Overlanding: LC vs Sprinter 4x4

[Reckless]

Has any 200 Land Cruiser owner considered a Mercedes Sprinter? I have been a fan of the Sprinter for years for its industrial construction but since I mostly travel alone I prefer the Land Cruiser. It's much easier to handle and drives like a car. But every once a while I get the bug in me for a diesel 4x4 home on wheels.

I would love to hear other 200 mudders thoughts on what they liked and what turned them off from going down that route. I recognize the Sprinter is a minimum 3 feet longer than the LC. I have never driven one but everyone seems to like driving it. My biggest gripe is trying to sleep in the back of the LC. I wish there was a bit more room and completely level floor. I need the extra seats from time to time.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I’m just going to get this out right now. When you are traveling around North America, where do you get a sprinter maintenanced and how long does it take to get parts? Now compare that to a Toyota.

Some pleases it won’t matter, but some places it will. So I think it depends on how remote, and how long do you plan on taking a sprinter?

 

[RS6tofj80]

I've had them for 2-3 days trips in South Africa and they're actually pretty fun to drive and handle well once you get used to the length and visibility issues.... The TD motor ( I think it was a 2.5L) was okay up to about 140 kph and then hit a wall.... a ton more room and roof to carry stuff like kayaks or.... ?

but not sure on servicing as Taco2cruiser noted....

 

[Back 40]

My wife runs off road marathons and multi day off road races. We usually use a Sprinter on these trips and really love them. They get around 20-22 mpg on the highway and are very comfortable. They also have a pretty serious towing capacity (not sure the exact numbers)

The big problems that i have had is the additional size. The length combined with the small amount of additional width causes problems off road. Fairly tight corners in our LC turn into a 3 point turn to get around in the Sprinter. I have never buried one and never got into anything extreme, but 4x4 system does work pretty well and you can get a diff lock in the rear I believe.

If you were looking at the open desert, normal dirt roads or the highway I would strongly recommend one.

 

[coleAK]

The 4x4 camper style sprinters and older fords are fairly popular up here in AK. I know a few guys that have them and they have their purpose. Limitations are size and weight however for overlanding really a totally different rig than the LC as they can be outfitted with a bath room and kitchen and more inside space is a plus. Some truck bed campers also fit this niche.

As for access to parts and service I don’t think it would be all that worse than a LC. They share the platform with freightliner, dodge, and many RV brands are using them. And with the horror stories I hear on here of land cruisers getting messed up at Toyota dealers there are probably many a Toyota tech actoss much The US that has never/rarely seen a cruiser.

From what I see they bridge the gap between cruser and camper. Of course I know a guy up here that was an awsome diesel 70 series camper conversion so importing one of those is an option.

 

[Reckless]

I have a luxury (chateau) 99 Ford E350 that I use for my larger adventures. I bought it for $2000 with a 7.3L Turbo Diesel. I also use it for cargo hauling. It does have diesel fumes that eventually after many hours of driving gets into the cabin. I don't want to give it up, nor do I want to give up my LC. I just keep thinking how nice it would be to have something bigger for longer adventures.

I think speed might be an issue for me if it can't haul at 80+ mph on empty highways. I do take my vehicles to 100 mph often.

 

[RS6tofj80]

It's worth driving one - I do think the US spec motor is likely more robust....

these folks make some really neat versions....saw one in Dallas last month on 33's that was enough to make me look into it.

https://www.outsidevan.com/van/sawtooth-shuttle/

 

[ryanCA]

Which motor do you have ?

Any electrical issues?

How reliable are they?

If bought new, can one expect 250k miles out of it ?

My wife runs off road marathons and multi day off road races. We usually use a Sprinter on these trips and really love them. They get around 20-22 mpg on the highway and are very comfortable. They also have a pretty serious towing capacity (not sure the exact numbers)

The big problems that i have had is the additional size. The length combined with the small amount of additional width causes problems off road. Fairly tight corners in our LC turn into a 3 point turn to get around in the Sprinter. I have never buried one and never got into anything extreme, but 4x4 system does work pretty well and you can get a diff lock in the rear I believe.

If you were looking at the open desert, normal dirt roads or the highway I would strongly recommend one.

 

[Milaad]

Oh man, I have the same itch every once in a while. The high profile sprinters are just so cool and that room is second to none. But for daily living I dont think you can beat the LC, but if you treat your LC like an RV I would go for the sprinter for sure.

 

[45Kevin]

The LC and the Sprinter are really comparing apples to oranges.

The LC is an awesome off-roader, but it is an SUV. So low head room, seats that can fold down to get a sometimes comfortable bed, relatively low CofG, so-so approach and departure angles, low range, robust drive train etc.

The Sprinter is a VAN. It's a much better platform for living in. With the 4x4 option it will give you better traction off-road, but you have the height, break-over angle and no low range going against you.

That said, for most off-road camping the 4x4 sprinter will get you there fine. For more difficult trails there is a good after market network of lifts, bumper, skid plates etc. for the sprinter. But it probably still would not go as many places as a stock LC.

My story is I had a suburban that I towed with and camped out of sometimes. It was OK for me but not for me and the wife. I bought an AWD Chev express and built a bed in it. It is much nicer for camping. It rides as well on the highway as the suburban, but is slightly less capable off-road. It hasn't stopped me from getting where I wanted yet though.

I have a friend with a 4x4 Sprinter, but haven't grilled him yet on it's performance.
There is tons of talk on ExPo about these.

