Why We Bought a Ford Transit Instead of a Mercedes Sprinter Van

We just bought a 2019 Ford Transit cargo van! We are so excited to convert this empty cargo van into our tiny home on wheels! After not having a permanent home for the last year we are so excited to have our own space that is not rented or shared! We have seriously forgotten what that feels like! The first decision we made when looking to buy was deciding what van we wanted. We quickly decided we wanted a Ford Transit and are really happy with our decision so far! Here is every reason why we bought a Ford Transit instead of a Sprinter van!

If you’ve heard anything about van life you have probably heard about Mercedes Sprinter vans. If not, Sprinter vans are the most popular vans that people usually convert to live in, at least in the US. Some are Dodge Sprinters and some are Mercedes Sprinters but they are all built using Mercedes parts.

There are definitely pros and cons to buying either one. After all you’re buying about 60 square feet to use as your kitchen, living room, dining room, office, bedroom and bathroom. So there are bound to be flaws with both options! But here are our reasons for buying a Ford Transit instead of a Sprinter van.

• There are also other options besides these two, however, these are definitely two of the most popular (again at least in the US). Another option that more and more people are converting is the Ram Promaster. We actually looked at those too while searching for a van and were able to find quite a few of them for a reasonable price.

Our Top 3 Must Haves When Buying A Van

There were a few things that were really important to us while we were looking for a van to buy. These will differ according to what is important to you or what you’re looking to do with the van or even how tall or short you are. Here are our top 3 must haves when buying a van:

1. We Both Have to be Able to Stand Up Comfortably

We rented a van in New Zealand and had the best two weeks road tripping around the South Island. Seriously we stayed at the most beautiful free campsites that completely convinced us that van life is amazing! The one drawback with that van was that neither of us could stand up in it comfortably. I could stand up if my head was tilted halfway. So it was doable for 2 weeks but I definitely hit my head a million times. Dave definitely couldn’t stand up so that left me to do all the dishes (funny how that happened…) so we definitely need a taller van!

For reference I am about 5 feet 4 inches (64 inches) and Dave is about 6 feet (72 inches). So we need a van that has an interior height of at least 75 inches but preferably closer to 80 inches because once we add ceiling and floor we knew we would lose about 4-6 inches from the overall height with insulation, wood, etc. Because of that we quickly ruled out the Ford Transit medium roof and any other shorter vans.

Read More: 5 Reasons We Did Not Choose a Fixed Bed for our Van Layout

2. It Fits in a Normal Sized Parking Spot

It’s important to us that our van feels relatively small while we are driving it. We want it to fit in a normal parking spot and be able to be driven out in nature but also on smaller streets in cities. We use the word mostly because every van is going to be bigger than a sedan but some of the extended versions (both Transit and Sprinter) definitely won’t fit in a normal sized parking spot so we ruled out those models.

• For now this is important to us as we want to be able to explore out in nature as well as all throughout different towns and cities. Maybe at some point this will change and become less important. We definitely don’t see ourselves being in cities all the time but we want the option of being able to easily drive and park no matter where we are!

3. It Has a Work Area / Table

If backpacking over the last year has taught us anything, it’s that we get absolutely nothing done when we’re sitting in bed. Trying to work on your computer while half sitting half laying in bed is literally impossible. I end up scrolling on my phone or my computer overheats or my legs fall asleep.

Every time we stayed in a place that had a table or desk or some kind of work area we were so much more productive! So if we want the van to be a place where we can eat, sleep and work then we need a dedicated work area or table where we can sit with our computers and be able to actually get stuff done. For us this was really important and impacted our overall layout a lot. If this doesn’t matter to you then a table might not be important to you! It really depends on what you are looking to do inside the van.

• This impacted the size of van we were looking at. It ruled out those really small vans that wouldn’t be able to accommodate a bed, kitchen and some sort of table.

Read More: Everything We Used in our DIY Van Build

So now that we have our absolute must haves for a van here are the reasons why we bought a Ford Transit instead of a Mercedes Sprinter van.

