2015 Mercedes Sprinter 170 Extended - Working, Living, Toy Hauling

This is my converted sprinter van for traveling, working, and motorcycling.  No expenses spared on electrical.  Here’s a summary and specs are below.  Van is designed to be able to stealth travel so the motorcycle is pulled inside.  This is a great little van and if you don’t have a motorcycle you could still use it and enjoy it without.  Or if you wanted to make some modifications you could make it more functional sans motorcycle.

Fully insulated van with vinyl floors, white walls, and stained wood ceiling.  Van is fully electric, no propane.  640w solar on the roof and 500ah of Battleborn lithium.

Bedroom

The bed is a Murphy bed which folds up to allow the motorcycle to be pulled inside.  When in the up position there is a small, padded bench for sitting/lounging and potentially sleeping if you don’t want to unload the bike.  Bed is custom cut memory foam that’s about the size of a ¾ mattress.  Those are the sheets that work for it.  Forward of the bed is a closet.  Top half has room to hang some clothes and three drawers underneath.

Kitchen

Butcher block countertop with beautiful black sink and fixtures.  Convection cooktop and black Dometic fridge.  Two cabinets overhead.

Bathroom

Have a shower with 2.5 gallon Bosch hot water heater.  Nature’s head composting toilet in the bathroom with a sliding translucent door.  Sink and shower drain to a 7 gallon grey tank under the van which has a remote switch under the sink to open/close the drain so you don’t have to climb under the van or anything.

Work area

I work remotely, so this was a necessity for me.  Has a dedicated desk near the sliding door so you can sit and work while looking out at the scenery!  There’s a 120 outlet at the desk with two usb charging ports as well.  Van has a weBoost Drive X cell booster as well to extend the places you can camp and work.

Other stuff

Van has 2 maxair fans on the roof and a diesel Espar D2 heater under the passenger seat.  Passenger seat is converted to swivel base and there’s a curtain to close off for privacy.  Shelf above the driving cabin for extra storage.  In addition have magnetic blackout shades for the windows/windshield.

Motorcycle

Comes with a wide tri-fold ramp so I could easily load/unload the bike solo.  Bike is secured using a Pitbull Trailer Restraint that attaches to the axle of the bike so no straps needed. (https://www.pit-bull.com/motorcycle-trailer-restraints)  You could order the adapter for your bike so any bike could fit as long as length works.  Currently a Duke 390 in there.  Have a rubber runner to protect the floors when bike is loaded.

Specs

Chassis

• 2015 Mercedes Sprinter 2500 170 Extended I4 Turbo Diesel.
• 70,000 miles.
• Has a backup camera, bluetooth radio, “navigation,” and cruise control.
• December 26th had an oil change, two near rear tires, new AC compressor, and new vacuum system.  Around $4k worth of work at Mercedes Sprinter Tucson, AZ which I have paperwork for.

Electrical

• 640w solar (4x160)
• 500ah LiPo batteries (5x Battleborn batteries)
• Renogy Rover MPPT solar charge controller
• Samlex battery charger for “shore power.”  Has a 30 amp connecter on outside of van.
• Renogy B2B charger for charging when the van is running
• 3000w Renogy inverter
• Simarine Pico battery monitor

Plumbing

• 35 gallon fresh water tank
• Bosch 2.5 gallon hot water heater
• 7 gallon grey water for sink/shower with a remote switch to open and close drain valve
• Flow-Max 3.0gpm water pump

HVAC

• 2 Maxair smoke deluxe fans with remotes
• Espar D2 diesel heater under the passenger seat
• Espar High Altitude Kit (needed for camping > 5000ft)

Misc

• Passenger swivel seat
• Nature’s Head toilet
• weBoost Drive X cell booster
• RB Components mid shelf above driving cabin
• RB Components magnetic mosquito screen for the sliding door (VERY useful)
• Quest Overland Magnetic blackout shades for windows/windshield
• Privacy curtain between home/cab

Reality Check!!

This is something you probably won’t see on a lot of other listings, but trust me after traveling and meeting other van lifers.. Every van has issues.  Here are some so I can preemptively answer questions and have a clear conscience on selling.

I did NOT build this van.  I had a carpenter/previous van lifer build it out for me.  This is not a “professional” van build hence it’s not > $100k.  I make no warranty on this build and it is sold as is.  Vans are like boats.  They are work.  Expect to be fixing things or running into problems no matter which van you build!  I do know a lot about it though so feel free to send questions.  Buy this van if you're handy and want a van that is 90% there (or 100% if you don't care about the issues).  Do NOT buy this van if you think you're going to hop in and ride off into the instagram sunset and never have an issue ever.

Storage.  Without a dedicated “garage” like most builds, storage is tight.  Closet fits all my clothes, but kitchen storage is tight with only two cabinets.  I typically end up with a bunch of stuff in my front seat.  Maybe I just need to be more minimalist.
The bench.  I designed this thinking I could sleep on the bench next to the bike if I didn’t feel like pulling it out every night.  This didn’t work as planned.  A lot of bench space is lost because the Murphy turned out bigger than we thought.  I have in a pinch slept on it when it was pouring rain out and it’s not a comfortable night.  Not wide enough.  Length is fine.  For reference I am 6 foot 190 lbs.  Might be a tight sleep with 2 people?

White walls.  This is one of those “instagrammable” van builds when it’s clean but it gets dirty!  Something those influencers don’t mention.  Be ready to be cleaning splatters, fingerprints, etc off those walls constantly haha.  I have a little tub of touch up paint as well.  I've been living in it so there are scuffs and such.

The motorcycle.  If you’re going to put your own in, send me the length so I can double check it will fit.  If you are NOT planning on putting one in, be advised there is a plate mounted to the floor of the van to secure the van.  You could just leave it but if you plan to remove it there will be four holes for you to fill.

All electric.  I didn’t want to mess about with propane so went all electric.  640w and 500ah probably sound beefy but it’s still not hard to use a lot of electricity.  The hot water heater and convection cooktop use a lots of power so don’t leave them on, haha!  I’m a programmer so my two laptops also end up being a detriment over time if I’m working 8-10 hours a day off grid.

Heater.  I screwed up here when I bought the van chassis.  I thought it had an aux port on the fuel tank for the Espar heater but it does NOT.  As a result, there is a 10 litre fuel can in a little separate cabinet behind the driver seat.  You can pull it out of the van with the length of the hose and fill it.  If you top off this thing it will leak!  You don’t want your van smelling like diesel!  Fuel cans have a vent port!  Also in general this heater is AMAZING 90% of the time but is a bit finicky.  If you’re low on battery and you’re putting out < 12v it won’t start.  If you let your can get super cold, it doesn’t like to cold start.  Takes a few tries.  I think this is because of the clouding point of diesel fuel?

Plumbing stuff. Shower doesn’t drain so fast if you have the grey tank closed.  I just always shower with it open.  I think maybe it needs a vent port or something.  The water heater discharges some water from the pressure relief valve when on full blast and the pump drips a bit only during hot water operation.  I think it may be too much pressure?  I put a towel under it when I shower.

Finishings. The interior of the sliding door is unfinished.  It's just stock.  I had planned to put a window in here so hadn't done anything with it yet.  Also as I mentioned this is not a pro build.  You'll find paint overspray, drips, imperfections, etc if you look hard enough.

Van is titled in Florida and I have title in hand.