instructables

Custom Sprinter Van RV Conversion

by PartCraft

Creating a van like this has been a dream of ours for as large as you can go while still fitting in a standard
years, and realizing this dream took a lot sacrifice. parking space. It is important to us to be able to stay
Sprinter's arent particularly cheap or easy to find, so nimble, and not be confined to staying in RV parks
acquiring just the right one meant cashing in most of and large campsites.
our savings and a taking a trip to the east coast to
pick one up. Sprinters are much more expensive on The conversion process took about 6 months, and
the west coast, particularly in the Portland area since cost a little under $10k beyond the initial cost of the
there are so many like minded individuals competing bare bones van. It is still not 100% finished, as we
for the same models. We really wanted this particular still have a few finishing touches here and there, but
model of sprinter ('06), as it is the older body style we couldnt be happier with the way it turned out so
which gets better gas mileage than it's newer far!
counterparts. We also wanted the 140" wheel base
version, which is essentially the medium size. This is

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Step 1: CAD Design

Designing the van in CAD was key to our successful CNC as well. After all the parts were cut, and
build. It allowed us to go through several design cabinets assembled, the moment of truth came when
iterations, each one getting more and more I had to see if they all puzzled together and fit well in
detailed/fleshed out before we ever bought any the van. They did! Without a 1/4" to spare, everything
materials. When we were satisfied with the design I fit like a glove almost as if it was all painstakingly
was able to essentially "explode" all of the cabinets designed and engineered that way.... These CAD
into individual parts and precisely figure out material files are now available on my Etsy Store. Save
yeilds. Most of the plywood elements were cut by my yourself countless hours of painstaking design and
brothers over at OregonTrail'R (thanks guys!) which engineering!
saved ton of time on my end. I cut out a few last
minute/afterthought details on my own homemade

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Step 2:

After a ton of research I determined that the best, break/peel the foam off of all the ribs relatively easily.
easiest, and actually most affordable way to insulate The harder part was trimming off high spots in the
the van was to pay a professional to spray foam th foam to ensure that my paneling wouldn't have bulges
entire cargo area. I found a local professional to do it here and there. Instead of grinding the foam with a
for about $200. The catch is that this did not include sander or angle grinder and creating a huge
any prep work or finishing. I started by masking of the mess/toxic hazard, I decided to just take my time with
floor and cab area with painters plastic. I then a very flexible utility knife (Tajima) and slice them
masked off all of the ribbing and areas that I planned down bit by bit. This took a while, but I didnt have to
to attach my paneling to with blue painters tape. This wear a respirator in the midsummer heat. Once that
proved to be a very good decision. Last but not least I was Done I Filled in as much of the ribbing as a could
masked off the rear door area to allow the foam guy with "Great stuff" and called it good. An important
access without overspraying all over the doors, also a step to note was that I ran all primary wiring BEFORE
good decision. The spray foam guy was great, and any of this foam business.
got the whole job done in about 15 minutes. To my
surprise the foam was try to the touch almost As for paneling, I decided to go with a prefinished
instantly, and much more dense and heavier duty 1/8" baltic birch plywood. I found this to be the best
than the "Great stuff" you can buy in the cans at option, as it is flexible enough to bend around all the
hardware stores. He was able to completely fill the gradual curves, it's thin profile doesn't eat into the
cavities, keeping low and high spots to a minimum, living area at all, and its prefinished face looks great
which I could tell took some expertise. He praised me and repelled dirt and moisture. It was also came in
for my foresight in masking everything off, which was 5'x5' panels, which was ideal for the Sprinters form
truley key to the whole operation, as it is a messy factor. Luckily our van came with some plastic
process involving a ton of overspray. This stuff really paneling still intact, so I was able to use them as
sticks too, so it would be a nightmare to try and carve templates to accurately cut around the wheel wells.
all of the foam off of the ribbing if I had not masked This helped quite a bit, but after that it was just a lot
them off. Luckily I did, so I was essentially able to of winging it and making it work. I did luckily have the

forsight to glue some wood blocking in some key corner as an anchor point for cabinets later on. I then
areas along some of the larger spans to help keep trimmed that runner with some more of the 1/8"
everything sturdy and aligned. I decided not to try to prefinished ply.
kerf and bend the plywood into the tight top corners,
and instead screwed some full length 3/4" baltic birch
plywood along the legnth of the van just inside the

