Ford Dodge or Mercedes van

[goddi69]

Been living in My homemade wedge camper for three monthsnow...ifeel like I need more room and amenities so was thinking of getting a van. Mercedes has the 4x4 but is 60k. Really don't go crazy offroad but will have to drive in New England winters. So which vanshould I get and build out

 

[Joe917]

Ford Transit high roof AWD is probably the best value of the three.

 

[Choff]

I vote an AWD full size GMC or Chev - only made a few years
I have driven one for 14 years in Wisconsin winters and they go through snow like butter with 32 gal gas tank and good tires.

 

[luthj]

I would say transit AWD, or if you feel the need a transit quigley conversion. The current pricing for sprinter 4x4s is above MSRP in most markets. Not sure on the transit. The only reason to consider the sprinter in my opinion, is if you can get the I4 gasoline engine.

Quigley was (and may still be) converting lightly used transits, so depending on your needs, a few years old transit with lower miles could be converted to 4x4.

 

[whith]

Sprinter is last on the list in my opinion. Transit in some form or as mentioned GM AWD Express/Savannah if you can find one. Thats the real gem.

 

[Joe917]

The problem with the GM Savanah is you can't stand up in it and it has horrendous fuel economy.
My daily driver is a 2019 2wd 144" diesel Sprinter and has been trouble free. I still think the Transit AWD is a better deal.

 

[1leglance]

Transit with factory AWD if you only need to deal with snow, gravel....Quadvan 4wd conversion if you want real 4x4 and a company way better than Quigley.

 

[Scotty D]

For a three hundred horsepower V8, the express van gets pretty good fuel economy
Before I kitted mine out with a lift , beefy tires and tons of stuff on the roof, I was getting close to 20 mpg on the highway
Now unfortunately I am down to 16.5 mpg but am always full of gear

All that said , they dont make them anymore and I have not seen a good deal on one in years.
I would go transit quigly if funds allow

 

[Choff]

The problem with the GM Savanah is you can't stand up in it and it has horrendous fuel economy.
My daily driver is a 2019 2wd 144" diesel Sprinter and has been trouble free. I still think the Transit AWD is a better deal.

With the dealer cost of A diesel Sprinter Van with AWD, higher diesel fuel cost, oil changes, repairs down the road, and were do you wash a high top van ?
All for fuel mileage?
And if it is your daily driver why do you need to stand up inside?
My daily driver is a 2005 AWD Savana, LOW TOP, with 235,000 miles, and still running strong.

 

[RDinNHand AZ]

I’ll get feedback on this but I bought a 2015 Ram Promaster HR-136", did a camper conversion inside ($4.5K) and used it for 5 years. NOT ONE issue. Front wheel drive and with good winter treads it goes well. Life sent a curve so I sold it for what I paid for the van with 85K miles.

 

[Joe917]

With the dealer cost of A diesel Sprinter Van with AWD, higher diesel fuel cost, oil changes, repairs down the road, and were do you wash a high top van ?
All for fuel mileage?
And if it is your daily driver why do you need to stand up inside?
My daily driver is a 2005 AWD Savana, LOW TOP, with 235,000 miles, and still running strong.

I recommended the Ford over the Sprinter as a better value.
Diesel is cheaper than gas per mile, although I made no recommendation of diesel over gas.
Wash? Anywhere with a hose.
I need to stand in the back for work, anyone who wants to use their vehicle for long term living needs to be able to stand up in it.

 

[luthj]

Diesel is cheaper than gas per mile, although I made no recommendation of diesel over gas.

Depends on where you live. In the USA diesel is often 10-20% more than gasoline, which wipes out most or all of the fuel economy improvements. Then add in the extra maintenance costs of a diesel (DEF/urea, overall higher cost of ownership), and a light duty diesel vehicle doesn't have any financial advantage in most cases.

 

[Scotty D]

I would not buy any van that needs DEF. Its just too fussy a system even today.

 

[Choff]

Been living in My homemade wedge camper for three monthsnow...ifeel like I need more room and amenities so was thinking of getting a van. Mercedes has the 4x4 but is 60k. Really don't go crazy offroad but will have to drive in New England winters. So which vanshould I get and build out

So at this point -WHAT VAN ARE YOU THINKING ???

 

[Highlander]

A good set of winter tires will solve your adventures in most of the areas in the states. Especially in New England. I drove my Saab 9-5 Wagon on winter tires in NH and upstate NY winter and it wasn't too much behind of Subarus. In some cases it drove even better.

If you have means get a Ford Transit AWD and a set of winter tires. You will be fine even driving on backroads of NW Maine in the winter.
As a guy who grew up driving LR Disco 1 and who still thinks that the LR's FT 4WD system was the best system out there, I hate to admit but the modern AWD system is very sophisticated.