made to hang under the back floor, where most B's mount them. AIUI, the smallest Onan diesel is the 3200, which is too tall for underfloor mounting. It's also considerably heavier & more costly than the 2500 LP. I've no idea how much if any noisier it would be.
How long an LP Onan'll run between fuelings depends on both tank size and use, of course. Even small C's usually have tanks twice the size or more of most B's.
Jim, " 'Past tense' means you used to be nervous."
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigervehicles.com
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