SPRINTER DESIGN HELP - SHOWER & TOILET - Page 4

windguy · 11-30-2010, 12:41 AM

that's pretty slick. thanks for sharing Thom.
I like multi use things in a camper since you have limited space.

when you get a chance, please post some pics of your new van in your gallery

sounds like a great vehicle for your travels.

I checked out Van Specialties. They've got a great website with lots of pics of Sprinter conversions they've done, which is what I'm interested in. Others might be too so here's the link.
http://vanspecialties.com/sprinter_vans.htm
yeah, I know it's not an SMB but you might get some build ideas

thanks for the lead in

frostyone · 11-30-2010, 04:43 PM

Windguy,

Check out Outside Van for more of Van Specialties work for more ideas. The way I understand it, Outside Van uses Van Specialties to do all of their work.

Also check out Creative Mobile Interiors.

Should be able to get lot's of ideas for your new Sprinter!

Frosty

windguy · 12-01-2010, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

Windguy,

Check out Outside Van for more of Van Specialties work for more ideas. The way I understand it, Outside Van uses Van Specialties to do all of their work.

Also check out Creative Mobile Interiors.

Should be able to get lot's of ideas for your new Sprinter!

Frosty

great first post bro! welcome to the forum

many thanks Frosty. lots of eye candy to check out

at least the type my wife doesn't mind me ogling

this ought to keep me busy for a while

frostyone · 12-01-2010, 09:04 AM

[/quote]
great first post bro! welcome to the forum

many thanks Frosty. lots of eye candy to check out

at least the type my wife doesn't mind me ogling

this ought to keep me busy for a while[/quote]

I'm in the process of designing my first Sprinter as well right now. I'm designing more of a camping/touring(no offroad capabilities) van, for my girlfriend and I. 144" 2500, leaning towards High Top at this point. Spent so much time researching and read, and feel like I haven't even started. My mind changes nearly everyday on design specifics...

accrete · 12-01-2010, 04:22 PM

Frosty you are correct on the Outside Van and Vanspecialties relationship. I've enjoyed speaking over the phone with Rob at VS, seem like good ppl.

Yes on the photos. It's been so rainy i've not had a chance to take one picture. Gotta do it cuz the flairs, flaps, 3m-carbon fibre hood-wrap and other goodies are waiting to be put on...but i want to take some bare bones shots before doing anything : )

BTW, we LOVED test driving a Sprinter 170 out of the Freightliner dealership in Portland about a month before buying the Express. They are amazing rigs! That extra 3 feet would be welcome...so i've gotta go the multi-function route.

windguy · 12-01-2010, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

I'm in the process of designing my first Sprinter as well right now. I'm designing more of a camping/touring(no offroad capabilities) van, for my girlfriend and I. 144" 2500, leaning towards High Top at this point. Spent so much time researching and read, and feel like I haven't even started. My mind changes nearly everyday on design specifics...

awesome. you've come to the right place for help and info. this is a great forum.

camping/touring with no offroad other than an occasional fireroad is pretty much our M.O. too so the Sprinter matches the requirements nicely. We prefer the EB (170" WB) so we have a bit of extra room to add some more amenities. Some folks need to keep the van under 20" so the RB (144" WB) works for their needs. Personally, I think the EB looks better than the RB because it distributes the higher profile better and looks more proportional. The RB looks a little stubby to me but that's my warped personal observation. We all know by now that size doesn't matter

Fully understand about spending many hours researching. It's become an obsession with me to learn as much as I can to avoid some of the pitfalls and to create a great design. I've been writing notes and sketches in a design notebook to help stay organized. I too feel like I've only skimmed the tip of the iceberg in figuring out what to do and how things work. It's a whole new experience for me having never owned an RV before.

In case you didn't see this on another thread, Witoke posted this link to Westfalia, which has some very cool Sprinter conversions http://www.westfalia-van.de/en/models.html
Westfalia make very efficient use of space and has some cool design ideas.

