Sprinter Videos
Seeing a Sprinter RV up close is the best way to know if it’s right for you. With that in mind, here are some Sprinter videos that show you the Sprinter in action.
The 2015 Mercedes Sprinter
Building on the victory of the Mercedes Sprinter in the 2014 Rallye des Aicha Gazelles, this Mercedes Sprinter commercial shows the incredible maneuverability of the Sprinter, in this case a new 2015 Mercedes Sprinter 144″ WB. If you have tried to drive this way with other vans, you may appreciate the almost complete lack of body roll, no skidding, etc. while performing these maneuvers. Even loaded, it’s got great handling, thanks to the ESP, ABS and ASR systems.
4×4 Mercedes Sprinter in the Mud
The Sprinter is available in many different 4WD configurations, and now you can finally get a factory-converted 4×4 Sprinter in North America – part of that that tangled story is described in my post on North American 4×4 Sprinters. Even as more people in North America buy factory 4×4 Mercedes Sprinters, aftermarket conversion companies like Whitefeather Conversions are still finding customers for their beefier, more off-road-oriented 4×4 Sprinter setup. This spring 2015 video of a Mercedes-sponsored 4×4 Sprinter road test in Kelowna, BC has the journalist impressed at the capabilities of the Sprinter on a muddy logging road, but it’s still not quite the beast some off-roaders would like.
Mercedes 4×4 Sprinter in the Snow & Ice
This Deutsche Welle video, shot in the Austrian Alps, has two driving instructors discussing the Oberaigner-converted factory Sprinter 4×4’s capabilities on ice and snow. They both note that the factory 4×4 version is selectable all-wheel-drive, very useful for slippery conditions, but not really set up for off-roading. It also notes that, even in Germany, there were only around 2000 4×4 Sprinters sold in 2014.
OutsideVan Sprinter Conversion
Erik Ekman started OutsideVan when he was still a professional kiteboarder/windsurfer. Being a professional athlete, he had some very specific needs for storing his gear in the van, and customized his van to fit his boards. Nowadays, Erik’s company sells an increasing number of his slick sports-oriented Sprinter conversion models (like this Expo 170″ Sprinter 3500 conversion shown), which start at about US$80,000.
How is the Sprinter Built?
Thousands of Sprinters are manufactured every year in the Mercedes factory near Duesseldorf, as this video shows. Those destined for North America are built and inspected in this factory, then have their engines taken out; both engine and van are then shipped to North America in separate crates (because of the “chicken tax“), and re-assembled in Ladson, South Carolina as an “American-made” vehicle. However, Mercedes just announced that it will build a Sprinter factory in North America that will open in 2017.
