Anyone have any experience with throwing a dif lock on a Sprinter?

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I'm planning on buying a Sprinter with either some high mileage and swapping the transmission proactively if it is around 500k or a lower milage vehicle depending on what is available. From there I want to put a dif lock and some all terrains on it. From what I heard this will be able to handle most bush roads if they aren't completely "toasted"

I'm going off the word of strangers here, you guys seem to spend some time in the areas I'm looking to be at. Wondering if anyone has dealt with a Sprinter like that and their thoughts. It seems to be the best way to be able to handle some rough roads without breaking the bank on a proper 4wd sprinter.

Admin edit. Foul language replaced with more appropriate FOOD related terminology. Please remember this is a family forum. Cheers Ramjet
 
Check out the ex Defence 4wd Ambulance (Government auctions) can't remember the site, sorry. Someone else will hopefully chime in and give it to you. You'll still need to partially gut it and kit it out. Being ex Gov (Defence) it will have a good service history IE might be 10 years old with on 20k or 40k on it, that's an indication it's had a recent rebuild :Y:.

Some even come with a winch :Y: once converted you most likely will get better than you paid or close to it when you want to off load it.
 
Do you mean a Mercedes sprinter van?

How many brain cells in my head? ...................

Mate you really need to tell us what you plan to do with it, where you expect it to take you and at what time of year.

Quote
"you guys seem to spend some time in the areas I'm looking to be at"
End quote.

Bloody big country mate, you'll need to elaborate.
 
Haha sorry for all the confusion, and the language. Old habits die hard... I mean specifically some time in the WA goldfields. I will also be covering alot of ground, I don't really have anything tying me to any area specifically. In an ideal world I'd like to see as much of Australia as possible. Once I've done the work I'm planning to do in Melbourne we have a pretty open itinerary for the year.

Obviously we have a lot of driving to do to get from Melbourne to WA and the roads will vary. I'm just wondering mainly if others have used that combination and if it worked in most situations, or if that's not going to cut it and I need to think about something more capable than that.

I've never owned a camper, let alone a Mercedes Sprinter. I'm just trying to figure out if I'm getting in over my head trying to cross some rougher terrain. Much of the other info I've found has been more about people staying on paved roads in towns, cities, and camps.

EDIT: The majority of our traveling will start around March.
 
Plan your off road trips well and keep safety and survival at the top of your list if you haven't been to isolated bush before.

Follow the suggested guidelines regarding water and take a registered PLB or EPIRB.

PLB - Personal Locating Beacon

EPIRB - Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon

Only take your vehicle to locations that your abilities allow you to get yourself in and out.
 
my idea is go for the 4x4 to start with the more mods you do to a veh means that the more that can go wrong as it was never built that way to start
(and as sure as anything it will fail when you are in the middle of nowhere)
as has been said above posts use the online auctions to get one
i am looking at a 4x4 unimog next year
 
Lots of good points and opinions here. I was leaning to the sprinter because it is the most reliable in it's class from what I have read, and it can be made into a camper while still looking pretty normal from the outside.

When we're traveling we won't be able to stay in the bush all the time and will have times we need to park it overnight in towns and cities. Vehicles that look overtly like camping/living spaces can be a problem when we're having a hard time finding a place to stay.

The beginning we'll be working in Melbourne to make some extra money to build a safet net, that is gonna be the toughest I think, after that were out of any major metropolitan areas for the most part and I figure it will be easier to find places to park overnight while we're moving around.

I am pretty handy and don't mind building out a van myself over a month or so, finding a buildspace is the issue with that. My girlfriend also doesn't seem to have the same faith as I do in my abilities :lol: . There's alot of reasonably priced sprinters with complete or partial builds available to suit our needs too, so that would save a good 30 days or so on building it ourselves when our time allowed in the country is kind of limited and we wanna make the most out of it.

Guess I've got to weigh out some options, while modding a car obviously is gonna up the likelyhood of breakdowns (trust me I know from experience... RIP my old GMC sierra) I'm not sure how much extra stress a diff lock and some all terrains would stress the vehicle.
 
Hi Hookka,

I think that if you are happy to set up a Sprinter go for it. As long as the vehicle is mechanically sound and serviced regularly, not overloaded and driven to conditions you will be able to access most areas you wish to visit.

As soon as you buy a 4wd most people modify it, then overload it and driven anywhere they want to go. Along with all the electronics in them now although meant to make your driving easier more often or not gets you grounded in the middle of nowhere. :N:

Remember that the Australian outback can be a harsh place but if visited with a bit of respect and sensibility will see you well in your kitted out Sprinter. :Y:

All the best in your upcoming project and don't forget to keep us updated.

Cheers

Doug
 
Occasional_panner said:
Didn't one bloke on Aussie gold hunters use a sprinter?

No the was the Ford Chisel nose Transit, Not a good vehicle for remote areas, back in the 90's EU ford vans were a pain because they attached the vacuum pump that runs the brake booster to the back of the alternator as part of it and when the fan belt broke you ended up loosing your brakes and without the fan belt you also loose ya power steering because they only fitted one belt to drive everything, Hopefully they have changed it on the Aussie ones but I doubt it, :Y:
 
I think the lad called the nugget magnet on YouTube has one as well. He is very helpful with detecting related stuff so Im sure he would give you some info on the vehicle as well
 
Ridge Runner said:
Occasional_panner said:
Didn't one bloke on Aussie gold hunters use a sprinter?

No the was the Ford Chisel nose Transit, Not a good vehicle for remote areas, back in the 90's EU ford vans were a pain because they attached the vacuum pump that runs the brake booster to the back of the alternator as part of it and when the fan belt broke you ended up loosing your brakes and without the fan belt you also loose ya power steering because they only fitted one belt to drive everything, Hopefully they have changed it on the Aussie ones but I doubt it, :Y:

:Y:

https://www.facebook.com/AussieGoldHunter/photos_all
 
I think I'm going to stick with the original plan with the sprinter. It seems the most capable out of the vehicles that fit into my other requirements. That last Facebook link got my blood pumping!

I'll keep you guys posted for sure, I think it'll be alright if I just keep it simple with quality components and don't drive it like my old sierra.
 

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