Building the Escape Pod
Who knew you could have so much fun looking at a web site that sells magnets? K&J Magnetics is an awesome site, with detailed information on each magnet they sell that helped us find just the right strength magnets for holding a mosquito / bug / insect net on to the metal walls and through the plastic B-pillar cover.
We love the chairs and table we bought for the van so much that we’ve taken out the bench seat and use the chairs inside instead. Sorry – no more passengers!
Continue reading “Awesome lightweight chairs and table that fold up very small”
To “prettify” our panels and cut down on wind drag and noise, we added some ABS plastic sheets where the panels overhang the edge of the van. Continue reading “Solar panel wind fairing”
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.
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.
We wanted to be able to quickly air up bike tires and occasionally also the van’s tires. We installed an air compressor and tank. Continue reading “Air compressor and tank install”
We ordered the factory door stop for opening the sliding door half way. It intrudes above the door frame in a place we want to run lighting. We bought a replacement that is elegant in its simplicity.
We don’t ourselves as Mercedes drivers. Mercedes don’t seem to see Sprinters as Mercedes-quality vehicles either. We don’t want to have the Mercedes bling all over the outside of our van.
It starts innocently enough – a space in the roof, a wooden template to get the right hole spacing, then out come the power tools and all of a sudden there’s a 14″ hole in the ceiling. Continue reading “Adding a fan, voiding the warranty”