2016 Moto/ MTB Van Build

ADV Pete

Member
My wife and I bought a 2016 MB Sprinter 144 with 19k miles on it. Most of our adventures have to do with mountain biking, dual sport/ dirt bikes, and general outdoors or maybe a concert here and there. Our van is 2WD, has the 2.1L 4cyl/ 7 speed trans and started as a cargo van. It came with a few decent options: backup camera, step bumper, cruise control, and probably a few others that I'm forgetting. We live in Henderson, NV and had our van shipped in from Maryland since all of the good, used vans were being bought up on the west coast. It was a blank slate and a perfect platform for our build.

So let's let the van build begin.








We have been doing the diesel truck/ toy hauler thing since 2003 or so and we are frankly tired of lugging that much crap around. That setup is basically only for our other hobby...sand dunes. It's perfect for that, but it just doesn't work for the type of traveling and exploring that a Sprinter is good for.


 

ADV Pete

Member
When it came to choosing how we wanted to do the floor in our van, we wanted it to look nice yet have a durable surface with plenty of tie-down options for our bikes.

Like most cargo Sprinters, our van came with the factory (gray painted) wood floor, but the previous owner installed a sheet of plywood and E track. It provided great tie-down options but was obviously not going to cut it for our build.

Here's how we got our van...
 

ADV Pete

Member
Flooring...

We pulled it up and set aside the factory wood floor since this would be reused as our subfloor. We cleaned and prepped, then sealed all the holes in the metal floor with Sikaflex.







After all the holes were sealed, 80 mil thickness Fat Mat was laid down on the floor and wheel wells to quiet things down.


A layer of closed-cell foam with a radiant barrier was then installed on top of the FatMat sound deadening material. This foam layer of insulation acts as a thermal barrier. We chose this material rather than Reflectix because it seemed more durable to be used under a floor. I didn’t want to worry about the bubbles popping.




Now that the underside of the floor was complete, slits were cut in the factory wood floor to accommodate some recessed L track.


Once the L tracks were set into place, stainless rivnuts were installed in the floor. Washers were added in places like the factory D rings and l track mounting mounts so they would not clamp down too hard on the flooring.





The floor was now ready for the top layer: faux wood LVP (luxury vinyl plank). Despite what we’ve heard from others about LVP being a bad idea, we decided to go with it anyways. Some concerns were the planks would separate in extreme temperatures causing gaps. We did not want a rubber or cheap looking vinyl rolled floor though so we went with a “high end” Tranquility LVP flooring from Lumber Liquidators. We glued the flooring down with 3M 90 to hold it from shifting on the factory wood floor, but also left an expansion gap at the ends where it meets the L track.



After two solid days, the floor was in and done! Precise cuts were not bothered with around the wheel houses since boxes would be covering those. Oh and I re-taped those wheelhouses with foil tape. We ran out and the duct tape obviously didn’t work out so well.

It feels great to sit back and see the floor completed just how we had pictured it.






Rubber coin grip flooring was glued to the slider step area and finished off with aluminum edging.


to be continued...
 

ADV Pete

Member
Next step was to build my own underhood battery tray similar to what RB Components sells. I'm no welder, but I learned and it came out just how I wanted. I installed two 6V golf cart batteries under the hood. I have since upgraded these batteries to 6V Trojan AGM batteries.









I used a 150A Battery Doctor as an isolator to charge the batteries off the alternator. It's not super efficient, but it helps. I plan on adding a Ctek dc-dc charger eventually.
 

ADV Pete

Member
I couldn't wait any longer. It was already time to ditch those ugly stocker wheels and tires.

We went with the Method MR301 wheels made specifically for the Sprinter van. They are 17×7.5″.


For tires, I went with what I knew worked well already, Nitto Terra Grapplers. I run these tires on my Z71 and have about 50,000 miles on them so far. They are quiet, ride great, and offer good off-road traction. The Terra Grappler G2s come with a 65,000-mile warranty and are reasonably priced. I usually buy all my tires from Discount Tire, but this time I decided to just buy them from Amazon. I avoided fees and taxes by mounting and balancing them myself with the help of a coworker. Although the new tires are not E-rated, they are rated at 2679 lbs each which puts them at 10,716 lbs, much higher than the GVWR of 8500.



Since the wheels are 17″ and I wanted one size taller than stock, we chose 265/70/17 tires. That makes these tires about 1″ taller and a little less than 1″ wider.


BEFORE & AFTER


I love how these tires fit and look.


more photos on my blog, http://livelikepete.com/new-shoes-for-the-sprinter-van-nitto-ats-on-method-wheels/
 

ADV Pete

Member
Sportscraft Seat swivel adapters from EuroCampers.com were installed.





