TMC's Sprinter Moto Hauler Thread

so @BananaMan wanted to see some bodge engineering in the van, so here's the moto camper van thread!

Once upon a time, i bought a van to haul the dirt bikes around. Bone stock Sprinter 170" wheelbase, that lived its former life as a fleet vehicle for a plumbing company.

 

it was big and empty and noisy and dirty as hell.

 

So we put some sound matt everywhere it would fit on the ceiling and walls

 

coated the unibody floor with bedliner so that any condensation that found its way down there wouldn't cause rust. the paint they use for these sprinters appears to be some sort of soft cheese.

 

then we tackle the truly important part: sound system!

 

then on to the aux battery system for lights and accessories when the van is parked. this is 2 6volt deep cycle flooded lead acid batteries in series to get to 12v. built a custom battery box under the hood for them.

 

tied them into the van's charging system using a battery isolator. charges them when the van is running but isolates the van battery from the aux battery so i can't get stranded running the batteries down.

 

now that we have aux power, let's power some aux stuff. first things first: heater!

This is diesel fed from the OEM fuel tank. uses 12v power to run the fan and the little glow plug inside. the result is temp controlled interior whenever we need, complete with a digital thermostat. worth its weight in gold.



needed to build some bulkheads to make this install work. cutting holes in the floor was super stressful the first time. now i cut big holes in the van without flinching!

 

we added insulation to the walls and ceiling everywhere it would fit.

 

and cut 2 big gaping holes in the ceiling for fans

 

i had to make a repair to the sliding side door because of water ingress and rust.

 

welded in a steel plate to hang the bed rails on.

 

precision is my middle name.

 

i hung about 2 billion rivnuts.

 

the girlfriend helped me get the solar panels installed. we fabbed the brackets to hang it all out of 1x1 rec tube aluminum. v2 of this rack is going to be more bolt together.

 

found a couch that converts to a bed for guests. built 3 big drawers for under the couch.

 

adjustable table stand bolts to the couch, can be used by the front seat on a swivel as well

 

passenger seat swivels

 

ceiling and walls going in

 

flooring with L-Track going in to haul the bikes