Travel vans for sale

For distance the Mercedes Sprinter has the edge on range, since the diesel goes further per tank and stops less on a long interstate day. The Ford Transit has the edge on service: any Ford dealer in the country can work on it, while a Sprinter needs a commercial Mercedes dealer, and those are thin on the ground in the Mountain West. If your trips are long and remote, weigh the service network as heavily as the range. We build both and go through this properly in our Sprinter vs Transit guide.

Our Duo layouts sleep two and the Family layouts sleep four. Sleeping four and travelling comfortably with four are different things: sleeps four means less storage and a busier living space, and a pop-top is often the better answer for families who want the beds without the length. See layout ideas by group size.

A Sprinter 144 or a regular-body Transit 148 is roughly 19 to 20 feet. A Transit 148 EL is about 22 feet, a Sprinter 170 about 23 feet, and a Sprinter 170 extended just over 24 feet. That difference decides more about your trip than most people expect when ordering. Many national park campgrounds cap vehicle length, some scenic roads restrict longer vehicles outright, and a high-roof van will not clear a standard drive-thru or most underground parking. Short wheelbase for ease of driving, long wheelbase for ease of living. Our van sizes guide has the dimensions.

This is worth thinking about before you buy rather than after. Ford has a dense dealer network nationwide. Mercedes Sprinter service goes through commercial dealers, which are fewer and can carry long wait times, including here in Colorado. For anything we installed, the electrical, plumbing, heater and cabinetry, you call our team in Boulder and speak to the people who built it. For the chassis you are in the manufacturer's network, so choose that network deliberately.

Air conditioning is available, but be realistic about running it off grid. Cooling draws far more power than anything else in the van, and no battery bank we build will run air conditioning all night without shore power. Most travelers manage summer with shade, ventilation, a roof fan and altitude instead. Heating is the easier problem: a diesel heater will run all night on very little.

Water usually runs out before power does. With 20 gallons of fresh water, two people not showering daily get roughly a week, and daily showers cut that to about three days. Power depends on the bank: 5kWh is standard, and 10kWh or 15kWh extends it. Air conditioning needs 10kWh or more. If you plan long stretches away from services, size the water tank first.

Prices on this page are the full build with the van included. They start at $115,950 for a Sprinter Duo and run to $227,570 for a Bivy XL Deluxe. The same layouts on a Ford Transit are built to order for about $2,000 less. If you already own a Sprinter or Transit we also sell the conversion on its own, which is a separate product line.

Yes, and many of our owners do. Full-time travel changes what you should order: the larger battery bank and water tank, and most full timers say the interior shower earns the cabinet space it costs. A shower is much harder to add later than to include in the original build.

Factory vans are competitive on price and available immediately, and that genuinely suits some buyers. The differences show up in what you can specify, how the electrical and plumbing are built and serviced, and who answers the phone afterwards. We wrote an honest assessment of the tradeoffs in our Winnebago Revel review.