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Old 02-21-2018, 03:22 PM   #1
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Question We love our Sprinter - but help! the layout is driving us crazy! Remodel?

I’ve owned a 06 Benz Sportsmobile for about a year now (170 WB). We bought it secondhand as an experiment to see if my wife and I would actually use it and to see what we like and don’t about the build. Turns out we love the van (very low miles and that 5 cylinder engine - you just can’t beat the reliability and great mileage). Also the dang thing fits great into a regular parking space and its short enough that we’re usually charged “auto” rate on some ferries.

SO in general we’re pretty happy and have used it quite a bit but the layout is driving us crazy. The pantry and tiny fridge is stacked RIGHT behind the driver (I can’t adjust my seat back comfortably and there are 2 opposing couches in the middle - meaning whenever the bed is “made” you can’t use the rest of the van plus the couch on the passenger side blocks 1/2 of the door. Also, the “kitchen” sink is in the back and the refer is in the front ;-(. Shower / toilet (connected to grey water) is in the rear on the drivers side.

What we would LIKE to do is to move the couches / beds to the back and the shower / head forwarding then create a galley behind the passenger but far enough back that you can use the full door. I THINK re-routing everything (i.e water tank, batteries, inverter) OTHER THAN the shower/toilet combo is more or less doable - BUT - the question is - should we? How easy would it be to “repurpose” the shelves and dividers?

Everything is still in excellent shape and other then more comfortable drivers seats we're happy with the interior just as it is - just moved around a bit. We live in south Florida so maybe a aftermarket company would not be too terribly high?

Of course the other option is to just sell it and get the design that we want - but we really like the “bones” of this unit. Also, since we got a great deal on the van. and can’t afford a new one every trade I’m looking at I come out in the hole …

Looking for thoughts and opinions from those with more experience with this kind of thing...

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Old 02-21-2018, 03:41 PM   #2
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From my experience ffiw...
Owning a prebuilt/ made van will never fit 'all' your needs. Sacrifices will have to be part of it.
There is only one way to fit your personal touches and that is to build from scratch and even then most people find that after being used for an extended period their own design needs to be tweeked to get it 'right'.
I am currently on my fourth van and finally have the foundation right but my interior design stills needs an overhaul to be perfect.
I would suggest keeping a pen and paper handy at all times to write down your thoughts and wait to see if you can implement them into your current van, if not you might have to switch to a different platform.

How handy are you if you decide to rebuild?
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Old 02-21-2018, 03:45 PM   #3
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Fairly handy. We're pretty sure what we want, we've waiting a year before deciding and went to a few RV shows to do walk throughs and get ideas. My biggest concern is moving the shower / head because the grey water tank is below.
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Old 02-21-2018, 04:10 PM   #4
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Doing a major remodel like that will never be a recoverable expense. You'll be way ahead if you can find another used unit in the floor-plan you like.

In fact, for what you could sell yours for, combined with the expense of paying for the remodel, you might not be too far away from the cost of a new production-built van, like the Winnebago Paseo (which sounds like is the floorplan you want???
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Old 02-21-2018, 08:53 PM   #5
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True ^^ , however I would rip it all out and rebuild it the way I wanted if I were you. Those are great vans and it sounds like you love everything but the layout. There's no rocket science to the plumbing, just lots of it jammed in a small space.

If you start thinking of having someone do it remember that you are on the complete opposite corner of the U.S. from where all the van conversion companies are popping up. That alone could be a several thousand dollar problem.

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Old 02-22-2018, 02:51 PM   #6
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I think the most economical way to get what we want is to gently start removing everything and then perhaps hiring a aftermarket conversion company to do the final touches. I was shocked to find so few companies in Florida doing this kind of work. Maybe we'll do a trip out west, leave the van and fly home returning to complete the journey in the new diggs. We have a Alaska trip on the radar for the summer... Thanks for the input..
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Old 02-22-2018, 04:22 PM   #7
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What would worry me is any through-the-van holes for plumbing and the like. It's not rocket science to move cabinets around, but when you get into tanks, drains, etc., that do in and out of the van it gets problematic.
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Old 02-22-2018, 04:47 PM   #8
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I think the most economical way to get what we want is to gently start removing everything and then perhaps hiring a aftermarket conversion company to do the final touches. I was shocked to find so few companies in Florida doing this kind of work. Maybe we'll do a trip out west, leave the van and fly home returning to complete the journey in the new diggs. We have a Alaska trip on the radar for the summer... Thanks for the input..
Keep in mind the NW up-fitters are a LONG ways out. Year+ in most cases.
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Old 02-23-2018, 10:34 PM   #9
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Here’s another option that I’ve linked to b4, Matt was with CCV before this new venture. The big thing here is not only are they doing build outs but offer ship-flat cabinets and interiors for help with the do-it-yourself project. I’ve been toying with an interior refresh and this will probably be the route I go.....I live close, so that makes it a lot easier.
http://www.avcrig.com/#products


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Old 02-24-2018, 06:18 AM   #10
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Here’s another option that I’ve linked to b4, Matt was with CCV before this new venture.
Colorado is littered with ex-CCV employees starting competitors!
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