Building the Escape Pod
The front end of our bed platform is right above the passenger bench seat. We added foam pipe insulation to the platform to protect our noggins from getting whacked.
To make it look fancy, we covered the pipe insulation in black vinyl. It’s not exactly the same color as the seat upholstery, but it looks just fine.
Continue reading “Foam pipe insulation for bed-to-head protection”
We “finished” our conversion about a year after we got the van. By that point we had all the systems in. Either to our original design or to the design that we made up as we went along that reflected our real-world usage better. We didn’t necessarily have everything tidied up (we still don’t!) but all the components worked.
Now though, after using the van for a while, we want to make some changes. We don’t know quite what we want to change, or how we’ll do it, but we feel there’s potentially a better layout, a better storage setup, a better way of stopping water tanks from freezing over the winter, and a better way of freeing up cargo/bike space in the rear of the van.
Continue reading “DIY Conversion vans are always a prototype”
Cheap battery volt meters don’t give you good insight into how full or empty your battery really is. Without knowing the true state of charge you can damage your battery and seriously shorten its life.
If you’ve priced out proper battery monitors, you might have experienced sticker shock. Although you can buy a LED volt meter for under $10, true battery monitors cost a lot more – often around $200. Why? And what’s so important about using a proper monitor?
Its easy to get carried away with a van conversion and add all sorts of stuff. But the weight can add up much faster than you think, and soon you could be pushing up against the maximum vehicle weight.
If you’re using a long wheelbase 2500 crew van with a V6 engine and 4×4 transmission like we did, your payload weight isn’t very high at all.
Although 1-1/4 tons sounds like a lot, it soon disappears as you build out cabinets, a bed platform, a fridge, electrical system and some water tanks.
Add in a couple of people, a couple of mountain bikes, and some food, clothes, and water for a week’s getaway and things can get out of hand.
Continue reading “Keeping conversion van weight under control”
The typical awning you see on NCV3 Sprinters is the Fiamma F65. It curves around the top of the van wall to the roof. It mounts either onto the bare metal of the roof or on to the factory roof rails.
The thing is, we have a pretty large VanTech roof rack supporting our solar panels. It’s already bolted to the factory roof rail. That stops us from using the F65. Instead, we bought an F45. It mounts on vertical walls or, in our case, on to L-brackets suspended from the roof rack bars. Here’s how we did it.
Continue reading “Adding an awning to a Sprinter with a roof rack”
Along with oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and fuel, modern diesel engines also need DEF to run properly. All North American Sprinters built after 2010 have DEF tanks.
DEF helps with emissions control and the computer in your van will stop you from driving if it detects an empty DEF tank. But don’t panic if the DEF light on your dash comes on. You’ve got plenty of time to fill up.
So, what is DEF, why does your engine need it, and what’s the best way to fill the DEF tank?
Continue reading “DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) – the other engine fluid”
The 4×4 Sprinter is high off the ground. The climb up to the back doors is harder even than at the sliding door, so we added a hitch-mounted step.
We chose the Bully Black Bull utility step, but there are several other options (and price points) too.
Continue reading “Bully hitch step really helps with rear door access”
Our latest entry in the “Why didn’t we do this two years ago?” category is buying a bench mounted drill press. This thing is so much easier to work with than a hand drill.
We’ve been able to borrow access to our neighbor’s floor mounted monster drill on occasion, but he’s a woodworker and aluminum swarf is a bad idea to have around his shop. Now we have our own hole maker.
Continue reading “Drill press: the proper tool for drilling straight, round holes”
Battery efficiency is important in a van, and your fridge is one of your highest house battery consumers. Here are some ways to make sure your fridge runs as efficiently as possible.
Continue reading “Tips for choosing and using an efficient van fridge”
If you’ve come from a Westie background, you’ll be used to the benefits of a pop-top camper conversion. But back when Westfalia first converted Volkswagen vans there were no other options you could stand up in.
The high roof Sprinter has 6’3″ of headroom. If stand-up height is your only concern, a pop-top may not be a good fit for you.
Update: for 2018, only Cargo vans can be ordered with a low roof. If you order a Crew or Passenger van, it’ll be high roof. The only big issues here are how many passengers the Cargo vehicle is rated to carry (2 rather than 5+), and the lack of captive nuts in the floor for mounting a passenger bench seat.
Here are the pros and cons of the high roof van versus the low roof with a pop-top conversion.
Continue reading “Choosing between a high roof and a pop-top van”