WINTER SPRINTER VAN: Helpful Tips For Driving A 2WD Sprinter Van On Snow And Ice 

As a So Cal man living in Norway for over 20 years now...and served driving military rigs in Germany for two years... Some good advice: Slow down. Keep your weight down as low as possible! Fuel tanks full AND wait for it.... Get those projectiles OUT OF YOUR VAN! Yes, I see you did a pretty good and responsible job at securing them so no complaint there. ADD WEIGHT UNDER THE VAN AT THE SPARE TIRE IN THE REAR, DEAD CENTERED UNDER THE VAN. Just another way to get weight and the center of gravity down lower, take it from me, I own a 2002 Sprinter 4x4 high top here with roof rack, lights solar panels etc. I have low range and diff-lock. Flip the spare, fill it with lead bags! Use steel wheels in winter, more weight down low at the lowest point, many forget this and want fancy aluminum winter wheels, we use two sets here, winter and summer. No matter what you are driving, plan on emergancy situation, sliding off the road possibly because of someone elses fault of course:-) Aso EXTRA batteries for winter, UNDER van. 100% capacity is all that matters, sell them good used on net and make sure your batteries are tip top for winter and diesel starting or warmer running. With the best 4x4 and my studed tires I consider these things only as a safety feature and NOT a performance feature. Also number one thing is not going... it is STOPPING! A famouse Norwegian racer said, "It is not the fart that kills, it is the smell;-) Fart translates to speed and smell translates to impact. Happy Trails and enjoy your days going down the hill sideways on your board. Good memories!

Glad you mentioned adding weight over the rear wheels. I've driven 2wd pickups in snow for years. You need good tires (I never used snow tires because the weather in Illinois varies so much) and weight. Add weight to the rear wheels in front wheel drive cars too. You'll be amazed at how stable the car becomes when cornering. I bought my first 4wd pickup last year and yes, I do enjoy the 4wd, but I can still make do with 2wd. I run BF Goodrich Trail Terrains on my truck and those do well in all conditions I've encountered.

"not the sketchiest car on the road" always a good thing haha

Tnx, brotha! Usefull vid. I'm going to buy Sprinter T1N 2.7L to convert it to camper. Winter driving was my concern. Here in Canada we have a lot of snow.

Fantastic review, thank you! Just got those tires and drove up to the 'Undisclosed Location' today. SO much better than the stock ones! Thanks again!!!

I drive a sprinter for a living in extreme winter conditions. The contractor that owns my route system is so cheap that I am forced to drive a rear wheel drive van not to mention he will not buy winter tires!! With adversity comes skill let me tell you. The threshold for these vans is 6% grade on Ice and you can get through 2 feet of snow. The other thing people do not know about is to take of the traction control when you lose momentum but be carefull of course.

I know this video is four years old, so hopefully all wheel drive/4WD gets more popular. I am seriously considering this for my retirement, but I gotta tell ya, the driving part is what I'm getting hung up on. I think I'd be able to just buck up and eventually get used to it, but it's definitely a consideration. I already have some anxiety driving on the interstate, but I get better after a few hours so I think I could get past it eventually. But that's just a car. I really kind of want to go test drive one. But then, you throw in snow, ice, mountains? I might be a southern van lifer lol

Shouldn't wear winter boots in summer weather. Thank you for the tips. Make sure check tire pressure frequently.

get a set of chains/snowsocks for the rear tires incase icy/muddy trails

I carry two sets of chains all the time in case one breaks no problem in 16 inches of snow

Joyous! ☀️

Nicely done man!DrD

What about rain and flooding on the interstate highways. Will these tires help avoid spinout on this type of van? Thanks

Rear wheel drive with winter tires is no problem in the hands of the right driver

Good video and sound quality!

Merci pour ta vidéo , en 2019 , je vends mon break pour un mercedes vito van cdi et comme pas envie de rester bloqué , bon pneus hiver , poids sur l'axe arrière et eventuellement chaine michelin easy grip.

To Recap, use snow tires to drive in snow . ❄ ❄ ❄

2WD versions are complete ass in the snow. I have a fleet of vehicles for my business, would never buy one again.

Can you go up a snowy mountain with those tires and rwd? I want to go snowboarding.....Thought about getting snow tires and put some weight on the back.....

I back my snowmobile in my sprinter 3500 dually so the engine is over the tires. Along with winter tires I have no problem driving up to northern Ontario (Cochrane etc...) in the winter Steep grades no but normal roads yes no problem

For sure you need(Winter or snow tire,I own 2011 OPEL VIVARO CDTI TURBO,but it is a FWD and it performs great when I go Riding too up on very snowy roads,I use winter TOYO TIRES,just perfect,started with only two,but have four now,lots of torque on 6 Speed Manual,and even with front wheel drive,just on idle I go anywhere,on slippery roads,FWD handle way better than RWD......!!!!!!

Hey nice video bro you are good

so, for regular car on winter, maybe coulbe a good idea to get some gallons of water all the way back

I’m researching mercedes sprinter vs ford transit and dodge pro master vans. I’m concerned about maintenance costs. Have you had any issues with your sprinter?

Great video, but more suped up if you ended with the van slipping and a sliding.

I want a sprinter AND my name is also Sergej!!