The seat trim required some trimming to clear the bases.




Swivels done. :rad:
 

ADV Pete

Member
Before anything was done inside, I wanted to get the roof rails installed because I needed to access the mounting hardware from inside. I bought the RTS523 Rhino-Rack Roof Rails which seem to be impossible to find now. They were only about $162 when I bought mine and since then they have vanished from most sites. Glad I got mine when I did. They work great.





I'm all about doing things on the cheap and getting creative so I used some elevator bolts and trimmed them down to fit in the slots.



more install pics
 

Oscar

Viking
Great job!
And I got to say I like your LED lit pooper, I might have to copy that! :clapping:

Our van is still very bare-bones, but will eventually evolve to something similar to support dirt bikes and climbing.
You've finished a build of a van that is pretty close to what I have in my head so I'm bound to copy a bunch of ideas.
Thank you for documenting them.
 

ADV Pete

Member
You guys are cheating and looking ahead. haha

Continuing with the build process, SOLAR!

I built a frame out of 1/8" thick, 1" aluminum angle and mounted 200W of solar panels on the roof rails with some larger angle aluminum.


They ended up nice and low profile. I used a Renogy Cable Entry Housing to run the cables through the roof.





Despite everyone else going with an MPPT controller, I went with the Renogy Voyager PWM controller and it has worked out great. Very affordable too.


I usually see between 8-11 amps of charging from this setup. I'm very happy with it.
 

ADV Pete

Member
Next step...more holes...bigger holes. Windows!

We went with CR Laurence windows. The left side is the FW621L window and the right side (slider door) is the FW625R window.



The first step was to drill several holes, from the inside, along the corners and a couple along the top and sides.


Once all those holes were drilled, I “connected the dots” on the outside with masking tape to draw out a cut line.


I went a bit wider in order to protect the outside of the van from scratches from the jigsaw foot.


I took my time cutting the hole and used Gorilla tape to prevent the panel from pulling or falling. The sheet metal cuts very easy except for where the vertical wall supports are.





Walla! We have a window hole.




After the hole was cut and the window was test fitted, I primed the edges of the bare metal with Rustoleum oil based paint using a foam brush.



While that paint dried, I decided to just go for it and get the other hole cut.


Window install


Driver side done



Passenger side done.


The next step was to see if they passed the hose test. Yep! They passed. No leaks.




Full project details, http://livelikepete.com/installing-cr-laurence-windows-in-our-sprinter-adventure-van/
 

ADV Pete

Member
Time to get building.

I made a box to cover the right side wheel well.


Then on the left, I built a hinged box that would serve as a folding bed and would house all of our utilities.



I used heavy duty piano hinges and made a hinged panel that folds flat on the box lid which was also hinged so I could access things inside.


For the right side, I fabbed and welded a frame that folds flat against the wall when stowed.



When folded down, the panel from the box folds over and rests on the right side bed making a full, wall to wall bed that is 78" long. Perfect for me since I'm 6'2".


I finished the wood panels off with stain and polyurethane, rubber coin matting, and aluminum edging.








more pics and build details, http://livelikepete.com/sprinter-van-convertible-folding-dinette-and-bed/
 

ADV Pete

Member
Then the ceiling furring strips were installed in between the roof supports so I could keep a full height ceiling.


I pre-made some lighting harness so everything was easy to plug and play.


The lights are in two zones, (4) front and (4) rear. I wired them on a dimmer and put RV style light switches at the front in the B pillar and rear corner of the van. 16 Gauge speaker style wire was used. This is basically what I used for most low power-consuming devices and outlets in the van. The dual conductor wire and jacket makes things much easier to run wire.





What a difference a single panel makes.


The van really started to take shape with all 3 panels up and all the LEDs in.



Up front, there was just enough room between the paneling and the Thinsulate to install a couple Polk DB652 Ultramarine 6.5″ speakers.


To give the screws a much more finished look, I used these screw covers I found on Amazon. CR Lawrence, the same company that makes the side vent windows, is who makes these. They worked great for #8 screws.


After the speakers were installed and all the screws were tightened up, the ceiling was done! The rough edge sides will get mostly covered up by the walls and we also plan to install back-lit valences eventually.


 

ADV Pete

Member
After the ceiling was installed, I started working on the first wall panel and then built the galley overhead cabinet.


The B pillar trim had to be slightly clearanced using an air saw.



The cabinet sides were mocked up with cardboard templates.


The sides were attached from the inside using L brackets from Lowes. I didn’t want any external screws showing.


The doors are hinged with these
and stay up with 22.5 lb gas struts.


The ratchet style latches keep the door shut and hold them just slightly out enough so they don’t rattle.


