Introduce yourself

lto88

New member
Hey fellow Sprinter owners! I've been lurking here for the past couple of weeks and I thought I'd introduce myself. We recently bought a 2013 144, high roof cargo van and over the next few months we'll be turning it into our home. The build will take place in Alberta, Canada.

I just want to thank you all for the amount of information that has been shared to everyone here. We look forward to sharing our experiences and lessons as well.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
 

HiHOSilverGS

OverTheHillDirtBiker
Re: Introduce myself

Hidy Yall; I'm Harry, from DEEP East Texas. We jut adopted a Sprinter into our kinda diverse fleet. Our 2006 Sprinter chassis came loaded with a Winnebago Itasca Navion mini house on it. There's not an awful lot of Sprinters down here in our neck of the woods, so I'm gonna be seeking knowledge here quite a bit. I have had some diesel exposure having owned a 2010 6.4 F250 for a while and a couple little Kubota diesel tractors. We are not wealthy by any measure, just getting by on my social security and a couple little pensions from 40 years jerking mainframe computer systems.
 

chrisinflight

New member
Hi all, I'm Chris and I have purchased a 2006 passenger van, swb 208cdi, an ex-disabled minibus with 120k. This is to convert to a family bus, enduro bike carrier and camper.
 

Attachments

RockyMtnXpress

New member
Greetings to all.

A Little About Us:

I'm Jim and married 41 years to my wife - Elaine. We recently completed our move from Glendale, Hotzona to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado (Just outside the town of Salida). I am now retired from running my own business of residential design and drafting. My last project was in fact our home here in Colorado and I am currently breaking out the tools, again, to design a detached RV garage/garage for us. We have two small terriers (Schnauzers) that understand their mission in life is to catch and kill every mouse they find. My interests are traveling, camping, fishing (or fly fishing), four wheelin', classic cars or trucks (I own a 1968 Mustang and a 1970 Challenger), car shows, computers and our 11,000# home away from home on wheels.

More About That:

We purchased a 2015 late manufactured Winnebago View last November with 6000 miles on it. Can't say, "We made out like bandits", but we didn't get hurt by this purchase either (It's the "ONLY" way my wife will go camping). This unit absolutely fascinates me! Everything from it's torpedoing wheel simulators to the little rubber antennas on top. We enjoy getting out and traveling in it and have already made use of it from Sun City (AZ) to Duluth (MN). Enjoy it - enjoy it. None the less, This is our first *Ahem* motor home and my first diesel. So, I will be popping in time from time to ask questions that, by some quirk of fate, mystifies me over something I know little about.

Good one to all!
 

Kacey

New member
Hi All


I'm Martin from Plymouth in the UK.. I have a mercedes sprinter 313cdi 2011 camper conversion I completed ..

Hello all :cheers:
 

Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
Hi All


I'm Martin from Plymouth in the UK.. I have a mercedes sprinter 313cdi 2011 camper conversion I completed ..

Hello all :cheers:
Hi Martin and Welcome from another Brit :rad: (There are a good handful of us on here!).

Keith.
 

somedude

New member
our 2019 crew 2500 is on the way and set to arrive in the next five days after about five solid years of talking about purchasing. van will not be a daily driver, used mostly to trailer/haul our various boats and provide accommodations at regatta venues, along with adventure camping with the little one now that her siblings are off at college. fit out plans for the time being are:
interior ~ bed (seriously considering van compass murphy bed), tracks for hanger bags and surfboards and rotating front seats.
exterior ~ roof rack/rear ladder (for the small boats and our yearly camping trip...the wife brings the whole house), awning and nerf bars/steps. interior may end up with more fitout than mentioned but we are taking our time to discover what we really want once we do some trips

started lurking here a few years ago once our purchasing discussion became more serious. great info from the group, thanks


signed,
just some dude
 

patineto

New member
Hi Ricky sur American by heart, but living in the US since 95 because I got tired of the violence..

Patineto" the man that Skateboard, something I did until 2015 (born in 62) when I suffer a spine accident, stop riding bicycles and motorcycles too..

I was a "Consensus Objector" of car for many years, learn in 2011 because we move to utah and has kiddos, I always like to look at them even to work on them but I find a massive responsibility to have such a heavy object under you control (or lack of Control)

So far I had only had three cars..

