I deeply admire your willingness to scratch and bang the shit out of your brand new rig! Really enjoy your calm demeanor and "don't sweat the small stuff" spirit, and also your willingness to turn back and be prudent when called for. Enjoying your channel and will keep following your adventures as you're modeling what I want to be doing once I upgrade from my low/no ground clearance Chevy Roadtrek to a 4x4 MB camper.
Thanks, well I try not to scratch and bang more than necessary, but IMO the function of a vehicle is to take me places and paint is the last thing I worry about. Actually it's surprising that it's only mildly pinstriped considering how much noise the branches made as we pushed through. My current project is branch deflectors for the roof, to help protect the awning and antennas up there.
Wow, one of the best videos I've seen that shows how capable the Sprinter 4x4 is. These camper vans are pricy so I understand why so few are willing to actually put the "expedition overland" title to the test, thanks for sharing your adventure, looked like a lot of fun!
Probably not a bad idea to get a removable winch that goes in your receiver hitch, also rig up a mount for the front as well. Looks like a ton of fun and quite comfortable. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
It's about 4.5 tons of fun. :-) A moveable winch has definite advantages and disadvantages. I decided to go with a winch bumper and fixed winch up front, which obviously is not as good for backing up but I'm more likely to use it for winching trees out of the way. I wanted a front bumper upgrade anyway since there are no good recovery points up front, and adding the winch didn't cost much more.
Glad you found it useful. I won't say it's a bad choice, and the Sprinter chassis is great, but Thor's interior build quality is really hit-and-miss (often miss) so be sure to check everything out very thoroughly before buying.
Bless your heart and all the best to you in your spirit of adventure. Still only a city guy could manage to get stuck in that 1st puddle. We grew up with 1 wheel drive pickups, 3 on the tree and better not get stuck on the roads you're poofing along on... or at age 10, 11 and 12 we'd have to get out on our own. I have a Tranquility 4wd and it's soooo hoity toity, so over the top capable just to waft around with a camper / sink / fridge / bed/ bikes et al in temp controlled comfort. So far from how we did everything in way way rougher conditions in the late 50s and 60s. We are so spoiled now it almost feels like we're cheating. But true, there is tank/pipe vulnerable weak sister stuff hanging on the bottom of your 19P / my 19L masochistically exposed to hard pointy things. I have to put some protection plates below and some type of tubing or rail protection on the top to deflect branches as you mention.
Ha, actually I'm a country guy with quite a bit of off-road experience in Jeeps etc. but had essentially zero experience with the van at that point. What it might lack in traction it makes up for with momentum, hard to stop 4-1/2 tons once you get it going - which is both good and bad. We haven't been stuck since, and not for lack of pushing our luck. I do have a winch on the front now, more for moving obstructions than for recovery, plus a very accessible mount for my 4 MaxTrax on the spare tire. I too feel kind of spoiled to pull into remote campsites with a big box full of amenities, but we've been enjoying it.
Impressive outing. It appears that the 4x4 Sprinter can go most anywhere. A couple of questions for you. You mentioned a "closet failure". What was that about? Also, when you got stuck and used the max track to get out, were you using 4 wheel drive?
The closet failure was when the magnetic catch on the closet door released on a bumpy trail, dumping the closet (pantry) contents onto the floor. I can't entirely blame Thor for that one because I remounted the catch when I reversed the door direction, but it now has a much more robust boat-style catch that I'll show in a future video. We were definitely using 4WD low gear when we got stuck, and it's entirely possible that the van's traction control (smart braking) would have gotten us out if I had just given it a little more time, but one rear wheel was in a fairly deep hole so I stopped before possibly making things worse. Now that I'm more experienced with the van, I'd never go through such a spot so slowly and with a little more speed it would have gone right through. Momentum is my friend - and at nearly 9,000 pounds it's a very big friend - but it works both ways.
Hey Brian, QQ: Any idea what external solar panels work with the Sanctuary? I wrote Thor themselves but couldn't get a straight answer. Looking to add portable, external panels via the side port for remote working. Thanks!