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Step 3: Cabinetry

This is the part of the build that I looked forward to the pocket screwing each vertical section to the
most. That is until I realized just how many parts I previously mentioned 3/4" stringer that I mounted to
was going to have to sort through and store in my the inside corner of the ribbing along the full length of
modestly sized garage woodshop. By the time I got the van.
all the parts accounted for and organized, I had no
room to actually assemble. I probably spend just as The cabinets all went together fairly easily, thanks to
much time during this step stacking and re-stacking the fact that the parts were precision CNC machined
piles of wood as I did actually assembling cabinets. out of 1/2" baltic birch which was prefinished on both
This was very frustrating, but it got easier and easier sides. This eliminated having to finish each cabinet
as I finished each cabinet and loaded them into the after assembly, and the factory finish is more durable
van. I started with the upper cabinets, and installed and aesthetically pleasing anyway. All I had to do is
them as I finished each one. I hung them with a wipe a little Watco oil on any exposed endgrain.
combination of construction adhesive and pocket
screws. The majority of the strength comes from

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Step 4: Kitchen and Electrical

From the very begining of the design process we isolating the tank from the inside airspace.
placed a lot of emphasis on the cooking situation. We
knew that we would be living in the van for an As for the water tanks, I also wanted to keep them
extended period of time, and wanted to eat well inside for multiple reasons. For one, they will be less
without too much of a hastle everyday. This meant prone to freezing in the winter, and getting too hot in
that we had to an oven, and range, a hood, and a sink the summer. Ideally we would keep the living space a
with running water. To make this design challenge mild temperature, which would in turn keep the water
even more complicated, I decided that I wanted the at a more manageable temperature as well. I also did
propane and water tanks to inside the van as not like the idea of having to find an appropriate water
apposed to beneath. This decision was based on spigot/fillup station and getting out a hose everytime
several factors. For the propane, I never liked the we wanted to refill our water, so I opted for four 5
idea have having it mounted beneath because they gallon jerry cans stored under the sink instead. 3 for
always hang a bit low on Sprinters, and we plan to be fresh water, (one painted black for solar showers),
hitting some heavier terrain. I dont want have to worry and 1 for grey water. This way if a can runs empty,
about denting or puncturing a propane tank on top of we just swap to the next one via quick disconnect,
all of the other concerns in a situation like that. I also and we can fill the empty one just about anywhere,
wanted to be able to easily swap and fill the propane including any drinking fountain, or a nearby stream
tank without having to craw around at the base of the via our Sawyer water filter. We chose a hand pump
van. Another concern for me was that propane tanks faucet coupled with an electic pump with foot pedal
have to be checked and recertified fairly often, and a activated switch. When we are stealth camping we
smaller 20lb tank is always easier to deal with. My can simply use the hand pump to avoid the
solution was to create a "propane locker" beneath the unnecessarily loud noise of the electric pump. When
oven which has two vents to the outside of the van. noise is not a concern, the foot pedal allows us to
One vent goes out of the side of the van, and one save water much more easily by only running the sink
goes out the floor. The idea is that propane is heavier after a dish is soaped up, and not constantly having
than air, so if there is a leak it will always sink out of to turn the water on and off by hand.
the lower vent, drawing fresh air through the higher
one. The locker has a gasketed door, essentially

