Scotty,
I've had some issues with the emissions system, but, thankfully it was covered under warranty. Maintaining the diesel engine every 10,000 miles or once per year is expensive, so I get that professionally done.....I hope that the engine and transmission in this vehicle will last for the 300,000 miles ....
One thing that surprised me is that one of my idler pulleys froze and it caused a lot of damage.. I plan on getting these replaced every 8 years ....
The mileage is lower than normal because it's an RV... just put 7,000 miles on the vehicle on a cross country USA trip.. average 19 MPG...
Vehicle runs great....do you think I can go the distance or is it better to get rid of it once it's close to 100,000 miles.....
Thanks for your input...I love your channel.
--Mark
Great question! I want to build a DIY camper van in the next year and am looking at a Sprinter. I'm a little scared of maintenance and repair costs compared to a comparable gasoline Ford Transit. Did you compare the two before you bought yours? Is there a thread that discusses the pros/cons? Should I start one?
Really depends on what you want; the performance and fuel economy on the diesel engine is amazing. As for maintenance, yes, the Mercedes Benz Sprinter is probably more expensive than the gasoline engine.
No, I didn't compare it to the Transit gasoline engine, but, I test drove a Transit 350 diesel. The Transit is a little lower to the ground and handles differently from the Mercedes... You have to test drive them both. My RV has the dual wheels, I like that setup..
I purchased my RV fully converted by Roadtrek and it's a 2012. There's an advantage to buying a fully approved RVIA model. Many RV parks require the RVIA certification, it's a standard for electrical, plumbing and heating..
Whatever you decide make sure that you get a 12 volt refrigerator, skip the propane 3 way refrigerator. Another thing is check out the hours on the generator, they should have been run for two hours every month times the number of years....We purchased ours with too few hours and the unit died from lack of use and no yearly service... There's a long learning curve for getting an RV....
Sure, go ahead and start a thread on pros and cons if you like.. there's an entire community of people discussing issues...
One thing I can tell you is they are a lot of fun, but, all of them are expensive.
Good luck.