Expedition Truck vs Sprinter Van: Which Is Better for Full-Time Travel? – Bearfoot Theory

For almost a decade, I used to be satisfied a Sprinter van was the last word journey car.

I owned three completely different Sprinter vans over eight years, spent greater than 2,000 nights residing on the street, and traveled throughout North America chasing mountain climbing trails, mountain bike rides, ski journeys, and distant campsites.

Then I turned a dad or mum.

Last 12 months, my household traded our Sprinter for a Rossmonster Baja Trail expedition truck. Since then, I’ve spent a full 12 months residing on the street with my accomplice, our two-year-old son, two canines, and all of the van life gear that comes together with household journey. We drove from Utah to the southern tip of Baja, crossed the continent to jap Canada, and spent months tenting in deserts, mountains, forests, and seashores alongside the best way.

Lots of people have requested whether or not I believe an expedition-style truck camper is best than a Sprinter.

The reply is not any.

After residing extensively in each, I’ve come to imagine they merely clear up completely different issues.

Before I dive in, it’s price clarifying that the Rossmonster Baja isn’t consultant of each truck camper available on the market. The Baja falls right into a class sometimes called an expedition truck. Similar automobiles embody EarthRoamer, Storyteller Hilt, TruckHome, GXV, and different absolutely built-in truck-based campers designed for prolonged off-grid journey.

If you’re new to van life and making an attempt to resolve between an expedition truck and a Sprinter van for prolonged journey, full-time residing, or household adventures, this text is for you. Rather than declaring a winner, I’m sharing the tradeoffs I’ve skilled after residing full-time in each and why my preferences have modified over time.

This put up could comprise affiliate hyperlinks.

Why I Switched from a Sprinter to an Expedition Truck

The greatest motive I switched wasn’t as a result of I finished loving van life. It was as a result of my priorities modified.

When it was simply Ryan, me, and our canines, we spent most of our time exterior. My 170″ 4×4 Sprinter van was primarily transportation, a kitchen, and a spot to sleep. We’d go away camp early, spend the day mountain climbing or exploring, and return within the night.

Traveling in a van with a child seems very completely different.

There are naps, early bedtimes, extra meals, extra downtime…and a lot extra stuff.

As a end result, issues like a devoted dinette, separate sleeping areas, a bigger toilet, and a roomier inside instantly turned rather more worthwhile than they’d been throughout my early van life years.

That shift in priorities explains nearly each conclusion I’ve reached after spending a 12 months within the Baja Trail.

The Showdown

For those that need the highlights, right here’s my fast comparability of the place I believe every rig comes out forward. These rankings are based mostly on my private expertise after residing full-time in each and replicate the best way my household travels right now.

Driving and Handling

One class the place the Sprinter nonetheless has a transparent benefit is on a regular basis driving and maneuverability.

The seating place offers glorious visibility. As somebody who’s 5’5″, it’s simpler to see over the hood within the Sprinter, and it feels surprisingly manageable for such a big car. In cities, parking tons, and tight trailhead parking areas, the Sprinter feels extra like a big SUV than a business car.

The Rossmonster Baja, then again, undoubtedly appears like an enormous truck.

It’s wider and feels extra substantial from the driving force’s seat. While I tailored shortly, I nonetheless discover metropolis driving simpler in a Sprinter. I’d be mendacity if I mentioned I didn’t make Ryan do a lot of the driving (which was not the case in my Sprinter Vans).

Where the Rossmonster Baja shines, nonetheless, is on the freeway.

The Ford F-350 has considerably extra energy than any of my Sprinters did. Long mountain grades that might have my Sprinter floored and dealing onerous barely faze the truck. Acceleration is noticeably faster, merging is less complicated, and the truck feels extra relaxed at freeway speeds.

The wider stance additionally contributes to a extra secure really feel on pavement, particularly in windy situations. Further, the truck is a couple of foot shorter than a high-roof Sprinter when it’s in drive mode (this isn’t the case with a number of different expedition vans).