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Step 5: Custom Roof Pods

We knew that we would need some sort of roof pod Both containers can be opened/hinged from either
situation to house our large zero gravity camp chairs, side of the van, allowing us to aim the solar panels in
collapsible picnic table, and extra blankets and such, either direction to better catch the sunlight when
while also accommodating-2 large 100W solar necessary, as well as allow better access to their
panels. There is only so much real estate on top of contents. The front portion of the pods is just a form fit
the sprinter, so I decided to maximize space and air deflector to help keep wind resistance and gas
usable flat surface area for the solar panels by mileage in check. The shape had to be fairly
creating our own custom form fit roof pods. Having complicated to accommodate the fantastic fan that we
worked at a sign shop creating crazy shapes out of previously installed. These shapes turned out to be
flat cardboard and plastic all day, this seemed like an surprisingly rigid and sturdy for being made out of
achievable mission. I decided to use a material called 4mm thick mostly hollow plastic. Since Choroplast is
Choroplast, which is essentially the same thing as relatively soft and could be punctured by low hanging
cardboard, only made out of a lightweight branches, I clad every out-facing surface with 1/8"
waterproof/UV resistant plastic. This material can thick polymetal to act as armor plating. This material
easily be cut and creased to create all sorts of is also fairly lightweight, as it consists of a HDPE
origami inspired shapes. I created the Dielines in plastic core with thin aluminum faces. These "armor
Cad, mocked it up on regular old computer paper, plates" also helped to make the whole system much
and decided to give it a go. The Idea is that the rear more rigid than it already was.
two sections are large containers with flat tops for
mounting the solar panels.

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Step 6: Use It! ... Then Sell It

Since writing this Instructable originally, we traveled out my other Instructables writeups to see some of
in the van for nearly a year before moving to a new my furniture work!
town and selling it to help pay for our new house! I
sold the van for a profit, and used that money for a If anybody is interested in hiring me for a van build or
down payment on a new house, and to start a would like to purchase the CAD files for this build,
woodworking company. please contact me!

Check out my website and my Etsy store!! Also check

[Link]

The seat back storage access doors are unique and make good use of the space behind the seat
backs. Nice job!

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This built is awesome!
Where can I find your CAD file. I am working on designing my camper and would like to work off of
your template!

Hi there, I have a question:

which "professional" you have used for the insulate job?
thank you, Maria Christina Borges-Lutz

Looks good. Were you to find a CAD model of the bare Sprinter?

I actually surveyed the van and built my model from scratch.. I didn't find any existing sprinter
models that I trusted. I essentially took tons of photos with references (like a tape measures,
squares) and then traced the photos and converted to CAD. I then CNC cut some templates from
that file to double check the fit. A little more tweaking from there and I had a pretty close match! If
anybody wants my base model I can try to upload it on here at some point

Yes! Having a good interior model of a 144 Sprinter would be amazing! I think a lot of us would pay
for one . . . .
Great work!

Amazing. Which CAD program did you use?

Getting your CAD model must have been a lot of work! I would really like to have a copy. Thank
you.

Very nice.

Fantastic Build! I grew up in a woodworking manufacturing plant and wish I still had access to a
cnc machine!
Question: what heater is that hanging on the wall? and do you like it?
thanks in advance,
Mark

Hi there! This is an awesome set up you have there! My partner and I are continuing the
conversion of our own van (see our instructables if you are curious!) and we are ready to start with
building the kitchen. I was wondering where you found your kitchen sink. Thanks!

Read the entire 'able and will forward this to my son who wants to live in a van! I found it all well-
documented, and you obviously spent a whole heap of time planning - the most crucial step!
BTW - the Pods - was it by chance that your neighbor had a PODS in their driveway when you
took the roof picture pre-pod installation? Ha ha!
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 Never noticed the coincidence! Good eye

What is the stove/oven you used

I used a camp chef oven/range because it was cheap and works well. Not technically meant for
RVs/indoor, but i like it because I can easily remove it if I want to cook outside. It is also cheap and
easy to replace if anything ever goes wrong with it.

