Their web site and other posts to the Forums say they no longer do the front hitch installs. Did they do something custom for you?Upscale Automotive Upgrades to 2014 Unity MB
After much research on the Sprinter-Forum I decided to upgrade the suspension on my Unity RV. I choose to use the services of Upscale Automotive, located in Tualatin, Oregon. Over the course of about a month of e-mail exchanges with Mark Oland, I finalized the list of items I wanted installed on my van.
• Koni Shocks on rear wheels and Koni struts on the front wheels.
• Replacing existing Anti-Sway bar with Hellwig 7254 Rear Sway Bar
• Replaced existing rear Leaf Spring with a new 7 Leaf Spring on each rear axle
• Added Boss Air Bags over each rear axle
• Added Boss PX-02 Air Lift air compressor with wireless control to adjust each air bag pressure
• Added Auxiliary Alternator with Multi-Stage Charge controller
• Added front hitch receiver with spare tire mounting post
The full upgrade took about 7 days to complete. Roland and Dave were the mechanics who performed the upgrade. The output of the Auxiliary Alternator is used to charge my large house battery bank ( 8 – 6 Volt 225 AHr AGM batteries). Dave installed the # 2 Awg positive cable, from the output of the alternator back to the lower storage compartment, located to the left of the side entrance of the Unity MB van. He added an additional ground cable from the alternator frame to the sprinter chassis frame.
I drove the 500+ miles home from Portland area to the San Francisco bay area where I live. I initially adjusted the air bags to 45 psi, and this provided the most comfortable ride I have ever experienced in this van. The ride is now smoother and the rock-n-roll from side winds or 18 wheelers blowing by me are pretty much gone. I consider the expense for the upgraded suspension definitely worthwhile. The auxiliary alternator with the multi-stage charge controller keeps the coach battery bank fully charged, in concert with my solar panels.
During some of my recent extended dry camping trips (i.e. 3 to 4 days in the same place ) I experience an overall depletion of the batteries to the 50% level, which the solar alone cannot restore. I have previously had to use the onboard generator to recharge the batteries as well as provide 120 Vac power for appliances. Now I will be able to just run the sprinter engine to recharge the batteries quickly ( up to 120 amps @ 14.7 volts is available from the auxiliary alternator at idle speed! ) This is a much quieter means of charging the batteries when needed.
On my trip up to Portland I had a blow-out of the front right tire @ 60 mph. If I had the spare wheel then as I now have, repair process would have gone a lot faster! I highly recommend adding a spare tire carrier onto the Unity RV.
I have attached a PDF document with this information and many photos of the installation process.
Thanks for the info. All of the upgrades you have done I am in the process of doing also. As to the folks that did your suspension, I search on the internet for them but I think I got the wrong company or Mark Orland is no longer there. Would you happen to have a phone number so I can call them? The phone number I tried is: 503-692-9333 Thanks Again!Re: Upscale Automotive / The Sprinter Store Testimonial
From YahooSprinterVan, testimonial re UpScale Automotive in Tualatin, OR (near Portland)
#34497 From: "josephsokalski"
Date: Wed Nov 8, 2006
Subject: John Bendit at Upscale Automotive works magic!
John on Monday morning (10/9/06) suggested I go to Tonkin Dodge for
the alternator replacement, even though he sells the 150 Amp.
alternators, because my Sprinter was still under warranty. This was
an introduction into the quality of the hospitality I received and
work that he would do on and for my Sprinter over the 12 days I was
camped at his shop. We had planned on 3 days of work for him to
install: The spring assist kit, Koni shocks, 1 1/8" anti-sway bar,
Class 4 hitch and wiring, transmission cooler kit, gages for tranny
temp, boost, and pyrometer, Odyssey AGM starting battery, safe Stor
under passenger seat, and insulate the headliner. I added a Xantrex
Link 10 battery monitor to the gage list due to my problem with the
alternator failure without a warning light, and a switch to control
charging the batteries from the alternator or ProSine's charger.
