The first step in van lifing is van selection. After all, you have to own a van to convert it. It’s neither polite nor practical to convert other people’s vans. Like most people, we were inexperienced with cargo vans i.e. we’ve only seen them on the road. So about a year before making our final selection and purchase, we set out to test-drive all 3 major cargo vans: a Ford Transit, a Chrysler-Fiat Promaster, and a Mercedes Sprinter. The construction quality, the feel of the motor, the comfort of the seats, and any other remarkable features were important to us. Fortunately, we found all three vans readily available to test drive in San Diego.
Ford Transit
We started our test drive day with the Transit.
Ford Transit vans come in various different heights. Bogdan does not fit in this one. He is 6’2″.
The Transit left us with a positive impression despite concerns about the quality of construction. The van drove smoothly. It was nimble and maneuverable on road. The front cabin was unremarkable but decent. The cargo area on the other hand made us pause to think. Thin sheet metal panels and basic hardware gave us the distinct impression that the overall production had been rushed and on a tight budget. So, while the van maneuvered tightly around corners and responded well to the throttle were somewhat concerned: What if we decided to keep it over 10 or 20 years, or even longer, will it age poorly? Will it rust to bits?
Notably, the Transit van we test drove was too short for Bogdan. Please see the picture above. Of course, Ford does offer the Transit in an extra tall version with a super high ceiling (please refer to Ford’s website for available heights) but we both think it’s odd-looking. In other words, not for us. That said, the medium height Transit is great, the proportions are right, and will work well if you are not too tall. If you are planning to buy new, the transit is a decent option.
One van down, and two more to see.
Chrysler Promaster
We dropped in at the Chrysler dealership next. Promaster vans are a little harder to find. Frequently sold as fleet vehicles, only some dealerships will carry them. So after calling around, we found a dealership across town that would show us one.
As we drove there the gray sky broke into serious rain. Thankfully, we hopped into the van with the sales associate the moment we arrived. Like in the Transit, we both drove the van. For me, the weather complicated things. After only a short drive, I turned it over to Bogdan.
Like in the previous van, we inspected the cargo area after the test drive. The construction quality was miles apart compared to the Ford Transit; it was impressive. We loved the boxy cargo compartment. The squared corners gave the area an incredible sense of roominess and spaciousness. We could easily see why it is a popular choice in the van conversion community. However, there was one serious thing we couldn’t get over, the seats.
The seats on the Promaster vans are so high off the ground that even Bogdan, with long legs, found it uncomfortable. This was a huge turn-off. Not to mention that I was annoyed that the cabin floor dropped off into the cargo area a little too quickly. Seemingly small details like these are important if you plan to live and travel in your van. You want the cabin to be comfortable so you can endure long hours on the road between destinations. Unfortunately, even after poking around on the internet for a solution to the seat height problem, we came up empty. There is no way to switch out the seat bases to lower the seats.
Overall, if you are planning to close off the front cabin for security reasons from the living quarters/cargo area then the Promaster is probably a good choice. In terms of driving experience, it was definitely not my favorite. The handling felt stiff and not as nimble as I would have liked. But perhaps for short haul trips it is ok.
Mercedes Sprinter
Finally, we dropped in at the Mercedes dealership to test drive a sprinter van. After the longest wait we had experienced all day, due to only one associate staffing the floor, we were assisted.
The sales associate found a 170″ wheelbase passenger van to test drive. Once on the road, Bogdan drove us on a small stretch of freeway selected by the SA and I was secretly ecstatic. The quiet and powerful motor offered a buttery smooth ride even as a rear passenger (the SA sat on the passenger seat). The van accelerated like a dream, it was practically gliding. This is probably due to the fact that the sprinter van has a turbocharged engine. Notably, the spaciousness of the cabin drew my attention, it was uncluttered, open, and transitioned into the cargo area gracefully. The whole thing hinted at luxury car service.
Since the van we test drove was a people hauler, we couldn’t inspect the cargo area in the same way we had inspected the other vans. However, after looking at several used Sprinters, we noticed the cargo area of Sprinters, like the Ford Transit vans, are remarkably unimpressive simply covered in sheet metal and built to a budget.