1995 range rover classic, because it was the cheapest mule that I can find $1000 and actually never let us down.


Outback H-6, no timing belts, no head gasket leaks a super reliable too..


Now a land cruiser V08 that is build for the nuclear holocaust but will only drive for a few miles because it drinks gazoline like crazy

Next a older sprinter do to the undercomplicated nature..

Oh motorcycles, skateboard and bicycles I used to have ****loads
 

somedude

New member
our 2019 crew 2500 is on the way and set to arrive in the next five days after about five solid years of talking about purchasing. van will not be a daily driver, used mostly to trailer/haul our various boats and provide accommodations at regatta venues, along with adventure camping with the little one now that her siblings are off at college. fit out plans for the time being are:
interior ~ bed (seriously considering van compass murphy bed), tracks for hanger bags and surfboards and rotating front seats.
exterior ~ roof rack/rear ladder (for the small boats and our yearly camping trip...the wife brings the whole house), awning and nerf bars/steps. interior may end up with more fitout than mentioned but we are taking our time to discover what we really want once we do some trips

started lurking here a few years ago once our purchasing discussion became more serious. great info from the group, thanks


signed,
just some dude

2019 arrived on tuesday. they've made some very nice changes but kept dimensions the same so fitout should be easy. first trip is booked for three weeks from now...let the sprinter life begin
 

Rogerchavez8222

New member
Hi, I'm Roger, I have a 2012 Sprinter with 6 cylinder turbo diesel. I have 100K on it. I guess I like it fine, but I'm not crazy about it. It's paid off, so I've kept it. Only warranty service available is in Littleton, Colorado, and I live in Colorado Springs. It was quite a time investment to get my van there during warranty. I'm have some electrical issues now. Windshield wipers switch seems to be malfunctioning, it only works in 3rd position, and then only in an intermittent manner as if it were in position 1. BUT, if I hit the switch to spray windshield, it will work like it is supposed to. Radio will not turn on/off. BUT, if I remove radio fuse and replace it, the radio will turn on, but not respond to tuning or volume adjustments.

Nice to meet everybody, thanks.
 

Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
Hi, I'm Roger, I have a 2012 Sprinter with 6 cylinder turbo diesel. I have 100K on it. I guess I like it fine, but I'm not crazy about it. It's paid off, so I've kept it. Only warranty service available is in Littleton, Colorado, and I live in Colorado Springs. It was quite a time investment to get my van there during warranty. I'm have some electrical issues now. Windshield wipers switch seems to be malfunctioning, it only works in 3rd position, and then only in an intermittent manner as if it were in position 1. BUT, if I hit the switch to spray windshield, it will work like it is supposed to. Radio will not turn on/off. BUT, if I remove radio fuse and replace it, the radio will turn on, but not respond to tuning or volume adjustments.

Nice to meet everybody, thanks.
Hi Roger,

It sounds like you need to get in touch with forum member Dennis who is the owner of LinDen Engineering based in Golden, CO.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/member.php?u=9491

He is the Sprinter guru for CO!

Keith.
 

thatchillaxdude

New member
Hi folks, my name is Michael, and I own a 140" WB 2004 Dodge Sprinter 2500 with a high top and dual sliding doors.



After a long search for a T1N with dual sliding doors and relatively low miles (149K), I bought my Sprinter from 303 Cars, LLC, in Newfield, NJ, on February 13, 2019. I blew the turbo and intercooler five days and ~2500 miles later as I was passing thru Las Cruces, NM, on the way back to San Diego. I'm looking forward to learning more about the Sprinter to get ahead of some maintenance issues peculiar to it.

I've been a fulltime vanlife'r in my 2000 Chevrolet Epress 1500 conversion van for just over a year. It didn't take too long for me to come to the realization that I wanted a van that got 20+mpg and that I could stand up in.

Anyway, just wanted to say howdy and that I'm looking forward to deep-diving the threads on here!

Best regards,

Michael

• San Diego~ish
• 2004 Dodge Sprinter 2500 140" high-top

@thatchillaxdude (anywhere on the web)
https://www.thatchillaxdude.com/
 
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Garandman

Active member
Howdy. Live with my wife and three kids in Boston. We also have a ski place at Mount Sunapee, NH.