Keep us posted on your design

windguy · 12-01-2010, 07:41 PM

This pic is from the Westfalia Big Nugget.
It has a shower pan design that is similar to what I was thinking of doing in that the pan makes use of the aisle space rather than along the side of the van and it's in the left rear corner out of the way most of the time.
They also have a fixed marine toilet and a sink. Not sure I like the angled toilet and I'd nix the 2nd sink.
Orientation help - the left side is the back door.
They have a door with a 180° swing that sits above the pan and closes off the toilet area or swings into the galley area. Didn't consider that but I guess that's more pleasant than staring at a toilet if you have a fixed marine toilet. We still might go with a removable porta-potti but it's nice to see some innovative thinking.

frostyone · 12-01-2010, 09:09 PM

windguy,

Thanks for the link and photos! Those Westfalia's are pretty sweet...too bad they're unavailable here!

We may end up with a 170" but I won't know until I drive both. I'm hoping to check out SprinterFest this spring up here in Portland before I order my van. I want to see as many examples as possible before spending $70k +. Like you, I'd like it as close to "right" the first time as I can get it.

Which forums do you monitor? I check out this one, Sprinter-source, as well as Expedition Portal. Anything I'm missing?

Frosty

ps, have you checked out BadgerTrek's review of the SMB?

windguy · 12-02-2010, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

Those Westfalia's are pretty sweet...too bad they're unavailable here!

The Ford Transit Van looks very similar to a Sprinter RB in terms of length and wheelbase.
I think it's interesting to see how Westfalia takes a whole different approach towards their design.
Can't say it's good or bad but just different and innovative. It's refreshing to see another country or area of the world embracing the same thing we do here in the US.

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

We may end up with a 170" but I won't know until I drive both.

I've never driven or ridden in one myself but everyone says they drive great. Met a 70+ year old lady a few weeks ago at food market that had an older Airstream Interstate Sprinter 2500 base and she had no problems behind the wheel. I think if you're solo camping then an RB is great. If I was by myself I'd go that route. For two people for extended travels, nicer to have a bit more room with the EB especially if you have some gear and if you have special needs then the LB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

Which forums do you monitor? I check out this one, Sprinter-source, as well as Expedition Portal. Anything I'm missing?

XXX Girls and Farm Animals. Oh, wait, you meant Sprinter forums, right?

This forum is pretty easy to stay current with. The Sprinter-source one is on steroids. Way too many posts to keep up with. After spending some time on that one I had to step away for a while. It was too intense and time consuming. It's got a lot of good info. That's about it for me. I've stopped reading our daily paper because of these forums. The newspaper stack has reached the ceiling

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

I'm hoping to check out SprinterFest this spring up here in Portland before I order my van. I want to see as many examples as possible before spending $70k +. Like you, I'd like it as close to "right" the first time as I can get it.

Never heard of Sprinterfeast. Checked it out on Upscale Automotive's website. I've glanced at that site before and have saved the link for something to check later. Wow, seems like a great event to share ideas and fun. If I was closer I'd go for sure. Still might consider it in April. I miss the good old days when it was easy to jump on a plane to take a weekend trip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostyone

have you checked out BadgerTrek's review of the SMB?

Haven't but just took a glance. Nice website. Will spend more time there. Thanks for the link. She's a really gifted artist.

durangatangs · 12-07-2010, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by windguy

I checked out Van Specialties. They've got a great website with lots of pics of Sprinter conversions they've done, which is what I'm interested in. Others might be too so here's the link.
http://vanspecialties.com/sprinter_vans.htm
yeah, I know it's not an SMB but you might get some build ideas

Not sure what people see in the Outside Vans/Van Specialties website. All I see is pictures of people with pink hair pursuing their own narcissistic dreams, not a company offering products that other people might want to buy. We couldn't find a single floorplan, or any discussion of various heating, water, sleeping, or other basic infrastructure options. It was all just "trust us, we're cool, we'll build you a cool vehicle and if you don't like it then you are just not cool." We test drove an Outside Vans conversion before ordering our SMB and got a quote from them. Their quote was almost identical to SMB West's but nowhere near as detailed about what we would actually get for our money. We were sold on the Sprinter chassis, but not on Outside Vans doing the conversion. Haven't taken delivery of our SMB yet, but looking again at the "competition" website we are confident we made the right choice.