The external solar connector is just a fused connection to the house battery (30A fuse I think but I'm not positive). There is no built-in charge controller on that circuit so you need an external charge controller in addition to the solar panel. Essentially any 12 volt charge controller will work as long as it doesn't supply more current than the fuse rating (again I think it's 30 amps but might be only 20). I have an external 300W folding panel that came with it's own (cheap) charge controller, and I'm planning to upgrade that soon along with the charge controller inside the van. I'll probably make a video of that when I do it.
@@rylickliter No unfortunately it's a SAE connector. I made a short adapter cable to PowerPole, so I can use it for solar charging or a general-purpose 12V outlet. Be sure to use a voltmeter to confirm the polarity of the SAE before hooking anything to it! I might just change the outlet to PowerPole but for now the adapter cable was an easy fix.
@@BrainRight I was able to find a connector for an Anderson to SAE that is made by the manufacturer. If you look for Go Power! GPPSKSP 2-Wire Trailer Connector on Amazon you should be good!
Thanks for sharing the real world usage of the off road capability of the Sanctuary. I've couple question about the van it would be great if you provide some info. 1. What is the real word MPG of the van? 2. Did Thor made any suspension enhancement on the van? Does the van hit the bump stop frequently?
On this trip we averaged about 15 MPG, with a combination of off-pavement driving on mostly gravel trails plus quite a few highway miles up to 70 MPH or so. I would expect 14-16 MPG depending on driving conditions. This trip was with stock suspension and it did fairly well, and we didn't hit the bump stops frequently but these trails didn't really push the envelope in that regard. Afterward we upgraded to the Van Compass 4.3 suspension package and it made a substantial improvement on the next trip, and I'll have a video of that trip coming soon.
@@BrainRight Thank you very much for sharing the information. Looking forward to see the video on the Van Compass 4.3 suspension and the spare tire carrier from Owl.
You can find it on the Mercedes-Benz website for the 2020 sprinter 2500 4x4. The published ground clearance is 8 inches with stock tire size 245/75R16 = 30.5 inches, which is what we have. It could be increased with larger tires (and some fender trimming), but to maintain adaptive cruise control you can only go up to 275/70R17 = 32.16 inches which would only gain another 0.8 inch of clearance so it's not worth doing for such a small gain IMO. Instead we recently added Van Compass skid plates, which reduce the ground clearance slightly but also reduce the chance of damage to the differential etc.
Yeah I cringed a little the first time too, but after the first few scratches it just becomes part of its character. Pinstripes are the price of going into more interesting places, and it's a good tradeoff for us.
Thanks for the great videos. I had never seen this rig before your vids. I live in MT, do you think this will be a 4 season rig for you in Michigan? 73 de KF7VUT
Glad you liked it. We are thinking about doing a trip back to upper Michigan this winter to tour some frozen waterfalls. It's impractical to avoid winterizing the water system since our van is kept in an unheated barn, but we can work around that with water jugs etc. The Truma heater worked fine in cool weather on our last trip, and I expect it will handle cold temps too but I don't yet have a feel for how long a tank of propane will last. 73 de K8DC
@@BrainRight thanks for the reply. I'm starting to lean more towards this rig. I seen a lot of issues but it seems that industry standard right now! Ugh. Thanks for putting it through the paces and showing what it is capable of.
I deeply admire your willingness to scratch and bang the shit out of your brand new rig! Really enjoy your calm demeanor and "don't sweat the small stuff" spirit, and also your willingness to turn back and be prudent when called for. Enjoying your channel and will keep following your adventures as you're modeling what I want to be doing once I upgrade from my low/no ground clearance Chevy Roadtrek to a 4x4 MB camper.
Thanks, well I try not to scratch and bang more than necessary, but IMO the function of a vehicle is to take me places and paint is the last thing I worry about. Actually it's surprising that it's only mildly pinstriped considering how much noise the branches made as we pushed through. My current project is branch deflectors for the roof, to help protect the awning and antennas up there.
