Building the Escape Pod
The Crew van comes with a row of lights along the ceiling. They come on when a door opens, and turn off about 20 minutes later. They’re not very bright and they are not very attractive. We wanted some other options for the space we’ll be living in.
Continue reading “Lighting: living lights, work lights, party lights”
We’d like to get more ventilation into the van. One way to do it is to add T-vent windows on the sliding door and crew window area. Unfortunately, it’s hard to remove the factory glass without breaking it.
Continue reading “Contemplating breaking completely good windows”
It’s a long way up into the van. We added a handle in the sliding door area, but we were fed up with using a folding step stool to help us get in and out. We installed an electric step that is activated when the door opens.
The Truckfridge range of 12/120v fridges uses the same compressor as the more expensive Norcold/Vitifrigo/Isotherm units with a slightly lower build quality. The TF130 is their largest option, and it’s got more than enough space for a Sprinter build.
We started with an 80″ long bed, but it overhung the bench seat too much. Cutting it down to 73″ is still very workable and makes the bench seat comfy again.
We used a piece of leftover aluminum flashing to make a fairing for the front of the roof rack. The van is now much quieter and may be more fuel efficient.
The microwave is great – prepare food in advance, then just nuke it to reheat on the road. But it needs to be secure in the van. Here’s how we did it.
I’ve been emailing back and forth with another Sprinter owner who just installed his Espar heater under the passenger seat. That means he doesn’t have room to use it for storage any more, so he sent me his locking door!
LED spot lights, LED light strips and “party lights” all contained in corner-mounted coving panels.
The stock seats are fine for a delivery truck, but if you are driving across the country they are not the most comfortable place to park your butt. We decided to upgrade using a third party option.ย Continue reading “Adding suspension seats”