Towing with a Sprinter Van

⚠️Attention: This is just a post for general understanding. This is not guidance or advice. Just our experience when towing and how we think about it.

We’ve used all of our Sprinter vans for towing. From our first ‘Brew Van’ 2003 T1N to a 2020 4x4, all have had hitches and been used to haul various loads.

Getting the right hitch

What hitch is the best for your Sprinter? There are 2 options that we commonly see in the US.

The OEM 2” receiver hitch you order with your van is the way to go if you have the option. It’s essentially the towing package and marked as X22 Trailer Hitch Package and comes prewired with the 7 PIN harness. The T1N and NVC3 vans had the wiring harness installed ONLY if you got the tow package. The hitch receiver is installed on the factory line and was considered 100% integrated into the wiring harness.
The next option is fitting an aftermarket hitch. If you order or buy a van with the rear door step W73 option it will not come with a factory hitch. But it will still have the wiring for a 7 PIN harness already wired. We believe all the VS30 Sprinter Vans come prewired for a trailer as there are now laws that require all vehicles sold new since 2018 in the US to have a rearview camera installed. The VS30 Sprinters have a camera view that has a specific trailer hitch view and it works when the trailer is connected to the harness.

When selecting an aftermarket hitch there are some options. Remember, if you want to keep the rear door step you’ll need to get a narrow mount hitch that mounts to the inside of the frame rails as apposed to the typical mounting location to go on the outer edge of the van frame.

Class III Trailer Hitch; 500/5,000 lbs. Weight Carrying (tongue weight/gross trailer weight); 750/7,500 lbs. when used with a Weight Distribution Kit (tongue weight/gross trailer weight); Uses all existing holes. No Drilling required; Install Time is 30 minutes

The earlier vans didn’t have those. The 7 PIN connector does a few things the typical 4 PIN you find on Uhaul trailers doesn’t have. The difference between a 7 PIN and a 4 PIN trailer connector is significant. 4 PIN yo trailer connections typically provide basic light functions only for the trailer. That’s running lights, turn signals, and brake lights only. Very simple.

A 7 PIN connection gets you a few more things. One of the main differences is that you can pass the power through a 12-Volt circuit back to the trailer to power something like recharging a battery. It also allows you to control the electric brakes on a trailer with powered brakes. And of course you get reverse lights. Using the electric trailer brake circuit will require a brake controller installation on the van.

One of the major advantages of a seven-pin connection is that the 12-Volt circuit charge your trailer’s battery while you’re towing. It can also allow you to run your refrigerator while you’re traveling. This can help ensure your food stays cool and you don’t risk spoiling any temperature-sensitive food.

The Connection

There’s really only on way we connect our trailer, a ball hitch. We use a standard 2” ball in a 2” receiver. When selecting a trailer ball, weight capacity must always be considered. The weight rating for a trailer ball will be listed as the ball capacity.

Note that this will reflect the gross trailer weight limit, not the tongue weight. You must select a trailer ball with a ball capacity that exceeds the gross weight of your trailer.

1⅞" Ball 2,000 to 3,500 lbs. GTW

2" Ball 3,500 to 12,000 lbs. GTW

2 5/16" Ball 6,000 to 30,000 lbs. GTW

We usually stick to the 2” ball size as it has the load capacity for most of our needs and ensures we don’t overload our Sprinters with too heavy of a load. It’s also the most common size if ever renting a trailer from those moving rental companies. Having the other sized balls can always be added but in years of using our Sprinters to tow we never had to use a 1 ⅞” or 2 5/16” ball size.

As for the 3” gooseneck, this is something we have never come across. Not even on a cab chassis 3500 Sprinter.

Loading the trailer

When loading your trailer, it’s important to consider how much you will be carrying. The load in the van and the weight of your trailer + it’s cargo. Below are some general numbers we use to figure out our maximum weight. and finally where to position our carbo on the trailer.

3500
GVWR: 11030
GCWR: 15250

4220 lbs. Max tongue weight = 420 lbs.

2500
GVWR: 8550
GCWR: 13550

5000 lbs. Max tongue weight = 500 lbs

For our 2020 2500 4x4 and generally our 2WD 2500 we have a max towing capacity of 5,000lbs (GCWR - GVWR = Max Towing Capacity)

All 2500 Sprinters have a Max Tongue Weight 500lbs. With a 2” ball we like to keep this around 200-300lbs for our target.

