Overlandsprinters panel bed kit for our 2016 4x4 144"

Hey Sprinter Forums,

My wife and I took possession about a month ago of our future second home on wheels, a 2016 4x4 144" high roof Sprinter cargo van, and have been working to get going on building the basics of living in it. To that end, we decided that getting the sleeping platform installed was a priority, and found a place out of California that is putting out a really sweet DIY panel bed frame kit, Overlandsprinters (www.overlandsprinters.com). We ordered the set of parts for a bed approximately 36" off the floor, and they arrived promptly and packaged well. The welds on the aluminum frames look great! I took some shots while we had the parts laid out in the driveway. We'll be working to get these installed and ready for a little shakedown trip to City of Rocks, Idaho for camping and climbing in a couple of weeks. I haven't seen much about Overlandsprinters in the forums and thought I would put out some photos of their parts. The welds are smooth and really well done, and the whole system is engineered to be strong and stable.

John
 

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DieselFumes

2015 4x4 2500 170 Crew
Good choice. I used them in my build too. I've been very happy with them.

If you also got their steel rails that mount to the wall, I seriously suggest getting them powder coated rather than trying to paint them. They get a lot of wear from the panels. Powder coating will stand up much better than paint. I wish I'd done it.
 

bajaguy

Active member
Been wanting to post pictures and start a thread on my build but just haven't gotten to it. I also used the Overland bed system and I am very happy with it. Ran into some slight fitment issues due to my wall panels but overall I would recommend them. I had my fab guy install them (Offroad fabricator). He cleaned up some of the welds on the panels but overall everything went in smoothly. He riveted some springs pins he found on Amazon to secure the panels to the rails that work awesome. We went the rivnut route and have four rivnuts total securing each rail (2 front 2 back) nice and solid.

I had the panels and rails powdercoated black and used birch plywood on the panels and wrapped them with indoor/outdoor carpet from Home Depot. Now for some pictures!

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sprinterPaul

Well-known member
That looks sweet! I almost did spring latches but i really wanted a weld on vs rivet for those. Was hard to find steel pin with alum body in the right size.

I just dropped my rails off at powder coating today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

OverlandSprinters

New member
riveted some springs pins he found on Amazon to secure the panels to the rails that work awesome.

Thanks for the pics Bajaguy! A lot of folks have been asking for images of various quick release set ups and yours looks great.

We're stoked that folks are finding so many different ways to customize our bed kits to suit their specific needs.

Best - Eric
 

bajaguy

Active member
Baja Guy,

Your van looks great, and nice bike too.

I'm about to purchase the same bed system. Can you help with a couple questions:

-how many spring latches do you have? assuming it's 6 in total? 1 per side of each panel.

-are these the spring latches that you used:

https://www.amazon.com/Uxcell-a1407...&qid=1466988142&sr=8-9&keywords=spring++latch

appreciate the help

Thanks Schudes!

Yes those are it. I have 2 latches each on two of the panels and for the panel that butts up to the door I have four. Reason being is so I can move it forward slightly where the holes are for the second panel so I can stack the panels and have them not right up against the door.

But really they are fine stacked up on top of the back panel against the door like in my picture so you could go with just 6 total (2 each panel).
 
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gltrimble

2017 170 4x4
Overlandsprinters panel bed kit for our 2016 4x4 144"

Just installed my bed rails this past weekend. Used 5/16 rivnuts, two on rear E pillars where the sheet metal is doubled up. On the D pillar (170 van) I initially went with two 5/16" rivnuts spaced about 3" vertically on a 4" inch long 2x2x1/8" angle. My custom bed rails are mounted about 2 inches inboard from the wall which creates a small moment arm but allows for easy removal of the bed panels. Because the D pillar is only one layer of sheet metal I was experiencing some slight flex so I added a 1x1 angle to the existing 2x2 and another 2 rivnuts mounted close to the opposite edge of the pillar for maximum support. The flex is now almost imperceptible. I also have two additional vertical supports, one between the pillars and one forward of the D pillar that attach to the window sills and will eventually be behind the wall paneling.
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+1 on the Overland Sprinter's DIY bed kit.

We've had it in for nearly a year now. Works great. As others have mentioned, I highly recommend getting it powder coated instead of painting it as I did. A friend got his rails and bed panels powder coated for a little over $100.

Couple of installation notes.

After my initial installation, I noticed that there was a tiny bit of flex in the rails because I didn't get mounting nuts high enough. I drilled a small pilot hole through the rails and into the van to mark my holes and snake them up as high as possible. Bed is rock solid now.

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I also attached L-Track directly to the rails for extra storage. Maximizing use of space is critical and I was bummed that there was some dead space just below the rails.

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I pop riveted them onto the bed rails. If I had to do it again, I would have just used 3M VHB tape instead. Would have taken 1/8 of the time and I wouldn't have had to deal with the rivet nubs on the back side of the bed rails. Would likely have been just as strong. That said, I'm really happy with the L-Track there. We use it for mesh nets to hold jumper cables, tow strap, and other rarely used stuff.

Also, I installed stop blocks on the front and back of the rails so that the bed aligns easily. (Panels are also attached to the van with bolts and rubber bumpers to allow for a bit of body flex).

IMG_2162.jpg


Stop blocks are made from 1/2" ABS from the $1 bargain bin at my local TAP Plastics.

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Lastly in the vein of using dead space for "stuff you need, but don't need often," I mounted an axe and shovel just under the bed rails with Quick Fist tool holders (they also have a metal backing plate on the back side of the plywood for security). I got a Bully D-Handle shovel and cut down the handle about 8 inches. The Axe is a Fiskars splitting axe for camping firewood, etc.

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CreamPuff

New member
Highsierrabear,
Any chance you can repost the images? It would be great to see the bed system and the modifications you made.
Thanks.
 
Highsierrabear,
Any chance you can repost the images? It would be great to see the bed system and the modifications you made.
Thanks.

I will see if I can find a different image hosting service. Photobucket suspended my account since too many Sprinter Forum users were looking at the pics and now wants $120/year (minimum plan) to be able to post my pics here. I'd consider it for $20 or so a year, but that's way too much. :bash::censored:
 

bobloblaw

Member
I will see if I can find a different image hosting service. Photobucket suspended my account since too many Sprinter Forum users were looking at the pics and now wants $120/year (minimum plan) to be able to post my pics here. I'd consider it for $20 or so a year, but that's way too much. :bash::censored:

Try Imgur... Way better and free.
 

Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
Why not post them directly on Sprinter Source and then they will never go away (well as long as SS survives that is :thumbup: ).

Keith.
 
Why not post them directly on Sprinter Source and then they will never go away (well as long as SS survives that is :thumbup: ).

Keith.

I tried that, but editing pics down to 640x480 max resolution is a PIA. Will keep looking for another source. Maybe I can direct link from my WordPress account.
 

Boxster1971

2023 Sprinter 2500 144wb AWD
I tried that, but editing pics down to 640x480 max resolution is a PIA. Will keep looking for another source. Maybe I can direct link from my WordPress account.

Agree it is a PIA. One tip I've used to make it easier is send the pictures by email. Most email apps let you chose the size of photos you intend to email. Works for me on PC with Outlook and on my iPhone.
 

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