Final Build Details: Advice Sought

[daveb]

Originally Posted by eradikate

Dave,
Can you post any photos, hatch closed and open, of the exterior connections setup you just described? Thanks.

You'd have to talk with other Sprinter owners or SMB about what size and where to install these. They are pretty common in the RV industry and if you search they make all different sizes and configurations. I just don't know about the Sprinters.



Mine was placed where SMB typically mounted a propane tank on the Ford chassis. I had an after thought on the picture with the blue arrow. That is for a portable outside shower wand. If I would of had room I would have tucked that behind the door as well. Half of the bay holds my Espar water heater. Hard to see at that angle but there is a marine 12vDC port in slightly out of view. Also you might notice in the one image the door is upside down. That had to be done to install the rock slider steps. Normally they open downward but I kinda like it upside down. When at home I plug in if the fridge is running and the cover acts as a shade plus it doesn't pool water like it did when it opened downward.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by barrel47

Our build plan is just about complete for our Sprinter 4x4 RB50 layout. Build scheduled for February. We have just a few minor issues to decide on and are looking for wisdom from those that have come before! I've read the threads I could find on these issues, but thought I'd check on the following:

1. Privacy Curtain – Planning on the “snaps” options versus sliding track. We don’t expect to use this much, so we’d like to store it. Any different opinions on this? - Fitz: We have the sliding track option and use it all the time. It is a necessity when in stealth mode and it also works great to limit the heated space when the white stuff is on the ground outside. We much prefer the sliding track to the snaps, for us this is an often-used great addition.

2. Power Locations – The included locations are by the couch, below the galley, and the galley shelf. It seems like it would be good to have power in the back (with access to the bed), penthouse, and maybe the passenger seat. Does anyone have specific recommendations on this? - Fitz: We have USB power in the back by the head of the bed and it is used all the time. Ours is on the passenger's side, wish I had specified one on each side. We also have USB connections above the sink and on the face of the base of the rear bench seat, all get used. Mentioned previously was the indicator lights that are typically part of these. I specified no indicator lights and am very glad I did as these sort of lights drive me nuts at night when trying to sleep.

3. Exterior Lights – Apart from the one included porch light, we looked at the rear flood lights when we visited the factory. These look like they would be easily broken off. It’s not clear that we need any more than the porch light, but we’re not sure since this is our first SMB. Any layouts that people love? - Fitz: We don't need to light up the world when stopped at night, but a bit of light is really nice when camped off grid with no light "pollution" around you. We added a second identical porch light on the driver's side and I will eventually install a third (smaller) one in the back, most likely mounted to the base of the back-up camera. BTW, these are not for use when driving the vehicle. For that we have two lights mounted in the rear bumper and a 20" light bar mounted on the front that do a great job of lighting up the trail.

4. Interior Lights – We are going with the standard lights and locations, but adding at least two dimmers and maybe four (galley shelf, front, back, PH). Any other thoughts on changing the lights or where dimmers are useful vs. not? - Fitz: We have no dimmers and wish we did, on the list for the future. I added a small LED light on the passenger side at the base of the rear seat, it can be reached from the outside with the door open and it does a great job of lighting up the floor area and we use it all the time.

5. L-Tracks – We’re not sure if we need more tie-downs, but we did see a few vans with L-Tracks. Any experience with L-Tracks that are pro/con for adding them? - Fitz: We have L-Track on the floor across the base of the rear seat, a great location as it is completely out of the way. You don't need it until you need it, then there is no substitute. Note that we do not have the cabinet mounted in front of the sliding door, thus the space in front of the rear seat is open and available for cargo when needed.

As always, thanks in advance for the advice! It's very much appreciated.

Responses are embedded in the text above.


Fitz

[barrel47]

Solar is in the build so we are all set on this. Thanks

[barrel47]

Thanks for all the advice! Fitz, like many others, I studied your thread for many build decisions. I do have one question for you -- for the privacy curtain others have stated they simply use the arctic shades on the front and side windows which blacks out things for stealth while also insulating. Wondering what you see as the considerations of this approach over the curtain?