Another factor I didn’t absolutely admire till turning into a dad or mum is how a lot I worth having everybody trip within the truck cab. While I by no means felt unsafe in my Sprinter Vans, I do like the truth that our son is driving in a factory-designed passenger space somewhat than immediately beneath overhead cupboards and storage compartments.

Off-Road Capability

People are sometimes stunned once I say this, however I believe this class is way nearer than many individuals anticipate.

had a Van Compass suspension system, and we took that van locations most individuals wouldn’t think about taking a van. We crossed Cinnamon Pass in Colorado, explored numerous distant desert roads all through Utah, and spent years in search of out dispersed campsites removed from pavement.

The van carried out superbly, and I not often felt restricted by it…apart from the time we needed to again down Ophir Pass after getting caught in an enormous shale rut. Whoops!

One benefit of the Sprinter is its narrower width and surprisingly tight turning radius. On slim forest roads, overgrown tracks, and tight switchbacks, it will possibly really really feel extra maneuverable than the Baja. We additionally by no means needed to fear as a lot about tree branches brushing the edges of the car.

The Baja does have some benefits. The truck sits greater, rides on bigger 37-inch tires, has extra floor clearance, and gives considerably extra energy. On steep climbs and tough roads, the truck feels extra assured and requires much less effort to get by difficult terrain. The bigger tires additionally do a greater job absorbing washboards, potholes, and tough roads, which may make lengthy dirt-road approaches extra comfy.

That mentioned, I don’t assume off-road functionality is set by the chassis alone. The high quality of the construct, the general weight of the car, tire selection, and suspension setup all play a significant function.

A light-weight Sprinter construct with upgraded suspension could carry out higher off-road than a a lot heavier expedition truck. In both case, I believe upgraded suspension that’s correctly tuned to the load of the car is without doubt one of the finest investments you may make.

One factor I didn’t anticipate with the Baja is that whereas the truck itself feels extremely succesful, you’ll be able to nonetheless really feel the camper field shifting behind you on tough roads. That’s not a knock on Rossmonster – it’s merely the truth of driving a truck with a completely constructed camper hooked up to the again. Because of that, we nonetheless discover ourselves slowing down and selecting cautious traces by tough terrain somewhat than charging by obstacles.

At the top of the day, each of those automobiles are heavy. Neither drives like a light-weight Tacoma with a Four Wheel Camper. Neither is a rock crawler or designed for hardcore overlanding. If your objective is high-speed desert driving or extremely technical off-roading, there are higher automobiles for the job.

For the kind of journey I get pleasure from – reaching distant campsites, exploring backroads, and spending time on public lands – I’d name this class a tie. The Baja has benefits in clearance, tire dimension, and energy, whereas the Sprinter advantages from its narrower footprint and tighter turning radius.

Living Space and Day-to-Day Comfort

This is the place I observed the most important distinction between an expedition truck vs a Sprinter Van.

When you’re touring as a pair, a 170″ wheelbase Sprinter can really feel surprisingly spacious relying in your van’s structure.

Once you add a toddler, nonetheless, each sq. foot begins working time beyond regulation. The distinction is what you must give as much as make room for it.

In a van, each main characteristic comes with a compromise. A bigger toilet would possibly imply much less kitchen area, much less seating, much less storage, or a extra cramped general structure.

One of the most important benefits of the Baja Trail is the additional inside width. On paper it doesn’t sound like a lot, nevertheless it makes these tradeoffs really feel a lot much less extreme.

My Baja Trail has a devoted dinette, a full toilet with a bathe and Cuddy composting rest room, a everlasting mattress, a spacious galley, and a separate sleeping space for our son.

And as loopy as this would possibly sound, we (together with our 2 canines) can all be hanging out within the camper with out feeling like we’re stepping on one another’s toes. That wasn’t all the time the case in our Sprinter, particularly on wet days.