This will enable me to use the dash sound system and charge the
engine battery while hooked up to 120 volt AC or when the Onan 2500
LP generator is running. This evolved into a custom designed gage
panel. I later asked John to install a Prodigy brake controller, do
the 30K service, and replace the awful front pads and rotors.
On Tuesday morning, John took me for a ride in his "Mighty Mouse"
Sprinter and I discovered his improvements were awesome. The
acceleration and handleing were like a sport truck, and he threw it
into corners that were scary, and the ESP light on the dash would
flicker as the Sprinter's computer made the vehicle follow the
driver's steering inputs. I knew that I had come to the right place,
even though I had no plans for competitive driving with my RV
conversion.
I gathered the Xantrex Link 10 parts from Rogers Marine in Portland
and Upscale began work on my Sprinter in the afternoon. On Wednesday
evening the suspension parts were installed and I had witnessed
Upscale Automotive drop the rear grey water tank in order to install
a bolt necessary for the Curt hitch. Of course it cost extra, but I
was delighted to find that John and Upscale did not engage in
the "quick & careless" approach that was so disgusting at Dodge
dealers. At Upscale I found "good enough" was never John's view of a
job. He wanted all of his work done right. When he reinstalled the
grey water tank he corrected the mount and seals that he thought were
sloppy when it was initially installed on the Sprinter. Finally, I
found someone who cared enough to do excellent work, and he worked 12
hour days to do it.
On Thursday, Car Toys installed a Pioneer AVIC N3, backup camera,
iPod interface, Aux. DVD player, Bluetooth interface for the cell
phone, 4" dash speakers, subwoofers and amp., and an alarm system.
They knew their stuff and did good work, but were too good at
upselling their stuff and I went away with an exceptional sound
system that I thought was too expensive and not what I really
needed. They managed to install all the most expensive versions of
the stuff they had before I knew what was happening. However, it all
works and I am trying to get over the feeling that I was taken
advantage in a moment of weakness (at last I found people who knew
the Sprinter and how to properly install accessories). The next day,
Camping World installed a KVH R6 satellite dome and 13'2" Horizon
case awning.
John worked through the weekend and on Monday to install the 4 gages
and 2 switches in a custom panel in the headliner where the dome
light had been. The dome light was relocated above the gages in the
headliner. The previously uninsulated space above the headliner was
filled with foil bubble wrap. ... We road tested the Sprinter and
it handeled great. A test with a Diesel Power module showed added
smoothness and power that removed the impression that the engine was
working hard to move my now 7,800 pound Sprinter. There was a power
reserve that was felt as a surge in acceleration at 60 MPH with only
a slight additional depression of the pedal. After some power
acceleration and handling tests John felt the grinding front brakes
signaled something was wrong, and we went back to his shop.
We scheduled Wednesday (10/18/06) for installation of a Prodigy brake
controller (after reading about the headaches with trailer wiring I
trusted only John to do it right, and he did), 30K service, and brake
inspection. I observed him retorqueing the bolts of the Sprinter's
frame, etc., puting others poor wireing workmanship into plastic wire
looms, and cleaning up a wiring rats nest left around the battery by
other people. He did a careful and lengthy inspection under and
around the Sprinter and replaced all the filters. I could see that
John did the work he charged for, not like other dealers who charged
for work they did not do (like, carefully inspecting the brake
rotors, topping off fluids correctly, actually testing and inspecting
the Sprinter at service intervals).
On Wednesday, John found the front brake pads were severely burned
and the right pads had notable cracks from the pad surface to the
steel backing; at 28,400 miles the rotors were too thin to turn and
warping. The pads were still about 5/16" thick, but the mismatched
pads and rotors had led to the impending destruction of the front
brakes. Over the past 2 years, I had complained about the grinding
brakes to 3 dealers and had been kissed off with the "they all do
that" BS, and so warranty or not I had John replace the pads and
rotors with his best stuff. I also bought the air vent kit, Ease
Scan Tool, and transmission dip stick.
