Unfortunately these small type 2 Sprinters never took off. They have been unreliable, lots of down time, delays for parts, rust quickly. The Ford Transit has done better, only because it is cheaper, with a larger dealer network. Most sales are to large fleets, small dept's with tight budgets and low call volumes. Paramedics prefer a larger modular box on a type 1 or type 3 chassis.
very reliable vehicle. We do use them here as what you consider type II and III configurations. Our type IIIs last the longest, just switching the patient compartment onto another truck and there you go.
American ambulance goes for the Sprinter for quite some years already ... I've been inside of Sprinter ambulances both with an enormous box body system with the patient compartment being 3.7 m long x 2.2 m wide (12.1' x 7.2') as well as Sprinters with the normal Sprinter body with a low roof line ... it's a great working environment and actually it's not necessariy to stand right up in an ambulance
American Ambulance CT, Norwich based switched to the sprinters as well. Great company though. Different agency then this American ambulance though I believe
Horrible looking ambulances. As a paramedic I would not want to have that as my unit. A cheap piece of shit is all I see...these Mercedes trucks suck, have no space in them to function when trying to work a major trauma or cardiac arrest. I want a Ford 450 or 550 with a FULL size box to work in, not a tin can.
Agreed, we have mercedes van conversions in the UK, they are really bad in the back. really small, no room. and incredibly bumpy, not bad to drive though. handle better than the new fiat ducatos we got.
cheap piece of shit? Uhm when I think about the circumstance that 98% of ALL ambulances in Germany are based on the Sprinter, it can't be that bad. In my county 100% of them are Sprinters, just last night I had shift on one of them. That you guys purchase them with the plain normal Sprinter body instead of a large box, that's not the fault of Mercedes-Benz or the Sprinter, but whoever buys them like that! We have a large box on them and more than sufficient space. Even if we work with a crew of 3 and additionally have the doctor on board we can still walk around without a problem. Why blame the Sprinter when it's the EMS provider who purchased it without a full size box?
