SOLD - 2003 Sprinter 2500 T1N Adventure Van - The Flying Avocado

[theREDwonder]

2003 Dodge Sprinter 2500, High Ceiling, 140" wheelbase
VIN: WD5WD642535485466
PRICE IS $35,000 OR BEST OFFER.
Located in Costa Mesa, CA
Link to photo gallery: - CLICK ME!!

Are you ready to be the captain of the infamous Pirate ship, The Flying Avocado?! She’s ready to set sail and looking for a new first mate. Being a family of 5, we never lived in the van full time but enjoyed it for long trips and weekend trips alike. It’s interior is in great shape, very functional, super modular. Very clean. No pets or smoking. We simply decided it was time to pursue our next adventure. #vanlife could be yours! We averaged one compliment a day on how cool our van was. It could be you. Email with q's or to set up time to see.

It is a California van with very little rust on the body or undercarriage. It was driven daily by a small school before being converted in 2016. It has a new-ish rear end and driveshaft from the school days. The fuel mileage is fantastic. The interior has been built out for living and camping with solar power, ventilation, full mineral wool insulation, underlayment/MLV soundproofing throughout the flooring and a sizeable refrigerator to keep us happy.

High roof van, it is 6’ exactly to the inside of the ribs, and 6’2” between the ribs in the roof, plenty of standing height for everyone.
The Van has a factory rear AC unit that is suuuuuper nice in the summer months. It’s tied into the factory HVAC system and blows extra cold air on the rear bench while driving. Definitely helps keep the van cool.

Powertrain/ Drivetrain:
In May of 2021, I put a new remanufactured long block engine into the van. The was a professionally rebuilt long block. This work was done by the amazing crew at Sprinter Pitstop in Carlsbad, seriously the best shop around if you have a sprinter. They did A TON of work on the van and brought the entire powertrain and drivetrain into like new condition. All of the repair work totaled right at $15,000.

• New OM612 Remanufactured Engine(!)
• New Front Brakes (disc, pads)
• New Rear Brakes (discs, pads)
• New Radiator & Intercooler
• New Alternator
• New Fuel Line Set
• New Air Filter
• New Fuel Filter
• New Water Pump
• New Thermostat
• New Fan Clutch
• New Serpentine Belt Set
• New Coolant Hoses
• Transmission Service (new fluids)
• New Injectors 5x
• New AGM Starter battery (April, 2023)

New engine has just under 20,000 miles on it, and has been running super strong. These vans are called the “Million Mile Sprinter” for good reason, and this one has a brand new heart.

After the new engine, I put a new set of tires on, amazing all terrains, great winter/ snow performance

• 5x new Falken Rubitrek 245/75/R16 tires (FULL SIZE MATCHING SPARE UNDERNEATH)
  • $1,000

I also added a tune to it, giving it some extra power

• Flashzilla
  • $180
• Stage 1.5 tune w/ EGR delete.
  • $350
  • +26 hp up to 180 hp and +37 lb-ft of torque up to 280 lb-ft.
  • This really livened the van up, it feels quite spritely with the tune! Super easy to revert back to stock when its time to go in for Smog.

Power System:
In one word, OVERBUILT!

The solar keeps this van’s house battery running forever. Its pretty nice never having to worry about having power onboard.

• 4 US Battery Deep Cycle US250XC Batteries, For a 500AH 12V Aux bank.
  • $750
  • New in September 2020.
  • Wired: 2 in series, 2 in parallel for a 12V house battery
• Massive 2/0 anchor cabling, fuses, and manual disconnect rotary switches, all marine grade. Quick disconnect solar MC4 connectors as well.
  • $350
• 2x - Panasonic VBHN330SA16, 330 watts each = 660 watts total
  • $700
  • New in September 2020.
  • The solar panels are tiltable up to 45 degrees for optimum sun angle while Parked. (although even in the late autumn I did not need to tilt them. They produce ample power when flat). They hinge on 3/4" pipes. The driver’s side pipe clamps are quick disconnect, this allows you to raise the panels and tilt them. They are mounted via uni-strut superstrut which is mounted the full length of the roof, bolted and sealed to the structural ribs of the roof.
• Victron Energy SmartSolar Charge controller MPPT 100/50
  • $380
  • New June 2022
  • Bring in all that power from the sun! Bluetooth control so you can see everything from your phone.
• Renogy - 3000W 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter
  • $400
  • New June 2023
  • Massive power to run all the household electronics you need. We would use this for an electric kettle for morning coffee everyday. Has an automatic low voltage shutoff. This inverter has been flawless. It runs my table saw, our auger juicer, even a toaster. The fridge runs off the inverter full time too.
• Maxxair 7500K MaxFan roof mounted ventilator
  • $500
  • has BOTH options for inflow or outflow, it's reversible, It has a thermostat and a remote. Electric and manual opening and closing options. It does not let in rain water when it is open. Very handy and comfortable.
  • Replaced the circuit board June 2023
• Renogy 20A DC-DC battery charger
  • $130
  • for combining the Alternator with the onboard Aux batteries. (never needed to use it with the solar doing its job) It is wired to the D+ port under the drivers seat, so it only connects when the engine is running and the alternator is making power. There is also a manual switch to disconnect the dc-dc charger mounted on the side of the driver's seat by the parking brake lever.
• Deep Freezer/ Refrigerator
  • $400
  • fully tunable SILENT chest refrigerator/freezer. This unit runs on an external thermostat which allows you to choose the internal temperature. I leave it set on a 38F fridge temperature and it barely ever needs to run. It runs off of the 12V battery bank, via the inverter. The solar has always kept up with the meager wattage demands of the fridge but there are low voltage cutoffs in place to protect the battery bank. This unit is built into a pop-up table and cutting surface behind the driver's seat.
• Webasto Air Top 2000 STC – Diesel
  • $1,500
  • New in January 2023
  • Upgraded the controller to Bluetooth Smartemp 3.0 which means you dont have to get out of bed to turn the heater on
  • $250
  • The heater is super nice to kick on when the temps dip low. I’ve winter camped in this thing, but its also super nice to keep on when sleeping over night, the hot dry air helps to dry out wet clothes, ski gear, wetsuits, whatever. Suuuuper efficient and super quiet.

