2015 Sprinter 4x4 build begins

Err

Observer
Well, it finally happened. The Sprinter 4x4 is here in the US. I've had mine for a few days now and already have one camping road trip in the books. I'm an MTB, moto, snow, and recently a bit of a surf junky and this build will reflect that heavily. Focus will be on gear hauler with a comfy place to sleep and just enough creature comforts. We actually drove directly from the dealer on Saturday night and straight to camp. I don't guess too many folks sleep in their vehicle on their first night, but that's what we bought it for.

Had 265/75-16 Duratracs installed yesterday, hoping to get crackin on a little plasti-dip work today. Sleeping platform, fridge, solar, tons of storage, bumpers and lights, some basic suspension mods and a bunch of other stuff is on the agenda.

Below are the options I went with, I loaded it up pretty good wanting as much factory integration as possible, there is still lots to do from here -
M2CV144 224 Graphite grey
AR2 Axle Ratio 3.92
CT1 Rear Spring Vibration Absorbers
C01 C01 Driver Comfort Package: 12V outlet
SB2 : Comfort Passenger's Seat
SB1 : Comfort Driver's Seat
FZ9 : Keys - Two Additional Masters
FJ1 : I/P Hinged Lid-Center Stack Bin
E46 : 12V Power Outlet- Driver Seat Base
C02 C02 Driver Efficiency Package: Becker ma
MS1 : Cruise Control
L16 : Fog Lamps
F66 : Glove Box Lockable FR8 : Rear View Camera E1N : Becker Map Pilot
C04 C04 Active Safety Plus Package w/Parktro
Y45 : Emergency Flash Light
Y10 : First-Aid Kit
LD0 : Overhead Cntrl Panel w/2 Lamps LA1 : High Beam Assist
JW5 : Lane Keeping Assist
JP2 : Driving Assistance
JK3 : I/P Cluster Pixel Matrix
JA7 : Blind Spot Monitoring
JA6 : Collision Prevention Assist
JA5 : Light and Rain Sensor
H21 : Windshield - W/Filter Band
F68 : Exterior Mirror - Power/Heated
EZ8 : Parking Aid System FRT&RR
CL4 : Multifunction Steering Wheel
C05 C05 Premium Appearance Package: Headlamp
RL5 : Wheel Light Alloy 6.5JX16
LG0 : Head Lamps - Bi-Xenon - U.S.
F46 : Headlamp washing system
D03 Roof - High Roof
D13 Roof Rails
ED4 AGM Battery 12V 95 Ah
EN7 Audio 15 (Standard)
ES2 12V Power Outlet Rear Compartment
HY1 Remote Control for Auxiliaray Heater
H04 Heat Insulation for Front Compartment
H12 Fuel-fired pre-heater/booster (17,000 BTU)
H15 Heated Co-Driver Seat
H16 Heated Driver Seat
LB9 Illuminated Exits
SZ7 Seatback Map Pocket - driver
SZ8 Seatback Map Pocket - passenger
T12 Sliding Door - Two Stage Opening
X22 Trailer Hitch Package: Trailer hitch
Q24 : Trailer Hitch
E40 : Trailer Hitch - Wire Harness w/7 Pin Con
X27 Additional Battery Package: Addition
E36 : Cutoff Relay for Auxiliary Battery
E28 : Auxiliary Battery 100 Amp
X30 Low & High Range 4x4 Package
ZG3 : 4x4 High Range w/Low Range Transfer Case T75 : Door mounted assist handles, driver & pa
KB7 : 24.5 gallon fuel tank
YK3 Cargo Straps - D Rings
6CE 6-Cylinder/5-Speed Transmission
M46 : Alternator 14 V/220 A
MV6 : V6 Badge on Right Rear Cargo Door
MG5 : Engine-3.0 Turbo Diesel BlueTEC
G40 : Transmission - 5 Speed Auto


A couple of crappy cell phone pics until I can get a moment to pull out the real camera

Before -
smugshot_4492597-XL.jpg


smugshot_3785462-XL.jpg



After -
smugshot_8256799-XL.jpg


smugshot_7134182-L.jpg
 
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mhiscox

Expedition Leader
Splendid news. And it's great you picked out the Duratracs, as I really like them on my trucks and I'd wanted to see how they looked on the Sprinter.

I'm gonna guess that you are totally aware of this, but there some good Sprinter moto van builds on the Sprinter Source Forums, of which Geek's Building the Adventure Van is, with 1000+ posts, the most extensive and best illustrated: http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17258
 

Err

Observer
Splendid news. And it's great you picked out the Duratracs, as I really like them on my trucks and I'd wanted to see how they looked on the Sprinter.

I'm gonna guess that you are totally aware of this, but there some good Sprinter moto van builds on the Sprinter Source Forums, of which Geek's Building the Adventure Van is, with 1000+ posts, the most extensive and best illustrated: http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17258

Ha, yes, I am a bit of a champion of Duratracs these days. Having owed a ton of different AT and MT tires, they are the best for my uses by far.

And the legend, the Geek. Been following his posts for quite some time. Even my sales guy had pics of Geek's build on his desk, that guy is immortal now. I bounce back and forth between sprinter-source and this site. My usage aligns a bit more with this site but Sprinter-source definitely has a wealth of Sprinter specific info and some great build examples.
 

ober27

Adventurer
Beautiful! I love the color. What are your first impressions of how it drives, rides, and handles? I'm anxious to see what you do with the interior.
 

Err

Observer
Beautiful! I love the color. What are your first impressions of how it drives, rides, and handles? I'm anxious to see what you do with the interior.

First impressions of driving dynamics are very positive. It's stable with a decidedly firm feel at the wheel. It rolls down the highway at 80 MPH with zero drama with the little turbo diesel not working too hard at all. I've driven in some pretty heavy crosswinds and it held a lane surprisingly well. In town, it's easy to park, feels like driving a tall half-ton pickup. Coming out of an F350, it drives small, especially with regard to turning radius. Also coming out of the 2012 F350, the fit finish, and overall refinement of the vehicle leaves much to be desired. The interior, in particular, reminds me of a 90's Kia or at least the crap-tacular Titan I owned for a while. It's not short on gizmos and gadgets though, like blind spot monitoring, that I've already decided that I really like and lane-departure warning that is mostly irritating. The headlights seriously good, some of the best and brightest that I've experienced (do have the bi-xenons) but then the backup camera looks like a complete after-thought and I miss having the display in the mirror (it's on the stereo head-unit). Speaking of stereo, OMG is it bad, like an 80's Wal-Mart special boom box I recall owning, just awful. But you know, for $60k, what do you expect. LOL. In it's defense, I do like the seats, I went cloth over pleather and material appears of high quality. I haven't had a chance to try out the 4WD yet but I've had it on a few back roads that made the traction control work hard. It doesn't take much of anything to unweight one of the rear tires. In time, may be taking a look at what can be done to improve articulation without sacrificing too much stability. I'm sure more thoughts will form in time, I'm still under 1000 miles.

One more thought that jumps out at me, is that the stance is very close to level when unloaded, it'll be interesting to see how much stuff I can put in it before I'm staring at sky. I have a feeling airbags will be required, especially since I'll be hauling a couple of KTM's off a double Versahaul hitch mount hauler.
 
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mhiscox

Expedition Leader
It's great to have those impressions. I've been holding off the build for my next full-on Sprinter camper for years (yep, fell for all the rumors) until I can get some real life reports on how the 4WD version turned out. Don't hesitate to let us know anything worth knowing about this truck. For the moment, you are THE source of information.

P.S.: I might have deduced that you'd know all of the Sprinter Source stuff. A good forum there, too.
 

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