Check this one out...

http://www.colonialairstream.com/2003models/b_van/interior.html

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ty Graham" <tyg@OZ.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 11:42 AM
Subject: Drove a Sprinter and liked it ...

> Am I going to hell?  I feel so dirty.
>
> I went down to Freightliner in Portland a couple of weeks ago and looked
> at Sprinters.  They had more than 20 on the lot including a camper
> conversion.  I spent 3 hours over two days asking questions and crawling
> around.  I test drove the camper conversion for ~5 miles.
>
> Overall, I am very impressed.  It is a very nice modern van, though has
> much more in common with a bread truck than with our Vanagons.
>
> 140" wheelbase plus a hiroof feels super spacious for three.  It would
> be wild to do some sort of conversion on a ten(!) passenger rig that
> allowed for future birthday parties or soccer team hauling.  I'm 6'3"
> and could around walk easily.  It felt like only a slightly lower
> ceiling than the AWs I've been in.
>
> Ergonomics seemed pretty good with a four way adjustable seat and
> adequate legroom.  All the modern conveniences were there, though not as
> nicely implemented as in my MINI or Volvo.  Typical of any new car pitch
> I've had, the presence of cupholders was prominently featured.
>
> For such a long, spacious rig, it drove great.  I made a bunch of
> parking passes and donuts and was blown away with the turning radius.
> My wife kept saying I was making tighter turns than her new MINI - not
> true, but it felt like it.
>
> Power felt good, but not great.  It certainly pulled as well if not
> better than our 2.1l Vanagons.  I didn't measure fuel economy, but folks
> swear that they get 22mpg all the time and can get 27mpg or more on the
> highway.  500 miles between fill ups would be sweet.  Diesel clatter was
> there, but well damped.  The noise seemed lower than in the Ford Transit
> I drove in France this year.  It was a chilly day so I didn't try the
> Windows down test.
>
> The camper conversion I drove was too much of that tacky sort of
> American overstuffed, Sportsmobileish interior.  Nothing seemed very
> engineered and was just not my style.  The rear bed sure was huge,
> though.   The salesguy thought one his customers had put a Westfalia
> poptop from Europe on one, though I have yet to find a picture or any
> info on the web.  I haven't asked Steve Lashley yet.
>
> Net net:  I am very tempted to get a 140" hi roof and build my own
> camper conversion.  I will probably rent a Sprinter camper in Europe
> first to get some real test time.
>
> For folks that are interested.
> Here's some info and pics of the camper I test drove.  ($55k, I think)
> http://www.sprinterus.com/
>
> The Sprintervan group on Yahoo is pretty active, though not up to
> Vanagon snuff.
>
> These are the folks we rented an RV from in the Netherlands.
> http://www.arrantea.com/
>
> TyG