Notably, I also found it difficult to park the 170″ wheelbase Sprinter back at the lot.
First Impressions
Overall, I was impressed by all 3 vans. They exceeded most of my driving expectations. All three handled more like an SUV than a tractor. Of course, I imagined they would all be heavy monstrosities to maneuver.
The van with the worst steering, for me, was the Promaster. Driving under rainy conditions in a new car can be stressful for anyone, but the Promaster felt especially stiff to me during the test drive. I do not like stiff suspensions. While we did not test drive the Sprinter and the Transit under the same rainy conditions, both of these vans swayed and maneuvered gracefully. And what I loved most about all three vans was the large windshield.
All three vans boasted amazingly large windshields. I love, love, love safari viewing windows and a large windshield will have a safari effect instantaneously. Large windows make me absurdly happy when I am the passenger. Of course, this perk comes at a price. Windshield replacement fees are important consideration in anyone’s van ownership budget as large windshields are also very good targets for rocks as we’ve learned.
Our Choice
After a year of deliberation and saving up, we’ve cast our vote and the winner is…drumroll, please….the Sprinter. We elected to go with the Sprinter for various reasons.
First, compared to the Transit or the Promaster, it looks the best, at least to us. The cargo compartment is a bit narrow, but that can be practical if, for example, we find ourselves on incredibly narrow country roads such as those in the Mojave desert. And, if we wanted to travel through Europe, a place known for narrow roads, that option would also be open to us.
We also opted to go with the Sprinter because the Sprinter boasts a diesel motor. The diesel motor’s additional MPGs seemed attractive to us. With a promised MPG of at least 20 miles per gallon and a zippy turbocharged engine known to be able to go half a million miles, we needed no further convincing. We like keeping our cars for a long time. And, because we live at a somewhat high altitude, the turbocharged engine has in fact been a great asset. And, we’ve really enjoyed the turbocharged engine because the van it is very zippy especially on paved roads.
Also, we wanted to buy a used van. Since Promasters and Transits have only been on the market for 5 years or so, there isn’t a great secondary market for them just yet. In contrast, the sprinter van resale market is lively and active. Thus, our $15,000 to $20,000 budget could stretch further. Of course, as with everything in life, there some drawbacks, which we talk about below.
We dismissed the Transit because it is not tall enough to accommodate Bogdan’s 6’2″ frame and while there is a version available that can fit him we were not a fan of its aesthetics. That said, the normal height Transit looks great so if we didn’t need the tall version we would seriously consider a Transit. However, both Bogdan and I think it’s important to have a van where you can fully stand upright.
We dismissed the Promaster on one or two accounts depending on who you ask, me or my husband. The Promaster’s look appealed to Bogdan. I, however, was not convinced. The front black bumper strikes me as being out of balance with the rest of the van’s front facia. I confirmed this fact when I observed a Promaster painted in a dark color. When the van is painted in a dark color it looks cute, but in white, to me, it looks ugly. That said, Promaster vans are very difficult to find in a color other than white especially if you want to buy a used one.
Another thing we kept in mind was the Promaster’s van well-known transmission issues. The Promaster’s transmission has been known to fail prematurely. A friend, who is a mechanic at Chrysler-Fiat, the original manufacturer, shared with us that the transmission has been known to fail shortly after hitting the 50,000 miles mark. Inconveniently, just as the warranty runs out. So, be prepared for a $4,000 transmission job if you get a Promaster with a faulty transmission.
THE DRAWBACKS
As a responsible vehicle owner you will likely take into account the cost of ownership. How much do parts cost? Where can you get it repaired? Questions like these are important to prevent your car from becoming a money pit. We have owned American cars for a long time and have enjoyed the luxury of finding parts cheaply, more or less, at our local Autozone or O’Reilly’s when something breaks or fails. As a result, we’re intimately acquainted with the maintenance and repair costs of our own vehicles. The truth is domestic cars are cheaper to repair and maintain because parts are readily available at local stores.
