Hodakaguy's 4x4 Sprinter Build

[Hodakaguy]

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All systems powered up and running.....Sweet!

Next up I need to cut our new mattress to size. I ordered an 8" thick mattress (Should have went 6") but need to trim a couple inches off the end for a proper fit.

Had to cut the fiberglass fire blanket to get to the foam.

The temporary boards on the aluminum bed frames ratchet strapped in place, I'll get the permanent units fabricated in the near future. The final versions will have ventilation holes cut into the boards.

Using two pieces of aluminum and a large butcher knife to slice off the 2" of foam....cuts like butter.

Now I'm making notches so the mattress fits up tightly to the vertical L-track supports and stays flat on the bed frame. These will also hold the mattress firmly in place.

Fire blanket and cover re-installed.

Mattress back in the van and locked in place with the L-track.

Next up I wanted to fabricate a mount for the fire extinguisher as I'm tires of packing it under the bench seat.

Laying out the mount.

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[Hodakaguy]

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I'll be using these L-track stud mounts to mount the unit to the vertical L-track under the front of the bed.

Out of the way and easy to access if needed.

Testing the LED Eyeball light out at night. This will be perfect for my son when we wants light at night without bothering the driver.

Out adjusting the LP9's.....Bright Baby! It's like having your own sun! I'll get some better pics in the near future.

Love the orange back-lighting on the LP9's!

Roaming the back roads on the way back home.

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[Arjan]

Very nice work as usual !

Thank you.

 

[Farfrumwork]

Holy crap, that electrical work is super nice!

 

[Jeffsst2]

Hello Hodakaguy, I am looking for those black eyeball lights. I looked at your previous posts on this thread. Do you have a link?

thanks, Jeff

 

[Hodakaguy]

Hello Hodakaguy, I am looking for those black eyeball lights. I looked at your previous posts on this thread. Do you have a link?

thanks, Jeff

https://amzn.to/2WPaCWZ

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Back at it....

Pulled the seats again for a couple minor finishes. Added a heat blanket around the wiring that is close to the heater outlet hose. I'll eventually change out the crumpled heater tube with some fresh stuff.

Next up I tied the headlight trigger for the switch pro into the ignition circuit under the seat. This gives me full manual control of the back lighting and lets me run the display at any brightness at any time.

Now to add in a couple power ports to the OEM headliner. There are two shelves located on each side of the dome light assembly, adding power ports here will make a perfect spot to charge batteries for camera's etc while keeping them off the floor.

I love Blue Sea Products, If your going to run a Cig Plug these are the Best. Here's a link to a video review I did earlier on the sockets.

On Amazon here: CLICK HERE

I pre-ran wiring from the Aux battery into this position earlier in the build. Here I'm taking down the dome light assy to wire up the harness for the ports.

Drilling the hole from the inside of the head liner with a hole saw.

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[Hodakaguy]

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Wired up...

Made a quick trip down to Vanmadegear outside of Portland OR to get some custom window shades measured and built. Simon makes some really great gear, can't wait to have the shades in the van!

Stopped along the way to snag a picture of the Sunset in the Gorge.

Simon at his shop cutting out a template to fit the rear windows.

After some discussion we came up with a plan that will allow the shades to fit around the bed supports and still fold/open when needed. The shades are held in place with rare earth magnets that are sewn into the shades. Easy to remove when needed.

Getting ready for the trip back home, Simon and his crew are great....Can't wait to use the new shades. More info and pics soon!

Next up it's time to modify the plug on the Dometic fridge. The OEM plug has the ability to plug into either a standard US cig plug or a Powerlet port, although I find that the Powerlet port isn't as secure as an actual Powerlet Plug. I'll remove the OEM plug and replace it with a low profile Powerlet Unit. The Powerlet plugs are great on items like a fridge since then snap into place and won't work loose as you drive like a US cig plug does.

See above for the video review that includes the Powerlet Connectors.

Here's the OEM fridge plug next to the Powerlet unit.

Closer look at the OEM plug.

Pop the red end off and it will work in a Powerlet port.

I cut the OEM end off long enough so I can make up a Powerlet to US Cig adapter if I want to use the fridge in a different vehicle in the future.

Here's a closer look at the 90 Deg Powerlet Connector.

The insulation is pretty thick on the power chord so I opened up the end a bit to allow it to fit and still be snug/secure.

Earlier in the build I wired in both a Cig Plug and Powerlet connector where the fridge will sit.

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[Hodakaguy]

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And plugged in, I like that the low profile plug keeps everything tight against the wall.

Snagged a cheap hitch step at Walmart to use for the rest of this camping season, I'll eventually fabricate my own setup.

Organizers! We received our order of OverLandGearGuy Mule bag organizers this weekend. You can choose the colors and the Velcro labels when you order the bags. This will really help to organize our kitchen kit etc, after a while you will know exactly which bag to grab when you need something. Now our coffee setup is all in one bag and super convenient to snag and use each morning....nice!

