hilld
Well-known member
I just picked up my van last Friday and have started the work already. Rather than substantially completing the van and then posting all of it at once, I want to share as I start the process and have you guys come along the journey. This way, if I am screwing something up, you can call me out on it.
I used to be an auto tech (until about 25 years ago), but have continued to wrench on my own vehicles and have done some light fabrication work over the past few years. So I figured, I can tackle this.
Originally, I wanted a single rear wheel, but those are hard to come by right now - 4x4 sprinter vans are the new toilet paper. After looking around for the past 3-4 months and visiting countless dealers, I came across a "used" 2019 3500XD Cargo Dually, 170 high top that was part of the Ryder purchase of over 1000 vans that is also known as the Winnebago vans. Basically, Ryder purchased these and then Covid hit and like the other rental car companies, they ended up with a lot of vehicles that they no longer had any use for. So they were sold off to other dealers. Mine had 16 miles on it when I test drove it and 32 by the time I purchased it. I had 2 test drives, one alone with the salesman and another with the boss aka. wife with the salesman standing in back as there were no seats back there.
Since it was a used 19, none of the 0% financing incentives applied, but I did manage to get 8k off the sticker price, so that worked out ok. I traded in my sports car and am now a proud owner of the Sprinter. The plan is to use it as a cargo vehicle for the first 4-6 months while I am still building a home 5 hours away to haul building supplies, furniture, etc. Along the way, I plan on making incremental upgrades, hence the slow roll build in the title.
Fully loaded window sticker (missing a couple of options I cared about, but I can live with this)
As it sat on the lot (it was calling my name)
The day I brought it home, it was washed, but had to have the badges removed.
The blank canvas, no wood floor either - would have loved to have that for the cargo phase of the life of the van.
I used to be an auto tech (until about 25 years ago), but have continued to wrench on my own vehicles and have done some light fabrication work over the past few years. So I figured, I can tackle this.
Originally, I wanted a single rear wheel, but those are hard to come by right now - 4x4 sprinter vans are the new toilet paper. After looking around for the past 3-4 months and visiting countless dealers, I came across a "used" 2019 3500XD Cargo Dually, 170 high top that was part of the Ryder purchase of over 1000 vans that is also known as the Winnebago vans. Basically, Ryder purchased these and then Covid hit and like the other rental car companies, they ended up with a lot of vehicles that they no longer had any use for. So they were sold off to other dealers. Mine had 16 miles on it when I test drove it and 32 by the time I purchased it. I had 2 test drives, one alone with the salesman and another with the boss aka. wife with the salesman standing in back as there were no seats back there.
Since it was a used 19, none of the 0% financing incentives applied, but I did manage to get 8k off the sticker price, so that worked out ok. I traded in my sports car and am now a proud owner of the Sprinter. The plan is to use it as a cargo vehicle for the first 4-6 months while I am still building a home 5 hours away to haul building supplies, furniture, etc. Along the way, I plan on making incremental upgrades, hence the slow roll build in the title.
Fully loaded window sticker (missing a couple of options I cared about, but I can live with this)
As it sat on the lot (it was calling my name)
The day I brought it home, it was washed, but had to have the badges removed.
The blank canvas, no wood floor either - would have loved to have that for the cargo phase of the life of the van.