The general circulation merely works higher for household journey. It’s additionally nice for {couples} who work remotely and desire a devoted work space that doesn’t should double as a mattress.

The dinette has grow to be certainly one of our most-used areas, and plenty of days we simply go away it in lounge mode so we have now a big, comfortable space to calm down. It’s the place we eat meals, work on wet days, and the place our son sleeps every evening.

Traveling with a toddler has additionally modified how I take into consideration bogs. Being capable of shortly use the bathroom, rinse off after a muddy hike, or clear up after a seashore day with out rearranging your complete camper has made life on the street noticeably simpler. And it’s particularly good that it doesn’t really feel like the toilet has to come back on the expense of one thing else in our residing area.

Sleeping Arrangements

The sleeping setup between a Sprinter vs expedition truck is pretty comparable for {couples}, however the greatest distinction exhibits up while you’re touring with greater than two folks.

In my second and third Sprinter Vans, I designed them with a normal platform mattress with storage beneath. It was nice for us to have the ability to pull over anyplace and hop into mattress.

When our son was born, the restrictions of a Sprinter Van turned abundantly clear. The trouble of organising his mattress each evening (and the way a lot it disrupted our means to be awake within the van after bedtime) was one of many massive causes I made a decision to promote that van.

The massive caveat right here is that my son was an toddler at this stage, and as soon as youngsters are out of a crib, there are a lot simpler setups for Sprinter Van household residing. Rooftop tents with entry from contained in the Sprinter have gotten much more widespread as of late, and that’s a setup I’d think about.

In the truck, our son sleeps on the transformed dinette, whereas Ryan and I sleep within the cabover mattress. A blackout curtain separates the areas, permitting us to proceed shifting round after bedtime with out worrying about waking him up. It nonetheless takes time to arrange and take down on daily basis, however not less than we are able to all co-exist and transfer round within the truck after he’s asleep.

For households touring long-term, this expedition truck setup has been one of many greatest enhancements over my Sprinter.

It’s additionally price mentioning that the Baja’s inside peak makes the camper really feel surprisingly spacious. Taller vacationers who really feel cramped in some vans could admire the extra headroom and openness.

Water Capacity and Off-Grid Living

One of probably the most sensible variations between the 2 setups is water capability.

Most Sprinter conversions carry someplace round 20 to 25 gallons of recent water. Some carry extra, however that’s a reasonably widespread vary.

My Baja carries 40 gallons.

That could not sound like an enormous distinction, however in each day use it’s important.

When I traveled solo or as a pair, 20 to 25 gallons felt manageable. But when you begin touring with a number of folks, the place you might have extra dishes, handwashing, and showers, the water disappears a lot sooner than you anticipate.

This is one motive I’ve grow to be much less satisfied that an indoor bathe is an efficient use of area in a Sprinter. You can completely construct one, however when you’re solely carrying sufficient water for just a few days of standard bathe use, you might end up continuously looking for the following refill.

With 40 gallons within the truck, I spend a lot much less time interested by the right way to preserve my water and might comfortably keep off-grid for longer durations.

Pass-Through vs Walk-Through Access

One factor I underestimated when switching from a Sprinter was how a lot I’d miss shifting freely between the cab and residing space.

In a van, every thing is related. If I desire a snack, a jacket, a digicam battery, or a drink from the fridge, it’s all inside attain. I might so simply hop again there whereas Ryan was driving, that I by no means thought twice about it.

Like most expedition-style truck campers, the Rossmonster Baja Trail does have a pass-through between the truck cab and camper, which was one of many options that attracted me to it within the first place.

The pass-through undoubtedly works. Our son makes use of it. The canines use it. And I’ll be sincere, that alone is large.

I can even crawl by it after we are driving or if I must entry one thing within the cab at evening and don’t really feel like going exterior.

But in actuality, you aren’t casually strolling again to the fridge to make a sandwich whereas another person is driving down the freeway.

The pass-through is 100% higher than no entry in any respect, nevertheless it doesn’t replicate the straightforward expertise of a walk-through van.

