What years Sprinter van to build der Wohnmobil

Our daughter has dreamed for years of having a Sprinter (because she knows the benefits of good diesels). 
We can do the converting but not sure what years are better. 
She wants the long body & obviously tall one. Don't need the heavy duty 3500. 
The Sprinter is a bit intimidating to me. The e350 van is very tough & forgiving.  
On our travels at an RV park a few years ago, an older couple did their own Sprinter conversion & started having CELS about voltage. Turned out he had replaced a tail light bulb with a wrong bulb, it worked but freaked out the German system because there was like 0.2v too much drop across this bulb.

Today I learned that the German for RV is Wohnmobil.

I'd start by running the numbers. The Sprinter is the van to have for all the #vanlife crowd. It's obviously quite good at it - but are you paying a premium? What other options are out there? They are quite large for a van, does it make sense to go with a purpose-built RV?

She wants to travel during Summer months & live in it.

mdshaw said:

(because she knows the benefits of good diesels).

Good diesels are good.  I am disabused of the notion that Mercedes makes those anymore.  But that's just me...

Wasn't there a Mopar version of the sprinter? Same thing except for badges. Maye cheaper because it's not a mercedes?

M2Pilot said:

Wasn't there a Mopar version of the sprinter? Same thing except for badges. Maye cheaper because it's not a mercedes?

It's as the old truckers used to say, a Freight-Shaker.

Anecdotal: but the guys who I know in the building trades seem to have less trouble with the Fords than the Mercedes or the Fiat/Dodge. And I imagine that the parts difference is pretty large. They are all available in the high roof format

She also did say the other day "Ford Transit vans are getting really popular for van conversions & they aren't even diesel." 
 

Diesel used to mean simple, reliable, and excellent fuel economy on a less expensive fuel.  That's 20+ year old thinking.  Common rails are the antithesis of simple.  The reliability is suspect on most modern examples (even the class 8 big rigs are seeing issues).  The fuel economy is still a bit better than the gasoline counterparts but it's not night and day anymore and the fuel itself is significantly more expensive in many parts of North America.

I thought it interesting that the author of 'The Road Chose Me' attempted a Mercedes diesel swap into his Jeep JK Unlimited.  He was convinced that an around the world expedition would necessitate a diesel vehicle.  He came to realize that his thinking was dated for two reasons:  first, many parts of the world only have high sulfur diesel available.  This is incompatible with most modern common rails.  An old 7.3 Econoline will rattle along happily but a newish Sprinter will not (thinking LatAm here).  Secondly, the recent explosion in popularity of cheap Chinese motorbikes means that gasoline is now more widely available in the far corners of the globe than diesel.  It used to be the other way around.

Just bought a 2500 express van for very cheap. Nothing more common than an ls engine, anywhere I do break down I can get parts. More importantly if I can't fix it any small town mechanic will not bat an eye at it. If you pull up with a diesel sprinter in rural North America you may as well pull up with a Ferrari. 
 

But I'm obviously bias. 

mdshaw said:

She also did say the other day "Ford Transit vans are getting really popular for van conversions & they aren't even diesel." 
 

That is because they don't have the confluence of Mercedes electronic funk and Chrysler audible corrosion.

I would not own a Sprinter if you paid me to do it.  They are almost as bad as those damn Fiat-based things.

I'd happily use a Transit as a tow vehicle, and this is speaking as someone who has strong moral objections to towing.  Transits just WORK.  And they, as far as I've ever seen, are reliable as gravity and sunrise.

As someone who has an e350 ambulance camper, I would highly suggest looking at the Ford transit or dodge promaster if you're looking for a tall, spacious van. The sprinters can be very unreliable. They are such a pain to work on, not all MB dealers can diagnose them. Only certain dealers with specially trained techs can do so. I have a friend whose Sprinter broke down in Moab. They ended up having to tow it back to Denver. There's a shop in Golden, Co that specializes in MB Sprinters and Land Rovers. Business is good. 
 

edit: promasters are FWD and transits are RWD.

edit 2.0: Further research shows you need special STAR software to diagnose the engines at a cost of $30k. Not all MB dealers invest in the software. Very few Indy shops can help you. 

A high roof Transit is used for deliveries where I work and no issues with it so far. If you want to go the Sprinter route, I do believe they were available with Dodge gas engines. 

I don't know anything about the newer sprinters. When they came out in 01, this side of the pond got a MB with a dodge badge, or an MB with a freightliner badge. All identical otherwise. They had a nearly trouble free 5 cyl. and got about 24 mpg even loaded. They were "improved" since then, so I imagine the unreliability claims are now true. 

Friend bought one in 04, flew me across the country to drive it from MN (in the dead of winter) back to VA. Still loves it. When he ever retires, ill prolly try to buy it. 

A very good friend spends his days driving these type of vans. The Sprinter was an endless stream of problems. His employer finally traded it on a Transit. He still hates the Transit, but at least it doesn't break.

Ok...no more Sprinter, I have read a lot of the same issues but I usually fix everything but these are a whole new level of issues. I'll suggest the Transit.

I want to like the transits. But I never hear anything positive about them.  When  "at least it doesn't break down all the time" is one of the better things, it doesn't bode well. 

In reply to 03Panther :

What else would you want in a van?  

Ok then a e350 7.3 powerstroke van. I know those. 

If nothing else, at least the new generation vans are commonly available with roofs tall enough to make sense.

Glad this thread is here. I tried to ask a general "when will the 'new' vans get cheap(ish)?" but the new forum software thwarted me...

Sounds like I should mostly be scanning for Transits.

Worked with a couple of new Transits at my last job. Small and large, high roof and low. All around they were pretty solid. The small ones are fwd but I don't think that's where you're looking. They were new when I was there but the only problem I heard about was some design issue with the driveshaft making it basically a wear item. No details but maybe check that out. There was a recall or TSB about it. 
And the ecoboost vans MOVE when unloaded. It was kinda shocking how quick that thing was. Or felt anyway. 

Anecdotal, but I know a guy who bought a 2500 high-roof transit the first year they were out. He spec'd it as a higher-end passenger hauler then pulled the rearmost seats to allow for internal MTB and gear storage. He makes trips form GA out to Moab several times a year hauling a bunch of friends and gear in it. He still loves the thing and has had no major issues that I've heard of. 

Yeah... having followed the "van life" crowd for a number of years now, my general opinion on Sprinters is "if you can't afford to buy a new one (with a warranty), you can't afford to buy a used one."  I keep thinking about a Transit LWB, hi-roof, but ended up with a E350 diesel when one fell into my lap a few years ago. It's cantankerous to start and slow, but once it gets going it drives well and doesn't seem to care about whatever old fuel is in the tank.  The downside is E350 diesels with a high roof that haven't been beat to hell tend to have very high asking prices (or are beat and have a high price...).

I have a friend who has been living in a Sprinter van he built for the past year.  Its a ~2014? Diesel with like 130k on it.  He hasn't had any issues, except the most bizarre brake fail I have ever seen.  Both pins the caliper floats on where sheared off at the base of the threads and the disc & wheel were the only tings holding the caliper in place.  Super weird.

If I were doing one I might have a good look at the (*shudder*) Dodge because its FWD, which gets you a lower cargo area (similar standing height, lower roof height).

I would not consider the long ones.  The medium wheelbase is about the limit you want to park in a normal size parking spot. 

In reply to ProDarwin :

I've seen a lot of Promaster builds in the mtn bike world.  They seem to be generally reliable and substantially less expensive than the Ford or M-B options. You can still get an E-series van, but only as a chassis-cab so you'll need to find a vendor selling a box version to DIY convert.