2017 4x4 Build Out - Grey Escape

DSO

New member
Your skill, craftsmanship, attention to detail and I'm sure patience are off the charts! Amazing work! Working with multiple materials, technologies and finishes is a true art. Very impressed with your build.



Decided to finally build a bunk that allows us to sleep four in the van. Supports bolt into the L-track to support it. It has a rear section that folds out so it will stow in a smaller area.

 
Thanks for the kind words. It’s exciting times given access to digital tools being more commonly available. Happy to help folks in the area if you need stuff.

I miss being able to easily get full sheets of plywood in the van now that cabinets are in. So I built a multiple piece rack that bolts into L-track and the seat mounts.

 
The first thing I purchased when I bought the van was a set of Sportscraft swivels. I finally installed them! I have no good reason why it has taken so long, but looking forward to having the functionality. While I was at it I removed the drivers side B pillar cover and ran the rear speaker wires down through the floor trays and up into the head unit. They had been stashed up above the headliner waiting for the right time. I will get to that more in a bit.

The Sportscraft seat swivels went in pretty well. They advise unbolting the base from the floor. This works fine on the passenger side as you can access the two internal front bolts from the cover in the side. Even after doing so the passenger side did not fit. I ended up drilling out the rear left corner hole to get it to go in. Luckily the driver's side one went in with the base bolted to the floor and no mods. Sometimes you get lucky!

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I moved the parking break to the lower position using the provided bracket. I ended up trimming some of the plastic off the bottom of the rear part of the cover. I also had to adjust the parking break line as advised below the van. All pretty straightforward.

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I am planning to continue to use the OEM head unit so I will be wiring the rear speakers into it. I can't wait to find out what the dealer charges to activate the rear faders. That may change my mind. I have been researching the best way to do this and think I have it figured it out. I reached out to someone on the forum as they had done so recently. He informed me he is a "pro builder" and basically wasn't willing to help. That said thanks to all the folks that willingly share their knowledge on this forum!

There are four open connector spots on the yellowish radio connector that should be for the rear speakers. I have seen others that buy an aftermarket Metra connector and splice the OEM wiring in. Seems like there is an easier way. I would really like to find the right crimp connector that can plug right into the open spots on the yellow OEM block. After some research I think I have figured out the right ones that should work. They are part number 967543-1 and I ordered a bunch from Mouser. I will see how they work out and report back.

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I also ordered some JBL speakers and an adapter from Hein to replace the door and tweeter units up front. Hopefully this will make a drastic improvement. After I see how these all sound I may opt to add an amp.

I also ordered a Lagun table hardware set. I will be welding up a bracket to bolt in between the legs of the bench seat. Having the table and swivels should be an awesome increase in functionality. Can't wait to get out and travel after things get back to normalish.
 

VanGoSki

Well-known member
I just finished reading your build, cover to cover! Great stuff. I have 3D printer envy. LOL.

Question: What MIG are you using? DC? Pulsed DC? AC? While waiting for my van, I decided to brush up on my MIG skills using an old DC MIG and some scrap steel. That's been going well, and I've been reading up on AL welding. The general consensus is that DC MIG does a pretty bad job on AL; you really need pulsed DC or AC which are much more expensive, or better yet, TIG. Curious as to what your setup is.
 
I have a Millermatic 211 MIG with the Spoolmate 150 spool gun. Frankly it really isn’t too tough to get OK welds. Like all things practice makes a huge difference. At this point 90+% of my welding experience is aluminum. I am about to take on several steel projects which are a challenge because the welding speed is slower!
 

