Tacoma vs Sprinter or as I call it: “Getting there” vs “Being There”
I will have had this StoryTeller Overland built Mercedes Sprinter Van for 75+ days and yes, it is true, I am now ruined for normal camping forever (haha).
It’s a little bitter sweet but on Tuesday of this week I will be “passing the pen” off to the next Adventurer to ink their chapter(s) in the Beast Mode story.
The questions regarding which vehicle I “like better” have been flowing in since day 1. I have been using the StoryTeller Sprinter as much as possible to give the most accurate review, from my perspective. As they say, YMMV but choosing a “winner” is like deciding which of your dogs is your favorite.
WHAT I LOVED (aka what really worked for MY style of travel):
Easy, always ready Hot Water. Seems silly but it really was a game changer. This Storyteller build has a diesel powered furnace and this gives you the ability to push two buttons and have hot water (immediately) for the sink or in either of the 2 showers. Hot showers are awesome for obvious reasons but I didn’t anticipate how much I would appreciate the hot water in the sink for dishes! Anything that makes it easier to clean up after a messy dinner is gold in my book!
The dual lithium Volta power system was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I did learn quickly that this setup is in a league of its own, and is another feature that will spoil you for all future camping. Once you have experienced how easy and powerful this system is you start to understand the price tag for these builds. This system has the ability to run the A/C (van off) for 10+ hours without needing a charge. This came in so handy on a few of our extra hot nights in the desert this summer; being able to run the AC for several hours at night with no stress was pretty nice! (Not to mention the stress-free convenience of being able to leave the pup in the van when needed).
The option to “live indoors” WITH friends. I cannot tell you how many campsites that have been “saved” by this feature. Summer camping is awesome but bugs & heat can be a real nuisance. The “party bus” option really took the stress out of finding “the perfect” site for camp each night. If it was raining, windy, blowing sand, muggy, buggy or just plain spicy out (hot) we had a place to retreat to that was actually VERY comfortable. At one point we had 5 adults and 5 dogs in the StoryTeller Overland Sprinter, taking cover from the hoards of mosquitos and the hot temps, it was the perfect shelter! Nights like that would have been “forfeited” in the Taco, as in, everyone retreats to their tents and calls it an early night or we play “Super 8” and talk over our radios from our treehouses. When you are camping with friends that option (retreating) is a total bummer, so that’s why we all really appreciated that we could hang together “inside” with AC, cold beer and skin exposed without fear!
WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE (aka what really didn’t work for MY style of travel).
4wheel Drive, lack of horse power and the infamous turbo lag. Now I will admit that there are some after market things that could make this more tolerable. 4Wheel drive (as someone coming from the truck world) is not what I expect it to be, especially 4Lo. In my opinion it functions more like All-wheel drive even with the ESP turned off. The low end torque or lack of it (due to turbo lag), also became an issue on trail. If we were on any sort of grade and had to slow or stop for an obstacle we had a 50/50 chance of gaining momentum again for the rest of the hill climb. Keep in mind, this vehicle is close to 9k lbs when fully loaded…150 hp just aint gonna cut it! If this is just a road-trip mobile that mostly sees tarmac and the occasional dirt road you can definitely get used to the quirks. But on an off-road trail this can become an issue. I did find myself overheating the turbo on a few occasions and when that happens you will go into limp mode until it cools down, I am not a fan of this. Give it time to cool and reset and it will move again but unscheduled breaks aren’t my favorite when I am trying to get to camp before sunset and on narrow/steep trails it can be a liability.
Unibody construction. There is no “fix” for this. This might be the most glaring difference between the Tacoma and the Sprinter. You are driving a completely different animal. In my Tacoma the frame, body and the bed of the truck can somewhat flex independently and that really allows you to take advantage of those aftermarket suspension set ups. But with the Sprinter, that just isn’t an option and you definitely feel it when you come to basically any kind of trail variation. I was not a fan of how easily the Van 3wheeled and sometimes 2…I like my rubber on the ground, especially when you have a much higher center of gravity.
DEF. As someone who is new to this clean diesel stuff, I found the adding of DEF annoying. Is it a simple thing, of course…but felt like I did it far too often for the time I had with it, maybe I drive too much.
Conclusion: This is an incredible Sprinter Build and just might be the ultimate Road Trip Mobile. There are very few things I would change about what Storyteller has done, I honestly didn’t know “camping” like this was possible. I believe that this setup is a great option for a good percentage, if not the vast majority, of the Outdoor Adventurists; and I am excited to see this section of the market continue to grow. If money wasn’t an object it would be a lot of fun to have this in the quiver of ADVENTURE MOBILE OPTIONS. After having been a part of several van shows, I do believe the Storyteller build was the highest quality and most thoughtful of all the Sprinter vans I came across. In the end my current style of Offroad travel is just too aggressive for this to be a full time vehicle for me, although I was pleasantly surprised at how many places we were actually able to get to (just ask my white knuckles) ;)
Things I would like to see come standard on the Sprinter:
Long range fuel tank.
Water filtration system.
Rear locker
Throttle control technology
Re-gear
Skids/Sliders
