Fancy a RV?

[GreyGhost]

Ain't no one got money to keep a used sprinter going the repairs in the diesel will kill you. 2000 for a def heater and the list goes on I was going to buy a sprinter based van but the reliability makes everything else look fantastic. Diesel anything is asking for repair bills now.

Sent from the future

With diesel fuel price being so much higher than gas, the economics suck. Most of the time I had diesels, it was 5-10 cents per litre less and almost double mpg so there were significant savings to offset the somewhat higher maintenance. Diesels also had much less emission crap that hurt mileage, broke often and cost a fortune to repair. Unless you are pulling a lot of weight far every week, I would rather have gas now.

 

[mimico_polak]

Ain't no one got money to keep a used sprinter going the repairs in the diesel will kill you. 2000 for a def heater and the list goes on I was going to buy a sprinter based van but the reliability makes everything else look fantastic. Diesel anything is asking for repair bills now.

Sent from the future

His sprinter is gasoline, not diesel.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Looks like we'll be going to the RV show the weekend after next with some friends. We're not shopping, they're kinda half-assed looking at something that may or may not appeal to them (They'd like a Helio like us but I don't think they like the prices lol), but it'll be a fun way to kill a day anyways.

I think I'm going to make a game of it - see how many shoddy workmanship flaws I can find on units on display, and photograph them all.

 

[Scuba Steve]

His sprinter is gasoline, not diesel.

Interesting I didn't know that was even an option in north America.

Sent from the future

 

[GreyGhost]

Looks like we'll be going to the RV show the weekend after next with some friends. We're not shopping, they're kinda half-assed looking at something that may or may not appeal to them (They'd like a Helio like us but I don't think they like the prices lol), but it'll be a fun way to kill a day anyways.

I think I'm going to make a game of it - see how many shoddy workmanship flaws I can find on units on display, and photograph them all.

Bonus points if you get the sales staff to justify the poop.

 

[mimico_polak]

Interesting I didn't know that was even an option in north America.

Sent from the future

I asked him to confirm. 2019 Sprinter with gas engine. Not diesel.

 

[Brian P]

There are Ford dealers everywhere in North America. Parts availability would be better as well. Plus I think (could be mistaken) it takes regular gas.

My buddy specified the regular 3.5 V6 in his Transit to avoid potential ecoboost headaches. It isn't a rocketship, but it doesn't have to be.

 

[guzzirider]

and the Ford is available as an EV

 

[AllistonGT]

and the Ford is available as an EV

Ah not suitable for a camper. Range sucks for a travel van.

 

[guzzirider]

Yes but you would be saving the planet

 

[Brian P]

Once GM gets their Ultium battery production issues sorted out, a Brightdrop van might make for an interesting camper base, and those have enough range to be useful. But, that's a different discussion to be had at some future date.

 

[nobbie48]

A friend used to service MB Sprinters but eventually quit over parts. MB parts were obscene and aftermarket one were month’s delivery. Being service vans they couldn’t wait. Fords were $20K cheaper.

Mini conversions aren’t hard to service but the bigger ones need a truck shop with a hoist bigger than most auto places have at hand.

 

[crankcall]

Fella at our boat club is a MB tech , and has the sprinter tech designation. He wouldn’t recommend a diesel sprinter to anyone , based on his intimate knowledge of what those things cost to keep running properly.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com

 

[guzzirider]

One can always tow a tent trailer behind a motorcycle.
That way you can have the worst of both worlds!

 

[VFR.CBR]

I used this to tow my bike to Jennings. (and Calabogie many times)

The RV park near Jennings had been sold and was in the process of being upgraded (now a KOA park). Part of this was restricting RV age.
I had no problems, this is a '74. There are 5 fibreglass panels with the roof and upper sides all one piece, no leaks.
We had a Forest River toyhauler and now a Grand Design fifth wheel. Compared to the '74, the workmanship on the recent rigs is terrible.
Grand Design (now owned by Winnebago) used to be a premium brand. They still consider themselves premium, but they aren't.

A major problem in the RV industry today is components suppliers. Most are owned by one company; Lippert. Lippert has bought out many of the RV component manufacturers, closed their North American production and moved it to China. Quality is poor. There is very little competition or option. There are countless class-action suits going on now against Lippert; frames, axles, wheels, brakes, heating, cooling, electronics . . .
This is not a good thing for the RV industry.

 

[AllistonGT]

Yes but you would be saving the planet

The planet will be just fine once all the pesky humans are gone

 

[GP_RZ]

With diesel fuel price being so much higher than gas, the economics suck. Most of the time I had diesels, it was 5-10 cents per litre less and almost double mpg so there were significant savings to offset the somewhat higher maintenance. Diesels also had much less emission crap that hurt mileage, broke often and cost a fortune to repair. Unless you are pulling a lot of weight far every week, I would rather have gas now

I prefer driving my tdi over my F150 for commuting as I get 1000-1100km per 50L in winter and 1200-1400km per tank in summer, no emissions on my 03 jetta wagon, and the wife loves here 19 Q5 TDI which is warrantied till 196,000km for all the emissions junk, after that it will be a full delete. The problem with all new diesels is the dpf and short drives and driving it like granny a sure way of plugging up the emissions as well as idling for extended periods of time...unless its deleted, then your problem is solved.

 

[GreyGhost]

I prefer driving my tdi over my F150 for commuting as I get 1000-1100km per 50L in winter and 1200-1400km per tank in summer, no emissions on my 03 jetta wagon, and the wife loves here 19 Q5 TDI which is warrantied till 196,000km for all the emissions junk, after that it will be a full delete. The problem with all new diesels is the dpf and short drives and driving it like granny a sure way of plugging up the emissions as well as idling for extended periods of time...unless its deleted, then your problem is solved.

ALH was a good motor. I put almost 350k on one and sold it for almost $4K.

As for full delete, I suspect that will be near the top of the list of justifications for periodic safety inspections.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Be careful on the delete. The MOE is paying a lot of attention to those now and the tickets are mighty mighty hefty.

 

[nobbie48]

Be careful on the delete. The MOE is paying a lot of attention to those now and the tickets are mighty mighty hefty.

Another YouTube expert and you can pretty much skip the first minute and a half.

Then he gets into hearsay EU discussing scrapping older ICE vehicles when they suffer major component failures.

If the engine, brakes, steering or tranny goes the vehicle is deemed residual, the equivalent of branded.

North America is not the EU. We are not Scandinavia. We have different histories, economics, distances and education systems.

Politicians are promising EV charging points everywhere and all problems solved in less than a dozen years but are gobsmacked by drug and housing issues that are getting worse not better.