The Van Plan - Sprinter 4wd - The perfect overland vehicle?

[Christian P.]

This would be one of my all time favorite overland vehicles if I could get one...

The Van

The van is a heavily modified Mercedes Sprinter with permanent four wheel drive, transfer box (high and low ratio) and 3 sets of diff locks for when things get tough. We have solar panels trickle charging both sets of batteries and providing 240v through an inverter, a hydraulic winch and a snorkel fitted with a sand filter, which also allows the engine to breath in deep water. The chassis is modified with up rated suspension, torsion bars and sump and engine guards.
Inside there is a fridge with freezer, cooker, proper flushing loo and shower and a double bed. Its fairly tight inside being a standard medium wheelbase but with the two front seats turning round and a collapsible table the space is very functional.

http://www.thevanplan.com/thevanplan/index.php/thevan/

 

[1leglance]

You can buy the one Sportsmobile West has for sale....it is wicked cool red and there is a thread here on Expo
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52931
http://sportsmobile.com/z-PO_calif.html

 

[Regcabguy]

I checked out a Sportsmobile conversion at the Auto Show here a couple of years ago. It was the original body style with the non-egr and dpf emissions engine. The frontend didn't look to strong and at the time Dynatrac was working on a solid axle replacement. Don't know where that went though. Pricey@ $100,000.

 

[BajaBus]

Is it just me, or is that snorkle just plain silly? They intend to ford rivers and thus flood the interior?

 

[1leglance]

Almost always the snorkle is more about less dust in the intake than water.

 

[18seeds]

almost always the snorkle is more about less dust in the intake than water.

x2

 

[TroySmith80]

Is it just me, or is that snorkle just plain silly? They intend to ford rivers and thus flood the interior?

I had the same reaction when i was in Peru recently. I was thinking, "who are these guys kidding with all these cars with snorkels, as if they're going to be fording rivers!" Then i realized they were for dust. Even buses had snorkels.

 

[dsw4x4]

That is a very cool sprinter van. As for the snorkel, some people may use them for dust I personally have crossed a lot of deep water crossing in my life. The object of a snorkel is to NOT fill up your cabin space with water by continuing forward motion. With out a snorkel any thing larger than a creek can be a shot in the dark if you are going to make it or not. If a crossing is three feet deep and your air intake is at 2.5 feet your swimming to shore and winching provided you have a winch, if the current is to strong you rig is going swimming down stream with or with out you. A best case scenario would be a gas engine full of h2o, pull the plugs change all of your fluids and flush it out and you could be on your way again, worst case very worst I have seen rigs tumbling end over end down stream (total loss). Add up recovery and repair to a scenario that a snorkel would have let you drive through and all of the sudden a 500 or 1000 dollar does not seem that bad. Some people will tell you have no business crossing water that deep or water at all for that matter. I am from the midwest and we played in water (rivers) and mud. I now live in colorado and most people would say you are never going to use it out here but in the four years I have lived out here I have been caught on the wrong side of a swollen creek 5 different times and two of those times the creek was dry when I crossed it 24 hours earlier. One way in one way out now your sitting on the wrong side of a creek with spring run off that no one knows when it will subside. Again a snorkel to save your investment not to mention your ********!! I used to always think they were joke on most mall crawler rigs but if it is used once it is worth it weight in gold. We like to use our rig's to explore and there is nothing more aggravating than having to turn back because a crossing is to risky because your not prepared. Back to my first point a well sealed up rig can cross 5 feet of water with barely getting some water seeping in at the doors as long as the driver knows what he is doing and the rig is built for it. If the rig is pushing the water and continues forward movement scary crossing for most are no big deal the prepared. Wow that was a rant, (sorry) and now back to your scheduled programming!!

 

[BajaBus]

I had the same reaction when i was in Peru recently. I was thinking, "who are these guys kidding with all these cars with snorkels, as if they're going to be fording rivers!" Then i realized they were for dust. Even buses had snorkels.

I just exposed my newbness! Very interesting - why didn't I think of that? :sombrero:

 

[BajaBus]

Looking at that now, it seems that the snorkel would serve as a cold air intake as well, with super high-pressure, low-temp air all the time and massive filtration. Are there kits for this or just custom fab jobs?

 

[dhally]

We used to see lots of snorkles in Eastern Washinton right after Mt. St. Helens blew up! Every state police car had one.

 

[DjDrewDigital]

That 4x4 sprinter is awesome! I love the look of the Iglhaut one below. It's great for carrying wheelchairs because the floor is already low and there's plenty of headroom. The only problem is the cost. The Salem Kroger conversion is $18k and the Sportsvans conversion is $25k. And the Salem Kroger guy said you are pretty limited in tire size and lift height due to the Sprinter's electronic stability controls so I'm not sure how you get tires on it like the one below.

 

[loren85022]

I had the same reaction when i was in Peru recently. I was thinking, "who are these guys kidding with all these cars with snorkels, as if they're going to be fording rivers!" Then i realized they were for dust. Even buses had snorkels.

I'm curious. If dust is an issue, why not have an intake within the cab? I suppose it could introduce noise and/or vapors..

 

[Riptide]

I'm curious. If dust is an issue, why not have an intake within the cab? I suppose it could introduce noise and/or vapors..

I imagine the cabin would be under negative pressure all the time. You'd be dragging dust in every minute. Plus, the intake roar would drive you bananas...

 

[dsw4x4]

I ran a snorkel in the cab of my jeep when I was a kid, you can't believe the look on peoples faces when you are pushing water over the top of your windshield with no visible snorkel!! It was great in the summer but when you put the top in everything including me always smelled like gas I had to take off in the winter time because of the smell.
Derek