Amazing. Fantastic review and I’d trust you. I’m so glad to come across your review. I learned the 144 WB I have coming is V4 and worried that it won’t be able to carry my conversion… so booked an appointment for tomorrow to go to the MB dealership to drive a 170 WB to change to v6. But now I won’t. If it works for you, it’ll be great for me too. Thank you a 1000 times🤓
I hauled about 10,000 with my 4cyl 2500 sprinter. Make sure weight distribution is even and not tongue heavy. Always get a trailer with decent electronic brakes. Preferably disk brakes.
We have this engine in our 10,000 pound motor home and average 16 mpg. The power is fine until climbing a grade. Foot to the floor it slows to 50 in 4th gear at 3,500 rpm.
You are very correct with your assessment. On a steep grade the power is a little lacking, BUT, for some reason I would rather tow with my sprinter than my 18’ Duramax Diesel. It’s a more comfortable ride.
I bought same van but mine is 2500 I added sumo springs for extra weight because i use it for work I built a wall and shelving for tools. I was a bit hesitant also On buying the four-cylinder. I put motorcycles and camping gear in with my tools and went in the mountains 6000 ft elevation I was impressed with the power I loved the Patel shifting going up hill. It the best vehicle I’ve bought. I love driving it.
I had about 400-500 pounds of spare parts in the van, which I consider empty. 4000-5000 pounds in the actual van itself would be a lot of stuff, lol. I don't think if I had another 1500 pounds of tools/material it would really make a big difference.
Curious what rear end gear ratio option you went with on this van? Also, thanks for posting the video. I put in an order for a 4500 dually with a 4 cylinder months ago thinking it would tow just fine and this confirms it.
with all the DEF and EPA things for polution you lose a lot of power and they are problematic to mantein i think 4 cylinder gasoline is a better way to go and problem free
You said that this is a 3500, and not 2500, but it seems to have the single rear wheels - not the dually of the 3500. Were you able to order a 3500 with SRW?
There’s a swap out code though MB to install a single rear tire out and replace the dually tires. I don’t remember the code off the top of my head, but if you call MB I’m sure they can provide you with it.
The mileage is in the video towing, I don't remember exactly off hand, would need to watch the end of the epsiode, I think it was around 15 mpg. Regular driving it's around 19-20 mpg
I had a bunch of spare car parts in the van like transmissions, axles, diff, and brake parts. Probably around 600-700 pounds worth of stuff. I think as long as you stay under your load limits, the 4 cylinder diesel will do just fine.
On the same drive, I’m assuming 22-23. I don’t do long haul highway miles in the van, just local trips to clients houses, so it’s not a fair apples to apples comparisons.