Storage

Storage is one class the place neither setup is a transparent winner. They’re merely optimized otherwise.

Sprinter Storage Advantages

One of the most important advantages of a Sprinter is the storage beneath a platform mattress.

That area can swallow a ton of important van life gear that’s troublesome to retailer elsewhere.

For instance:

• Bikes
• Ski gear
• Large bins
• Camping gear
• Folding furnishings

Many van layouts additionally let you customise storage round your particular hobbies and priorities. We have been capable of match 2-ebikes, backpacking gear, a paddle board, and extra beneath the mattress in my Sprinter Van.

Baja Trail Storage Advantages

Compared to most Sprinter vans, I’d say the Baja Trail has extra ample storage for smaller, on a regular basis objects that you simply want fast entry to.

We have overhead cupboards all through the camper, drawers within the galley, toilet storage, clothes storage close to the mattress, plus giant exterior storage packing containers. Of course, we had these in my Sprinter Van too, however I believe it’s much more plentiful within the truck.

The inside cupboards within the Baja are giant sufficient to retailer all of our cooking home equipment, together with our Vitamix, Instant Pot, air fryer, and cookware, making them straightforward to seize every time we want them. In our Sprinter, these bulkier objects would have lived within the storage, which meant digging them out each time we needed to make use of them.

Baja Trail Storage Disadvantages

The greatest problem within the Rossmonster Baja is giant gear storage.

While the outside packing containers are spacious, they’re not as versatile as having an enormous storage beneath a van mattress.

We struggled to seek out good houses for some bigger objects, significantly our little one service backpack. For a time period, that ended up driving contained in the truck cab.

We additionally haven’t been touring with our e-bikes as we did in my Sprinter Van. It is feasible to mount bikes to the highest of the outside packing containers on the again of the Baja, however that looks as if a trouble to me, given the field’s peak.

The backseat of the truck can maintain a shocking quantity of substances when you’re touring as a pair. But when you’re touring with youngsters or canines and wish to preserve entry to the pass-through, that area fills up shortly.

The caveat is that each one expedition vans are arrange otherwise with regards to storage, so this limitation is one you’d have to guage relying on what model of camper you intend to get.

Camp Setup and Stealth Camping

One space the place the Sprinter nonetheless has a bonus is simplicity. When you arrive at camp, there’s little or no to do. Put it in park, swivel the seats when you have them, and also you’re primarily achieved.

The Baja’s power-operated pop-top solely takes about 30 seconds to boost or decrease, nevertheless it’s nonetheless one further step when arriving at camp and one other earlier than driving away. That’s the trade-off for the extra headroom and the decrease driving profile.

The Sprinter additionally attracts much less consideration. I don’t assume trendy camper vans are significantly stealthy anymore – particularly if they’ve home windows, roof equipment, awnings, and apparent camper options – however they typically mix in additional than an expedition truck.

The Baja turns heads in every single place we go. Fuel stations, grocery retailer parking tons, trailheads, and campgrounds – folks continuously cease to ask questions on it. Since that is what I do for a residing, I don’t thoughts, and it’s really been a enjoyable technique to meet folks.

That mentioned, this hasn’t been a significant component for me. As a household doing street life with 2 canines, my days of stealth tenting are lengthy gone. Most of my tenting is finished on public lands, in campgrounds, or in locations the place I’m not making an attempt to cover the truth that I’m spending the evening.

Cost

Let’s handle the elephant within the room: neither of those choices is cheap. I’ll be sincere, it’s been fairly stunning to see how a lot the costs of journey automobiles have skyrocketed since I acquired my first van in 2015.

A brand new AWD Sprinter cargo van typically begins someplace between $60,000 and $80,000 earlier than any conversion work is finished. From there, you’ll be able to construct it out your self, full the conversion in levels over time, or rent an expert builder. Depending on the complexity of the construct, a professionally transformed Sprinter can simply value anyplace from $150,000 to nicely over $300,000. The greatest benefit of a van, other than being inexpensive, is you could design the van round your funds.