Wow, one of the best videos I've seen that shows how capable the Sprinter 4x4 is. These camper vans are pricy so I understand why so few are willing to actually put the "expedition overland" title to the test, thanks for sharing your adventure, looked like a lot of fun!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Today we're at the shop getting a suspension upgrade, and our next trip is coming soon.
You should check out LivingTheVanLife, he has some really amazing videos pushing the 4x4 Sprinter to its absolute limits
Another nice video!
Probably not a bad idea to get a removable winch that goes in your receiver hitch, also rig up a mount for the front as well. Looks like a ton of fun and quite comfortable. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
It's about 4.5 tons of fun. :-) A moveable winch has definite advantages and disadvantages. I decided to go with a winch bumper and fixed winch up front, which obviously is not as good for backing up but I'm more likely to use it for winching trees out of the way. I wanted a front bumper upgrade anyway since there are no good recovery points up front, and adding the winch didn't cost much more.
@@BrainRight wow, wasn't thinking it would be that heavy, almost weighs as much as my one ton diesel pick up!
Thank you brother..will consider buying one❤️
I enjoyed this video! I look forward to seeing how you mitigate issues that you discovered during this excursion. The adventure continues!
Thanks Jim, it was a fun trip and we look forward to the next one. We'll have lots of new upgrades to try out.
Nice analysis of the Sprinter!
Thanks, glad you liked it.
Love this
Thanks, we had fun doing it and have taken some great off-road trips since. I hope to get videos of them out one of these days.
Love the videos man! Keep them coming.
Thanks Ry, glad you enjoy them.
Great video Brian, thanks for sharing. We looking at purchasing the Sanctuary right now.
Glad you found it useful. I won't say it's a bad choice, and the Sprinter chassis is great, but Thor's interior build quality is really hit-and-miss (often miss) so be sure to check everything out very thoroughly before buying.
Awesome video!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it
Bless your heart and all the best to you in your spirit of adventure. Still only a city guy could manage to get stuck in that 1st puddle. We grew up with 1 wheel drive pickups, 3 on the tree and better not get stuck on the roads you're poofing along on... or at age 10, 11 and 12 we'd have to get out on our own. I have a Tranquility 4wd and it's soooo hoity toity, so over the top capable just to waft around with a camper / sink / fridge / bed/ bikes et al in temp controlled comfort. So far from how we did everything in way way rougher conditions in the late 50s and 60s. We are so spoiled now it almost feels like we're cheating. But true, there is tank/pipe vulnerable weak sister stuff hanging on the bottom of your 19P / my 19L masochistically exposed to hard pointy things. I have to put some protection plates below and some type of tubing or rail protection on the top to deflect branches as you mention.
Ha, actually I'm a country guy with quite a bit of off-road experience in Jeeps etc. but had essentially zero experience with the van at that point. What it might lack in traction it makes up for with momentum, hard to stop 4-1/2 tons once you get it going - which is both good and bad. We haven't been stuck since, and not for lack of pushing our luck. I do have a winch on the front now, more for moving obstructions than for recovery, plus a very accessible mount for my 4 MaxTrax on the spare tire. I too feel kind of spoiled to pull into remote campsites with a big box full of amenities, but we've been enjoying it.
Hey, how'd ya love it up here in da U.P eh? I didn't realize we shared a passion for nature too!
73, Scott - NE8E
Love it up there, just got back from another great trip and have lots of footage to edit. I'll write more by email.
Impressive outing. It appears that the 4x4 Sprinter can go most anywhere. A couple of questions for you. You mentioned a "closet failure". What was that about? Also, when you got stuck and used the max track to get out, were you using 4 wheel drive?
The closet failure was when the magnetic catch on the closet door released on a bumpy trail, dumping the closet (pantry) contents onto the floor. I can't entirely blame Thor for that one because I remounted the catch when I reversed the door direction, but it now has a much more robust boat-style catch that I'll show in a future video.
