2005 118" Sprinter Conversion for Alexander

[PaulJensen]

ah ... belt AND suspenders!

...and magnets...

 

[PaulJensen]

# 22


(above) ...Big magnets in these...Headliner speakers...Another pair will replace the factory's, up front...


(above) Found at Lowes...Works off of close to 12 volt...Blindingly bright...Under $15...


(above) Headliner with new speakers and light....


(above) Wires taped on the back...


(above) Rejected for indoor use...Bad color, and burned out center...Should be fine in the awning...


(above) Late Friday night, the red lights work...


(above) A row at the front and at the rear...Copper foil with LED's embedded...Low voltage is the claim...The tarp is a bonus...


(above) Looking through the front glass...Inside the light is unreal...After a minute the red goes away and strong clear visibility is in effect...Weird but true...


Another coat of gloss went on the wall...Very late, but a good thing to do...

 

[PaulJensen]

# 23


(above) With the back end electrical work looking good, it's time to get the front end updated...The driver seat pedestal needs a new top...The cardboard one from the factory is split down the center...


(above) A piece of scrap FRP is given new life...


(above) A little filament tape flap hinge for fuse service...


(above) Found a place under the passenger seat for that last scrap of Roadkill...


(above) Another piece of scrap FRP finishes the curb side...


(above) Next the seat swivels are to be installed...The bolt holes for the pedestal attachment are not wide enough...A hard one to re-drill correctly (all 8 of them) but in the end they were made right...


(above) The seats are in...Getting closer...


(above) Next up, replace the front speakers and get the new radio installed...The factory speakers had a coffee soaking at some point...Bad...


(above) With the dash parts removed, it's a good time to clean things up...


(above) The new speakers need three mounting tabs removed to fit...

 

[PaulJensen]

# 23


(above) PolySeam sealant/adhesive is the speaker bedding compound...


(above) The lone screw hole gets filled...


(above) With the speakers in, the radio is installed next...I got so focused on the work, I took no pictures of the process...Sprinters are tough vehicles to install a radio in...Tight, tight, tight...And the final push in is ALWAYS a challenge...


(above) Hook the battery back up and " Voila' "...


(above) The new light in the headliner, the super bright one was wired into the switch up front...

It was an intense day but a lot got done...More tomorrow...

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Nice progress. Love the warning sticker on the fuse panel lid.

 

[mhiscox]

Nice progress.

:iagree:

BTW, i the replacement dash speakers work out well, please let us know where you sourced them. Thanks.

 

[PaulJensen]

:iagree:

BTW, i the replacement dash speakers work out well, please let us know where you sourced them. Thanks.

Those are 4" Polk Audio speakers...Any 4" speakers should work...

 

[mhiscox]

Those are 4" Polk Audio speakers...Any 4" speakers should work...

Thanks, Paul.

I put well-rated 4" Eclipse speakers into my '05, and I also put nice Boston Acoustic 6.5 inch two-ways about where you put Alex's. The sound was clearly an improvement, but it wasn't good enough that I plan on doing anything similar to my '03. (Unless you tell me your stuff works great, that is.)

 

[jiveass]

Wow,. For starters, as the owner of the vehicle, I'm an exceptionally fit dude. 49" of space is more than plenty considering the wall inclination of most tents and that I don't tend to date fat chicks. The reservoir spigot is, interestingly, immediately above the sink...dead center, in fact. That and it's not the type of use situation where I'm planning to run water excessively. And given the mounting of Paul's tank hasn't come off and if you were to look closely, I'm in serious doubt those are coming down in any situation save for the most catastrophic, in which case I probably will have other things on my mind. The cabinet corners won't be much of an issue, as above, I'm not a fat *** and am quite nimble at that.

So the only thing left is for me to ask: Are you going out of your way to be such an ************ or does it just come naturally? Because I'm sure you could run off and find a thread that welcomes inflammatory trolls such as yourself.

Good Day, (I'd say Sir, but it's really not terribly fitting, now is it?).

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Southpier... don't be a ********.

Not your cup of tea, I get that. Still nice work and it is after all...what the owner wants.

 

[mhiscox]

So the only thing left is for me to ask: Are you going out of your way to be such an ************ or does it just come naturally? Because I'm sure you could run off and find a thread that welcomes inflammatory trolls such as yourself.