Do you know what is the best place to source polymetal? Ive only seen it sold as relatively
expensive brand name "dibond"

Check out your local sign shop or sign material supplier. Diebond is the best version of polymetal I
have used. Ibond is much cheaper but the aluminum veneer is significantly thinner. You cannot
vgroove and fold ibond like you can with diebond. That being said, I did use ibond for the roof pod
armor...

waooooh

Great job - I have a sprinter in Tasmania Australia - I have done a quick camper conversion from
an ambulance but am now inspired to do a proper job after seeing yours - if you do post your model
I would certainly love to have it. regards Ron

Very nice. I've been looking into something similar, but in more of a bus style for long trips. I've
been playing with some rough planning, since this project likely wont be started for some time, but
finding actual dimensions to model the inside are hard to find.
If you could share your model it would be amazing. THx much for this great conversion.

Inspiring. . I've been imagining something similar for the past 2 years. . Working now on finding an
affordable sprinter. . How'd you find yours? I'm on the west coast too (sf)?

It's tough to find a nice/affordable sprinter on the west coast, especially in the Pacific Northwest. I
actually bought mine on EBay from the east coast as they are much more affordable there. This
worked out well for me, but did have its struggles. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that route
unless you are willing to really put in due diligence and get it checked out first.

Thanks for your thoughts. . I'm actually a fairly good mechanic and I'm going to keep searching for
something I can totally make over I side and out. It'll be a longterm. Project, but seeing yours
inspired me that it can be done well. . Thanks again

7.3l diesel shuttle bus

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 Thanks for sharing your awesome conversion ible!!! ???? I've always wanted to have my own RV
but didn't want to get one of those huge one's. I like the tow type RV's but when I figured in the
gas/mileage costs and food, RV park costs,etc. it wasn't worth it to me. Then I come across your
instructable and I heard Angels single (ahhhhhhh),LoL. This is the way to go!!! Being from the east
coast I have many vehicle options but ever since I had to drive a sprinter as a company vehicle
and saw how well they were able to utilize the space to hold all parts and equipment needed. Not
to mention how great they handled and the cheap gas costs i figured this was the vehicle I would
use as my RV. Thing is I never knew how or where to start.....u til I read this. It's going to be an
awesome July putting it together and an even better August driving to the west and back in
September. Thank you so much and I hope you get much enjoyment out of your RV. One question,
will you have a TV in it? If so, you should look into an app called KODI or a streaming box called
MXQ. I have it and am so happy with it I went out and bought a box for almost everyone in my
family. The way it works is as long as you have active internet you could stream movies and tv
channels from all over the U.S.,Canada and the world. I think it's a good and cheap costing
addition to an RV or camper.

I'm glad my first instructable offered you some help and inspiration! Good luck with you upcoming
build! If you buy a sprinter make sure to hit up the sprinter-source forum for more help and
inspiration. Our TV is basically my convertible 2-in-1 laptop/tablet which has a dedicated custom
fold down shelf. We also have a small Pico projector that we use to project onto our front curtains
so we can watch from the bed for a 40" screen. Couple that with our portable Bose speaker, and
we've got a pretty legit little theater! You can find some pictured in a blog post (hwy 1 to 101) on
our website: [Link]

This is a thoughtful, well-executed design.

Great work, congratulations.

An extremely well done project! Looks great and is truly functional in all environments.

YOU ARE THE BEST DUDE! AWESOME! AMAZING! wow.. can´t believe this in South America
(Argentina). Thanks for share

Excellent work!!

I really enjoyed reading your Instructable. I love your planning and attention to details. Enjoy your
RV!

I want to see more pictures of the roof pods! they're pretty cool lookin.
thanks for sharing your sprinter van conversion. one of the cleanest I've seen!

Dope as FUH!

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Super nice job.

I love the roof pods, great design!

This is insanely cool! I made a small camper conversion in my Subaru, I am envious.

.
.
Thats Ok Guy.
Thank U.

Excellent conversion! Thanks for sharing!

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