Relative to the other posts, we do have the penthouse and solar. We aren't currently adding a rack (other than a Thule) due to weight considerations since we are expecting to use a Thule box for skis, etc. I still don't like the idea of putting everything uptop in the winter, but the rear options I've seen aren't much better. If we can figure out how to get all the ski stuff on back, then I may add a rack given which would also give us more option for light mounting.

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by barrel47

Solar is in the build so we are all set on this. Thanks

Solar is great until you park in the shade, many here have found value in an auxillary suitcase style option as well. The one thing I havent done yet, but will at some point is install an easily accessible solar input hook-up - currently i have MC4 connectors on the roof rack that work fine, but not convenient...and a real challenge when I need to plug in after the roofs been raised. Might consider this since they still have your van.
***Seems DaveB's got a neat set-up with a variety of hook-ups mounted close together - I like that scenario.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by barrel47

Thanks for all the advice! Fitz, like many others, I studied your thread for many build decisions. I do have one question for you -- for the privacy curtain others have stated they simply use the arctic shades on the front and side windows which blacks out things for stealth while also insulating. Wondering what you see as the considerations of this approach over the curtain?

When stealth camping, you want anyone looking in to see the empty front seats. With the privacy curtain behind the seats (mine has black fabric facing forward) you get this effect, with shades on the the side and front windows, you don’t.

We have both, we find we use the privacy curtain behind the seats much more.

[mkkbven]

We made our own curtain after the fact using snaps. The idea was to use it for stealth camping as well as sectioning off the cab in cold weather (the space above the headliner was not insulated originally). That said, we rarely use it. I have since insulated the sealing in the cab and the Mrs has made insulated window coverings.

As mentioned by others, USB power would be useful in the penthouse. It’s on my to-do list.

SMB included a single exterior light on passenger side near rear on mine (and most, I guess). It doesn’t offer much light unless I’m looking for my van on a dark night. I have a pair of Rigid Ind LED backup lights that I plan to repurpose as exterior lighting - one on the forward awning mount and one in the back. These would be helpful when setting up camp late at night.

Our van is an older build. Interior lighting has come a long way since then. I have added a push-to-turn on LED light above the passenger seat to be used as a reading light while driving or camping. It’s much better than the Van’s curtesy light. I have also added LED strip lighting in the cabinets and under the back seat. They are very useful when trying to find stuff in the back recesses or to check water tank level.

I installed an L-track just forward of the rear seat after seeing Fitz’s. I highly recommend it if you plan on carrying anything loose, like a cooler. Our dog used to really freak out when the cooler would start sliding forward when I hit the brakes. To say nothing of the safety aspects.

On a separate note, I would recommend upgrading the frig to the 4E. Our van was originally equipped with a 3E, which we always felt was just too small for anything but short weekend trips. We finally upgraded earlier this year and are glad we did.

Best of luck with your build. You’ll love it.

Mark

[achop]

I echo the LED reminder. And while you can use many LED bulbs in non-LED-specific fixtures, make sure any dimmers are rated for the low voltage LEDs, else the incandescent dimmer switches will retain too high a voltage to affect the LED bulbs almost all of the way down the dimmer scale.

[mikemikemike]

If doing it again, I would:

1) do an L track instead of the tiedowns I used

2) forego the porch light entirely. It's another penetration, another thing to break, doesn't really put out that much light, I don't spend a lot of time right next to the van anyhow, and I've got headlamps and lanterns when I do need light. But I skew more towards simplicity and key functions than armageddon-mobile, so your preferences may vary.

3) I imagine you've seen this
thread

With two days of use I'm happy so far, but have not had time to expose its flaws. We'll see how much I miss the other storage when I pack the whole family in

4) go bigger on the stereo. standard subwoofer is very nice but you can always have more bass

[JWA]

Originally Posted by mikemikemike

4) go bigger on the stereo. standard subwoofer is very nice but you can always have more bass

I think you meant "more cowbell......" right?