I brought Vanessa home for 10 days while SMB was on holiday break. The rear cabinet was all done so this was an opportunity for me to add my audio/video electronics. I worked every day including Christmas and enjoyed every minute of it!
Below shows the front of the rear cabinet. Besides the huge amount of storage space in this cabinet, having my A/V equipment next to the dinette is really nice. From upper left to lower right are the main power switch, stereo/DVD player (Jensen AWM975), in/out thermometer and humidity meter, left speaker, digital 12v alarm clock, TV (Jensen 22"), Sirius/XM docking station, right speaker. The TV angles down for watching in bed and swings out for watching from one side of the dinette. Storage cabinets are on each side of the TV.
Below shows the CB (Uniden PRO520XL) and 4G docking antenna amplifier for my iPhone 5 (Wilson Sleek 4G-A). The CB switches on with the ignition, and the signal amp has a power switch so it can be run for local hotspot use when parked. There is a bright LED indicator so we don't forget as it runs on the van battery. The hotspot allows us to use the internet on our laptop and iPad in or next to the van. A charging cable keeps the iPhone charged. We need a Bluetooth headset or Bluetooth radio to take phone calls using the 4G antenna since the iPhone needs to be in the cradle for it to work.
Below see how I installed an UltraGauge in front of the high end of the speedometer (I don't plan to drive over 100 mph). This location keeps it out of the sun. The UltraGauge monitors up to 55 functions from the van computer and displays 8 at a time. Some of these are duplicated on the Sprinter display but it is nice to see so many of them at once without using the steering wheel buttons. One of my favorites is the hours since start which automatically tells us when it is time to change drivers (turning off the engine resets this). The UltraGauge plugs into the OBDII port which is inside the fuse box below left of the steering wheel. I had to cut a hole in the lid so the lid would close with the UltraGauge plugged in.
Below see how I installed level indicators. For
leveling blocks I have cut up a 0.75x40x60 inch rubber barn mat.
I had a couple of issues with Vanessa. I tried to run the Espar D2 heater 24 hours a day but it would shut down once or twice a day. SMB did not know why so I called their Espar supplier, Doug at Lubrication Specialist. He said they default to a 10-hour shutdown timer when new and the manual for the digi-controller explained how to reprogram for continuous operation. I found the manual on the Espar site
here (SMB had not given me one).
The other issue that I have not solved is that the MBz fuel level gauge on the dash is far from accurate. The Furnace ran out of fuel when the gauge read 3/8 full, not 1/4 full as I expected. But when I filled the tank it took 20 gallons which is close to 3/4 of full (26 gallons). After filling (I stopped when the pump tripped off) the gauge read just over 3/4 full (see the photo above). I would expect a MBz gauge to be better than this. Could SMB have messed it up somehow? Defective part?
Thanks for reading.
David