Note: Tongue weight is on the van and does not decrease or increase the trailer's capacity. Tongue weight is subtracted from your Cargo Carrying Capacity.

You have to look at the data plate on every vehicle to be sure of the towing capacity. Usually, 2500s are always 8550 GVWR and 3500s are 11030 GVWR but it’s good for you to check to make sure.

Towing capacity can vary. We typically use this rule of thumb. 10-15% of the trailer weight should be on the hitch. Trailer should be slightly "nose heavy" for stability. (i.e., load is forward of the axle rather than behind it)

Check out the video below to see why this is important.

Loading the trailer and distributing the weight is extremely important

To understand the Sprinter’s load capacity, think of it this way… If you load the van to 8550lbs, accounting for 500lbs of tongue weight. That means the actual weight of the van would be 8050lbs before the trailer is connected. Add the 5000lbs trailer to it, at your GCW is then 13050lbs. This is 500lbs less than GCWR. For us we have a trailer that weights 2000lbs and our cargo of hauling vintage cars is around 2000-2200lbs.

Here’s the overview:

GCWR = GVWR + Towing
GVWR = Van + Cargo + Tongue Weight(Max 500lbs).
GCWR = (Van + Cargo + Tongue Weight) + Towing

Example(s):
(Van + Cargo + Tongue Weight) + Towing = GCWR
(5050 + 3000 + 500) + 5000 = 8550 + 5000 = 13550
(5050 + 3250 + 250) + 5000 = 8550 + 5000 = 13550

Pulling

So pulling with a Sprinter Van has it’s limits. As mentioned earlier, you have some considerations depending on you having a 2500 or Dually 3500 model. As a stock van, the rear axle ratio is 3.92 on a 2500.

When pulling a loaded trailer, considering tire size for your final drive is worth noting. As tire size increases, the axle ratio decreases, and along with it acceleration and general performance. At what point (at the extreme end of a max GVWR van) is a larger tire size too much of a good thing? What is your experience when you pull to the left to pass on a two lane road, when you are off-road in 4 Low in rough terrain, or when you are pulling a steep grade in the mountains?

Here’s some axle ratios with a variety of 17" tire sizes. Note that different brands differ a bit in diameter, for this purposes we used the popular BFG T/A KO2's when available in the sizes listed.

245/75/16 - 30.5" diameter - 3.92 - This is stock
265/70/17* - 31.7" diameter - 3.77 0-30.5 lbs. - common upgrade
275/70/17* - 32.2" diameter - 3.70 - common upgrade
285/70/17* - 32.8" diameter - 3.62 - common upgrade
285/75/17* - 33.9" diameter - 3.48 - active cruise control stops working
295/70/17 - 33.5" diameter - 3.53
305/70/17 - 33.9" diameter - 3.48
315/70/17 - 34.6" diameter - 3.39
35/12.5/17 - 34.8" diameter - 3.37

You see that when you get a larger sized tire your axle ration goes down. If you’re planning on using the Sprinter to pull something more often then the rear axle ratio should be at the top of the list. If not towing, you want to balance what you are going to use your van for. Long haul coast-to-coast highway driving? Keep the tires standard sized and hard for the best fuel economy you can get. Off-roading a bit? Go up in tire size. If you are towing, you want to make sure your van will do the job without blowing up the transmission or engine.

When numbers of axle ratios are thrown around, general rule is - the lower the number, the better fuel economy, and the higher the number the more towing power you have, but fuel economy suffers.

For instance, a 3:92 gets better fuel economy than a 3:73. On the other hand, a 4:16 will tow much more, while fuel economy greatly drops.

AC6 ... AXLE RATIO I = 3.727 (T1N example)
AR2... AXLE RATIO I = 3.923 (NCV3 example)

Other examples

DMH 3.92 04862649AB X 004 070303 (earlier version was X 004 070269)
DMF 4.10 04862650AB X 004 070304 (earlier version was X 004 070270)
DMN 4.72 04862651AB X 004 070305 (earlier version was X 004 070271)
DML 5.10 04862652AB X 004 070306 (earlier version was X 004 070272)

The most popular rear end ratio in trucks today is the 3:55, which sort of averages towing power and fuel economy. This is a good ratio for the occasional towing or hauling individual. For a person who tows more often, and heavier loads, the 3:73 or 4:10 may be more appropriate.

Parking