VanGoSki

Well-known member
Thanks, Chad! I have an old Millermatic 175 which I think is the precursor to 211. I don't have a spool gun. I did try mounting a spool of AL wire on it today and tried running a bead on a piece of Al stock. A total disaster. I melted an ugly burned hole in the stock and the wire welded itself to the tip. That backed-up the wire causing it to birdsnest in the machine. Then I tried reading some info on AL welding with MIG and realized I did everything wrong. I used CO/Argon, but realize now I need pure Argon. Ditto on a spool gun. I'm not even sure I can use one on my machine. Crap. If I buy one more expensive toy, my wife is gonna throw me out of the house, LOL.
 

gltrimble

2017 170 4x4
I am also using a Millermatic 210 with the Spoolmate 3035. Aluminum welds are not always pretty but they are solid. I also use the spool gun to weld stainless using standard steel gas mix.
 

xpieti

New member
I also came up with a better and simpler bracket for the wire run covers. These ended up much cleaner.
Can you explain what this system was? We’re trying to find a neat way to join the wall panels and the ceiling panels and yours look great!
 
Can you explain what this system was? We’re trying to find a neat way to join the wall panels and the ceiling panels and yours look great!
Sure thing. I 3D printed some brackets that bolt to and index on the square holes in the sheet metal along the roof line. They are secured on the backside with a washer and nut. I never took pictures so I went out and popped one off. There is a 1/4-20 nut pressed into the upper part of the bracket to bolt the cover on. The cover is just a piece of plywood (see photo below before they were covered with fabric). I did put a chamfer on the edges so it would mate up nicer with the adjacent panels. Let me know if the photos explain it. This new bracket was much simpler than the original and works great. If you would like some send me a PM.

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I replaced the front tweeters and door speakers with some aftermarket JBL units. I also finished up wiring in the rear speakers to the head unit.

There is lots of good information out there on how to do replace the front ones. Here are the two I found most useful:
https://www.pointsunknown.com/blog/2017/10/sprinter-stock-stereo-upgrade-speaker-replacement/
https://sprintervanusa.com/2016/09/12/how-to-replace-sprinter-door-and-dash-speakers/

The only issue I ran into was getting the tweeters to interface with the OEM plastic part. I ended up 3D printing an adapter that used the same exact mating features as the OEM tweeter. I used an adapter from Hein for the door speakers that worked great.

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As for the rear speakers they ended up being very easy to incorporate into the OEM harness. I crimped on the TE Connectivity connectors I found and they popped right into the open spots on the OEM plug. The photos below show the resulting crimp and the tool used. The top two spots B1(+)/B2(1) are the rear passenger side and the bottom two spots B7(+)/B8(-) are the rear drivers side. I still need to have the rear faders turned on at the dealer.

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Next up has been building the table for between the bench and front seats. I have seen other mounts that bolt to the bench seat that go between legs. We didn't like that option because we usually have bins beneath the seats to hold stuff for our boys when traveling. This would have prevented access to them on that side. Instead I welded up a bracket out of 3/16" aluminum that bolts directly around one leg. The Lagun bracket will mount to this piece. This took a little work to figure out the leg angle. By my measuring and mock up it is 10.4 degrees (total angle). This weekend I finished up making the bracket and drilling the holes. Now I have to make the table, but that should be pretty straightforward. Although my wife wants cup holders that slide out. It can never be simple! I will post some more pictures once I get it painted and installed.

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I finished up the table just in time for a quick trip this weekend. We ended up using it and it is a great addition to the van's capability. It is really nice to have a place to sit and eat if the weather or in our case the mosquito's are bad. The bracket bolted up nicely to the van leg and is very sturdy. When placed on this leg it is centered between the front seats. I used some flat vinyl to provide a little friction and pad the aluminum to steel joint of the bracket. This worked out really well.

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The Lagun table has an offset arm. In our case we really wanted the table to sit right on top of the post. I designed and 3D printed an ABS collet that allows the table mount to sit directly on the post. Someday I might make an aluminum version, but it is pretty sturdy so I likely will not. The Lagun table bracket has some somewhat sharp edges and my son cut is ankle on it. As such I think I will print a guard that slides into the dovetails to prevent that in the future.

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I really need to get around to finishing the upper cabinets. What I really want to do is weld a roof rack. One thing we have learned is that traveling with four people and a dog in a 144 is that we need more places to stow gear. I am probably going to weld it up my self and get it powder coated locally.
 

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