When you’re planning to purchase a Sprinter Van to transform right into a camper van, one of many first and most necessary choices you need to make is which wheelbase you need. The Sprinter Van is available in three totally different wheelbases – a 144″ (the quick wheelbase), a 170″ (the lengthy wheelbase), and the 170-ext (the additional lengthy wheelbase).
Which one you select will have an effect on how a lot storage and dwelling house you’ve got, the off-road functionality, maneuverability in cities, parking, gasoline effectivity, and extra.
Fortunately I’ve owned each the 144″ and two totally different 170″ wheelbase Sprinter Vans, so the whole lot I write right here relies on my real-world expertise.
My first Sprinter Van was a 144″ wheelbase, and I beloved its maneuverability and the way straightforward it was to park. I additionally craved just a few extra sq. ft to raised accommodate my accomplice, our canine, out of doors gear, and a full-time van dwelling way of life. With that in thoughts, I bought my 144″ Sprinter and upgraded to the 170″, and I couldn’t be happier with my determination. After all, just a few sacrifices and challenges include having an extended Sprinter Van however the further house has been a worthy trade-off.
Learn on to be taught concerning the execs and cons of the 144″ vs 170″ Sprinter so you possibly can determine which one is your best option in your van conversion.
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Sprinter Wheelbase Choices & Dimensions
Wheelbase refers back to the size of a automobile between the entrance wheel axle and the rear wheel axle.
There are three totally different wheelbase choices for Sprinter vans:
- 144″ wheelbase
- 170″ wheelbase
- 170″ prolonged wheelbase
144″ Wheelbase dimensions
The 144″ wheelbase is the shortest Sprinter van. It has the least quantity of buildable house, however as a result of it’s shorter, it’s simpler to maneuver and park than the 170″ wheelbase.
- Full size from bumper to bumper: 19′ 6″
- Buildable house size: 11′
- Inside Top: Excessive Roof Possibility = 6′ 7″ / Low Roof Possibility = 5′ 7″
170″ wheelbase dimensions
The 170″ Sprinter wheelbase is what I’ve now. It offers simply over three ft extra inside house than the 144″ wheelbase whereas nonetheless being pretty straightforward to drive and park in regular parking areas.
- Full size from bumper to bumper: 22′ 10″
- Buildable house size: 14′ 4″
- Inside Top: 6’7″ (170″ wheelbase solely comes with the excessive roof choice)
170″ prolonged wheelbase dimensions
The 170″ prolonged wheelbase Sprinter van is changing into a extra fashionable alternative for van lifers who wish to maximize their dwelling house and want extra facilities whereas they journey. The prolonged chassis is about 1.5 ft longer than the common 170″ wheelbase. Whereas this offers further dwelling house, it does make maneuverability and parking tougher. You’re additionally extra prone to scrape the underside of your van behind the rear wheel so you need to be extra cautious going over bumps or pulling into steep driveways.
- Full size from bumper to bumper: 24′
- Buildable house size: 15′ 9″
- Inside Top: 6′ 7″ (170″ ext. solely comes with excessive roof choice)
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144 vs 170 Sprinter Van Comparisons
Sleeping
With a 144″ Sprinter van, you’ll have much less whole inside dwelling house than with a 170″ or 170″ ext Sprinter van. You probably have a 144″ Sprinter Van and plan to have a platform mattress, the mattress will take up a majority of the van’s dwelling space, leaving little room for the rest apart from a small galley because the mattress will lengthen to the slider door. In a 170″, you possibly can have a queen-sized mattress put in and nonetheless have room for a galley and a small dinette or further passenger seating.
One factor you are able to do to maximise the house in a 144 or perhaps a 170″ Sprinter van is to set up Flares. Flares bump out the facet panels close to the rear of the van so you possibly can sleep sideways (wall to wall) as a substitute of vertically down the size of the van. This could make an enormous distinction and provide you with virtually two further ft of usable house lengthwise within the van. I’d extremely think about Flares if I have been to construct out one other van particularly now that my household has grown.
With Flares put in, the space throughout the van will lengthen to as much as 80″ (6’6″), so even very tall individuals can sleep in a sideways orientation. Flares include or with out home windows so that you don’t need to lose the view or air flow out of your mattress.
One factor to notice with Flares is since you achieve again 20″ of dwelling house, the realm beneath your mattress for gear storage, generally known as “the storage” turns into a bit shorter. For extra footage, try the Flarespace Instagram web page.
