Building the Escape Pod
A while back we made ourselves some DIY fork mounts for the back of the van. They worked well for our bikes with quick-release front wheels. When we got bikes with 110mm through axles, we upgraded the fork mounts too.
Continue reading “New fork mount bike rack for our L-track”
The full details of the 2019 update to the Sprinter have been released now. The new van has a longer-looking “snout”, updated cab interior, but almost identical load area. Mercedes will offer a gasoline version in North America but it’s not clear whether we’ll get the new front wheel drive version.
The MaxxAir fan is great, but it can’t do its job if the rest of the van is sealed up. It needs a flow of air in/out of the vehicle. We’ve thought about replacing the window behind the driver with an aftermarket vented one, or making another hole in the floor or step area to act as a vent.
Before we did that though, we wanted to try these slide-in metal vents from EuroCampers. They fit in the driver’s and co-driver’s windows and are held in place when you roll the window glass up.
First impressions are that they are functional but not the type of quality you might expect for the cost.
Continue reading “Front window air vents from Reimo/EuroCampers”
When you order a Sprinter, there are loads of different options you can choose. Some make more sense for a conversion van than others. Some come in packages which are great value. Others come in packages where there’s little additional value at all (Mercedes branded flashlight, anyone?)
Here’s a list of most of the options you’ll care about, what they really mean, and whether they’re worthwhile having for a conversion van.
Continue reading “Ordering a Sprinter – what all the options mean”
We were concerned that every composting toilet reviewer had somehow lost their sense of smell at the same time they started using the unit. How could a bucket full of poo NOT smell bad? Well, either we both lost our nose function too, or the composting toilet we installed really doesn’t produce any nasty fumes.
We bought five different types of LED lantern to test out which worked best in the van.
We found that we needed a couple of small lanterns for when we want to get up in the middle of the night rather than switching on the main lights inside the van. Because they are portable, we also use them outside the van when we’re hanging out after dark.
Here’s a list of what we tried, and which worked best for our needs…
Continue reading “LED lantern comparison – we did so you don’t have to”
We love our bucket and bag toilet solution, but it’s not really suitable for longer term use inside the van. We decided to try out a composting toilet instead. First, we had to find a suitable one.
The Autel MaxiDiag MD802 will read and reset OBDII diagnostic codes on Sprinters. The “All systems” version will reset ABS and SRS warnings and can help you do a brake bleed too.
Although this reader can’t change values like the more expensive Mercedes STAR system can, it is still a useful tool for diagnosing and understanding Sprinter issues.
Continue reading “Using the Autel MaxiDiag Elite MD802 Code Reader on a Sprinter”
You can turn your cell phone into an engine monitor with just a $20 gadget and a $5 app. This will tell you pretty much everything that a ScanGauge or Ultragauge will, and will also allow you to read and reset generic engine codes.
Rather than heating the whole van overnight, it’s cheaper and easier to just heat the bed. We bought a 12v heated mattress pad to sleep on. It works really well and doesn’t use too much power.
Continue reading “12v electric mattress pad for cheap overnight heating”