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Best Class C sprinter if you had lots of money

big_bird_2
Explorer
Explorer
I just sold my 5th wheel. Ten years old and 40 feet long. I Like the Class C Sprinters. Everyone is making them.

If you could afford any Class C Sprinter, who would you pick. If you have one, how do you like it?

Thanks
Big Bird 2
11 REPLIES 11

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
Hi,

I thought the sprint would be wonderful. Then I heard about the disallowed warranty issues. I can't afford a $20,000.00 repair.

All RV's have issues. I've had a class C diesel. It was not cheap to keep running and required that I buy a generator so I could run a block heater.

MDKMDK wrote:


What you really get with an E350/E450 chassis unit is a gas guzzling, high revs for HP and torque, very loud V10 engine, 3 feet away from you, under a usually poorly insulated doghouse, that may be more af(Ford)able than the Mercedes chassis models. I know whereof I speak, because I drank the Ford V10 koolaid 3 years ago, and bought one. Then I actually took it on the road. Traded it in when we got back from the maiden voyage. Bought the Navion and haven't looked back.
"leak-proof-for-life"? Uh huh, sure.
So, here we are again, the Ford lovers invade a Mercedes thread, and we're descending into the bottomless pit of the Ford versus Mercedes death match. It never ends, I guess. :R
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

pnichols
Explorer II
Explorer II
MDKMDK wrote:
pnichols wrote:
MDKMDK wrote:
I have a 2018 Winnebago Navion 24V, purchased brand new, and we like it, at the price we paid for it. Winnebago has been making the class C on the Sprinter chassis for over a decade and they've pretty much got the bugs worked out in what works and what doesn't. True, that everyone is starting to offer the Sprinter based chassis, but not all have been doing it long enough to make it work like Winnie.
One thing to do before you look at price, and fit and finish, and other options, make sure the unit you decide on can haul all the stuff you plan on taking with you, including you and your family members. The Achilles heel of the Sprinter based class/type C motorhomes is their OCCC. Coming from a 5th wheel, you will notice the difference. I think the ones with the full wall slides, and any that come with electric/hydraulic levelling systems are the most "OCCC challenged" makes/models.


If the OP hadn't specified the Sprinter chassis, of course the Coach House models built on the Ford E450 chassis solve the OCCC problem. What you get is a superbly built leak-proof-for-life motorhome that you can load up, weight-wise, with no concerns.

I guess the downside for the OP would be a Class B instead of a Class C ... and one has to be able to figure out how to pay for it.


What you really get with an E350/E450 chassis unit is a gas guzzling, high revs for HP and torque, very loud V10 engine, 3 feet away from you, under a usually poorly insulated doghouse, that may be more af(Ford)able than the Mercedes chassis models. I know whereof I speak, because I drank the Ford V10 koolaid 3 years ago, and bought one. Then I actually took it on the road. Traded it in when we got back from the maiden voyage. Bought the Navion and haven't looked back.
"leak-proof-for-life"? Uh huh, sure.
So, here we are again, the Ford lovers invade a Mercedes thread, and we're descending into the bottomless pit of the Ford versus Mercedes death match. It never ends, I guess. :R


Huuuuuhhhh??

From my viewpoint, Mercedes needs to offer a 4500 Sprinter dually chassis to solve the problem of Class C weight limitations. Even if one doesn't need more weight carrying capacity, they might desire the additional margin a 4500 Sprinter chassis would provide in such areas as braking power and longevity, frame strength, drive system components' ruggedness, less rocking when walking inside the coach at campsites, etc., etc..

For what it's worth to some, an E450 under a small to moderate size Class C provides the above.

Maybe Ford has cheapened their E-Series chassis? Anyway, our several years old 24 foot E450 based MH is not "loud in the cab" when loafing along the highway 2200 RPM, gets ~10 MPG on cheap regular gas, doesn't have a hot cab area in the summer, feeds the built-in coach generator from the same tank it's V10 is using, pulls our boat everywhere as if it wasn't there, can heat or cool the entire coach from it's cab systems on the road or when parked, and best of all ... can be repaired and/or maintained all over the U.S. for a reasonable amount of money without the repair mechanic having to wait on parts delivery.

I guess part of the issue may hinge on how stress-free and simple does one want their RV life to be.
2005 E450 Itasca 24V Class C

MDKMDK
Explorer
Explorer
pnichols wrote:
MDKMDK wrote:
I have a 2018 Winnebago Navion 24V, purchased brand new, and we like it, at the price we paid for it. Winnebago has been making the class C on the Sprinter chassis for over a decade and they've pretty much got the bugs worked out in what works and what doesn't. True, that everyone is starting to offer the Sprinter based chassis, but not all have been doing it long enough to make it work like Winnie.
One thing to do before you look at price, and fit and finish, and other options, make sure the unit you decide on can haul all the stuff you plan on taking with you, including you and your family members. The Achilles heel of the Sprinter based class/type C motorhomes is their OCCC. Coming from a 5th wheel, you will notice the difference. I think the ones with the full wall slides, and any that come with electric/hydraulic levelling systems are the most "OCCC challenged" makes/models.


If the OP hadn't specified the Sprinter chassis, of course the Coach House models built on the Ford E450 chassis solve the OCCC problem. What you get is a superbly built leak-proof-for-life motorhome that you can load up, weight-wise, with no concerns.

I guess the downside for the OP would be a Class B instead of a Class C ... and one has to be able to figure out how to pay for it.


