I suppose folks may find it interesting to see our previous rigs that have lead us to the Sprinter. These are my last two builds
2012 F350 - Loaded down with all the toys on a week long trip last fall. The big Ford had all the power and luxury items you could ever want for, with the locking, sealed deck, it also had tons of storage space. Driving on rough roads was brutal and there was no where to hang out except inside the tent. The Ford was fairly needy on service items -
2009 Hummer H3T - Fun little rig that was absolutely killer offroad (more than I needed really) right off the showroom floor. Not much power and nor interior space but had a locking sealed bed cover on it as well so wasn't too bad fitting everything. Factory roof rack couldn't handle the tent.
I have a 2011 4Runner fairly well setup but along with the H3T, it's just far too under-powered, especially out here in the West with our high elevation combined with 75 and 80 MPH speed limits. The fact that we carry a lot of gear doesn't help. Prior to these we had a couple other 4Runners, an FJ60 Landcruiser and a Nissan Titan that all had their pros and cons. After being around a few other Sprinters we knew the space and the torquey little diesel (wouldn't mind a turbo gasser either, newer diesels are such a PITA!) would suit us well.
Dug up a shot of the 4Runner early on in the build. Custom Tuned Radflo coilovers, airbags, sliders, 33" Duratracs, has different wheels now and airbags. It's a trail edition with the locker out back and all the offroad gadgets. Fun truck at 60 MPH in the Desert but not much of a travel rig if you want to carry anything but the bare essentials. 2 of us, a dog and 2 bikes had this rig rather over-loaded
2012 F350 - Loaded down with all the toys on a week long trip last fall. The big Ford had all the power and luxury items you could ever want for, with the locking, sealed deck, it also had tons of storage space. Driving on rough roads was brutal and there was no where to hang out except inside the tent. The Ford was fairly needy on service items -
2009 Hummer H3T - Fun little rig that was absolutely killer offroad (more than I needed really) right off the showroom floor. Not much power and nor interior space but had a locking sealed bed cover on it as well so wasn't too bad fitting everything. Factory roof rack couldn't handle the tent.
I have a 2011 4Runner fairly well setup but along with the H3T, it's just far too under-powered, especially out here in the West with our high elevation combined with 75 and 80 MPH speed limits. The fact that we carry a lot of gear doesn't help. Prior to these we had a couple other 4Runners, an FJ60 Landcruiser and a Nissan Titan that all had their pros and cons. After being around a few other Sprinters we knew the space and the torquey little diesel (wouldn't mind a turbo gasser either, newer diesels are such a PITA!) would suit us well.
Dug up a shot of the 4Runner early on in the build. Custom Tuned Radflo coilovers, airbags, sliders, 33" Duratracs, has different wheels now and airbags. It's a trail edition with the locker out back and all the offroad gadgets. Fun truck at 60 MPH in the Desert but not much of a travel rig if you want to carry anything but the bare essentials. 2 of us, a dog and 2 bikes had this rig rather over-loaded
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