Is anyone towing with a 3 liter diesel Sprinter van? Bonus for 4WD.

[Bruce]

I need a vehicle with a ramp and am considering full size vans from Ford, GMC and Mercedes / Freightliner. I would like it to be 4WD for use on the farms and be able to tow a 23 to 25 foot Yamaha. The Ford would be 3.5 Ecoboost but I find the looks to be the least appealing would have to buy new to get AWD. The GMC was available with AWD from 2010 to 2014 but all of those are 5.3 V8s. Currently I have a 6.2 and would prefer not to step down. The GMC also has the least ground clearance. The Sprinter looks to have a pretty similar look inside and out and 4WD / AWD available since 2015 with a 5,000 pound tow capacity. A 7,500 pound tow capacity is available with the 3500 Sprinter but I do not believe it is available with 4WD.

My thinking is that the 2500 4WD Sprinter will meet my needs. I am hoping that a member will have experience towing with them.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[TimW451]

I don’t have one, but hopefully this will help in your decision making process:

 

[Bruce]

Found a pretty good and positive thread on towing with the Sprinter.

https://www.thehulltruth.com/trucks-trailers/1108917-sprinter-van-towing.html

 

[Zizzou 192]

The forum you want to go to is sprinter-source.com

Sprinter 4x4s are a very rare vehicle, and ride a few inches higher than a regular sprinter. Dealers were getting a total of 2 allocations per year for the 4wd option. It is not an on road four wheel drive system like the 4-matic full time all wheel drivein their cars, but that may change next year. The 4wd option costs about 20k to be added afterwords by various upfitters.

We tow the 192 twice a year with an older R class 4-matic without the slightest drama with the gas 3.5l. Have not used the NCV3 1.8 diesel 2wd sprinter to tow yet as it is a bit of an overkill for our current towing situation. Can tell you that RWD sprinter stinks in the snow with a light load and no snow tires. Rides much better with some weight in it, and studded snows are going to be needed for snowy travel.

Would suggest only using a factory wiring harness and having the dealer reprogram the central gateway to activate the-trailer stability control on a mercedes product aftermarket hitch, or finding a vehicle with the oem hitch and wiring installed at the factory.