Yesterday Presley and I were at Sportsmobile in Fresno. While we were looking around I saw a lot of rear-ends – must have be the angle or something. Things were pretty busy there with one new van going out to some lucky person.

When I first got there, there was a pallet of AGM4 batteries sitting by the back door. They had just been delivered. Someday (or on the next SMB) I’d like to have 2 of these.  The perfect place would be where the spare was as it would put some weight on the axle for traction in the snow.

And last, let’s not forget the SMB professionals who put it all together!

We wouldn’t get very far without them!

Sitting here day after day counting raindrops gives you lots of time for thinking of modifications to do on your Sprinter configeration. I think we all do them. Winnebago owners, Country Coach, Sports Mobile – everyone wants to put their mark on their RV. The problem is, the longer it rains, the more ideas come to mind and pretty soon you are thinking of big changes!

First let me say Sportsmobile does an excellent job in building out the Sprinter. I got just what I designed and everything works great. Alan, from Sportsmobile, told me that by the time I did my third build, I would have everything perfect. I think he has it right. Since my next one is not scheduled until the 2016 model, I’ll have to make some corrections as I go along and who ever ends up with my current Sprinter will get a perfect one!

Currently on the driver’s side of the Sprinter I have me, fuel tank, water tank, propane tank, black water tank, spare tire, my AGM battery, Suburban heater and all of the electrical. I have had no problems with this arrangement but I think redistributing some of the weight cannot be bad. That is one reason for the modifications I want to make. Also I find the Suburban heater, while definitely keeping us warm, uses more electricity than I want to use – another reason for modification. Lastly, although we designed it without an air conditioner, and have done fine without one, the fact that some of the grand kids now live in Arizona, makes us rethink that design decision.

What is planned then, is to drop the propane tank totally along with the Suburban heater and the propane connections to the stove-top. I will add an Espar D2 heater and a Danhard A/C on the passenger side. I plan to replumb the stove to use propane cannisters. I will end up with some additional storage under the gaucho and take a little away on the galley side plus a more effiecient (diesel fueled) heater, air conditioning and a little better load balance.

Thursday we left for the Sample Meadow campground in the Sierra National Forest. It was about a 5 hour drive with the last 1-1/2 hours in the mountains. It seems we live too far from the mountains!

The occasion was a meet/great for Sportsmobile owners and we had a great turn out. Two Sprinters, six 4-wd Sportsmobiles and 1 rental Class C (Driven by a potential SMB buyer, Andrew, from Switzerland and his business partner from France.)

We camped in a couple of groups and had a great time. It got down to 26° F. but during the day was quite warm. At night in the Sprinter it was cold – we opted to use the heater in the mornings to take the chill off. Presley had a great time hiking, eating snow and trying to take in all the smells and sights. He was afraid of the poping wood in the campfire so during that time he slept in the bus.

I don’t think I could have run the heater all night as we were parked in semi-shade and never got a full charge. I may start looking at 6volt AGM batteries to replace the 12volt I have.

The 4wd’ers took off for some real challenging runs while several of us opted for hiking. I had hoped to see some wildlife but we just saw signs of their presence. The other Sprinter (08) took off to see some scenery but had a turbo boost failure and had to limp out of the mountains. I think it may have been one of the inter-cooler hoses but I will make a note here when I find out.

There were too many foo-foo California hunters in the area. I say that because all they do is drive up and down the roads slowly, peering from their vehicles which are often bristling with the guns of too many occupants. (Yes, I hunted for many years in Colorado, always successful and NEVER from a vehicle, ATV, etc.) OBTW, hunting from a vehicle is illegal as were the 2 shots we heard long after sundown on Thursday night. Give me a break!

Around the campfire at night, every one sitting close because of the temperatures, a lot of information and ideas about Sportsmobiles, 4-wheel driving and more was exchanged. I think everyone there learned something.

We had a great bunch of participants and I look forward to next year’s event.

The day before we left, Big Dog, as I called him, (His real name was Cracker Jack) followed a couple of our hikers and their dogs into camp. He had a collar on with name, number and address (of course, we had no connectivity) and a tracking device. Seems he was a “bear dog” used apparently to for hunting bears. I know nothing about that and prefer not too.