Geez, attitudes in a Sprinter thread . . . what's the world coming to.

I wouldn't take it too seriously, Alex. I went back and skimmed through Southpier's last 500 posts. While most aren't real informative, and his average post is about a sentence and a half, he did seem to be more civil a while back. A good percentage of the recent posts have been sarcastic and not helpful. What I couldn't find was detailed information about either his overlanding travels or his truck. Of the fifty threads he's started, there were many to sell his stuff, some requests for help, some links to useful things, but not much mention of anywhere he's been or anything he's built.

Southpier's unarguably entitled to his views, though I suspect the majority of us that enjoy the lack of attitude here on the Portal think maybe he should lose the negative IH8MUD-style vibe. But given that the build thread with Paul's work on my Jeep just passed 218,000 views, I think we can feel secure that Paul's builds are perceived as competent and interesting.

Besides, if your truck works for you, that's the key thing, and it sounds as if it you're excited.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Geez, attitudes in a Sprinter thread . . . what's the world coming to.

Turning into Pirate4x4!!

lol

 

[PaulJensen]

c'mon. read the thread. every post ends in an affirmation how great it is.

Might just be becuz (sic) it is great...???...

In every other build thread I've done, (two Sprinters, a fancy Jeep and a tasteful Lexus) that is clearly the majority opinion...Majority, as in everyone...You have a problem with that, so be it, but dude, ease up and quit coming across as being so petty...I'm not the only one who sees it that way, but I'm pretty sure you could care less what others think about 'Southpier', another guy hiding behind an anonymous handle...

If I remember right, you said that this medium of communication is far from perfect, but you need to own up to the fact it's you who is pushing the buttons.... .

Back to the van...The basic concept on this project is simply this, a functional steel tent with spatial compromises...

I can defend every design choice that is in Alex's Sprinter...Remember, just about everything in this build, I've built into two others just like this...Mine has been in use since '06, and my reputation is built upon doing things that work without problem...

To address your points...

49.5" is the maximum width between the wheelwells...It's a design fact that can't be changed...FYI: Toekicks are generally considered to be 4" high and 3" deep, depending on the region...These cabinet risers are 12" from floor to the case bottom...Flexibility of floor space is of higher value to the owner than a dedicated wider bed...As Alex says, he's slim and fit and so are his companions...Not a problem for him, for me and my wife, or for Joe and Gina (the other 118" build I've done)...The cabinets I originally designed were 14" deep...I cut them down to 12" for the overhang factor...

The handles and slide bolts are Nebraskan Walnut...The protrusion of the handles is kept tight for maximum space within the cabin...They extend 1.5" beyond the drawer face...Less than most metal store bought pulls...Flush and recessed were considered but felt unnecessary...

The cabinets have no sharp edges, everything has a hand sanded, smooth, slight radius edge...Nothing will cut you even if you do something stupid...

The water tank holds less than 50 pounds of water...The stainless steel pipe straps on mine hold close to 70 pounds and has been as reliable as gravity...The water faucet is dead center above the sink...Most folks park on hills less than a 45 degree incline so water missing the sink is unlikely...

I hope that brings clarity to the way I designed this van, I mean, steel tent...

Finally, to fill in my understanding of where you are coming from, how about a link to something you've built...???...Might not be my style, but I can appreciate differences...

Sincerely,
Paul Jensen
360 459-5336

Clarification: This was a reply to Southpier who has since deleted his post...

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

I think we can feel secure that Paul's builds are perceived as competent and interesting.

For anyone to question any of Paul's skills only shows their immaturity and lack of attention being paid to QUALITY

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "If I was ever to have someone build me a custom camper, it would be Paul Jensen."

The well thought out ideas, the amazing attention to detail and the fact that he is confident enough to share everything he does and answers so many questions from others learning from him shows how confident and professional he is.

Thank you Paul for always keeping us so informed with your builds and please don't get discouraged with haters like Southpier, or what ever his real name is

 

[spressomon]

Very disappointing when someone one shares their gifts, talents, construction secrets/tips...not to mention the shear amount of time it takes to document, verbiage and photos alike, their process of a build/fabrication project to have insulting and rude comments from anyone.

This thread, et al, isn't a sentence to view for chris sake...give it up. Grow up.

Rant over.