Sprinters

Mike, decent amount of pep?

How's 260 ft/lbs!? I'll walk all over that Subaro gasser while I pass two semi's up a 2 lane grade.

beaulanier wrote:Mike, decent amount of pep? How's 260 ft/lbs!? I'll walk all over that Subaro gasser while I pass two semi's up a 2 lane grade.

That's awesome.

For some real pep, I have been considering building a Chevrolet Express with the 6.6L Duramax/Allison into a camper. Why? Because, the A team would approve.

UncleBen wrote: Why? Because, the A team would approve.

Please keep it real with a spoiler on the roof.

Sweet!

Mike Brady wrote: Please keep it real with a spoiler on the roof.

That is so rad! I want a spoiler on my van.

Snagged one!

We drew up the basic plan and are spec-ing out materials for the conversion. Going to be a money pit for a while as we build.

Most electricals are on order. First wiring, then insulation, then...

mountainhick wrote:Snagged one! We drew up the basic plan and are spec-ing out materials for the conversion. Going to be a money pit for a while as we build. Most electricals are on order. First wiring, then insulation, then...

Congrats! If you are careful you can make it really nice and not have it be to painful of an experience on the wallet.

What route are you going to go in terms of insulation?

Probably some foam underfloor, and fiberglass in the walls and ceiling. Also will use some mass loading at least on the larger louder panels.

mountainhick wrote:Probably some foam underfloor, and fiberglass in the walls and ceiling. Also will use some mass loading at least on the larger louder panels.

We did Jute on the floor, fiberglass in the doors and on the first foot of the walls, R Max (1.5") on the rest of the walls and R Tech (1") on the ceiling.

Mike Brady wrote: Please keep it real with a spoiler on the roof.

I love it when a plan comes together.


ifc.com/fix/2010/04/the-a-t…

Mike Brady wrote: Congrats! If you are careful you can make it really nice and not have it be to painful of an experience on the wallet.

BTW, thoughts are welcome on the subject of saving $$ in the process!

I have been reading a ton at the Sprinter forum, and man, there are a lot of people with unlimited disposable dollars! Not us!

mountainhick wrote: BTW, thoughts are welcome on the subject of saving $$ in the process! I have been reading a ton at the Sprinter forum, and man, there are a lot of people with unlimited disposable dollars! Not us!

Yeah, sprinter-source/sprinterworld/sprinterstore can all be very humbling and leave you wondering what you have done wrong and what these other people do n order to be able to drop the dime that the do. Don't get to wrapped up in what they are doing.

Obviously the best way to save money is doing as much work yourself as you can. Second thing is doing a lot of research into the materials and appliance/electronics you will put into the van. Some things you can buy that aren't top tier but somethings you have to drop the coin on. If solar is something you are planning on doing, which I would recommend as it is the cheapest and easiest on the vehicle, buy industrial panels. Industrial panels aren't as sexy but they are way cheaper and way more efficient.

If you keep your build as light as possible you can run on tires that aren't awfully expensive for the garbage that they are, not to mention maintaining your MPG. Are you running Michelin MS2? We are pretty much done with our build and it has 2.5 sheets of OSB, 5 sheets of 3/8" Baltic Birch and 1.5 sheets of 5/8" Baltic Birch. The initial cost was higher but the weight savings and not needing to do any(besides some walnut accents) finishing was worth it and it has not effected my MPG.

I think being realistic about what you are going to do with the van will be a big saver as well. There are just so many things to spend money on, I just continually check myself and make sure it is something that we actually need.

Thanks Mike,

Yes, I'll be doing all the work except for potentially some mechanical work. I can do a lot of automotive stuff, but have never worked on diesels, and these Sprinters are not DIY mechanic friendly.

Tires need to be replaced. They are the originals and though tread is still really good, (van only has 51,000 miles), they are just too old and sidewalls are cracked and dry rotting. I'll consider lower weight rated tires, but the lateral forces on sidewalls from tall (not just heavy) vehicles is a consideration. Mine is a 2500 not a 3500 though.

And as far as need vs want, well, I built out a Previa which we camped in most of last winter and though we know what we can live without, we are going for a different level of comfort with the added space and amenities. But, it's not like we are buying all the RV bells and whistles.

Thing is, all the little stuff adds up.

Awesome that you found one with on 51k on it! I hear ya on the side wall deflection issue. I have read up on several people that switched to A/T tires with great results. I believe the 2500 comes with tires that have a pretty big sidewall to begin with so transitioning to something aftermarket should not be to much of a hassle and be glad you have the 2500, I have 15" wheels and finding appropriate tires for that wheel is kind of crappy. If you have 15" wheels let me know what you go with. If you have a 16" wheel the go to tire is the Michelin LTX MS2, I would steer clear of the OEM Continentals.

The extra level of comfort is what the Sprinter is all about, well that and being super sexy :). In terms of need/want, I was more referring to things like a refrigerator. We live in our van and our only source of power is solar so we had to buy a top tier unit ($700) for the sake of efficiency, if you are not going to live in it you could get away with a WalMart dorm fridge ($70) or no fridge at all. Another thing that we thought about was the design of our closet and kitchenette, there are no latches or sliders, this saved us a decent amount of money. If you are going to do propane heating or cooking look into find an old RV that you can salvage from.