Ran a business that sold 3D printers so in our fleet we had a total of four vans over the years: an Econoline 250, Chevrolet Express 2500, a Ford Transit Connect (first gen, short/high version) and bought a Ford Transit before I sold the company. Used these vans to tow various sailboats and also to haul motorcycles to tracks for track days. The 2011 TC was a little too short and light duty for our needs so we sold it, but I liked the high roof. The Transit was a medium (6') roof with EcoBoost: we did not buy the diesel because we'd had emissions problems with other late model diesels and found the DEF tank to be a PITA. I still have a medium-sized commercial 3D printer so I'll be making some custom items as the need arises: most of the parts I've made thus far are for motorcycles.

Started using an Aluma utility trailer behind a 6 cyl Outback for motorcycle towing, and we have a Tahoe for heavier trailers. But I didn't like the lack of security of the trailer on long trips, nor setting up and taking down a tent for one or two day events. So when a 118" standard height 2006 Sprinter was offered for sale on a local motorcycle forum, I jumped on it. The interior is pretty rough, and there is one rust spot that needs repair, but it was well maintained mechanically and had been repainted a few years ago. Racks not included.



I pick it up tomorrow. Riding a motorcycle down, then I'll wheel it in the back and drive home. In the meantime I've ordered a Mercedes grill replacement (the owner removed the chrome trim from the hood when it was painted), some Rial Transporter 16" alloy rims (which I note have higher load capacity than the MB alloys, and have TUV approval) and will buy tires locally. The tires on the van are good, just wanted a facelift.

Scheduled an appointment with a body shop 4/18 to fix anything they find. On the docket are improved LED interior lights, insulation, and an upgraded radio/GPS /backup camera. We are using Kenwood in two of our other cars so probably go that way. Also some window covers as when camping at the track during the summer it gets light out too early, and we could use the insulation in the fall.

On the Econoline we used some 2" thick marine insulation material with ripstop mylar covering, Covered with Luan plywood. This worked really well winter and summer. For the Express we used the same material but didn't bother covering it as it made the interior brighter.


We did the same thing with the Transit, which had 6' of headroom and the interior LED option. It was a terrific van, and the performance of the EcoBoost was everything we wanted, but is no longer mine. :cry:


Won't be able to add the insulation until after the bodywork is completed. Leaning towards Thinsulate, although the Soundown material remains an option.
 
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Davidseattle

New member
Hi, I’m David from Seattle. I work as a Lead carpenter. I just recently bought my first 2005 Dodge sprinter, and this forum seems to be the place to find out anything I need to know about it.
 

Kimball

Active member
Hi, I'm Kimball in Oakland.
I just bought a 2009 3500 170 ext... And as the menagerie of DTCs keeps building, I'm wondering if I made a bad decision.
This is my first sprinter, and it's not going well.

And now back to the huge diagnostic learning curve!
:D
 

fuzzynumbskull

New member
Hi, I'm Amy. I live in Detroit, MI.
I own a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK) with the OM642.
I work for an OEM with diesels on dynamometers.

I came on here for more info on servicing the fuel system. It's been an adventure with my Jeep so far. Learning a lot everytime.
 

JonnyBoats

Active member
My name is John Tarbox and I live in Phillips, Maine, USA. Phillips is a small town in Franklin County which is in the Western Mountains section of Maine. We are close to Sugarloaf Mountain, known to those who ski.

We just purchased a 2005 Sprinter, a Dodge 2500 that had been used to transport lobsters.
DSC_0351.JPG

The rear is a completely insulated fiberglass sheeted box:
DSC_0440.JPG

We plan on using the Sprinter to go camping and travel. It only has 86,000 miles on it and the drivetrain seems to be in great shape. The body not so much as it has rust.

We plan to remove the Carrier 30S refigeration unit - PM me if anyone here is looking for one.

My hobbies include ham radio (callsign WA1KLI), computers (I have worked as a programmer most of my life), and electronic projects. Expect to see multiple radios and small computers including Arduinos and Raspberry PIs in this van :)

Because of the pandemic, we plan to spend this summer (2020) traveling around Maine. When things get better we pland to drive all around the USA living in the van.

Any advise or tips and tricks greatly appreciated.
 

RVBarry

2023 AWD 170 DIY CamperVan
Hi, I'm Barry, in southern California.
I'm currently planning a new 2500 170 extended high, for a custom camper van build...

So far, this forum has been extremely helpful in my research!
 

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