Backside Line: A 144″ Sprinter Van can accommodate a queen-sized mattress, however it’ll take up a majority of your dwelling house. In a 170″, you possibly can have a queen-sized mattress and galley together with further seating, storage or perhaps a rest room. Contemplate putting in Flares in order for you a shorter wheelbase however a extra spacious dwelling space.
Full-time Residing & Storage
The obvious distinction between the 144″ vs 170″ Sprinter Van is that the larger the van, the extra dwelling house you should have. The secret is determining what you need in your van earlier than you determine on the wheelbase. If you already know you need a rest room, a everlasting platform mattress, and seating for 4, you’re in all probability going to finish up with the longer wheelbase. For tips about deciding on the appropriate van format, go right here.
After I was in my 144” Sprinter, I traveled largely solo, and for that it was excellent. I additionally didn’t have a bunch of cumbersome gear.
After I determined to improve to the 170″ wheelbase, I knew I’d be dwelling with my accomplice Ryan, our canine(s), two mountain bikes, and a bunch of different gear. I additionally knew I wished a everlasting mattress vs one which transformed from a dinette or a sofa, like in my first van. As I sketched up ground plans, I couldn’t work out easy methods to make a everlasting mattress, a handy workspace (which was a prime precedence), a decent-sized galley, and all of our gear slot in a 144” Sprinter.
One thing must give if I made a decision to stay with a 144″ Sprinter. My workspace must double because the mattress. Or the galley can be miniature. Or we’d have to go away the bikes at residence.
Working with Outdoors Van, I got here up with my ideally suited format and a 170” it must be. You may take a full tour of my second (and third) 170″ Sprinter right here. I can’t let you know how stoked I’ve been with that call to go larger. With the additional room Ryan, Charlie, Gumbo, and now my son and I’ve been capable of journey within the van whereas sustaining our sanity.
With these few further ft, we’ve been capable of reside pretty clutter-free. We additionally don’t have to maneuver ten various things to the entrance seat each evening or shuffle our stuff round to get to no matter we’re on the lookout for.
The additional house has additionally allowed me to have a everlasting desk to work on with all of my pc stuff saved proper beneath. An environment friendly workspace is vital if you find yourself working with restricted wi-fi and like to not spend your time poaching web in cities and at McDonald’s.
Now if I didn’t need to work on the street or we weren’t planning to journey for prolonged durations of time? I feel we might have made the 144” wheelbase work, though I’m positive that van would nonetheless have been packed to the gills.
One different factor to bear in mind is the 144″ has a bigger payload than the 170″ (when evaluating the 2500 fashions). For 2022, the 144″ 4×4 Sprinter has a payload of three,726 kilos, whereas the 170″ 4×4 Sprinter has a payload of three,395 kilos. Which means despite the fact that you’ve got much less house within the 144″, you possibly can load it up with just a few hundred extra kilos.
Backside Line: Consider how you’ll use the van. When you plan to take quick weekend journeys and are proud of a minimal construct, the 144″ might swimsuit you superb. When you plan to reside within the van full-time or go on prolonged journeys, have an even bigger household (children or pets), and easily wish to unfold out, the 170″ wheelbase or the 170″ ext is a good alternative.
Parking & Metropolis Driving
One of many claims to fame for the 144” Sprinter Van is that it could slot in a traditional parking spot – each size and width-wise. I’d agree that the 144” was a breeze to park, even in crowded parking tons and metropolis streets. After I acquired my 144” Sprinter, I bought my Subaru, and my Sprinter turned my day by day driver for a yr and a half. I beloved driving it and felt like I might cruise down the street no otherwise than in my Subaru.
So how does the 170” examine to the 144″ by way of parking? I’d say that the argument that the 170” Sprinter is a problem to park is a bit overblown. Positive it’s longer….however if you happen to pull all the best way as much as the curb till your entrance tires hit, the 170” may “match” in a traditional parking spot. In actually tight parking tons, you might need to park just a little additional out and stroll an extra minute or two, however total, parking the 170” Sprinter hasn’t triggered me any extra stress than parking my 144”.
I’ll say {that a} rear digital camera is completely vital for the 170” Sprinter, particularly if you happen to don’t have rear home windows, however I wouldn’t have wished to go with no rearview digital camera in my 144” both.
For metropolis driving, each wheelbases deal with practically the identical. The turning radius isn’t fairly pretty much as good within the 170” vs 144” Sprinter, so you need to be just a little extra cautious with U-Turns. Parallel parking can also be a bit more difficult.
When you select to go along with a 170″ prolonged wheelbase Sprinter, remember the fact that this provides 1.5 ft to the van, making it tougher to park in regular parking areas and navigate in busy areas. Additionally, if you happen to plan on stealth tenting, a 170″ ext will seemingly draw extra consideration as it’s extra apparent it’s a camper.