We used flush mounted cabinet door pulls to keep it clean and so nothing snagged on them.


The control panel has our Renogy solar controller and Victron 712 battery monitor. Below them are our switches for the waterpump and future rack lights in addition to a dimmer for the LED lights mounted under the cabinet. The square bezel rocker switches are mounted in a Penn-Elcom D2101K metal dish that keeps them set back into the panel nicely.


The Media Receiver is mounted to the right for our tunes. It’s small and simple with Bluetooth & AUX input only. We pair or plug in our laptop or our phones for music. A pass-thru AUX jack is mounted under the cabinet for quick and easy plug-in access.



The inside of the cabinet is upholstered with the same material as our walls to give it a finished look as well as keeping things from banging against the wood. The bottom is speaker box carpet, which works awesome for softening drawers and cabinets. I mounted our remote inverter ON/OFF switch and a solar disconnect switch inside the cabinet wall.




Some under cabinet LED lights were installed (on a dimmer switch) to finish it off.
 

ADV Pete

Member
This is one of the most exciting steps in the van build process. For months I had been looking at these ugly, misshapen walls and insulation with little payoff from my hard work. They say building a van is just like a house. It all comes together rather quickly at the end. So now the first finished panel goes up!

I used 1/4″ plywood from Lowes cut to shape using only measurements. Many people use pieces of cardboard as templates, but I didn’t bother with that. You just have to measure several points because of the odd shape of the van and transfer them to your wall panel. I usually measure 4-5 points along a long stretch and a couple on the shorter sides. Once the panel was cut to fit the wall, a couple holes were cut for things like the wall outlet and giant bundle of wires.


Next, I upholstered the panel using Polyethylene 1/8″, 4 lb, closed cel foam covered with Sunbrella outdoor acrylic fabric. The foam helps with added sound and thermal insulation and gives the walls a nice soft (but firm) feel. We chose Sunbrella fabric for a few reasons. 1) Everyone seems to use tweed or interweave and we wanted something different. 2) It has a nice touch and feel. 3) It looks more finished and smooth. 4) It is used in outdoor furniture applications so we were convinced it would hold up well in the van.

3M90 was used heavily to glue the foam to the panel, then 3M77 was used for the fabric. I used 1/4″ staples to staple the fabric to the panel. Upholstery work is easier than most think. Just take your time on the corners and it is very easy to achieve professional looking wall panels.




Before the wall panel went up, ONE more layer of insulation was added. I added Low E foil faced foam to the back to block out the heat and also act as a vapor barrier.


On the rear walls of the van, a little more work would have to go into this part. L track will be installed in places where there is no support, therefore I had to make my own. Using 16 gauge steel from Lowes, I added vertical supports. These will hold the L track for the platform bed as well as two small L tracks on each wall for additional tie downs and storage. Since these supports were strong enough up and down, but flimsy in and out, I added one custom bent 1″ angle steel beam in the middle to prevent any deflection in the middle of the wall and L track. All the beams were attached to the van’s metal structure using 1/4-20 rivnuts and stainless bolts. Since I installed so many supports, I didn’t need to go very big on the hardware. There were ALOT of holes that required drilling and it was a very time-consuming, tedious process, but worth it in the end. Every hole was primed to prevent rust and all the metal shavings were either vacuumed out of the wall or caught with a towel. I used angled L track for a nice finished look. This stuff is very strong and supports anything I hang off of it in the van.






Larger panels going in.


I drilled holes at each threaded rivnut attachment point for the L track.


Upholstery & Low E being installed on wall panels




The wall panels and L track were installed. No other fasteners were needed except on the lower wall panels. The L track holds it all up. Angled end caps finished off the L track nicely.




The lower panels were fastened and finished off with aluminum washers and stainless screws into rivnuts.







On the slider door, I used the factory wood panel and covered it with the same materials as the walls. I didn’t put the Low E foam on the inside though because ot would have made it way too thick and the door panel slips wouldn’t have worked right.




Rear door upper-most panels were cut out of 1/4″ ply and house two Polk Audio 6.5″ speakers and LED lights. A harness and switch were installed in the lower door panel for the LED lights. The switch blends in nicely with the door panel clips.






The rear door lower door panels were upholstered in the same vinyl as the cushions and the middle “window” areas were covered in the Sunbrella fabric. I used the factory wood panels for the lowers, and for the middle panels, I used the same material as our ceiling, white hardboard. It was easier to cut and work with. I used 3M VHB tape to hold it up. I also applied a layer of Low E foil face foam on the back since it would get very hot.






The wall behind the galley took a ton of time and of course, it will be seen the least. This area is where the amps and subwoofer are hidden. It is also where the water lines come through.


 

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