On Friday morning, some burned out lights were replaced, and then I
headed S/B on I-5 toward home. The drive home was a pleasure and
uneventful. The suspension upgrades made the trip a more relaxing
drive. I used to have to constantly keep making small steering
inputs to keep the Sprinter going in a straight line down the road.
The Sprinter now tracks much better, and I found that it is now
barely pushed by the bow wind of passing SUVs and vans. The shaking
from turbulence behind an 18 wheeler is also about half of what it
was. The rain grooves in the freeways in the Los Angeles area do not
move the Sprinter around like they used to either. The helper
springs raised the rear to where the Sprinter now rides level (no
more tail draging) and I think it was enough to transfer more weight
to the front where the tires can better hold the intended path down
the road. I think the stiffer sway bar keeps the rear from adding
wandering input to the steering too. The Koni shocks have eliminated
the bouncey feel so when I take a rest break I do not feel the motion
continuing while standing on solid ground. My bouncy tail drager was
no more, my Sprinter was renewed and better.
The Diesel Power module seems to have provided added reserves to the
engine. When a steep grade required a down shift to 4th gear I could
feel a more firm down shift and a new definite surge in
acceleration. Previously a downshift to 4th made more engine noise
and a gradual increase in speed. I noted easy but brisk acceleration
from a rest stop back to the 70 MPH road speed, and the boost gage
showed a peak of about 23 PSI, with a quick drop to 19 PSI at shift
time, on such runs.
I ran into heavy gusty head winds toward the South end of Calif's.
Central Valley on I-5 which made it difficult to determine what the
mileage benefit may be. I also found that the push from the gusty
winds was only about a quarter of what it had been before. It was
much easier to hold my lane position and required much less steering
inputs and teeth clenching concentration. I also found I was not as
tried after 2 hours of driveing as I had been before the suspension
improvements. The shudder on hard 1st gear acceleration has
diminished to about half of what it had been. It is still noticable,
but I now rarely need to use hard 1st gear acceleration. I do notice
turbo lag from idle when stepping hard on the accelerator. More
modest acceleration does not exibit a similar turbo lag.
The gages indicated to me the engine may now be loafing at the 60 to
70 MPH speed range. When the ambient air temperature was about 65
degrees, the transmission temperature would stay about 150 to 160
degrees, the engine temperature was 190 degrees, the EGT was between
650 and 700 degrees, and the boost gage read between 11 and 14 PSI.
I could feel more acceleration at highway speeds when I just eased
the pedal down a little. The Sprinter used to feel like it was
doing about all it could when at 70-75 MPH highway speed before the
Diesel Power module was added. And, it was comforting to be able to
monitor the voltage and amperage from the alternator and know it was
working as it should.
In climbing the S/B I-5 Grapevine I noted the ambient air temp was
84 degrees, I was running between 55 to 65 MPH depending on traffic,
the tranny was in 4th gear, the engine was at 215 degrees, the tranny
at 200 degrees, the EGT temp was 925 degrees (post turbo), and the
boost gage showed around 20 PSI so all the temperatures and Sprinter
engine parts were looking good despite working hard. I also now can
see when the turbo temp. is low enough (below 350 degrees) to safely
shut down. I used to think that when the engine temp. was about 190
degrees the turbo must be cool enough for shut down but I learned
that is not always true.
Thanks again John for the fine work you did on my 2004 long tall
Sprinter, (2005 Vista Cruiser G-26 RV conversion). ... I will be looking for news about the 3" exhaust system, and under frame mounts for a pair of 8D AGM coach batteries.
Recommended to steer clear of aftermarket airbags. Most Sprinter friends are having them removed in place of upgraded shocks, leaf springs, SumoSpring bump stops, etc.Thanks for the info. All of the upgrades you have done I am in the process of doing also. As to the folks that did your suspension, I search on the internet for them but I think I got the wrong company or Mark Orland is no longer there. Would you happen to have a phone number so I can call them? The phone number I tried is: 503-692-9333 Thanks Again!