 

[foeix]

The Sprinter is a VAN. It's a much better platform for living in. With the 4x4 option it will give you better traction off-road, but you have the height, break-over angle and no low range going against you.

The 4x4 Sprinter has low range. I also lust for a Sprinter.

 

[45Kevin]

The 4x4 Sprinter has low range. I also lust for a Sprinter.

That is certainly a plus then, but it still suffers from the other things I mentioned.

Again, that said, if you don't do hard core, body damaging wheeling, you will be much happier camping from a sprinter than a LC.

If you want to drop the cheddah on a Sportmobile, or some of the other big lift, big tire, body armour toting vans, you may get close to the capabilities of a stock LC.

Winnebago has a camper based on the 4x4 Sprinter platform.

Revel Overview | Winnebago RVs

There is a lengthy thread on this on ExPo in the 2wd & 4wd vans forum.

 

[Mutant]

As for access to parts and service I don’t think it would be all that worse than a LC. They share the platform with freightliner, dodge, and many RV brands are using them. And with the horror stories I hear on here of land cruisers getting messed up at Toyota dealers there are probably many a Toyota tech actoss much The US that has never/rarely seen a cruiser.

I agree. Access to parts and service abroad on an LC may not be any better than the Sprinter. This is just anecdotal but has been my experience...my dealer NEVER has LC parts in stock unless they are also Tundra parts. Usually a a few days to a week out to get the order in. The techs don't know anything about the vehicle unless I tell them or they get the master tech and even he doesn't remember much about the model. 200 series are rare in US. Your repair downtime will probably be similar whether you're in Texas or say Central America, tho shipping parts may hurt a bit. As far as I know, they don't have Toyota Tundras in other countries and if 200s are as rare as they are here, there will be even fewer parts in stock when you need them. Just my 2 cents. Maybe someone can chime in who has first-hand experience trying to get repairs and parts in a country where Toyotas are scarce.

 

[JeffH]

I have lusted for one as well - would like more room when travelling. I like to keep bicycles in the back of my 200 so inside space is a challenge. I drove a 2017 4X4 SWB high roof and it drove very well. Main thing that kept me from not going to a Sprinter was cost and I do not have a garage that tall. I don't like keeping vehicles outside with the snow and harsh UV rays here in CO.

 

[rhllc]

I've had a 4x4 Ford E350 Camper Van (Sportsmobile) and am currently running a RAM 3500 with XPCamper. I view both as a very different vehicle than the 200 Series, an addition to the fleet, never a substitute. Neither really could be daily driven.

I don't fit in the smaller vans, (shorter beds, not enough head room) so I'm stuck going a bit bigger with the base vehicle than some can get away with.

Once you go camper, you really end up with a bunch of complex tradeoffs that don't have right answers. Every one ends up somewhere different based on their priorities. An expedition camper ends up being a kitchen, bedroom, living room, power plant, sanitation system and off-road vehicle. Weight goes up very fast and ends up being the driver for most decisions. Correcting "mistakes" is a lot more expensive than say picking out a new camping stove or folding camp chair.

I guess there is a space for comparison of a lightly optioned 4x4 sprinter, with minimal built in camping amenities, for which the additional weight wouldnt compromise it on/off road much more than a 200 Series. But I'm not sure it would be that much more comfortable/convenient then a well thought out tent based camp carried in the back of a 200 Series. Beds take up a bunch of space. I found in the camper van they would have to do double duty with gear. So the idea of just parking and sleeping never happened in practice. It was park, pop the top, shuffle the gear to get into a configuration where the bed could be folded down and made up for sleep. Then everything re-shuffled to get in a kitchen configuration in the morning. In the XPCamper that has more room, we still end up setting up an outside kitchen in everything but rain and cold. We like to be outside, and given the space constraints of the camper when occupied by 2 people + dog it just ends up easier. All in all easier than a tent and ultimately more comfortable, but still some time is involved.

One thing I do notice is that while the Sprinters have decent enough power, cargo, and tow ratings, I do end up passing the Sprinter Camper conversions a lot, particularly on steep grades. They don't have 200 Series v8 power let alone a domestic full size diesel.

Anyway, expedition campers are awesome, but many more tradeoffs than a expedition SUV have to taken into consideration when building one up. Go slow, get on a Sprinter forum and see what tradeoffs others have made, poke your head into them when you seem them out camping. Visit a couple conversion manufactures to get a sense of the range of possibilities.

 

[M1911]

If you want to drop the cheddah on a Sportmobile, or some of the other big lift, big tire, body armour toting vans, you may get close to the capabilities of a stock LC.

Now that the Big 3 have discontinued their old vans, that puts the kibosh on a new Sportmobile...

 

[T4Runner]

The last time I looked Sportsmobile is still putting out econoline vans. As I recall they were getting chassis’s (that Ford still puts out for ambulance builds) and were slapping the sheet metal on themselves after having procured the equipment from Ford...

 

[JeffH]

The Ford Transit with a Quigley conversion is about the same cost as a 4X4 Sprinter and has the proven Ecoboost engine. I would consider it if I was looking at a van.

 

[rhllc]

Oh, one more thing, be aware of water, often a van camper conversion's appeal often comes from the ability to add a sink, shower, toilet, etc. But they only have a 10-20 gallon water tank, basically rendering the above useless if you are out more than a day and don't have hookups. Water is heavy and takes up space. Not having hookups is the whole point of an expedition vehicle.

Electricity is less of an issue, you can always idle the engine, solar panel and battery technology is also good. Propane/fuel for heat or stoves also doesn't seem to be a problem in van size vehicles.

 

[hickuptruck]

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