Australian TRAKKA Jabiru 4X4 Sprinter

[markopolo]

Australian TRAKKA Jabiru 4X4 Sprinter

[youtube:3emtmc6m]SDsFtg3HdQY[/youtube:3emtmc6m]

[Rok]

Neat rig.

I've never heard of a 4X4 MB Sprinter. Are they available in the states? If so, does anyone use them to build 4X4 motorhomes?

This rig sounds like it would sell well in the U.S., if it had left hand side drive.

Thanks for the post marko.

...........Rocky

[markopolo]

Sportsmobile does a lot of 4x4 http://www.sportsmobile.com/4_4x4sports.html

I don't think they do Sprinters with 4x4 though. I remember they introduced one http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...php?f=13&t=266 but then there was an issue with MB not allowing it I think.

Maybe someone who remembers the details will comment.

[Davydd]

The 4x4 Sprinter is not imported to North America last I checked. They are elsewhere. Germany also makes 4x4 Sprinter RVs.

[Mike]

I hope there's a safety switch in the toilet seat that prevents it from "hidng" while in use.

Very cool looking and well equipped.

Price? In Aussie dollars, I assume. I think they're about 3,4% below NA dollars right now.

http://www.trakka.com.au/forsale.htm

They aren't cheap, but they are 4X4 equipped, which probably costly in a MB product.

[Rok]

After I made the post, I did a little web research and found that the 4X4 units aren't imported to the U.S., but someone was importing the parts and converting them in the US until Sprinter got wind of it and told them to stop doing it. At least that is what it sounded like if I read it correctly.

..........Rocky

[Mike]

Wonder why? Too expensive to convert and sell here? Too many competitors making 4X4s (I doubt that)?
Seems like there would be a market here.
Odd?

[markopolo]

Found this: http://whitefeather4x4conversions.com/faqs/

Q: Is Mercedes planning to offer a 4X4 Sprinter conversion in America?
A: As of 8-1-2012 the information I have from Mercedes-Benz USA headquarters is they have done market research and found there is not enough sales potential to justify building their own 4×4.

also

Q: Doesn’t Mercedes build a 4X4 Sprinter?
A: No, there are no 4X4 Sprinters built by Mercedes, there are aftermarket conversions available in other parts of the world which are not legal to import or drive in the US.

[Rok]

Maybe I mispoke (miswrote?). I figured that if there were 4X4 Sprinters in other parts of the world, that MB must be making them. I might have figured wrong if Marko's quote is correct. It seems like a hell of an undertaking to build 3rd party "4X4 conversion kits" for the MB Sprinters unless there was a pretty significant market out there for them. Sometimes, however, it is not a lack of market that keeps a company from building a product, but the excess of liability. A nearly 10" tall Sprinter 4X4ing down some rutted backroad doesn't sound too appealing from a manufacturer's liability standpoint.

...........Rocky