He was still there on Sunday morning so Debbie and I decided to take him to his home. We had no way of knowing if his owner was on the mountain or not (turned out he was but lower and a long way from us). He was a blue tick hound dog, very well behaved, and slept all the way to his house.

We got great mileage going and coming and the Sprinter, turning over 30k miles on the way home, continues to be a delight!

And PS, you need to haul your own trash out. Don’t leave it in the outside toilet buildings like some ignorant, stupid, deserve to drive off a cliff at night, idiots.

Black Sprinter

Presley and I headed for SMB about 5am on the 18th. We run the same route every time to measure mileage. This trip (there and back) we got 19mpg. Speed on the highway was 65mph (by gps) with maybe 4 or 5 times having to bump up to 70-75 to pass.

At SMB the new window was put in and the Aluminess tire carrier was taken off. The most difficult part of putting in the new window was removing the weather stripping that was there for the original. I had tried to do as much as possible at home with 3m adhesive remover, wd40, and lots of elbow grease but didn’t get too far. SMB worked on it for several hours just to remove the bottom portion as the window covers the top and sides.

Removing weather stripping.

The new window is just what the doctor ordered!  It matches the other windows in design and tint and fits pretty well in the original location.

We had the tire carrier removed as I did not like the looks and it was unnecessary as we were unable to use the space where the tire was originally. So now, 1 aluminess tire carrier in stock and for sale!

Presley and I walked around quite a lot while waiting. There are a lot of “junk yard dogs” in the area. Couple of them hit the end of their chains running at us – chain don’t fail me now! We decided to avoid some of the areas next time we walk. Did have fun walking through the Jack in The Box drive thru to get lunch – the only way since dogs aren’t allowed inside.

Extra compartment for storage

We saw a  very pretty black Sprinter. I wouldn’t get black myself but this one with the dark windows looked pretty sharp. Checked out a red Sprinter with a front shelf – might add one of those to ours. Inventory was down – I suppose that is good and conversions were progressing on several vehicles.

It was a long day. Presley slept most of the way home while I listened to music from the Zune and drove. I like driving the Sprinter. It is easy, comfortable, and you sit almost as high as a truck driver so you can easily see a long way down the road. And with heated seats, rock and roll, and a Starbucks you can cover the miles.

I have just posted on the Sprinter reference material page (sidebar – go down to Sprinter resources) a couple of new documents. One is how to adjust Koni shocks, which is much better than trying to decipher the little pamphlet they send with their shock.

The second, sent to me from Sportsmobile, deals with cleaning and care of Meganite countertops and sinks. This is the material Sportsmobile uses in their conversions. Travelling for us often means grab a cup of coffee, drink half and then head out with the cup placed into the sink. Needless to say, coffee in the bottom of the sink all day leaves residue that is a little hard to get out.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is built by Daimler AG in Düsseldorf, Germany and Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is sold under its Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, and Freightliner brands. The Sprinter is offered to the American market as a panel van, crewbus and cab-chassis in different variants, in three lengths and three roof heights, and featuring a six-cylinder diesel.

Specifications:

• 3.0L CRD turbo diesel V6 engine
• 2987 cubic centimeter (182 cubic inch) displacement
• Power: 115 kW (154 hp) @ 3400 rpm
• Torque: 380 N·m (280 lb-ft) @ 1200-2400 rpm
• Fuel capacity: 25.0 gallons

The cargo Sprinter is built then disassembled in Germany and reassembled in the DaimlerChrysler plant in Ladson just outside Charleston, South Carolina.

Sprinters are used in the US by freight expeditors, as passenger vans and as van conversions. Many RV makers have adopted the Sprinter as a smaller high-end fuel efficient van-based Class B. The chassis cab model is used in larger Class C RV conversions. Also the current VW Crafter shares the bodyshells with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter counterparts, but the front grill styling, engine and transmissions remain Volkswagen sourced.

Many owners rebadge their Sprinters to Mercedes as the only difference between the US and European models are the logos.