2015 Sprinter 4x4 build begins

[Jwestpro]

Wow, it never sold? I loved that ad...
Yup, and it takes next to nothing to end your day. This is us in our group transportation vehicle (shuttle) in Peru last week. It was terrible in simple off pave conditions. Our personal vehicle we rented for the trip was a VW version of the Helix. Now that was fun.

Actually, I could have sold it several times for fair and reasonable offers but the problem I realized was that I just wasn't ready to let it go, at a fair price

The above photo is a useful reminder but a few things come to mind: That looks like a 170+ with even more overhang, driven with less experience for things like changing topography, and looks like a fairly straight forward solution if one has bridging ladders and a high-lift.
Additionally, the 170 4x4 will have considerably more departure clearance than the above extended passenger van. Err's 144 4x4 will have pretty much the same departure as my lr3 I'm guessing !

 

[mhiscox]

These are all fine discussions with excellent points. The one thing I would add is that your choice has got a lot to do with the mentality of the co-passenger, especially if female. Apologies for the sexism, but I've yet to find the exception where Female is willing to toilet in the aisle but Male is not. Creeping unhappiness with our 140 started when my wife decided that she couldn't invite her friends to go with her in the camper because they'd need a "real" bathroom.

And while I'm being politically incorrect, I might as well be ageist, too, and point out that the lasts-the-night, right-before-bed visit to the campground toilet building works only to a certain point. For many if not most couples, getting older leads to an issue of how she wants to handle things at 3 a.m. (Or 2 and 5, or 1, 3 and 6. You get the idea.) The nightime weather is also a concern. When on a Utah trip last fall with a couple of moms, having them crawl out of the van in sub-freezing temperatures to use the pit toilet didn't seem wholly satisfactory.

 

[Jwestpro]

These are all fine discussions with excellent points. .

Part of why I'm also looking into the higher towing rated and higher load rated factory choices.

 

[mhiscox]

The above photo is a useful reminder but a few things come to mind: That looks like a 170+ with even more overhang . . .

The photo is a of a 158" wheelbase T1N (pre-'07, were it a US truck). Those were 21.5 feet overall, the largest Sprinter at the time. As in the current models, length went up faster than wheelbase: the 140" T1N was 18.5 feet, while the 158" was 21.5 feet, so you gained three feet of load floor, but also an 18" longer overhang.

The serial production Sprinter motorhomes circa '03-06 were built on this chassis. Now it's commonly the 170 or 170 extended, so LOAs are up at least 15 inches and more likely nearly 25.

The NCV3s are a huge advance in most ways, and are much better for having way more interior height and significantly more width. But they are nowhere near as nimble to drive as the T1Ns. I couldn't find a drawing to show it, but superimposing a T1N's profile on the matching NCV3's profile would show how they made the new model substantially bigger in every dimension.

 

[mhiscox]

AThat looks like a 170+ with even more overhang, driven with less experience for things like changing topography, and looks like a fairly straight forward solution if one has bridging ladders and a high-lift.

They do seem a bit under-equipped, don't they?

And as got pointed out, 2WD Sprinters are easy to get stuck. They have good ground clearance and are relatively sturdy, but tire size is limited and the diff is open, so there are pretty low limits when conditions turn sub-optimal.

That said, and as with all models, if you're going to get stuck easily, it's best to carry things to get you unstuck easily. As pointed out, a pair of MaxTraxs might have done wonders. Our first Sprinter was (and continues to be with new owners) an off-pavement success because we carried enough stuff, including a winch on a receiver plate, to get unstuck from most things. However, the cost of the traction panels and mounts, Hi-Lift and mounts, winch, general recovery gear and, especially, making the sufficiently strong subframe for attachment of the winch receiver added up to way more than Ma Benz charges for the new 4x4 option.

 

[stormlover]

You guys are hijacking Err's build thread. If the missus has to get up 5 times during the night get a full size RV. If that's not an option then surely you can find space for a Thetford? http://www.thetford.com/HOME/PRODUCTS/PortableToilets/PortaPotti550PMarine/tabid/884/Default.aspx

Errr, this excellent build-out was posted on the SMB forum. Not sure if your looking for ideas but seems like their style is similar to yours.
http://www.tinyhomebuilders.com/Blog/2015/03/12/check-out-the-inside-of-this-van-its-amazing/

See you back on the Utah mtbr forum one of these days? I post as rockman.

 

[mhiscox]

You guys are hijacking Err's build thread. If the missus has to get up 5 times during the night get a full size RV. If that's not an option then surely you can find space for a Thetford.

Seems a little harsh. A lot of people viewing this thread are here because they, too, are contemplating the purchase and build out of their own Sprinter, My suspicion is that Err doesn't mind much, as it is still early days in his own build and actively contributed to the discussions about the best model to chose. Oh well; can't please the ExPo cognoscenti all the time, I don't suspect.

And thanks for that helpful link to the Thetford site, though since I've had six of their toilets in my ten overlanding setups, and can humbly claim to know one whole hell of a lot about them, it wasn't really necessary.

 

[Redline]

Enjoyed all the technical discussion guys.

 

[Abe Froman]

ERR: I agree that the stereo (2014 audio 15 with the becker nav.) is the worst stereo I have had in any new/current vehicle that I can remember. Horrible.
I also know that we wouldn't buy a 144 again and instead would get the standard 170.
The 144 is easier to drive and park than my last truck, but (for my use) I'd take the extra parking hassle of the 170 for the extra interior storage space.
Congrats on the new van!