What you really get with an E350/E450 chassis unit is a gas guzzling, high revs for HP and torque, very loud V10 engine, 3 feet away from you, under a usually poorly insulated doghouse, that may be more af(Ford)able than the Mercedes chassis models. I know whereof I speak, because I drank the Ford V10 koolaid 3 years ago, and bought one. Then I actually took it on the road. Traded it in when we got back from the maiden voyage. Bought the Navion and haven't looked back.
"leak-proof-for-life"? Uh huh, sure.
So, here we are again, the Ford lovers invade a Mercedes thread, and we're descending into the bottomless pit of the Ford versus Mercedes death match. It never ends, I guess. :R
Mike. Comments are anecdotal or personal opinions, and worth what you paid for them.
2018 (2017 Sprinter Cab Chassis) Navion24V + 2016 Wrangler JKU (sold @ ????)
2016 Sunstar 26HE, V10, 3V, 6 Speed (sold @ 4600 miles)
2002 Roadtrek C190P (sold @ 315,000kms)

ernie1
Explorer
Explorer
I'm assuming you've not owned a Sprinter based rv before. I didn't either until I bought a new one last year. Check out carefully the issues you would face when you become a Mercedes Sprinter diesel owner. I was really surprised! Things like dealer service in an emergency or for routine maintenance can take weeks to get an appointment assuming you can find a Mercedes dealer in the area that will work on Sprinters. My 2018 rv on a 2017 Sprinter needs to have def fluid and uses it at the rate of one gallon/1,000 miles and, contrary to what others say, can be hard to find and messy to fill when you are on the road. Routine maintenance will cost you really big time like $500 for a front end alignment; $1,000+ for a new windshield; $235 for a fuel filter you change at the first oil change.I've paid all this! Other concerns are, and all the newer Sprinters have this problem, a brake pedal that sinks half way down to the floor before any stopping occurs. Of course there's the issue of the diesel fuel. Messy, smelly and to make matters worse, you have to open the driver's door to fill the tank so the fumes can permeate the cab area. On the Sprinter Talk site 50%+ of the people who own Sprinters stated that they would not recommend to others to buy A sprinter and feel they've made a mistake. By the way, my fuel mileage on a 22ft class C is 14-15mpg on the open road doing 70mph.

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
Given Mercedes attitude towards warranty on the diesel engine I'd not want one.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

pnichols
Explorer II
Explorer II
MDKMDK wrote:
I have a 2018 Winnebago Navion 24V, purchased brand new, and we like it, at the price we paid for it. Winnebago has been making the class C on the Sprinter chassis for over a decade and they've pretty much got the bugs worked out in what works and what doesn't. True, that everyone is starting to offer the Sprinter based chassis, but not all have been doing it long enough to make it work like Winnie.
One thing to do before you look at price, and fit and finish, and other options, make sure the unit you decide on can haul all the stuff you plan on taking with you, including you and your family members. The Achilles heel of the Sprinter based class/type C motorhomes is their OCCC. Coming from a 5th wheel, you will notice the difference. I think the ones with the full wall slides, and any that come with electric/hydraulic levelling systems are the most "OCCC challenged" makes/models.


If the OP hadn't specified the Sprinter chassis, of course the Coach House models built on the Ford E450 chassis solve the OCCC problem. What you get is a superbly built leak-proof-for-life motorhome that you can load up, weight-wise, with no concerns.

I guess the downside for the OP would be a Class B instead of a Class C ... and one has to be able to figure out how to pay for it.
2005 E450 Itasca 24V Class C

MDKMDK
Explorer
Explorer
I have a 2018 Winnebago Navion 24V, purchased brand new, and we like it, at the price we paid for it. Winnebago has been making the class C on the Sprinter chassis for over a decade and they've pretty much got the bugs worked out in what works and what doesn't. True, that everyone is starting to offer the Sprinter based chassis, but not all have been doing it long enough to make it work like Winnie.
One thing to do before you look at price, and fit and finish, and other options, make sure the unit you decide on can haul all the stuff you plan on taking with you, including you and your family members. The Achilles heel of the Sprinter based class/type C motorhomes is their OCCC. Coming from a 5th wheel, you will notice the difference. I think the ones with the full wall slides, and any that come with electric/hydraulic levelling systems are the most "OCCC challenged" makes/models.
Mike. Comments are anecdotal or personal opinions, and worth what you paid for them.
2018 (2017 Sprinter Cab Chassis) Navion24V + 2016 Wrangler JKU (sold @ ????)
2016 Sunstar 26HE, V10, 3V, 6 Speed (sold @ 4600 miles)
2002 Roadtrek C190P (sold @ 315,000kms)

way2roll
Nomad III
Nomad III
I like the Tiffin Wayfarer. Very nice fit and finish for the money.
2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS

siremike
Explorer
Explorer
Just noticed you mentioned sprinter. The Coach House sprinter is the Platinum II. I also had a class b rv for touring. I wanted to upgrade it. Had to have a dry bath and twin beds. After looking at the Tampa Rv super show we purchased a Coach House Arriva. For our needs the floor plan is perfect.

siremike
Explorer
Explorer
Coach House Platinum. Quality build, great support from factory and owners. Florida company. We purchased a 272xl fr. They also will customize within reason.

Gonzo42
Explorer
Explorer
We have our first RV and it works great for us (see description below). Only a few small problems. Only large problem was a failed EGR valve. We bought it used and it only had one owner.
MOTHER SHIP Winnebago View 24H (2007 Dodge Sprinter 3500 Chassis, 2008 Body)3.0 L M-B Diesel V6 bought used with 24K miles. Toad: ROCKY the Flying Squirrel.