Adventuremobile Spotting: Sprinter 6x6 in SF
Spotted this incredible 6x6 Mercedes’ Sprinter NVC3 in downtown San Francisco. Waiting in traffic to get on the Bay Bridge. Another amazing vehicle from Germany on tour in North America.
We later found out he ended up getting serviced in San Diego at the Sprinter Pitstop a week later.
Why the extra axle? Because of the added weight of the camper box on the back. I believe this one to be an Oberaigner 6X6.
Oberaigner converts 2WD NCV3 Mercedes Sprinter Chassis Cab vans, into 6x6 vehicles. These are the ones with just two doors and the exposed frame with a dually rear axle. Supposedly these 6-wheel drive vehicles have a permanent 6x6 drive and a low range gearbox. Oberaigner did show the first prototypes of the Sprinter 6x6 in 2010. The production started in 2012. The conversion is for vehicles up to model year 2017. We’ve seen DOKA versions (the shortened German name of Dopplekabin) which are a bit more practical for those driving more than two people around.
Oberaigner installs a transfer case with permanent all-wheel drive and a high/low range gearing (2.81:1). And get this, up to 5 diff locks are available! The second axle does have a build in transfer case (third diff), which sends the power to the second and third axle in a 60/40 split making it a real 6x6 and not just a trailing axle. The transfer case in the second rear axle is very similar to the one on the Mercedes G Wagon 6x6. Oberaigner was hired as a subcontractor to design the second axle for the G wagon 6x6 in fact.