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[Hodakaguy]

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Here's a trick for filling DEF. I finally got tired of trying to use the crappy hoses that come with the DEF bottles that always leak and dribble while your using them. I snagged a oil fill hose that fits the DEF bottles perfectly and has a O-ring seal so there are NO leaks. The hose also has a on/off valve so you can throttle the pour and a cap to seal the hose when your done. There is no internal vent on this setup so you rock the bottle a bit to allow air in and keep flow going, I like this as I pour slow so I can listen to the sound and know when it's full so I can stop. If you want to dump the entire bottle in then just poke a hole in the upper rear of the bottle and it will pour quickly.

Hose is available here: CLICK HERE

Next up is to make a way to securely carry our bucket toilet. This is a super simple setup that uses WAG Bags (Plastic bags with a powder inside that turns liquids to solids and prevents odors). To use you pop the lid off the bucket, insert a bag and snap the lid back on. Then just tie the bag and toss in the garbage when done. We don't like carrying a toilet and always stop and use facilities whenever possible, this will be for emergency use when we can't find facilities and will be used outside the van.

The bucket will also be dual purpose, we can use it for water to put out camp fires etc and I will carry additional supplies in the bucket while we travel (Hatched, folding shovel etc).

Now to make a secure way to carry the bucket. I'll use the two factory tie down points and fabricate a third tie down point that will attach to the floor mounting plate.

I'll modify this bracket to fit the recess in the floor mount.

Painted and Installed

Now to modify the bucket to accept tie down straps. I'll seal all the mounting points so I can still use the bucket for water when needed without any leaks.

No sharp edges inside to catch the bags, I added a layer of sealant around the lock nuts and washers as well.

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[Hodakaguy]

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Cutting some straps to size and burning the edges to keep them from fraying.

All mounted up and super secure. Will make a great place to carry extra gear and will only be used as a porta-potty in emergencies (But nice to have the option).

The bag kits are small and we will carry spares in the bottom of the bucket. I got a good deal on these as open box items so snagged a bunch to have on hand.

The Hammock & Straps and the Alite Butterfly chair fit perfect in the rear door pockets.

More gear storage! I love our OverLandGearGuy organizer that goes on the back of the front seats. We use it to organize a lot of our smaller gear that we need frequent access to. We recently added a Map pocket as well as we didn't have a great place to keep the maps without them getting damaged. I'm using Giant Loop silicone Proghorn straps to secure the bottom of the unit to the seat base. My only complaint is that the mounting hoops are to wide for the headrest and it makes the bag bunch a bit at the top, I'll eventually fix this so it hangs flat.

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[jgaz]

I'll modify this bracket to fit the recess in the floor mount.

I like your reuse of what appears to be a seat belt anchor.

If I go to a “pick and pull” yard I usually grab a couple of these. The are as strong as any thing you can buy or make yourself.

At work I always had a handful in my tool box to use for pulling engines or just as a place to attach a chain when lifting something

 

[ericvs]

Here's a trick for filling DEF. I finally got tired of trying to use the crappy hoses that come with the DEF bottles that always leak and dribble while your using them. I snagged a oil fill hose that fits the DEF bottles perfectly and has a O-ring seal so there are NO leaks. The hose also has a on/off valve so you can throttle the pour and a cap to seal the hose when your done. There is no internal vent on this setup so you rock the bottle a bit to allow air in and keep flow going, I like this as I pour slow so I can listen to the sound and know when it's full so I can stop. If you want to dump the entire bottle in then just poke a hole in the upper rear of the bottle and it will pour quickly.

OMG! this is amazing! filling the DEF is the worst part of these vans, this looks magical. one thing that I have found is if you let the def tank get below 1/2" you can pour a full jug of the def in without it overflowing.

Hose ordered! thank you for this. I heart this thread!

Question for you about the iCarsoft, are you able to modify any parameters with it at all or does it just read codes and clear them?

I was wondering about minor things like the seatbelt minder and the check your surroundings note on the back up camera etc.

Thanks!

 

[Detslider]

Great build thread and amazing attention to detail! I read 19 pages and I don't even have a van...

 

[Hodakaguy]

Been quite a while since I've posted. We've put over 5k miles on the van in our travels and have seen some amazing sights, I'll be posting pictures of our travels soon. Here's a few misc photo's to catch the build thread up to date.

MY Vanmadegear window covers came in.....super stoked.

The covers have rare earth magnets sewn into the edges of the covers and they just stick in place. The front units are the only ones that need to be removed and stowed, the remaining covers stay in place and just fold up or down (saving a ton of storage space!).

The split design on the rear windows came out great!

I went with the silver reflective covering on the windshield to help keep the heat out.

Here's a video walk through showing how the shades function, Simon turns out a great product!



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