Hello,

I am looking into a Mercedes Camper to replace my VW Westy... And would like information from people that know something about them!

Driveline appears to be front engine/front drive (at least in the 206D that I have seen). How bulletproof is the transmission? Anything to be wary of?

Are the block details shared such that a late model engine (300TD) could go into an early vehicle?

TIA

I'm your man. I've owned two of them. The 206d is a front engine front drive. They tend to have some front end problems. At least, the Frenchman I met who owned one told me he had to rebuild the front end periodically. The 207d's and up are front engined and rear wheel drive. These are a much more preferable version in my opinion. They had either the 616 engine or rarely, the 617. In both cases the block is the same as the auto versions but there are some differences. The IP is different, the water pumps are sometimes different, the valve cover is often different. They turn higher rpm's and have more horsepower. Only on very rare occasions were they ever factory turbocharged. The 207-409 versions are built on a similar small van chassis. The 50* and up are built on the larger van chassis. Sometimes the 50* had the 616 engine but they usually had the direct injection MB engines. Top speed on the 50* vans is usually around 57mph. The 207-409 will usually top out around 65-70mph.
I don't think you'll get any engine other than the 220d (615?) in the 206d versions. Transmissions are pretty reliable I believe. I had 5 spd's in both of mine. 1st gear is very very low in that tranny. Many had 4spds. They did sell some with automatics, but they are quite rare.
For a sense of what has been available, go to www.mobile.de, click on Wohnmobile, then do a search on Mercedes. There are a gazillion of them availabe in Germany.
The 307d I owned in Europe, the 409d in the US. I recently sold the 409d. It was too small for 3 of us. In Europe they made fairly large class A motorhomes on these chassis. If you do the search on 'Hymer' instead of 'Mercedes' you'll see lots from the largest German mfg.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Appreciate all the information and links. My German is not so great, but there's help for that.

If yours was the 409D that went on ebay a little while back, I missed out on the auction! Shoulda-woulda bought that one! If you know of someone who has one for sale... Please let me know.

What were your thoughts about the interior layout?

Basically am looking at taking some time off and taking an extended trip. This seems to be a good vehicle. What did you purchase to replace it?

I'm still looking for a replacement. At the moment, I'm planning to purchase a Foretravel with a CAT 3208. There are three of us and a friend or two often travel with us, so the van conversion 409d was just too small. I also purchased a trailerable 23' sailboat and I didn't think the MB was up to towing it across country.
Mine was not on Ebay. I think that one went for around $14k. I sold mine thru craigslist. There's not a lot of them in the US.
Layout is really important. I loved the layout on my 307d but that was a 22' class A. It had a convertible dinette in the back (huge bed) kitchen/bath in middle and drop down bed over front seats. It would not have been a good vehicle for Colorado's mountains. Ok in Britain and Europe. It was custom built in the UK by a speciality coach company.
The 409d had a pull out couch, hammock style bed over front seats and bath in back. Layout ok but not spectacular. Probably very good for a single person. Mine was a Trueblood conversion.
You're probably going to have to settle for what you can find since there are not a lot in the US. I'm guessing I've seen on the average about 4 per yr on Ebay including the 508d style models. There have been a couple of the class A conversions on there. I almost bought a larger class A custom built on a 608 chassis in California. An MB mechanic emigrated from Europe to US and brought it with him. Pretty nice design, but I was afraid it had too low a top speed for long distance driving.
If you're serious about finding one, I'd keep checking Ebay and get on all the local Oodle sites and set up an e-mail notification, that way you can get widest coverage on local ads, including craigslist.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13