Our T1N Sprinter build, "the ol Sprint'"

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
That's awesome! Looks like your tool is a bit more refine than mine. Nice work. I'm actually a bit ahead of this now, I just haven't had the time to update the post. Hope to do that soon!
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
Lots of updates. I'll try to update to current status in the coming days. As usual, I'm stoked on the progress!

Kitchen is CRUISING along. I found an old Corian/solid surface counter top with a nasty looking sink. It was actually pulled out of an old Starbucks. We really wanted a nice countertop—it's something that we'll interact with on a daily basis, and we felt a nice counter would class the place up. So I used a router (and brand new bit/blade!) to VERY carefully cut out the old sink so we could put in a new drop in sink.
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The new sink is huge! It's going to be so freaking nice to have a large sink. It makes it that much easier to eat fresh, make good food, and do dishes.
 

roblee

Member
Lots of updates. I'll try to update to current status in the coming days. As usual, I'm stoked on the progress!

Kitchen is CRUISING along. I found an old Corian/solid surface counter top with a nasty looking sink. It was actually pulled out of an old Starbucks. We really wanted a nice countertop—it's something that we'll interact with on a daily basis, and we felt a nice counter would class the place up. So I used a router (and brand new bit/blade!) to VERY carefully cut out the old sink so we could put in a new drop in sink.




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The new sink is huge! It's going to be so freaking nice to have a large sink. It makes it that much easier to eat fresh, make good food, and do dishes.
Creative & resourceful. A sink with a history.
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
These arrived a while ago, but the Xuba Lifepo4 battery cells arrived. Still have some work to do to set them up (connect BMS, wire heating plate, ect) but I'm happy to have our battery system in hand! 280ah of LFP cells should power our fridge, lights, and charge devices.
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For location, I plan on putting them under the front seat. If we ever decide we need to, we can always add about 200-280ah of cells. There is enough room. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it doesn't make any sense to get 50+ amps of power to the back of the van, 15+ feet away from the alternator. So they're going under the front seat :)

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Finished up some of the cabinetry:
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Also added a cabinet for the oven and "insulated" it with cement board. Mostly to keep the heat dissipated. (I added a cement board to the backside after snapping this pic)
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bcman

Active member
OK, this is crazy how similar our builds are. Look where I put my batteries:

Yours are 280Ah cells? That's a pretty big improvement in energy density from when I bought mine 4 years ago. Mine are CALB 100Ah cells, 3x4 for 300Ah@12V.
 

vanski

If it’s winter, I’m probably skiing..
OK, this is crazy how similar our builds are. Look where I put my batteries:

Yours are 280Ah cells? That's a pretty big improvement in energy density from when I bought mine 4 years ago. Mine are CALB 100Ah cells, 3x4 for 300Ah@12V.
Nice! Shoot me your address and Ill send a new set of pliers ;-)
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
OK, this is crazy how similar our builds are. Look where I put my batteries:

Yours are 280Ah cells? That's a pretty big improvement in energy density from when I bought mine 4 years ago. Mine are CALB 100Ah cells, 3x4 for 300Ah@12V.
Ha! Wow, nice. It's a great spot for batteries!!! Yep, 280ah. I have a build thread for the batteries going on over at DIY Solar, but it's actually a bit slower going than I had though. Hoping to make the final moves for install in the next week or so.

Eventually, I may purchase 4 more 280ah cells. I have the room to fit them under the seat there. If I did that, we'd have 580ah of battery under the passenger seat!!!
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
This was mid September, but we got the entire van prepped and painted. Was an unbelievably time-consuming process. We bought 3 random orbital sanders from Harbor Frieght and a frig ton of sanding pads. We also had many friends over to help and supplied food :) We got the entire van sanded and prepped (removed plastic parts, bondo'd and removed rust, pulled dents out as best as we could, etc) over a weekend.

I honestly never want to repeat that again haha.
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Quite understanding that you don't want to repeat this process any time soon, like never.

Truck bedliner is for you.

Besides, it hides and evens out a lot of imperfections.

Besides, it lasts forever. Relatively, compared to paint.

Besides, it protects against bumps and scratches better than any paint and is easy to hose off when dirty.

Besides, no waxing ever again.

Besides, it noticeably helps quiet down the road noise. I could go on.
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
Quite understanding that you don't want to repeat this process any time soon, like never.

Truck bedliner is for you.

Besides, it hides and evens out a lot of imperfections.

Besides, it lasts forever. Relatively, compared to paint.

Besides, it protects against bumps and scratches better than any paint and is easy to hose off when dirty.

Besides, no waxing ever again.

Besides, it noticeably helps quiet down the road noise. I could go on.
Thanks for the suggestion! I was very interested in that, but my wife didn't like the texture of it. I was also a bit worried about what ever happens if you want to repaint someday. It seems like quite a permanent solution (which may be a value add for some!). We ended up going with standard automotive paint. Once I get my pictures organized I'll post the results :)
 
True dat. Removing would be a chore and most likely would require a lot of grinding.

The texture, well, it would be nice if it was somewhat smoother, and I think there are some less textured bedliners new to the market.

