2018 Sprinter 144" 4x4....take 2

Did alot of fabrication these past few days. Working on editing video, but here is some . photo and talk about it.
Built the bed.
Materials used include 1 x 2 x 1/4" rec tube for the frames, and 1 x 1 x 1/4 for the overlapping section for the recliner

Basic frame is welded up
Your last build thread inspired me to take on welding aluminum frame for my cabinets and bed panels. Last weekend I fired up the MIG welder with a spool gun and at least proved to myself that I should be able to do it.

Any tips on welding together square/rectangular tube for this type of construction? It looks like you are pretty much using butt joints and then cleaning things up with a grinder.

You will likely build another van after this before I finish mine. Nice work!
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
Your last build thread inspired me to take on welding aluminum frame for my cabinets and bed panels. Last weekend I fired up the MIG welder with a spool gun and at least proved to myself that I should be able to do it.

Any tips on welding together square/rectangular tube for this type of construction? It looks like you are pretty much using butt joints and then cleaning things up with a grinder.

You will likely build another van after this before I finish mine. Nice work!
I wont be getting rid of this one. With 2019 not having high roof 4x4 cargos, and the 4x4 being super lame, i doubt ill get rid of it unless its enough to get a converted 2wd one.


I do 45 degree cuts and weld them together, then clean them up. I stopped welding the inside seams, and only weld the three outside corners so it looks better.

And yes, since im skinning everything with panels, it makes no sense to use tig and make it pretty, so i just squirt some metal on it and make it flat
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
Not a ton of pictures, just doing a bunch of small work that takes time.

"Fabricated" some roof rails so I didn't have to negotiate the large number of holes in the roof beams.
used some 2" x 2" aluminum angle with some slits and bends and then rivnuts to the side of the roof cross beams.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Then i mounted some of the boards for the ceiling at the end of the evening.
These take about 20-30 minutes a piece to do at a leisure pace.
Have to put them up, clamp them together so the lines are all lined up, then measure the hole position, predrill with 1/8", take it back off, open the wood to 5/32 and the angle for the rivnut, install the rivnuts, put the board back up and throw in the 1 1/2" Stainless Hex Button Screws
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Did 10ft pieces this time so there are no splices. One continuous piece. Should finish the ceiling this afternoon, then label it, pull it all out, and paint it on saturday hopefully to put back in.

Also got some stuff back from paint
Flarespace Flares are all painted and pretty, may install on sunday hopefully.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
The Tern Overland water and electrical covers are all painted as well to match. Super impressed with the job the shop did on all the stuff.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr

And Lastly, the driver side wheel well water tank
26 gallons
Will mount to the wall, and the structure I made
Leaves enough room to have the bedslide in this one, where the last setup was about 4" difference into the cargo area. Inches literally matter here. Crazy.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
 

MotoXPress

Active member
Great stuff!

Got a link to the rear bumper?

Any more pics of that cargo shelf? Their website doesn’t show much - pain to install? Did you consider the RB Half shelf?

Which roof rack and front grill are you going with?

Thanks in advance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
Great stuff!

Got a link to the rear bumper?

Any more pics of that cargo shelf? Their website doesn’t show much - pain to install? Did you consider the RB Half shelf?

Which roof rack and front grill are you going with?

Thanks in advance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No link

Its not too hard to install, looks the same as the RB but a lil cheaper. I have an extra one for a deal if you are interested

Voyager Offroad rack and hidden winch bumper and a rear bumper. They dont have them on their site tho.

Great job. Very impressive. Awning?
Beer30
Dometic when they release them
 
Last edited:

Bob Laps

Active member
i havent decided. comes down to budget. I bought a few things this time i didnt last time so i have to see in the end where it ends up.

I am going ahead and wiring for an aftermarket headunit (2 pairs of RCA for example) when i do the line converter so its easy to do it later.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no way u stick with the stock HU!

Bob
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
A big thing is done, and marked off the list.
Water tank is finished and installed. Bolts to the wall and the structure for the side to support it.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr

Also started to skin the passenger side battery/wheel well cover
Will also be covering everything panneled with foam and fabric for a nice touch surface on everything. got some nice outdoor fabric that should hold up quite well.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
I do have to move the Ctek forward a bit, but this is why we mock stuff up right?
 

vannoob

Member
Are you concerned with battery access at all? doesn't look like there would be a way to remove the driver side battery without taking out the tank and support. I've yet to start my build so it could be naiveness, once they are in I'm guessing you pretty much don't touch them unless they crap out?
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
Are you concerned with battery access at all? doesn't look like there would be a way to remove the driver side battery without taking out the tank and support. I've yet to start my build so it could be naiveness, once they are in I'm guessing you pretty much don't touch them unless they crap out?
Yeah, unless it craps out there is no reason to touch it. But i can pull it out in about 45 minutes id venture if i had to replace it.
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
I got alot done today, but it doesn't look like it lol.
The ceiling is about 90% up. gotta make some side pieces to fill that gap on the edges, then pull it down, finish doing some nuterts and paint it all.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Took far too long to do. Put every single piece up, measured where to drill the holes so every single bolt is in the same spot on each board. a bit over the top lol

Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Finally also got most of that driver wall installed. Tomorrow i will cut out the window and work on the trim piece as well as the lower panel, fuse panel installation for that wall and the electrical outlet installation as well. fingers crossed anyways.