Not a Sprinter conversion, but a good climber van nonetheless and lots of stepwise pictures of the conversion...

Mike Brady wrote:Awesome that you found one with on 51k on it! I hear ya on the side wall deflection issue. I have read up on several people that switched to A/T tires with great results. I believe the 2500 comes with tires that have a pretty big sidewall to begin with so transitioning to something aftermarket should not be to much of a hassle and be glad you have the 2500, I have 15" wheels and finding appropriate tires for that wheel is kind of crappy. If you have 15" wheels let me know what you go with. If you have a 16" wheel the go to tire is the Michelin LTX MS2, I would steer clear of the OEM Continentals. The extra level of comfort is what the Sprinter is all about, well that and being super sexy :). In terms of need/want, I was more referring to things like a refrigerator. We live in our van and our only source of power is solar so we had to buy a top tier unit ($700) for the sake of efficiency, if you are not going to live in it you could get away with a WalMart dorm fridge ($70) or no fridge at all. Another thing that we thought about was the design of our closet and kitchenette, there are no latches or sliders, this saved us a decent amount of money. If you are going to do propane heating or cooking look into find an old RV that you can salvage from.

16" wheels here.

We already have a fridge, Dometic CF40 which has really low current draw.

I just ordered wire, terminals, fuse blocks fuses, bus bar, etc for aux batteries and all the circuits, battery isolator, new stereo head unit, blah blah blah. Nothing alone costs much but once you have about a hundred things that all cost $10...

Cabinet hardware and cabinets, and sinks are dirt cheap if you can ones that fit at habitat for humanity restores.

As for the weight issue. the van is completely empty right now and almost empty of gas and it doesn't have enough weight for good traction climbing out of our steep dirt driveway! With ASR on it won;t even make it! It's going to need some more mass. Trade offs: MPG or performance?

mountainhick wrote: 16" wheels here We already have a fridge, Dometic CF40 which has really low current draw. I just ordered wire, terminals, fuse blocks fuses, bus bar, etc for aux batteries and all the circuits, battery isolator, new stereo head unit, blah blah blah. Nothing alone costs much but once you have about a hundred things that all cost $10... Cabinet hardware and cabinets, and sinks are dirt cheap if you can ones that fit at habitat for humanity restores. As for the weight issue. the van is completely empty right now and almost empty of gas and it doesn't have enough weight for good traction climbing out of our steep dirt driveway! With ASR on it won;t even make it! It's going to need some more mass. Trade offs: MPG or performance?

That is a nice fridge. It is incredible how efficient they can make those things run. We opted for the Engel SB70F.

How are you charging your batteries? I assume via your alternator considering the isolator. If so do some digging on what other people have done and what their results were in terms of the longevity of their alternator. There is a heavy duty alternator but it is very spendy.

I feel you on needing weight. The 3500 drove like a bat outta hell until I got it loaded up. Even with trying to keep things light the weight will add up, kind of like how much it costs to get things the way you want :). The weight had a negligible effect on the MPG or performance, what made a noticeable difference was the rack I put up top for the solar panel. I hope that going with a bigger tire, swapping the air filter out with a ProGaurd and possibly doing a ECU modification I will be able to be better off than when I bought the van.

Battery charging from alternator with isolator. I did this in my Previa with a single 75ah AGM battery and it handles fridge, computer, and LED lights during winter just fine. I wouldn't trust it for summer with the fridge though.

For the Sprinter I am starting with 2- 12v 100ah AGM batteries, and going for solar right away. What "industrial" solar are you referring to? I have been looking at renogy kits.

Anyway, I'll scrounge everything I can when I have time for the search, but the clock is ticking. Need to have this van outfitted by the beginning of November.
Hopefully will be done with electrical wiring and insulation in the next week.

mountainhick wrote:Battery charging from alternator with isolator. I did this in my Previa with a single 75ah AGM battery and it handles fridge, computer, and LED lights during winter just fine. I wouldn't trust it for summer with the fridge though. For the Sprinter I am starting with 2- 12v 100ah AGM batteries, and going for solar right away. What "industrial" solar are you referring to? I have been looking at renogy kits. Anyway, I'll scrounge everything I can when I have time for the search, but the clock is ticking. Need to have this van outfitted by the beginning of November. Hopefully will be done with electrical wiring and insulation in the next week.

Amerisolar is the panels we went with. Renogy is legit. Our panel(250w poly), MPPT controller, fuses, bus bars, and cables were sold as a kit for $425. By "industrial" I mean no frills, no big brand name, just functional and therefore cheaper. You will see this with Renogy, they have "industrial" style panels and then they have their sexy sleek black anodized panels.

Awesome on getting the insulation and electrical wrapped up. You should post some pics. I got some more lights wired up this weekend, I will post images later.

Well due to some ordering frustrations, I might not be that far along in a week, have to wait for the supplies to be delivered. But once they are here, I have a bee in my bonnet to get this done pronto!

We ordered a Renogy kit 200 watt with MPPT controller $454 shipped, includes the doo dads to mount panels and hook up to the battery bus. Sounds like you got a little better bang for the buck, but not too far off.

Also might opt for denim batting insulation. I found a supplier in Denver. I am concerned about potential moisture, but whether cotton or fiberglass, you're screwed if you get water into the insulation. Good interior vapor barrier is key. Jury is still out.