Ducato vs Sprinter as a base PVC (1 Viewer)

sms

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Hello All,

newbie here. Have had a VW Transporter T4 PVC for last 10 years, has been a great van for weekends and occasional week (rock and roll bed, no loo or shower, 2 burner gas hob). Now looking at stepping up to something with more equipment and storage so we can do longer trips of many weeks - PVC's layount like Adria-Twin, Murvi van, IH Oregon etc.

Just wondering if there is any good pro/con feedback or info source on Sprinter verses Ducato. Ducato seems most frequently encountered, but is that because it's cheapest or best. Is the Sprinter worth the extra cash or do you pay for the badge.

cheers
Sean
 

icantremember

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Hi sms & welcome to the Fun:flyingwelcome:

I personally don't think the base vehicle is that much of a big deal as they all do the same job and are all pretty good these days.
The most important part to get right when buying is of course the habitation layout that suits you.

Brian
 
Jul 28, 2008
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Don't rule out Transit :)
Don't rull out smaller.

FIats are cheaper than Mercs. Beware and check roof heights of conversions and, I believe, the Sprinters have sloping floor.

No idea of your spec/requirements/budget, but we go away in a 4.8m van - over 1000 days in the last 3 and a bit years :) And thats a Tranny with shower/loo/everthing (but compact). I know others do the same in Fiats and slightly bigger vans.

Ours is Horizons Unlimited. You've also not mentioned Vantage who are a good make, and their SmartCampers brand that does the same conversion on used Transits, but a damn sight cheaper.

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aba

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i think to be fair they all have their pros and cons
firstly ducato is front wheel drive which can give a lower internal floor than the rear wheel drive of the sprinter.
i dont think that the cost of the base vehicle does not really seem to play too big a part in the finished product, well to within a couple of thousand pounds.
but why a panel van conversion there are some compact coachbuilts out there that are cheaper and have more room in them.
 

Terry

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Hi Sean & welcome :thumb:Although both vans are reliable obviously the Sprinter commands the premium price :thumb:
Purely from the conversion side of things the extra 6 ins plus in width (fiat etc) gives you a lot more scope layout wise.IE you can have a transverse bed across the van which is not possible in the sprinter unless you are a dwarf :ROFLMAO:It may not sound a lot but it makes a big difference in your van :thumb: Having said that I am a fan of 2 singles that convert to a double when required so the extra length of the Sprinter is both a bonus for this, and a curse when it comes to parking ::bigsmile: That is why I opted to convert a ambulance which gave me width and a short length :thumb:
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terry
 

Phantom Menace

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fiat/merc

Planned to convert a van myself once, but found the aggro and expense made it practically unviable, some things to take into consideration:- insurance, insulation, comfort and resale value. you cant sleep across a panel van, and the bed has to be a certain length to register as a motorhome,and if it isnt, most insurers will make you buy commercial vehicle insurance even though it doesnt cover you for the carriage of goods, its a minefield and will test your resolve, good luck if you decide to push on with it!
As said already, not much to choose between base vehicles, but try finding a white van without starship mileage at a decent price, and compare it to coachbuilts the same age,
Regards

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wivvy's dad

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Planned to convert a van myself once, but found the aggro and expense made it practically unviable, some things to take into consideration:- insurance, insulation, comfort and resale value. you can't sleep across a panel van, and the bed has to be a certain length to register as a motorhome, and if it isnt, most insurers will make you buy commercial vehicle insurance even though it doesnt cover you for the carriage of goods, its a minefield and will test your resolve, good luck if you decide to push on with it!
As said already, not much to choose between base vehicles, but try finding a white van without starship mileage at a decent price, and compare it to coachbuilts the same age,
Regards


Oh yes you can, and I'm 6'1''

Oh really, where does it say that?

As someone else has said, don't discount the Transit.
 
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sms

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thanks All,

clarification of a few points. We aren't doing our own conversion, will be buying off the shelf conversion. Of the vans we're looking at the Ducato is most common, and one particular van has the option of Sprinter or Ducato, hence my original question.

I'd not twigged about rear vs front wheel drive, and Ducato being relatively wide for PV. Thanks for putting me on to this.

We've done about 70K miles in our T4, and that's 5m long I think. We know this is too short/small for what we want. However, we don't want to go as far as a coachbuilt because we believe that will restrict some of the places we will go (have often taken T4 up dirt tracks to get out of way wild camps). Also, one of the things we really want is to be able to open the side door and either sit or lie in bed looking at hills/beach etc.

My orginal post came up because a few people have mentioned that Merc better van that Fiat, but it sounds to me that many of the advantages are not relevant once converted from van to camper.

We will get a double bed. Like the idea of fixed bed but none of the layouts we've seen float our boat so will likely opt for the bed in front. Means putting bed together each night but we can live with that.

thanks
Sean
 

aba

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i cant remember who the converters were but at the nec show there were a range of pvc's with rear slide outs.
will have a scoot about.

found it www.chameleonmotorhomes.com

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