Have to get the whole rear all done by thursday. Bedslide should be here thursday, so need to get the side panels all buttoned up before then. This weekend iw ill install the Van Compass suspension as well!
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
and again more progress

I hate it, because I only really get 2-3 hours after work to mess with it before i have to get home, and 45 minutes of that is spend getting everything set up and cleaning up at the end. So I never get what I want done lol.

Finished skinning the passenger side and mounted all the electrical items in final locations. The little open spot down there is annoying me, But i will figure out something to put there. The panels won't stay white (some are black), everything will be covered with 1/2" foam and a really cool outdoor fabric that is a killer blue color the wife picked, but I wont be doing that until I am done touching whatever area I'm working on so it doesn't get dirty. Most likely the very last thing to be done.

Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Blue sea switch panel is mounted on the back of the cover, easy to turn things on and off (water pump, under bed lights, outlets etc)
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Left a small gap between the two to prevent any rattling or squeaking, and allow for cable passthru for smaller gauges
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Water tank back panel, and Tern Overland water fill are mounted. The color is off on the cover, so gotta take that part back and get them all resprayed
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
And got the Tern Overland window shade unit installed as well. Trying to source some 3" thick foam to use to trim out the space between the window and the wall, not sure what i will use for that just yet.

Overall somewhat satisfied. I would like to get the water tank unit covered today, and the lower driver wall skinned as well. If i can manage that, I will be happy. The Van Compass suspension gets here tomorrow, and the Bedslide on thursday. By having the rear all done, i can put the bedslide in and be done with that and the suspension this weekend hopefully. The dometic stuff should be on the way (penguin 2 ac, 75dz fridge, stove/sink) and im kind of waiting on them so i can build some important parts before i go too far and have to remake things because of size issues.
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
A number of things, such as finishing the roof, ordering the roof rack from Voyager Offroad and 110 wiring and stuff have been waiting on the arrival of the Dometic Penguin 2 AC unit. I got the version with the thermostat, well to be fancy or something. No heat strip since i have a Diesel heater. Plan is to run off the CTEK Smartpass and Inverter when driving/stationary whatever. I can also get a couple hours off the battery, or run from a honda 2000 generator when beach camping.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
The CFX75 and slide also came in as well, but that wont be messed with until next week most likely.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Took the cover off to well, take the cover off and take a look at all the stuff inside. Everything looks pretty well built and fastened. Was mainly checking to see if anything is going to break or vibrate loose from taking the van off sweet jumps. Doesn't look too shabby.
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Had to make a roughly 2" spacer to space the mounting plate down to the level it needs to be at. sealed on both sides with weatherstripping
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
all mounted up and pretty. Next up is wiring, then trimming the wood to fit
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Id say it looks pretty sly up there.

I will be color matching it as well.
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
Im drained. Getting to the point where i have to take some time off lol. on top of 40 hours a week, i am averaging another 25 hours on the van, and its catching up hah. I think i may take a few days off after this weekend (or maybe this weekend)

The Van Compass suspension came in and opted to go ahead and put in the killer Fox stuff. TBH never was or am a huge fan of fox. But its the only option out there, so it is what it is. Did the rear, and after putting them in backwards the first time because i didnt read directions, and flopping it back around, i still got the rears done in an hour. at 630, I start the front, see the instructions said 4-6 in a driveway, or 3-4 for a pro on a lift.

Hold my beer.

Knocked out the front in just under 3 in a driveway sitting on a tire. Did a little hooning on the way to work on some powerline trails and the difference is so night and day, that it is hard to explain.
It just works so much better. No more bouncing around, the rear especially is a huge difference. The back end even with a full load hopped and bounced its way down the trail. Not anymore. Cant wait to get the sumo springs and the rear spring pack in when it is all said and done.

Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
 

grantwilson

FreedomVanGo
Looks good. Im having the Striker lift kit and shocks installed by VC this coming Monday.
youll love the shocks.

Not sold on the spacer lift kit. Subarus do the same thing. All you really gain is minimal angle improvement since your subframes are still all in the same place
 

Top Bottom