That said, the biggest drawback of owning a Sprinter van is the potentially hefty repair and maintenance costs. At the end of the day, you have a Mercedes Benz vehicle. Even if you assume the cost of parts is not a major consideration, parts can only be acquired directly through the Mercedes Benz dealership, or online, and are not readily available at Autozone or O’Reilly. That means your van will be out of commission, potentially, until parts arrive and someone is able to work on it, which can take weeks. And, assuming time is money, this can be a major nuisance.
If you are not phased by that because you can maintain your van then let’s move on to the next thing.
If you lack familiarity with diesel engines, like us, even if you want to do all the maintenance and repairs yourself, from time to time you will require a professional mechanic, with the right tools to do the job and intimate knowledge on how to conduct certain repairs, even if you can troubleshoot and repair the problem yourself but lack the tools. For us, that means we’ll need to drag our van to Los Angeles or San Diego to an independent mechanic or pay the exorbitant dealership fees at our nearest MB dealership. It’s important to budget for this possibility.
At last, because Bogdan is very resourceful, to deal with repairs and maintenance, we purchased the most ingenious OBD2 tool that pairs with an app for full error checking and reporting. This tool has been super instrumental in helping us diagnose the van when the check engine light turns on, like it did, in June 2020.
When the van mysteriously went into Limp Mode it gave us an error code indicating something was wrong with the particulate filter. What could it be? We learned that diesel engines have something called a diesel particulate filter that requires regeneration to burn off the soot and other build-ups. This system is used instead of a catalytic converter on diesel vehicles. Regeneration can be done either passively from the engine’s exhaust heat while you are driving normally or actively by triggering the regeneration from your computer which will introduce very high heat into the exhaust system and complete the process. And, this is why your diesel engine vehicle should not be used for short trips. It needs to be able to complete the regeneration cycle, regularly and short trips wouldn’t allow it to complete a full cycle. In our case, after the process of elimination, we guessed the particulate sensor had broken, so we ordered and replaced it sensor. We were ecstatic when it worked.
Repair Log, So Far
While Groky, our van, has been mostly healthy here’s a list of stuff we’ve done and roughly how much it has cost us:
particulate exhaust sensor, $35
main speaker, $65
headliner,$150
box pedestals, $500
stickshift cloth, $FREE
windshield glass replacement, $220
sliding door alignment, $FREE
Our Plan
Before we hit the road, we’ve devised a plan. We intend to stock up and carry spare parts in the van because dealerships, and qualified mechanics, may be hard to find in the middle of the country. So far, we’ve had great luck getting parts from the MB dealership and it usually only takes 2-3 days to have the item arrive (at the dealership) after placing an order. Of course, we’ll need to research what parts frequently fail so we can carry out this strategy.
Planning on Buying a Used Van? See Checklist Below.
Are you planning to buy a used van too? Here is a checklist of items you should check before making a purchase.
- Roof, often under looked, but very important so make sure to check out. So, bring a ladder or ask to borrow a ladder to check the roof for rust and other damage. Our van had some roof rust and somebody seems to have banged it up on the driver side probably going through a drive through.
- Horn, make sure the horn is working, ours was not and we only found out when we really needed it.
- Windshield, the windshield on vans are so large they exert their own gravity field. Yup, they get hit by rocks and debris on road, ALL THE TIME, so check out how much it is to get the windshield replaced locally.
- Drive test, make sure the motor is running properly and not in Limp Mode, and get a feel for the brakes
- Check engine lights, you’ll need an OBD2 sensor to check if there are any lights
- Misaligned doors, check door jams and make sure doors are properly aligned
- Dents and rust damage, make sure you can live with these
- Tires, make sure you note how soon you’ll have to change tires
Final Verdict
We truly love our Groky Sprinter Van. He makes long drives easy. As in driving 3 hours is easy breezy and he can go up steep hills at 80MPH no problem. He’s not the best off-road, but he makes it up and down our very steep, off-road, and bumpy driveway just fine. The air conditioning is strong. He could have used a Bluetooth capable audio system and MB could have used a thicker layer of paint to prevent rusting, but over all, he is solid and we love him.