Sprinter 318 4x4 Overland Build
 

So it's close to being finished. In some respects not great timing as our inaugural trip is through France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Romania and then who knows where but we're hanging around until our daughters graduation so July and August in Europe?:oops2:
Then Morocco and head south:D

I've been amazed at the hrs required to get it to this stage (I've been helped by my brother in law who has a business converting VW's which has saved me loads of time in that he tells me what to do and when). The cupboards/drawers have been the worst. I'm no cabinet maker, gluing ply together I'm ok with but getting these to fit hasn't been much fun. Nothing is square in a van.

So it's got a permanent king size bed (thanks Ikea), shower/toilet, rear shower, air heating, hot and cold water, solar panels which should allow indefinite of grid.
3.0 litre V6. 194bhp/440Nm
Selectable 4wd.
Sump/gearbox protection.
Snorkel. The std air intake is pretty high but it's forward facing behind the passenger headlamp so it is susceptible to sucking in water.
Other than that I've stuck with my philosophy of keeping things standard.

Hi Russ,

Nice to see someone with a sprinter, I've just finished a vw T5 and looking to step up to a sprinter.

Why have you put a pop top in?

cheers
Gren

I missed this post, nice build Russ - I think the Sprinter is about the best mid size vehicle going at the moment, Id love to have a 4x4 diesel model, but the initial price is still high even here in Canada and there are no used ones about yet.

It looks brilliant, congratulations on your build!

Great build!

website/facebook with more pics? We have literally just come up with the idea of building a sprinter 4x4 with pop top, so I'd be VERY interested in seeing more :thumbup1:

Hi Gren.
Partly because the vast majority available are low roof, partly because I just wanted it to be inconspicuous, partly because we like the idea of the through ventilation afforded by the mesh windows.

A low roof could work but I'm just over 6ft tall and it was maybe 3 inches too low.

It's more or less finished but not trialled properly yet, we're hanging around until our daughter goes to university. Then it's off around Europe.

I'm afraid I'm a bit rubbish at keeping a build diary and don't have a Facebook account.

I'll rectify this though.

See my comments above re. the pop top. As its not the norm (in the UK anyway) I struggled to find one. In the end I went with pop top UK in Yorkshire who do a universal roof. Looking at T5 roofs I actually think one of those would fit OK, that expands your choice no end.

Its built with the idea thar we won't spend much time actually sat inside, apart from driving, so it has a permanent double bed (ikea mattress), loads of storage, a shower/toilet cubical and the rear is separated by a bulkhead so the "dirty" stuff is accessible by the back doors.

I wasn't sure about under floor stuff but it does have under floor water and gas/lpg tanks. Spare wheels are on the roof behind the pop top. It's not full length, which is not big deal.

If it had been a vw t5, for example, it would have been finished weeks ago. For example simple little things like the awning. There isn't an off the leg solution for a low roof Sprinter with a pop top.
Seats were a bit of a shock. Single passenger seats are rare and therefore expensive, I got one from Poland eventually. I started down the line of range rover p38 seats. They are a very close match and have the must have arm rests:-) but chickened out. I didn't trust my welding when it came to seat belt anchors!

I've had the engal fridge/freezer running full time and the 100w solar panel is keeping the battery charged fully.

I'll post some more photos here tomorrow.

For 2 people it seems the perfect size. Enough space inside and easy to drive on just about any road. It'll cruise all day long at 80mph if that's your thing and you can afford the diesel :rofl:

Upsides.
They are a mechanically basic commercial vehicle.
Great parts support from mb.
Most service parts available from any motor factor
For a van impressive off road
For a pretty big vehicle good economy and refinement.

Downsides.
They like to rust, but not structurally.
Electronics. I've got a scangauge 2 which does the basics. Reads and re sets fault codes and acts as a trip computer. Gives basic engine readings, water temp, boost etc. If you want anything more mercedes star software is required. Not financially viable for an individual.

great info. We seem to think along similar lines, maybe we'll see you on the road someday.
give us a shout when in the Netherlands...

Very tempted to get a Sprinter

I just realised..... "hi" from Jamie (me) from gwagonregister! bier

Thanks Jamie.

We're finally off on our travels Wednesday after some delay due to injurydoh

As usual you have forever to prepare and it all ends up a last minute job, off to do some final jobs on it now in fact.

Any more pics of the build. This is exactly what I would like to do.

OK some photos. I'm afraid I didn't document the build really so they are a bit random.

The double bed has an ikea king size mattress, I'm just over 6ft so in theory I can't fit sideways in the van but as it's really wide I can stretch out fully if I lie slightly diagonally.

There's loads of storage under the bed, two gas struts of a VW golf are enough to lift the mattress.

The bulkhead between the living area and the rear doors gives loads of storage for the "dirty" stuff such as bbq, boots, hoses etc.

I was going for all diesel heating but the truma combi lpg is great. The underfloor lpg tank is tucked up where the spare wheel was, that's now on the roof along with a wolf box for a little additional storage.

Insulation was a mix of 40mm, 25mm Kingspan, aluminium bubble wrap and spray foam. More to keep it cool rather than warm! I can deal with cold at night but not heat.

The original manufacturer's lining panels were really used and carpeted with campervan carpet. Weird stuff, it will stretch loads but it's pretty much impossible to rip and will blunt drill bits.

Sorry photos, I haven't got any of the finished article but I will post some later.

The finished van, ready for the off this pm:D