Has anyone converted a low roof?

Hi all. I'm looking at picking up a NCV3 for a mini RV conversion. The dilemma I'm having is fitting the thing in my garage. I live in Utah and there is no way I'm leaving something that expensive out in the elements all winter. Not too mention some of the corrosion issues I've read about.

My garage height is right at 98". So there is no way a high roof would fit. A low roof just eeks in..

The good news is my wife and I are both pretty short people (I'm 5'7 she's 5'1) so I'm thinking the low roof may work out ok. For those of you who are "vertically challenged" (or not) do you feel like the low roof gives you sufficient room without giving you cabin fever?

The interior height is 65" from what I've read. So I for sure would have to hunch over a bit. I don't think we would really be walking around in the van much though. It will just be a place to crash and lock up our gear when we are out on the trails.

We are avid mountainbikers so this is kind of my inspiration for the build (sans roof tent):

http://www.outsidevan.com/dark-star.html

I am on my second low roof very light camper and bike race van. We sleep crosswise, park clean bikes behind the driver's and pasenger's seats. I have a tule 2 bike hitch carrier for dirty bikes. Small cabinets that cover the wheel wells with lift up tops work great for ez-ups and camp stoves. Those same cabs make a great base for the bed platform, dogs sleep under the human bed. A secondary battery runs our coleman cooler and powers a 12 volt pressure washer.

Good luck, Jeff

Thanks Jeff. That's kind of the plan I'm going for, keeping it simple and adaptable. The sprinter will also be my daily driver so I'm going to make alot of the stuff removable when not traveling.

I was a design engineer for these guys when they got started (aluminum extrusion) so I'm going to be building the bed platform and cabinets using that stuff.

www.tslots.com

I'm also curious, what year of sprinter you have and what kind of gas mileage you're getting?

Hello from Florida !
I know this is an old post but hoping we can share some info for conversion purposes. I just bought an '03 Sprinter low roof shorty 118" and converting it into an adventure/camper road trip van. I just took out the cargo divider, bought 2 factory bench seats which I've decided to sell and instead go for a Freedman fold away seat. I too want to build 2 cabinets over wheel wells to use as storage and have a flip down 2 piece bed platform which I can fold out of the way when not in use so that I can still use the van for carrying my motorcycle when needed. I'd love to hear about your progress and ideas before I get started. Looking forward to hearing back from anyone who's converted a 118".

Frederic

Hi neighbor,

I'm located in St. Pete too. Here's a previous post of my 118"' conversion. I'll be changing the bed from a flip to a slide-out soon. https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5873

Bill

118", standard roof
weekend camper

-D- said:

...
My garage height is right at 98". So there is no way a high roof would fit. A low roof just eeks in..
...

Click to expand...

You are actually looking to buy a "standard" roof model if you're looking at vans. The "low" roof model only comes with the cab/chassis Sprinters. It seems picky, but you will care if you ever need to order a windshield because they are different sizes.

Anyway, my wife fits your height range and is very happy camping in our stanard roof van so you should be fine. At 6' I get by, but I'm never able to really stand up.

My concern would be that you will most likely need some sort of roof venting to be comfortable camping. That may make getting a standard van a moot point. I can't imagine you'll ever regret having extra height when it comes to camping. Good luck. vic

My wife and I have a 2006 sprinter 2500 standard roof 140" that we are just starting to convert. I just started cutting the Reflectix and plan on gluing it in this coming weekend.

We have only owned this van for about 5 weeks now but really like it. We bought what we could find, but like the look of the standard roof and our mileage is fantastic. This van handles great and is a breeze to drive around town.

So even if we can't fully stand up we are very happy campers...or soon will be...

Are you saying you would not prefer the low roof Sprinter??? This relates to post #6.

I am presently thinking of buying a slightly used 2010 Low Roof Sprinter with windows in side and rear. I am 6'1" and cannot stand up in it. I did want to install a bed and perhaps down the road some form of cooking system and water system. But I am totally ignorant.

Any advice?