8TH NW SPRINTERFEST--Sat. 4/13/13; Tualatin, OR (w/ 4WD Sprinters for Test Drives)

[mhiscox]

As March comes to a close, it's time to pass on the details of this year's Northwest SprinterFest, the annual low key West Coast get-together of Sprinter trucks, owners and interested onlookers. This NW SprinterFest, the eighth, will be held on Saturday, April 13th in Tualatin, OR, a few miles south of Portland just off I-5. They'll be a usual variety of Sprinter rigs, from work trucks to campers and motorhomes, both the older T1Ns and the new NCV3s. Freightliner will give demo drives and Upscale Automotive will be have their 4x4 conversions available for test drives. Additionally, for the first time, a local RV dealer will bring several new serial production coaches for examination.

If you've any interest in Sprinters, either for street use or for overlanding, you should consider dropping by if you're in the area, especially if the weather turns out nice. Note, too, that if you're on the opposite coast, the equally-nifty SprinterFest East will follow a couple weeks later on Saturday, April 27 in Mechanicsburg, PA.

Here's the official blurb:

Greetings Everyone,

The 8th Annual NW SprinterFest is getting real close and Saturday April the 13th is coming up real soon!! You can register for the event on line by going tohttp://www.softecusa.com/sprinterwest.html or give us a call at 503-692-0846 or just show up.

This year we have several new products and attendees to spotlight. Johnson RV from Sandy Oregon will be joining us. They will be bringing a Roadtrek, a Pleasure Way and a Leisure Travel Class B RV’s for us to look over and they will answer all your RV questions. We will have the Glide Rite rear quad air bag suspension system on display and the Bostrom factory rep for the Sprint Ride air suspension seat will also be here to answer questions about the 2 seats that we will have on display. As usual, McCoy Freightliner will also be attending and will bring a brand new Sprinter to look over. In addition, we will have a T1N 4wd Sprinter and our NCV3 4wd Sprinter on display and available for test drives! Since last year, our 4wd has a new front suspension design and has been up-dated with rock sliders, Bostrom air ride suspension seats and more goodies!

If you have questions, are considering doing your own Sprinter van conversion, are considering having one made for you or are considering a brand new RV, then this is the place to be!! So, there will lots to see and do! In the past, we have all enjoyed checking out a variety of unique Sprinters so come on by and join in the fun!!

For those of you that can’t attend our west coast event, don’t forget the SprinterFest East event which will be held Saturday, April 27th, at Sun Motor Cars Mercedes Benz in Mechanicsburg, PA. A special thanks goes to Stewart and the SprinterFest East crew for helping us with the on line registration form.

Thank you and happy motoring,
Sprinter Store
sprinterstore.com
A division of Upscale Automotive, Inc.
19460 SW 89th Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
503-692-0846

 

[cwsqbm]

Didn't you promise us pictures of the 4x4 Sprinters from last year's event?

 

[mhiscox]

Didn't you promise us pictures of the 4x4 Sprinters from last year's event?

Ummm. . . I apparently spaced the responsibility, but they were there and I'm sorry if anyone missed the pictures, not that they'd have been exciting:

John's 4WD NCV3:




Tom's 4WD T1N


FWIW, there's been a modest redesign of Upscale's design, so there will be something (a little) different to look at this year.

 

[mhiscox]

Here's the latest information from the Sprinterfest sponsors.

Also, FWIW, because they did much of the important fabrication on my XV-JP, I'll have the Jeep on display there to show off their work.

Greetings Everyone,

The 8th Annual NW SprinterFest is getting closer and Saturday April the
13th will be here before we know it!! You can register for the event on
line by going to http://www.softecusa.com/sprinterwest.html or give us a
call at 503-692-0846 or just show up.

This year Johnson RV from Sandy Oregon will be joining us. They will
bring a Class B RV’s for us to look over and they will answer all your
RV questions. We will have the Glide Rite rear quad air bag suspension
system on display and the Bostrom factory rep for the Sprint Ride air
suspension seat will also be here to answer questions about the 2 seats
that we will have on display. McCoy Freightliner will be attending for
their 5th time and will bring a brand new Sprinter to look over. In
addition, we will have a T1N 4wd Sprinter and our NCV3 4wd Sprinter on
display and available for test drives! Since last year, our 4wd has a
new front suspension design and has been up-dated with rock sliders,
Bostrom air ride suspension seats and more goodies! Plus, we’ll be
introducing a new front light bar, so come see it on our 4wd.

