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Sprinter-based RV

O

OkeeDon

New member
In the Introductions section, B_Skurka wrote,
Don, I've got a Sprinter cargo truck. It is an amazing little truck (it is our smallest delivery vehicle) and would make a great camper. It drives like a car, very smooth engine, responsive steering. When I need to haul stuff I usually grab that truck. You'll love it if you get a camper made out of a Sprinter.
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I moved it here so I wouldn't hijack the thread.

Good to hear! Someone told me you have a Sprinter; I was meaning to ask you about your experience. We have a 28' Class A Pace Arrow now; we were planning to get a diesel pusher like the one Golfgar got, after we finish building our house. But, frankly, I'm enough of an idealist that I can't stand the idea of putting $$$ into the oli companys' hands. The RoadTrek Sprinter is rated at 24-26 mpg out of that M-B 5 cylinder turbo diesel, yet is still rated to pull a 5,000# trailer. I plan to pull a 6'x12' cargo trailer (just bought it last Friday) so I can carry my golf cart, 2-49cc scooters (which I haven't bought yet; I'm leaning towards Aprilia), folding chairs and tables, a portable firepit, a gas grill, and build in a wardrobe, a small pantry and a tool cabinet. I've measured and weighed everything (or researched the weight), and everything will fit the 6x12 Vee nose trailer and be close to 3,000# total, including the trailer. I figure I'll still get 21 mpg, which is at least 3 times the mileage of a full size RV. In other words, it will be like traveling at $1 per gallon instead of $3.

A Class B RV (a van conversion) is small and tight, but we have 3 things in our favor. First, we spend most of our time outside when parked with our RV. I cook outside, we eat outside, I usually rig a TV outside, we take the portable firepit, etc. Second, the RoadTrek has a pretty efficient layout that has all the features of our first RV, an old '72 Winnebago 22', which we loved. Third, it tickles us so much to be able to travel more efficiently than anyone else, we're perfectly willing to spend $80K or so for the vehicle to do it.
 
As mentioned above, I bought a cargo trailer this past Friday. It's a 6'x12' Haulmark Transport DLX with a Vee nose, ramp door, side door and the delexe package that raises the roof 6", installs interior lights and some other goodies. It's a single 3,500 axle. The trailer itself weighs 1,300#. The Transport model is Haulmark's base light-duty model; I picked it because I wanted the lighter weight. Their upscale Kodiak, for example, weighed 1,600# for the 7'x12' model. It has tandem axles; that's overkill for me.

Now, the question. I'll be hauling a lot of stuff -- golf cart, 2 motor scooters, firepit, grill, folding outdoors furniture, patio carpet, and a built-in pantry, wardrobe and tool cabinet. I started looking at e-track for the straps. It's not all that expensive, but I already have a ton and a half of tie-down straps of every size and description, none of which are e-track. I'm frugal enough to not want to buy more if I can use what I have. I'm thinking about screwing 1"x6" boards horizontally at 2 levels on the inside sides of the trailer, then fastening some kind of D-rings or other loops to hook my straps. Things will be packed pretty tight and there won't be much strain; I could almost use screw-eyes instead of D-rings.

Thoughts or ideas?
 
Sprinters up here, hold a very high rating. Roomy, ride nice, good mileage figures, rarely seen returning to a dealer for a problem, good in snow, etc, they are holding their value better than other class 6 vehicles.
As far as "e" track, that's all we had delivering the computers... E track is used because of it's ease of options....
 
We've had the Sprinter for about a year, the biggest problem has been we've broken the key several times. In a commercial enviornment with multiple drivers things are not always taken care of properly, the key falls into the category of something that they should make stronger. It is a plastic folding remote control deal with a metal key that swings out, the hinge point has broken several times, they hit us for $100 per key! Now in perspective, Volvo and VW use similar keys and I've never broken one of those at home. So I think it is a problem related to my guys?

Mileage is excellent. Pretty amazing actually when you figure we run the truck full and still get 20+mpg.

Ride quality is car like. No wollowing through the turns. Good throttle response through most of the acceleration range. Really can't say a bad thing about it other than the high initial cost of the unit compared to other similar size vehicles. But really none of those compare.
 
Himmerhooner said:
piza shit truk:071:
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piza shit -- is that what you get when you eat too many pizas? :69:

I checked with the local shop where I bought my trailer, and they had some neat e-track gadgets with rings so regular tie-down straps can be used. I started off with 2- 10' sections of e-track on the floor; I'll add some to the walls when I get everything that I will haul gathered together, and see where the best place is for the e-track.

I'll be heading to North Carolina on Thursday to get our personal stuff out of the cabin we're selling; that will give me a good shakedown run with the trailer. I'll be out of touch for about a week; the cabin has DSL available and I have a wireless router up there, but we aren't going to pay the fees to take it (or the phone service) off vacation status. They charge $35 plus a one month service charge; $85 plus tax is too much for a few nights of internet.
 
I had many Kentucky built electronic trailers and all were wall to wall E track.. There are so many gadgets available, it makes E track the best for multiple use... As you found out, the loops are there for tieing back... They have aluminum cargo bars and many other gadgets... Put one set along the trailer walls, ( if you have an enclosed trailer) and mount this set 3/4 the way up from the floor. When you tie in your belongings, remember, freight always moves forward never backward.. People get this idea that taking off from each stop light makes the load move reward.. The opposite it true. When you get back to Florida, you fill find everything shifted forward and is tightly locked in.. TV's and electronic valuables of any size, get turned around, padded, and put in on the floor first tier. Then pack tightly around the TV etc, keep making tiers or rows and you will have no damages in shipment.
 
I'm not sure if your'e interested but we bought a Sportsmobile van conversion this summer. http://www.sportsmobile.com/
The company converts mostly Fords, but also some Dodges and I believe Sprinters too. The 4x4 Fords are the most popular van to convert, but we opted for the 2 wheel drive as we don't need another 4x4. Just my $.02.

Bonehead :17875:
 
IK've looked with interest at the Sportsmobile. They have several plans they've designed to fit the Sprinter, and there are a couple of people on various Sprinter Yahoo groups who have Sportsmobile Sprinter conversions.

There are several ways I could get what I want, and at various times in my life, I might have tried any of them.

(1) I could atempt to do the conversion myself. This is tempting, because many of the functions/appliances/hardware on my 1988 Pace Arrow are working great and could be switched over -- the rooftop AC, for example, the fridge, microwave, lots of the plumbing fixtures, toilet, etc. etc. Some of them, like the generator, would be too large for the Sprinter but could be swapped for a smaller one. Mine is a 4KW Onan; the Sprinter's use a 2.5KW LP gas Onan. However, my day for projects is over. Now, all I want to do is use the thing in comfort.

(2) Have a conversion professionally done. The Sportsmobile is a good example. Frankly, however, and I'd be interested to see if my perception matches your reality, the Sportsmobile conversions looked a little bit "rough around the edges". Also, none of their proposed floor plans matched the efficiency I found in the RoadTrek. The other option is an outfit known as Creative Mobile Interiors in Ohio. Their work is fantastic. However, I'm a little frightened by the opposite problem -- most of the examples they show are too fancy and expensive looking.

(3) Go with a hybrid -- Winnebago (and Itasca) have a cut-away version of the Sprinter that uses cab and chassis, and a fiberglass RV body, like a Class C but small. I understand Gulfstream and some others are also bringing out this version. Some may be waiting for the upcoming 6 cylinder diesel, 7 speed automatic and new body style rumored to be out in late 2006. These are nice, but do not fit my needs as a daily driver, and their weight and aero means less fuel efficiency.

(4) Got with one of the factory conversions. So far, I have identified RoadTrek, Airstream, Gulfstream, Forest River, Liesure Vans, Pleasure Way, Westfalia (marketed by Airstream) and a couple of others I can't remember. I have spent hours with the floor plans on paper, and the RoadTrek is the only one that suits my desires. Besides, RoadTrek is considered to be something close to the Cadillac (or more appropriately, the Mercedes) of Class B van conversions.

It's getting closer to the end of October when my local dealer is supposed to get his first RoadTrek (they are the newest of the various models, which hopefully means they've learned from everyone else).
 
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