Water System
The water system was added mostly for outdoor use. Its plumbed into a spray hose and a tankless hot water heater for showers post surf sesh.

• $1000
• 20 Gallon Water Tank from Northwest Conversions
• Shurflo Revolution Standard 12v RV Pump 4008-101-E65 w/ accumulator, filter, silencer
• Eccotemp Luxé EL5 Portable Tankless Water Heater 1.5 GPM 37.5K BTU
  • This thing is amazing! It’s plumbed into the water tank and a small 1 gal propane tank and is used for hot showers after surfing, or whatever. Just an outside thing.
  • 1 Gallon Mini Propane tank

Miscellaneous

• Curt 14250 Class IV Hitch
  • $300
  • This is mostly setup for a bike rack.
• Spare Tool Set Onboard
  • $250 Million Mile Sprinter T1N Sprinter tool kit Has all the specialty tools needed to work on the van
• iCarSoft OBDII Scanner - Sprinter Specific
  • $260
  • This thing has been a lifesaver to diagnose what is going on with the van when problems come up. You can read and clear codes, even while driving.
• HID Projector Head lights
  • $800
  • Absolutely transform driving at night, so soo bright. Spare HID Ballast included as well

Interior

• Bed is made up of 3x honeycomb panels that store behind the bench seat and install over the middle aisle in less than a minute. Since I daily drive this van, I REALLY like having the ability to have the bed setup only when I need it. I can haul pretty much anything I want in here when the bed is not setup and having a big walk way to stand up and do anything is super useful. This van is the ultimate transformer.
• The shelving and all accessories are through bolted to the structural ribs of the van with genuine riv-nuts.
• The shelving is built around the standard Lowes/Home Depot black tote dimensions. It holds 5 totes that slide out for easy storage.
• There is additional built-in storage over the front seats. We typically toss all our bedding or soft things up here.
• There is a bench and work table on the passenger side which enclose the battery bank, dc-dc charger, solar MPPT controller and inverter.
• There are 120V plugs in the back and front of the van for tools and computers to charge. You can run lots of things on the plugs. The system is very robust and overbuilt. A table saw or small 120V welder would run just fine.
• Vertical Ski Storage on the back door. Great for keeping these out of the way and it takes up very little space.
• Dark tint on all interior windows, keep it cool in summer

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

I clicked in thinking, "I'll be really disappointed if this thing isn't green," and I was NOT disappointed!

 

[theREDwonder]

I clicked in thinking, "I'll be really disappointed if this thing isn't green," and I was NOT disappointed!

She's true to her name!

 

[theREDwonder]

Price Drop!!
$30,000 or best offer

 

[theREDwonder]

And price drop again
$25,000 or best offer!
Someone make the avocado their new adventurer.

 

[chaos_cascade]

And price drop again
$25,000 or best offer!
Someone make the avocado their new adventurer.

How many miles on the Flying Avocado ? California van its whole life? Do you have pics of the underbody rust?

 

[smhafen]

msged you!

 

[theREDwonder]

How many miles on the Flying Avocado ? California van its whole life? Do you have pics of the underbody rust?

I don't know how I missed that major detail! Yes California Van. The engine has 20k miles on it, and the chassis has 350k. I will get pics of the nethers and add them to my album linked at the top of the ad.

 

[theREDwonder]

How many miles on the Flying Avocado ? California van its whole life? Do you have pics of the underbody rust?

Pics of the underside are in the album:

2003 Sprinter Adventure Van

50 new items added to shared album

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[chaos_cascade]

Thanks for the update I missed those pics! Appreciation bump.

 

[theREDwonder]

Thanks for the update I missed those pics! Appreciation bump.

Oh, I added them after you asked for them. All good though 👍🏻

 

[theREDwonder]

SOLD

 

[chaos_cascade]

Congratulations! Hope to see her out in the wild.