We were definitely using 4WD low gear when we got stuck, and it's entirely possible that the van's traction control (smart braking) would have gotten us out if I had just given it a little more time, but one rear wheel was in a fairly deep hole so I stopped before possibly making things worse. Now that I'm more experienced with the van, I'd never go through such a spot so slowly and with a little more speed it would have gone right through. Momentum is my friend - and at nearly 9,000 pounds it's a very big friend - but it works both ways.
Hey Brian, QQ: Any idea what external solar panels work with the Sanctuary? I wrote Thor themselves but couldn't get a straight answer.
Looking to add portable, external panels via the side port for remote working. Thanks!
The external solar connector is just a fused connection to the house battery (30A fuse I think but I'm not positive). There is no built-in charge controller on that circuit so you need an external charge controller in addition to the solar panel. Essentially any 12 volt charge controller will work as long as it doesn't supply more current than the fuse rating (again I think it's 30 amps but might be only 20). I have an external 300W folding panel that came with it's own (cheap) charge controller, and I'm planning to upgrade that soon along with the charge controller inside the van. I'll probably make a video of that when I do it.
@@BrainRight That would be awesome! Really appreciate the info.
Is the external port just an Anderson connection? (Crosses fingers, ha)
@@rylickliter No unfortunately it's a SAE connector. I made a short adapter cable to PowerPole, so I can use it for solar charging or a general-purpose 12V outlet. Be sure to use a voltmeter to confirm the polarity of the SAE before hooking anything to it! I might just change the outlet to PowerPole but for now the adapter cable was an easy fix.
@@BrainRight I was able to find a connector for an Anderson to SAE that is made by the manufacturer. If you look for Go Power! GPPSKSP 2-Wire Trailer Connector on Amazon you should be good!
Thanks for sharing the real world usage of the off road capability of the Sanctuary. I've couple question about the van it would be great if you provide some info.
1. What is the real word MPG of the van?
2. Did Thor made any suspension enhancement on the van? Does the van hit the bump stop frequently?
On this trip we averaged about 15 MPG, with a combination of off-pavement driving on mostly gravel trails plus quite a few highway miles up to 70 MPH or so. I would expect 14-16 MPG depending on driving conditions. This trip was with stock suspension and it did fairly well, and we didn't hit the bump stops frequently but these trails didn't really push the envelope in that regard. Afterward we upgraded to the Van Compass 4.3 suspension package and it made a substantial improvement on the next trip, and I'll have a video of that trip coming soon.
@@BrainRight Thank you very much for sharing the information. Looking forward to see the video on the Van Compass 4.3 suspension and the spare tire carrier from Owl.
Thank you for sharing. What is the ground clearance of this van? I could not find the information about ground clearance at Thor website.
You can find it on the Mercedes-Benz website for the 2020 sprinter 2500 4x4. The published ground clearance is 8 inches with stock tire size 245/75R16 = 30.5 inches, which is what we have. It could be increased with larger tires (and some fender trimming), but to maintain adaptive cruise control you can only go up to 275/70R17 = 32.16 inches which would only gain another 0.8 inch of clearance so it's not worth doing for such a small gain IMO. Instead we recently added Van Compass skid plates, which reduce the ground clearance slightly but also reduce the chance of damage to the differential etc.
I am Cringing watching him scratch that brand new Van up but I guess that's what he bought it for
Yeah I cringed a little the first time too, but after the first few scratches it just becomes part of its character. Pinstripes are the price of going into more interesting places, and it's a good tradeoff for us.
Thanks for the great videos. I had never seen this rig before your vids. I live in MT, do you think this will be a 4 season rig for you in Michigan? 73 de KF7VUT
Glad you liked it. We are thinking about doing a trip back to upper Michigan this winter to tour some frozen waterfalls. It's impractical to avoid winterizing the water system since our van is kept in an unheated barn, but we can work around that with water jugs etc. The Truma heater worked fine in cool weather on our last trip, and I expect it will handle cold temps too but I don't yet have a feel for how long a tank of propane will last.
73 de K8DC
@@BrainRight thanks for the reply. I'm starting to lean more towards this rig. I seen a lot of issues but it seems that industry standard right now! Ugh. Thanks for putting it through the paces and showing what it is capable of.