1. Ford Transits Can be Worked on By Any Mechanic

This is the biggest reason of them all! Sprinter vans (whether a Dodge Sprinter or a Mercedes Sprinter) have Mercedes engines and parts that are just generally complicated to fix. Not all mechanics and auto shops are able to work on Sprinter van parts. That means a lot of the time (not always) it requires you to go to a Mercedes-Benz dealership or authorized mechanic. If you’re traveling around and you’re not close to an auto repair place that can work on those parts, it makes it a lot more complicated to get your van fixed! They also tend to be pretty expensive repairs as the parts and labor are more complicated and not as common.

• Because the van is a moving vehicle and we know we want to travel all around in it, this is a big drawback for us. Sprinters in general are pretty reliable cars if they are well maintained but all cars eventually need work especially if you’re living it in. We didn’t want to have to be limited by where we could take it to be fixed even just for routine service or on the off chance that it breaks down at some point.

A Ford Transit is made with Ford parts that any mechanic can work on. Ford is also made in the US so it should be a lot easier for us to get our Ford Transit fixed if need be especially with ordering replacement parts. Now that we’ve said that watch our engine will need to be replaced while we’re out in the middle of nowhere one day and we’ll see exactly how “easy” it is.

2. The Ford Transit Has 2.4 Inches More of Interior Height

The Ford Transit has an interior height of 81.5 inches which is one of the highest interior heights of any cargo van. If you’re over 6 feet tall and planning on installing a ceiling and floor in your van and don’t want to constantly brush your head on the ceiling any extra height will be appreciated. The Ford Transit has about 2.4 inches more of interior height than the Sprinter van. It doesn’t sound like a lot but with only 60 square feet that’s a decent amount of vertical space! It’s basically the difference of Dave’s head constantly touching the ceiling or having a couple inches in between.

• If you or your partner is under 6 feet tall then this won’t be as important. But for us this was definitely an advantage of the Ford Transit! We’re planning on living in the van full time so we want it to be as comfortable as a house would be which includes being able to stand up and do all the things you want to be able to do inside.

Travel Truth: If you’re not that tall this could actually be seen as a disadvantage as it means the Ford Transit needs a higher clearance for things like bridges while driving. It all depends on you and your circumstances!

Read More: How to Choose a Van Layout

3. Sprinters Can Be Very Expensive to Buy!

Before we start talking about price we just want to preface by saying prices always vary! For us we wanted a vehicle with lower mileage because we know we are going to be putting plenty of miles on it ourselves. Looking at Sprinters with similar mileage would have cost us a lot more money like thousands and thousands more! Many Sprinters are also diesel engines which usually mean they run for a long time but they do have a history of engine trouble once they get up there in miles. So the up front cost can vary a lot based on which van you decide to purchase.

For us personally we didn’t want to spend that much up front on a Sprinter with the amount of miles we were looking for. Our van is 1 year old and had about 26,000 miles on it when we bought it and we really confident that it will last (knock on wood) for lots and lots of miles to come!

4. The Walls on Ford Transits are Slightly Less Curved Than Sprinter Vans

This is definitely not what made us buy a Ford Transit instead of a Sprinter. It was much more of #1 on this list that drove our ultimate decision. But this is definitely something to keep in mind when you’re cutting all those annoying curves. The side walls of the Sprinter van are pretty curved which can make it challenging if you’re putting anything up on the walls. The Ford Transit is slightly less curved. You’re still building on the walls inside of a car so it’s challenging to begin with but we’ll take any little bit that could make it easier!

Read More: Tools You Need for a DIY Van Build

We hope this is helpful to anyone trying to decide what van to buy! Ultimately it depends significantly on what you are looking to do with your van. Are you:

• Looking to live and work in the van? This will impact your layout inside the van.
• Using it for a weekend adventure vehicle? This will impact how much you need in the van both in terms of your layout (if it’s just for weekends maybe you don’t need a full kitchen) and also any gear you want to be able to store in the van.
• Very tall or on the shorter side? This will impact how important the interior height is to you.
• Budget conscious or not so much? This will impact how much you are willing to spend up front on the van as well as on the conversion to make it livable.

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