I went this route because I have an aversion to spraying anything for my lungs benefit after breathing sawdust for many years and somehow getting away with it. I always have worked outside with fans blowing and it seems to have worked. Knock on wood! I don't want to press my luck any further, so rolling it on is my way to go. New paint sure does look beautiful on some of our members vans.
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
SO many updates to make, I cant even believe it. A big one recently was we got the cruise control activated! It was a bit tedious, and somewhat nerve-wracking install of the wire/pins into the ECM and the stalk behind the steering wheel, but overall not that hard. I got the stalk from a wrecked van, and the pins I painstaking cut out from the same van. Of course I printed out the instructions from the forum here which made it possible.
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We ended up on a trip through South Carolina and was able to get in touch with Andy Bittenbinder—Doktor A. Taking Covid precautions, we met with him and he was able to activate the cruise control. He is a wonderful, stand up guy. It's awesome to have cruise control now too!
 
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tgross

Member
Next was power windows and power locks. Our van didn't even have a FOB, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to make my own. So after harvesting the lock actuators from a donor van, I set on my way to run some new wires and replace the door lock mechanisms with one that have the build-in OEM lock actuators.

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I used a cheap 2 channel remote relay to control them, and also a 2 way toggle switch on the dash. Dash switch not yet installed.

Remote I used: https://usa.banggood.com/12V-10A-2-...d=19996135&sc_lid=105229698&sc_uid=TzFO9P8zB7

Also harvested some rubber boots for the wires going to the door. While I had everything apart and was running wires, I ran a 16 gauge, 4 wire cable in there too. There was plenty of space, and now if I ever want to add speakers, lights, switches, etc to the door I easily can.

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The relays (1 to lock, 1 to unlock) live under the drivers seat, along with the OEM ones. I dont want to have random fuses and relays to track down if I ever need to troubleshoot, and want to do a favor to whoever owns this van after me. Not really much to look at but there it is. Most of this part was just hours of staring at the service manual and figuring out wiring diagrams :thinking: :smirk:

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Similar story with the power windows, not much to look at but lots hours in front of wiring diagrams. If you want to see a picture of hopelessness, this is probably one of lowest points:

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But hey! I got it, and now they work great, exactly as they should. :rad:
Are there any relays or controllers for the power windows? I am thinking about doing this, but don't know if there is anything the stops the window motor when the window is all the way up/down. The alternative is to just keep the voltage applied to the motor as long as the button is held in the up or down position. However, that seems like it could damage the motor if the button is held too long.
 

tgross

Member
Next was power windows and power locks. Our van didn't even have a FOB, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to make my own. So after harvesting the lock actuators from a donor van, I set on my way to run some new wires and replace the door lock mechanisms with one that have the build-in OEM lock actuators.

View attachment 126088

I used a cheap 2 channel remote relay to control them, and also a 2 way toggle switch on the dash. Dash switch not yet installed.

Remote I used: https://usa.banggood.com/12V-10A-2-...d=19996135&sc_lid=105229698&sc_uid=TzFO9P8zB7

Also harvested some rubber boots for the wires going to the door. While I had everything apart and was running wires, I ran a 16 gauge, 4 wire cable in there too. There was plenty of space, and now if I ever want to add speakers, lights, switches, etc to the door I easily can.

View attachment 126089

The relays (1 to lock, 1 to unlock) live under the drivers seat, along with the OEM ones. I dont want to have random fuses and relays to track down if I ever need to troubleshoot, and want to do a favor to whoever owns this van after me. Not really much to look at but there it is. Most of this part was just hours of staring at the service manual and figuring out wiring diagrams :thinking: :smirk:

View attachment 126090

Similar story with the power windows, not much to look at but lots hours in front of wiring diagrams. If you want to see a picture of hopelessness, this is probably one of lowest points:

View attachment 126091

But hey! I got it, and now they work great, exactly as they should. :rad:
Were there no relays or controllers for the power window motors?
 

tgross

Member
Nope. I had to put them all in.
What I was asking was if you put in any controllers or relays for the power windows, or if you just wired the motors directly to the switches. Please share what relays/controllers you used if any, and how you connected them.
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
What I was asking was if you put in any controllers or relays for the power windows, or if you just wired the motors directly to the switches. Please share what relays/controllers you used if any, and how you connected them.
Oh! Nope, directly to the window switches. IIRC, the Mercedes wiring diagram didn’t have relays, so I figured the switches could handle the amperage.
 

tgross

Member
Oh! Nope, directly to the window switches. IIRC, the Mercedes wiring diagram didn’t have relays, so I figured the switches could handle the amperage.
Ok, that makes sense. I assume that means that Sprinters that came with powers windows from the factory do not have the ability to just depress the button briefly and have the window automatically lower all the way. I hope somebody watching this thread with factory installed power windows can confirm that.
 

sipma02

Currently full time in the van
I
Ok, that makes sense. I assume that means that Sprinters that came with powers windows from the factory do not have the ability to just depress the button briefly and have the window automatically lower all the way. I hope somebody watching this thread with factory installed power windows can confirm that.
I believe I can confirm that they do not have that feature. The buttons and wiring I used was lifted from a junkyard van with OEM power windows.
 

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