 

[Jwestpro]

I think for now, we should all be supportive by reminding ourselves of the virtues a 144 possesses.... seeing as this is a build thread, not a "what to order" thread

Yeah, I'll try to keep my posts to relevant/useful for build ideas going forward. Right now I'm trying to figure out if "super single" is possible along with 4x4.

Like Err, my build will be very modular such that in one day, I could remove pretty much everything and use it as a moving van or any combination in between such as jobsite work van with overnight features but room for lumber or tools, or waxing cross country skis in winter or totally camping inside on a summer trip with bikes inside a cargo box on the roof, or my roof top tent up there for really breezy summer sleeping with grand views.

How about this for ideas: I want a sunroof/hatch that I can easily go through to the roof or to the covered space of my roof tent just like I would from the ground up it's ladder. How slick would that be ! With tent folded for driving, the hatch would be a nice sunroof for light/ventilation.

 

[stormlover]

Seems a little harsh. A lot of people viewing this thread are here because they, too, are contemplating the purchase and build out of their own Sprinter, My suspicion is that Err doesn't mind much, as it is still early days in his own build and actively contributed to the discussions about the best model to chose. Oh well; can't please the ExPo cognoscenti all the time, I don't suspect.

And thanks for that helpful link to the Thetford site, though since I've had six of their toilets in my ten overlanding setups, and can humbly claim to know one whole hell of a lot about them, it wasn't really necessary.

Sorry, good point. My Thetford sucked too. I'm not sure what a ExPo cognoscenti is but carry on and no offense intended.

 

[Err]

OMG thread hijackers, don't you know the internet is serious business. HaHa!

Seriously, don't hold back on my account. There are so many ways to skin this cat.

If you look at how much stuff I was carrying on my F350, you can quickly see that a 144 will be a tight fit. Moto and MTB gear is heavy and bulky. We often have 4 or more MTB's when we're traveling for both DH and XC riding. Considering this we looked super hard at the 170. The reason we decided against is the overall length and rear over hang of a 170 plus a double Moto rack. I strongly considered a 170 with motos inside but on first hand observation of a motos inside setup I decided it was not for me. So, my plan is to get crazy with optimizing storage inside and use a roof top box for overflow.

I do have a Helio shower that I love but beyond that just don't have much want for toilet facilities. I guess we're just not at that stage in our lives. That leaves me to fit storage for 4 bikes inside, helmets, packs, and other supporting gear for MTB and Moto, surfboard rack, a platform bed, a minimalist kitchen with a fridge. We're doing swivels for both front seats so they'll double as our main longing area if we're hanging out inside.

I'm currently doing lots of research around solar. Looking at flexible vs glass panels, FiFePO4 vs AGM batteries, and considering inverter and charger options. I need to run either a 50 or 60L National Luna fridge, recharge all my gadgets, and maybe power an electric tea kettle and/or a Blendtec for post ride Piña Coladas.

Fuel carrying for motos is also tricky, looking hard at rotopax mounted to my Moto rack at first then eventually to a rear door mounted rack.

For sound deadener I think I'm going to go with sounddeadenershowdown.com's solution which is a multi staged approach using a few different materials.

Stereo is looking like 6.5 components in the front and rear doors with a 10" sub in the wall behind the driver's seat. I'm gonna push all this with a ~400 watt mono amp @ 2ohms to the sub and a ~4x100 stereo amp at 4ohms to the components. I'll use a JL clean sweep or similar to route the signal out of the stock head unit to the amps.

Since we drive extensively on rough roads, I've stared poking around at Fox or similar off-road capable shocks. Something around 2.5" diameter would prob do the trick. No plans to jump this rig, but I'm sure the stockers will be toast from overheating by 10k miles if history is and indicator. UT loves it's salt and Fox seems to hold up well against corrosion. I also think a little extra help for the rear springs is going to be needed as it sits very close to level unloaded.

 

[mhiscox]

How about this for ideas: I want a sunroof/hatch that I can easily go through to the roof or to the covered space of my roof tent just like I would from the ground up it's ladder. How slick would that be ! With tent folded for driving, the hatch would be a nice sunroof for light/ventilation.

It works. We had one on our first Sprinter:

We used it mostly to stand on the rear bed and reach into the rear roof storage box and Sceptre cans, but it was plenty big to climb out of.

FWIW, this particular hatch was made by Heki, and it is used in several serial production RVs. Like the Seitz acrylic awning windows also distributed by Dometic, it's pretty plasticky and not real easy to get in the US. Numerous marine hatches would work better, but the cost, especially once you add the retractable blind and fly screen included with the Heki, is at least doubled.

 

[bknudtsen]

For sound deadener I think I'm going to go with sounddeadenershowdown.com's solution which is a multi staged approach using a few different materials.

Here is what I did in the way of sound deadening. RAAMmat and Ensolite are really nice products, and relatively cheaper than the bigger name alternatives.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/131913-Manny-A-Taco-Build?p=1702452#post1702452

 

[Err]

Here is what I did in the way of sound deadening. RAAMmat and Ensolite are really nice products, and relatively cheaper than the bigger name alternatives.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/131913-Manny-A-Taco-Build?p=1702452#post1702452

Thanks for the link, that's a great write up. I do like the looks of the Raammat product especially since it's butyl based. I'm avoiding asphalt products.