If you have questions, are considering doing your own Sprinter van
conversion, are considering having one made for you or are considering a
brand new RV, then this is the place to be!! So, there will lots to see
and do! In the past, we have all enjoyed checking out a variety of
unique Sprinters so come on by and join in the fun!!

For those who will be coming in from out of our area, you are welcome to
dry camp in our parking lot. Just pick a spot for the night but be aware
that we will shuffle people around Saturday morning to prep for the event.

Thank you and happy motoring,
Sprinter Store
sprinterstore.com
A division of Upscale Automotive, Inc.
19460 SW 89th Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
503-692-0846

 

[mk216v]

FYI, Sat is 4/13 in 2013. Happy New Year Mike! :sombrero:

 

[mhiscox]

FYI, Sat is 4/13 in 2013. Happy New Year Mike! :sombrero:

Duh. You just can't get good help these days.

Looks like overtyping last year's post isn't a brilliant approach unless you're willing to proofread the result. Thanks for the heads-up; I fixed it.

 

[mhiscox]

Bump 'er up 'cuz tomorrow is the day. If you're nearby and have any interest in the Sprinter as an overlander, I suggest you stop by. Free is a very good price for all you can learn.

 

[cruiserfred]

4 x 4 sprinters

For all the conversation on this forum for years now ,why is there low interest in this 4by .Is the price super high?
Fred

 

[mhiscox]

For all the conversation on this forum for years now ,why is there low interest in this 4by .Is the price super high?

Darn fine question, Fred. Given the advantages in fuel economy and interior height of a Sprinter, it's surprising there's not more activity. It may be one of those things that everyone covets it when it's Unobtainium, but once you can write a check and have it, putting money where mouth is, so to speak, it's less intriguing. But it also doesn't help that Sprinter vans are pretty expensive to start with, with $40K-plus being a likely starting point.

Anyway, the conversions (White Feather and Sprinter Store) are about $20k, last I heard, slightly less than double the $11-12K it costs to make and Ford E-Series or Chevy Express van into a 4x4. The difference is partly due to volume, but mostly it's from having applicable Ford and Chevy parts from their 4WD pickups that can be used in their conversions. The Sprinter has to have specially machined parts and is a lot less of a bolt-in modification.

Still, the situation is better than it was . . . used to be about $30K when the scheme was to do the conversion with European Mercedes's 4x4 Sprinter parts. Even so, a 4WD Sprinter will, between the higher initial cost and higher conversion price, probably cost you about $20K more than a Ford E-Series or Chevy Express.

 

[mk216v]

How was today's event?

 

[mhiscox]

How was today's event?

BIG turnout, with lots of trucks with lots of variety. There were also a lot of people contemplating getting a Sprinter for conversion, and it's the very best place to wander around and get ideas. Some brought professional conversions costing six figures and some trucks have a couple hundred dollars worth of cleverly cut plywood and some camping gear and call it good, so there's something for everyone.

The XV-JP--put on display because the SprinterFest hosts did a lot of the work on it--got a lot of attention, though less for its overlanding capability than its zebrawood cabinetry, and I ended up sending a goodly number of people over to talk to Paul Jensen, whose own Sprinter was well-loved for its cleverness.

It also was nice to see my old Sprinter again. The new owners made some very good renovations to it and it was again one of the show favorites.

John gave out many test drives in the NCV3 4x4, and has some new prospective clients thinking about it to go with his existing orders. It's a sanitary installation, with the increased ground clearance and the stubby lever on the interior being about the mandatory visible changes, though I liked the new nudge bar and slider steps that the Sprinter Store now sells and put on the demo truck. (The steps would be good on any NCV3; it's a long way up to the cargo door step.)

All in all, another big success. It might have had the most attendees of the eight, and everyone who came went home with good information. But it probably would have been even better had the weather been a bit nicer. It could have been worse, as the rain was negligible, but there was a pretty constant cold wind and not much sunshine. Not really a problem, nor unexpected for mid-April Oregon, but SprinterFest is an even sweeter event when we get a warm sunny day.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Any photos to share for those of us not able to attend?

 

[mhiscox]

Any photos to share for those of us not able to attend?

None by my hand, but John posted this one:

that shows about 40% of the venue, and he's said that he'll post more here:

http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25136

in a couple of days. I'll keep my eyes on that thread.

By the way, John's best estimate is 50 Sprinters of all types and about 140-150 attendees, so it was, in fact, the largest of the eight years. I think interest in the Sprinter as a practical base for an RV continues to grow.

 

[mhiscox]

A few more to give you an idea of the event: