First off, the OP should have titled this thread "Best Class C COACH - Leak Free" as his real questions have little to do with the chassis leaking, but rather the coach, and how to get that non-leaking coach on a GM chassis.
The OP should understand that the Ford E-350/450 chassis with the V10 is a super reliable machine that has few problems and nothing that cannot be easily resolved. Not sure what kind of RV'ing the OP is planning on doing, frequently traveling, or parking their "butt" in one place for long periods of time, but All of these vehicles are designed to be driven frequently and no vehicle takes well to sitting.
With regard to Sprinter oil changes, I do all of my own maintenance and cannot imagine paying someone to do something that I can easily do. Being on the road does present issues with owner maintenance, but the Sprinters, either the 5 cyl or the V6 are probably the easiest, cleanest oil changes anyone could ever ask for, especially if you install a
Fumoto oil drain valve, and purchase the appropriate oil filter wrench/socket. I didn't spill a drop on the engine or ground, and if you wear some latex/nitrile gloves, you will not get any on your hands while swapping out the o-rings and filter element. The filter element is rather cheap for the 5 cylinder (about $6 to $8) and about the same for the V6. The fuel filter is another story and I won't get into it here.
With reference to the link in the quote above, which is about Winnebago View/Navion on the Sprinter chassis, If you notice, some of the complaints in the above link are duplicates submitted by the same person (apparently) as the location and date are the same.
To answer some of the complaints in the link above, the wheel simulators/wheel covers used on the Sprinters are a Winnebago supplied item and are a force fit into the wheel, nothing else retains them, and as such, it is common to have them separate from the wheel, especially after any maintenance where they were removed and (most likely) not properly seated on re-installation. My answer to this is to simply remove the wheel covers/simulators all together and "go naked". Some people chose the Alcoa aluminum wheels or a chrome steel wheel, or use stainless steel "ty-wrap" like straps to retain the simulators to the wheels.
The complaints on the turbo resonator were all old, and the resonator was a very common failure item. It can be eliminated by installing a
resonator eliminator tube, which eliminates the problems and is quite easy to install. Many if not most 2006 and earlier chassis Sprinters (5 cyl models) have either already done this, or installed a
Dorman replacement resonator which does not fail like the OEM 1st, 2ed, or 3rd generator resonators. OEM 4th gen resonators apparently also are not prone to failure.
The failure of the rear wheel speed sensor/ABS light causing the transmission to go into limp home mode is also well known and somewhat common. These sensors are actually covered under the 50K mile emission warranty. Transmission limp home mode is caused because the rear wheel sensors provide the output speed sensing for the transmission, as the tranny was built without a internal output speed sensor of its own. This is more of a problem in areas where chassis rust/salt is a problem.
One complainant brought up the issue of overheated light fixtures. The fixtures used are made by
Progressive Dynamics and are properly UL listed and have steel reflectors above the lamps, and when used with the proper 1141 bulbs get warm but will not overheat. I have done what all sane RV users in these days and times have done, and installed LED lights in the fixtures, which do not have the heating or current draw issues.
One complaint had to do with a off brand non-DOT approved tire, nothing that could be related to the RV on which it was installed.
The total failure of the transmission on the 2006 and earlier chassis (5 cylinder) models is fairly well known and more common than failure of the transmissions of later model Sprinters. Not much to say here other than keeping them cool and operating them with as little load as possible goes a long ways toward making them last, along with frequent fluid changes.
There were two complaints from (apparently) the same person, same city, different dates, noting that they "had been complaining" about the "soft brakes" and that they were told it was normal, which it is in fact true, the brake pedal has a lot of travel and tends to feel spongy, a common Sprinter complaint for first time users, but not an issue, the brakes work fine.
Two other complaints were again from the same person, same date, same wording, about the very low OCCC. It is worth noting that the person may not even know what they were complaining about, they could not spell View, nor Itasca correctly.
Its basically a couple of lingering issues and the remainder are old issues that have been long ago resolved.
Charles
2007 Winnebago View 523H on a 2006 Dodge (Daimler-Chrysler aka Mercedes) Sprinter 3500 chassis (T1N). Bought Sept 2015 with 18K miles on it, Prog Ind HW30C, Prog Dymanics PD4645, Coleman Chill Grille, PML/Yourcovers.com deep alum trans pan, AutoMeter 8558 trans temp gauge, Roadmaster sway bar, Koni Red shocks (front & rear), Fantastic Ultra Breeze hood, added OEM parabolic mirrors and RH aspherical mirror, MB grill conversion.
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