Some of those roads look familiar. ..

What mpg you get?

Can you drive all season tires on regular streets like in Seattle or Marysville WA during the winter?

As a Canadian, I learned nothing... ;) Weight and appropriate tires. It's kind of the first thing you need... Stay safe!

Are you in Bend? Looks like Bachelor

since it uses diesel, do you find any inconvenience in cold weather? by cold, i mean 15 below freezing

you should add the instrument

lol why do you have so many kettlebells??

I'd prefer all terrain tires over winter because they last way longer than winter tires. It will grip good on snow and good in mud

Неправильно груз расставил. Надо перед задним мостом ставить груз а так как на видео если ставить то если занесёт то зад будет тащить по инерции. Но если аккуратно ехать то на подъем заберёшся

If you are not used to driving in winter conditions you should have researched it before trying a mountain road with what i belive is a rear wheel drive and and not a 4 wheel drive. Who in their right mind would drive in the winter with summer tires. Makes think your advice is not too strong.

This is awesome! Thank you! Just got my Sprinter last Sept. I haven't taken it up the Mtn. Skiing for the very reasons you are talking about. Ballpark, what did the tires run you? I don't have any kettle-bells but, I am happy to grab sand bags! New subscriber. And, thanks again. I love my Sprinter!!

Thank you for the review on the Blizzaks. Super helpful to see a live performance. Keeping people safer in their vans. There is one other helpful tool. Most 2wd sprinters have an "ASR OFF" button in the lower middle. This disables your traction control and a "!" inside a triangle appears in the dash. This stops the automatic breaking when your tires start spinning. Very useful in a slow-speed scenario of getting up your steep driveway/backroad or getting unstuck. You will slide side to side more, but you will have unrestricted power to your rear wheels allowing you to fight a backward slide better. DO NOT DRIVE WITH THE ASR DISABLED. Only use it when you want to power through a steep or sticky situation in low traffic and slow speed scenarios Hope that helps. Here is an example: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-clWmZha6zsk.html

Great video! I've lived in wintry Alberta all my life. I've been driving here since 1985 and winter tires make a huge difference. I'm looking at selling my 4runner and buying a Sprinter van as I can use it for work and play. While I'd love a 4X4 Sprinter, they're over $60G here. Seeing your video offered some great insight. Cheers!

Excited to do some winter camping now! SHRED SEASON

Nice video - very informative. That extra weight over the rear axle must drastically increase your fuel consumption.

I will vouch for the Bridgestone blizzaks. However all that loose weight in the back could be tragic in the event of even a low speed collision. Because there's nothing low speed about a 35 mile an hour sandbag hitting you in the back of the neck. And at highway speeds those kettles would certainly break free and become deadly. Perhaps larger object might be better that could be better secured maybe like an old ATV or something or at least I would urge you to better secure your loose in the back during the winter. In general all Sprinter vans have this risk talk to an emergency room nurse and ask them how about how deadly even cell phones can be in accidents.

crazy I stumbled upon your videos. I was looking up ideas on how to convert a sprinter van for my own conversion. I'm studying Chinese herbal medicine but also an avid hiker. I forage for wild herbs and edibles while in the mountains. It's wonderful to see someone successfully pursuing this type of Lifestyle. Thanks for paving the way!

Hello how did it do downhill steep and downhill turns ? Your review helped save a life 😅

Living in Norway, and driving in winter conditions six or seven months every year, I can just say that this video is "spot on"! This is a guy worth listening to!

Good information but unfortunately your driving demonstration isn’t helpful given the artificial speed-up. It’s impossible to see how fast you accelerate, stop and turn. I’m sure the tires are great but showing the performance in real-time would be more accurate and helpful.

hmmm what is another name for a single male... now add Mountain on front... viola!

Super helpful, Thank You !!

you man you deserved an upvote!

Can you do a video on AUX Water Heater feature? Thanks

thanks for the video. good stuff.

Thank you for this video! have you tried winter tires without adding the weight in the back?

Thanks for the tips Sergei.

You would think Mercedes would be good in the snow as it’s from a country what gets A lot of snow and ice

Hi Very informative can you tell me which rear wheel is the drive wheel.TIA Mark.

Unscented 20+ lb cat litter bags would work well too.

You have to absolutely get winter only tires. I had a high power RWD car, and it actually drove better in the winter than my 4x4 Avalanche with all season tires. Anyone with a RWD vehicle that drives in the snow that doesn't get Winter only tires have no clue what they are missing out on.

ballast is fast. twss

love the stokes! Just got the same tire for my promaster. Vanlife FTW!

2:27 I would never dare doing this🤣

holy shit the height of that snow wall lol

get a4x4 sprinter

Test

LOL tired of those shitty tire tips... what a real one? get some klondike studded tires!

Thanks for the video..why the vehicle is rolled down when it's unloaded? Didn't press you the gas pedal enough? Or was the vehicle rolled down is because of spinning wheels? If so, Traction control System would have helped..

just get a set of very good winter tyres and you will never have any problems.. i srive my 2WD everywhere and i never got any problems

your problem is a driver problem , not the van

Honestly these things SUCK in snow, slush and ice no matter what. I would never voluntarily drive one in these conditions.