Like different expedition vans, the Rossmonster Baja sits in a unique class. New Baja fashions presently begin round $380,000 (together with the truck chassis) and might climb considerably relying on choices and upgrades.

The Rossmonster can also be RVIA-certified, which may make financing and insurance coverage simpler than a self-built van or a conversion from a van builder that isn’t RVIA-certified.

At the top of the day, funds is without doubt one of the most necessary components to contemplate when selecting between a camper van and an expedition truck. While it’s straightforward to get caught up evaluating options, flooring plans, and capabilities, the truth is that each can present unimaginable experiences on the street.

Rather than asking which car is “better,” I believe the extra helpful query is whether or not the extra value aligns with the way you really journey. If you’re a solo traveler or couple who spends most of your time exterior, it’s onerous to argue that spending a whole bunch of 1000’s extra will dramatically enhance your expertise.

On the opposite hand, when you’re touring full-time with youngsters, spending prolonged durations off-grid, or prioritizing consolation and livability, the added area and facilities could also be well worth the funding.

One technique to scale back the price of an expedition truck is to purchase used. While the market is way smaller than the Sprinter van market, used expedition vans do come up on the market from time to time. Depending on the age, mileage, and builder, it’s doable to avoid wasting tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in comparison with shopping for new.

In reality, if I have been looking for an expedition truck right now, I’d strongly think about shopping for used. Many of those automobiles are constructed to journey lengthy distances and are sometimes owned by individuals who take glorious care of them.

What I Miss Most About My Sprinter Vans

After a 12 months within the expedition truck, there are some things I genuinely miss about van life.

• The simplicity. In a van, you pull into camp, put it in park, and also you’re achieved. With the Baja, I want to boost the roof once I arrive and decrease it once more earlier than I go away. It’s a fast course of, nevertheless it’s nonetheless yet another factor to consider.
• The related inside. While the pass-through is helpful, it’s not the identical as having full entry to the residing area whereas driving.
• The narrower driving footprint. The Sprinter was simpler to navigate by cities, tight parking tons, and slim forest roads.
• The storage. Having an enormous storage space beneath the mattress made carrying bikes and hulking gear a lot simpler.

What I Prefer concerning the Expedition Truck

After a 12 months of full-time journey within the Baja, there are some things which have grow to be surprisingly necessary to me.

• The additional residing area. This might be the most important one. On paper, the Baja doesn’t appear dramatically bigger than a Sprinter, however the additional width adjustments every thing. The camper feels extra open, extra comfy, and far simpler to stay in after we’re all inside collectively.
• The household sleeping association. Having a devoted sleeping area for our son has improved our high quality of life greater than I anticipated. We can put him to mattress and nonetheless use the camper with out feeling like we’re trapped at midnight.
• The bigger water capability. Forty gallons doesn’t sound dramatically completely different from 25 gallons till you’re residing with it. We spend much less time worrying about water and extra time having fun with the place we’re.
• The truck cab. I discover the seats extra comfy, the facility is extra confidence-inspiring, and I admire having everybody trip in a factory-designed passenger compartment.

Final Thoughts

After the entire years of street life, I nonetheless assume Sprinter vans are a few of the finest journey automobiles ever constructed.

When my child is out of the home, I’d severely think about proudly owning one other one. They strike an unimaginable stability between drivability, consolation, storage, and functionality, which is why they’ve grow to be so common during the last decade.

But after spending the final 12 months residing full-time in an expedition truck with my accomplice, toddler, and two canines, I lastly perceive why so many households finally transfer past vans – whether or not that be to an expedition truck, a trailer, or a bigger RV.

If there’s one factor I’ve realized after greater than a decade of vehicle-based journey, it’s that there isn’t a good rig. Every new car solves one set of issues whereas creating new ones, and the very best car is the one which helps your adventures with the least quantity of compromise.

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