Backside Line: This comes all the way down to how a lot time you propose to be in cities vs rural areas. When you reside in a busy metropolis and regularly park in busy areas, the 144″ will likely be simpler to drive and park. In case you are like me and also you attempt to keep away from massive cities, then the 170″ wheelbase shouldn’t be a difficulty.
Off-Highway Driving
Let’s be sincere. Neither Sprinter wheelbase goes to be as off-road pleasant as a Jeep or lifted pickup truck. Nonetheless, both Sprinter Van wheelbase with the 4×4 choice goes to be a surprisingly succesful automobile, with the 144″ having an apparent benefit. The 170″, whereas not fairly as nimble, remains to be a beast, and the 170″ prolonged Sprinter can be the clear loser by way of off-road functionality.
The primary advantage of the 144″ Sprinter for off-road driving is the turning radius. If you end up in a pickle and want to show round, you’ll have a neater time within the 144″ vs the 170″ Sprinter. A 144″ may deal with steep switchbacks extra simply.
The second benefit is the 144″ wheelbase is extra nimble. Due to the shorter wheelbase, you’ll be much less prone to scrape the underside if the terrain will get unexpectedly gnarly.
Does that imply that you would be able to’t off-road within the 170″ wheelbase? Completely not! We’ve actually explored hundreds of miles of tough filth roads and camped at many distant dispersed campsites in my 4×4 170″ Sprinter.
We’ve even pushed our 170″ Sprinter over Cinnamon Go and Stony Go in Colorado the place the one different autos we noticed have been Jeeps and ATVs. Now I’m not saying I’d advocate taking your Sprinter on these roads except you’re a very assured off-road driver, however I’m sharing to show that with the appropriate driving abilities both wheelbase is able to exploring and getting far off the grid.
There has solely been one time the place we bumped into a difficulty with our 170″ Sprinter and that was driving over Ophir Go in Colorado. We encountered a piece the place there had been a current shale slide and there have been deep ruts within the street. We tried to drive by means of them and couldn’t stand up and over the ruts. The street was too slender to show round, so we ended up having to again down the street a number of miles with a steep drop-off on one facet of the van. I’m unsure if a 144″ would have made it both, however a 144″ might have been capable of flip round sooner. And truthfully going up there within the first place was in all probability a nasty determination.
I’ll additionally point out that the standard of your conversion makes a distinction within the off-road functionality of your Sprinter Van. Utilizing sturdy supplies that may face up to the vibrations of filth roads and having a low heart of gravity will improve your automobile’s off-road efficiency. A well-built 170″ Sprinter Van will likely be extra off-road succesful than a poorly constructed 144″ Sprinter Van. Upgraded suspension, which we now have on our van, additionally makes an enormous distinction.
Backside Line: If you already know you wish to rally your Sprinter to its limits, you’ll have extra wiggle room with the 144”. However the 170” wheelbase with upgraded suspension and a stable inside will nonetheless take you off the crushed path as effectively.
Gasoline Effectivity
When you’re evaluating empty autos, the 144″ will barely outperform the 170″. Nonetheless, when you load them up with weight and hold a bunch of stuff on the surface, your gasoline effectivity in both wheelbase will likely be affected.
In my first Sprinter Van, I had a beefy roof rack, a ladder on the facet, and an enormous Aluminess bumper with a spare tire and field on the again. That van was additionally constructed with actually heavy supplies, corresponding to tile, reclaimed barnwood and so forth. In that van I used to be averaging 12-14 mpg.
In my 170″ Sprinter I wished to maintain the construct streamlined with the whole lot contained in the van. My roof rack is decrease profile, and I don’t have any extraneous equipment on the surface. Outdoors Van (my conversion firm) additionally labored to maintain my construct as gentle as doable. I used to be shocked to seek out out that my 170″ truly acquired higher gasoline mileage than my 144″, common 13-16 mpg.
Backside Line: Gasoline effectivity between the 144″ vs 170″ Sprinter is fairly comparable. Exterior equipment and total weight play an even bigger position than the variations between the wheelbases.
In case you are attempting to determine between a 144″ vs 170” Sprinter Van, I hope this weblog submit and my expertise helps you weigh your choices. For extra inspiration in your construct, try all of my Sprinter Van content material right here.
What different questions do you’ve got concerning the 144″ vs 170″ Sprinter van? Which wheelbase dimension are you pondering or did you go along with, and what has been your expertise? Tell us within the feedback!
