Hey y'all! After months of combing through the forum early last year and some solid effort in the fall, I finished out a 2013 144" high roof Sprinter as a bike hauler and general exploring rig. Below is the general summary. Check out my full write-up for a bit more detail and lots of pictures.
Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. Your help has been invaluable and made this tricky process much easier. So appreciated!
Ours is a pretty simple build-out - no shower, no bathroom facilities, just the basics. Here were our considerations and final items included:
-Bike racks inside the van – hauling four bikes (two road, two mountain) and protecting them from theft, weather and road grime was important. The heavy duty sliders are from www.leevalleytools.com and are the 48″ version, which are rated far stronger than we need (400 lb) but otherwise you can’t get a four foot slider.
-Fan in the ceiling – ventilation to keep the van cool and aired out. (Model: Fantastic Vent 6600)
-Battery and electrical system with a powerful inverter – we need to run laptops for my work, plus a fridge and the ability to power a Vitamix and hot water boiler. (Model: Inverter – Xantrex PowerWatt SW2000 batteries – Full River DC224-6 with 224 amp-hours)
-Solar panels to charge the batteries – 12v DC system fed by two 100W panels. The system was ordered from AM Solar. (Model: Grape Solar 2x100w.)
-Heater – Espar diesel-fueled heater (see full description of installation on our site). No propane tanks or extra fuel to carry around, and fewer things to break. This has worked great! (Model: Espar D2 Airtronic.)
-Swivel seats for the driver and passenger – 180 degree rotation to convert the cab into seating and my desk. (Model: From the Sprinter Store in Tualatin, Oregon)
-Fridge – as big as possible so we can bring plenty of grub for extended stays away from civilization. 12V DC. (Model: Isotherm CR-130 with 4.6CF)
-Cabinets – wire baskets for the majority of items to keep weight down, with a few slide out drawers. Thanks Ikea!
-Interior – sound deadening to mitigate road noise, insulation (denim), and a thin, light-colored wood veneer (1/8" birch). (Model: RAAMmat sound deadening for walls/roof and Cascade Audio absorptive layer on floor.)
-Awning – double our living space off the side of the van. (Model: Fiamma F65s, perfect for the 144″ Sprinter.)
-Curtains – occasionally, we pull into cities along the way and sleep in a quiet neighborhood. Blackout curtains make this possible. Ours is a system of snaps (for side windows especially) and magnets (rear windows) that keeps it quick, clean and easy. We used black canvas for the outside and glued it to the interior fabric with a sewn on perimeter strip.
-Lights – 12V LED lights that we installed two months into the trip in Santa Cruz. A MUST HAVE, in retrospect. We have one diffuse (wide-spread) light a foot back from the headliner and another two spotlights over the countertops. Works great. (Model: West Marine 12v lights.)
Hope this list and my full write-up helps some people out. Drop me a line with any questions!
Dakota
Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. Your help has been invaluable and made this tricky process much easier. So appreciated!
Ours is a pretty simple build-out - no shower, no bathroom facilities, just the basics. Here were our considerations and final items included:
-Bike racks inside the van – hauling four bikes (two road, two mountain) and protecting them from theft, weather and road grime was important. The heavy duty sliders are from www.leevalleytools.com and are the 48″ version, which are rated far stronger than we need (400 lb) but otherwise you can’t get a four foot slider.
-Fan in the ceiling – ventilation to keep the van cool and aired out. (Model: Fantastic Vent 6600)
-Battery and electrical system with a powerful inverter – we need to run laptops for my work, plus a fridge and the ability to power a Vitamix and hot water boiler. (Model: Inverter – Xantrex PowerWatt SW2000 batteries – Full River DC224-6 with 224 amp-hours)
-Solar panels to charge the batteries – 12v DC system fed by two 100W panels. The system was ordered from AM Solar. (Model: Grape Solar 2x100w.)
-Heater – Espar diesel-fueled heater (see full description of installation on our site). No propane tanks or extra fuel to carry around, and fewer things to break. This has worked great! (Model: Espar D2 Airtronic.)
-Swivel seats for the driver and passenger – 180 degree rotation to convert the cab into seating and my desk. (Model: From the Sprinter Store in Tualatin, Oregon)
-Fridge – as big as possible so we can bring plenty of grub for extended stays away from civilization. 12V DC. (Model: Isotherm CR-130 with 4.6CF)
-Cabinets – wire baskets for the majority of items to keep weight down, with a few slide out drawers. Thanks Ikea!
-Interior – sound deadening to mitigate road noise, insulation (denim), and a thin, light-colored wood veneer (1/8" birch). (Model: RAAMmat sound deadening for walls/roof and Cascade Audio absorptive layer on floor.)
-Awning – double our living space off the side of the van. (Model: Fiamma F65s, perfect for the 144″ Sprinter.)
-Curtains – occasionally, we pull into cities along the way and sleep in a quiet neighborhood. Blackout curtains make this possible. Ours is a system of snaps (for side windows especially) and magnets (rear windows) that keeps it quick, clean and easy. We used black canvas for the outside and glued it to the interior fabric with a sewn on perimeter strip.
-Lights – 12V LED lights that we installed two months into the trip in Santa Cruz. A MUST HAVE, in retrospect. We have one diffuse (wide-spread) light a foot back from the headliner and another two spotlights over the countertops. Works great. (Model: West Marine 12v lights.)
Hope this list and my full write-up helps some people out. Drop me a line with any questions!
Dakota
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