Big Blue - 2016 Mercedes Sprinter 2500 4x4

After getting my other builds into maintenance mode it was time to start my next project, a 2016 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500 4x4 144" standard roof crew van with a 3.0 V6 turbo diesel.


It has spent the past 125k miles as a handicap/wheelchair lift van. Mercedes had a run of these that were built in December of 2016 to close out the model year. This is the first one I've seen that isn't black. Mercedes calls it black blue on the build sheet.


I've been searching for one of these with a lift for a few months for my FIL and in my research I found out they are a bit of a unicorn build. They have an aux heater installed from the factory along with a dual alternator and dual battery setup. The wiring is already sorted to the back of the van so the buildout has one less step. They also lack some of the electronic Nannie's that can be annoying off road and have a less complex commercial build (think delivery vans that see 500,000 miles of abuse that are built to load a pallet into the back between the wheel wells). All this in a relatively compact package built on top of a proper 4x4 drivetrain with selectable 4wd and low range. This model year was built in Germany with final assembly in the US and Mercedes no longer has a 4x4 option (new ones are built in the US and are either RWD or AWD with a smaller 4 cyl turbo diesel motor).

My first stop after picking the van up was REI to get a cot and fuel for my jet boil then I started the 31hour drive home, landing in campgrounds in MO and KS before disbursed camping in CO then nuking it home on a 13 hour leg from there.


The van came with a wheelchair lift in the back. The previous owner bought this last December so he could take his mobility limited dad on one last hunting trip.

We started shopping for a wheelchair van with awd/4wd in January but my FIL was so far along with his ALS that he was house bound by the time we found this van in May so I drove the van home to NV from AL instead of driving it to NH. I plan to keep the lift so I'm prepared in the event that we need it with ALS being hereditary (if we have it we will never need it).

The build plan is to cut a big hole in the roof for a field van pop top with a bunk bed. Once that is done I'll have the smart floor with L-track installed so I can add a couple captains chairs for the kids and a bench bed with seatbelts for 3 more passengers. The rest of the buildout will be minimal on the interior with just a fridge for snacks and a shower at the rear doors for washing off gear and rinsing feet. I hope to be at this point by winter so the van can be our ski vehicle, giving us a warm space to get dressed and booted up.

Project so far have been minimal but I'm starting to pick up some momentum. Last week I removed the wheelchair lift and beat the rear wheel wells back into shape with a dead blow hammer. This week I removed the cargo divider, had the front windows tinted, and started prepping to spray some bedliner on the rockers.

Two small rust repair jobs were the first step. The first spot is a common area for rust on these vans. Leaves and road junk get past the front mudflap and end up trapped in the weep hole then water gets in and things get nasty.

 

This is how the interior sits now with the wheelchair lift and cargo divider removed...so much room for activities.

 

Do you have a line on the pop top for this? After seeing a few of these on the road trip I just did, I’ve been half ass looking at some of this stuff.

 

There are a few different options for tops. I decided on the Field Van pop up (sportsmobile) because it has 360° windows, a 5 year warranty, and they are relatively close (only a 5 hour drive for me to get to their install shop but they also have a location less than 5 minutes from my house).

 

That’s going to be awesome.

 

Almost ready for cutting. Just have to drop the wires for the cargo lights. The van is noticeably warmer with the headliner removed so I'm calling it good enough for now so I can go cool off inside.




The butyl they applied on the roof at the factory was not the right choice. It is melting out.



The roof bouncing off the cross members is likely a large portion of the noise that the van still makes when driving on bumpy roads but this is all going to be cut out so I'm planning to ignore it.

 

Good to know it’s not just Toyota that uses the wrong products to stick things together.

 

Replaced the "meep meep" Mercedes horn with something more fitting for a vehicle this size. I installed the low tone horn and will need to find a spot later for the high tone horn...it was getting hot out and I will need to fabricate a bracket and wiring harness for the 2nd horn if I end up installing it. The grille came off pretty easily due to the fact that it was missing 3 of the 4 plastic fasteners. Luckily, I had replacements that fit in the garage.