hopefully a non biased opinion Transit vs sprinter

[Cheyneskeezer]

been searching hard for a weekend camp capable van for me my wife and 2 year old goin on three for months. Id find a van i liked and fit the bill and it would slip through my fingers. Im down between the 2108 transit 250 medium roof with the 3.7 or a sprinter 4x4 2017 6cy

i have 2 vans i keep going back and forth on. the sprinter is a low top and basic a crew van with a rb bed in back.

the transit is s 2018 med roof with the 3.7 and upfitted by a local guy who seems to do a pretty good job focusing on budget friendly not over the top clean weekend builds.

both are the same price both seem to have their horror stories

ive owned a 2009 4.8 silverado since new and its had its fair share of problems valve job under warranty a tranny out of my own pocket that turned out to be a simple fix and a bunch of rear end problems

the two main issues i can see are the Mercedes with their emissions issues and goin into limp mode requiring to take it to a dealer and fork out the money or the ford transits with the well known driveline issues where they recommend putting the new driveshaft flexible coupling every 30k miles

you seem to only read the bad when you start looking into issues. i keep all my vehicles 10 plus years and take great care of them. seems the ford would be the more cost effective if worse comes to worse scenarios. both come with extended factory warrenties.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Being a contractor I talk to people with fleets quite a bit, I would run from the sprinter personally.

 

[86scotty]

I wouldn't buy either. I'd find an Ecoboost Transit. The 3.7 is woefully underpowered. The Ecoboost will put a smile on your face daily.

Are you aware there is a dedicated forum here for vans?

Good luck in your quest.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

EB is a nightmare to work on in a transit.

 

[1leglance]

Granted I only have 6500 miles on my Ecoboosted Transit but I love it, torque peak at 2500 rpm is just right.
My van rolled out of the factory at 5780lbs and rolled across the dyno at 8200lbs and still had 358ftlbs of torque with 4.10 gears and 33in tires.
The Quadvan conversion has been easy to use and I lifted a wheel and had no issues with the Trutrac lockers.

I will keep reporting back but I would only go with a Transit Ecoboost. The Fordtransitusa forum if you want to research issues.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Granted I only have 6500 miles on my Ecoboosted Transit but I love it, torque peak at 2500 rpm is just right.
My van rolled out of the factory at 5780lbs and rolled across the dyno at 8200lbs and still had 358ftlbs of torque with 4.10 gears and 33in tires.
The Quadvan conversion has been easy to use and I lifted a wheel and had no issues with the Trutrac lockers.

I will keep reporting back but I would only go with a Transit Ecoboost. The Fordtransitusa forum if you want to research issues.

They have a nasty habit of breaking exhaust manifold studs that can require the removal of suspension and/or engine to repair.

 

[plumber mike]

Any reason the Nissan NV and GM express/savana aren’t an option for you?

 

[Wallygator]

I would get the Promaster before any of those choices. Out of your choices I would lean towards the Transit. There are only about 500 Mercedes dealers in the entire USA. There is a Ford or Ram dealer in just about anytown, USA. Something to consider.

 

[Herbie]

I would get the Promaster before any of those choices. Out of your choices I would lean towards the Transit. There are only about 500 Mercedes dealers in the entire USA. There is a Ford or Ram dealer in just about anytown, USA. Something to consider.

If OP is really in the market for 4x4 or AWD vans, I think the Promaster would be a very disappointing choice. They're super convenient to build out due to the square sides, but that FWD drivetrain is a killer if you want to tackle anything short of smooth roads.

I spent 20 minutes drinking beer from my lawn chair watching a guy with a Promaster-based RV try to level his rig by pulling the rear wheels up onto a set of those "lego" leveling blocks. The nose was uphill, and the driveway was graded gravel at a state campsite. Every time he tried to drive up onto the blocks, the weight would shift to the rear and unload the front wheels and they would just spin in the gravel. He was about to give up before I pointed out that he could try backing down onto the blocks. Got him squared away, but the point is he couldn't get his rear wheels up over a 2" obstacle, 1" at a time.

 

[Grassland]

My 2018 Transit 250 MR LWB has a U joint and not the guibo coupling. You might want to double check the van to see what it actually has. As well I believe the long term fix for ford is a new U joint but they have been having problems getting enough parts. Not 100% on that.
I hav eeasy 2000# weight in my work van, and the 3.7 is adequate, but not thrilling to drive. Might change with larger tires and hills. My gears are 3.73.

 

[LosAngeles]

Having driven a Sprinter and a Transit van quite a bit... I would totally go for a EcoBoost Transit, by far. Handled way better overall, much more peppy, and just about every town has a Ford dealer / repair place in it. Plus my research indicated that the Ford repairs would cost 1/2 as much, and also happen about 1/2 as often. I myself would not touch a Sprinter. No thanks. Just my 2c. Oh and i think on the latest Transits you can get AWD.... ? just a thought.

 

[Wallygator]

If OP is really in the market for 4x4 or AWD vans, I think the Promaster would be a very disappointing choice. They're super convenient to build out due to the square sides, but that FWD drivetrain is a killer if you want to tackle anything short of smooth roads.

I spent 20 minutes drinking beer from my lawn chair watching a guy with a Promaster-based RV try to level his rig by pulling the rear wheels up onto a set of those "lego" leveling blocks. The nose was uphill, and the driveway was graded gravel at a state campsite. Every time he tried to drive up onto the blocks, the weight would shift to the rear and unload the front wheels and they would just spin in the gravel. He was about to give up before I pointed out that he could try backing down onto the blocks. Got him squared away, but the point is he couldn't get his rear wheels up over a 2" obstacle, 1" at a time.

I get it. but really with vehicles like this what do you need AWD or 4wd for? Ground clearance for a forest service road? They are giant motorhomes. I would still get the promaster, park it, and pull the dirt bike out of it to explore waaay more than I could with any other vehicle. But yeah I get it, AWD/4WD better.

 

[Christian P.]

Thread moved to the proper forum

 

[Scotty D]

I spend a lot of time in the baja and I can tell you that AWD is a HUGE deal down there.
Yes its true that its not nearly enough for rock crawling and you can never really offroad a camper without all your crap flying around, but it sure gets you past a lot of obstacles that would stop a promaster in its tracks. This gets you to the better beaches and even lets you set up camp right on the sand. Thats a big deal to me.

 

[Cheyneskeezer]

Thanks for all the advice I ended up with the transit with the 3.7 not to worried about having a hot rod as we do mainly beach camping only in so cal and a little high desert trips won’t be off-roading or going to Baja.