Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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samih
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Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 26.11.2019  ·  #1
Have been building this '14 Sprinter for the past year. Imported the van from UK late 2018, built enough to classify as a camper for revenue, paid my VRT bill in the summer (Revenue said that the van had an OMSP of 22000 so got a 2.7k bill in post) and have since been adding bits and pieces as time permitted.

We used to have another Sprinter I had converted for almost ten years but sold her in spring 2017. Have been regretting selling and we then decided to buy another van after two summers of tents and hotels.



We have fixed double bed at the back, dinette front but kept the cab seats as standard to keep the 3 belts, bathroom with shower (still under construction) and Dometic cassette toilet + sink, heating by Chinese 2-5 kW (who knows) diesel unit, hot water by Truma Rapide E, Waeco compressor fridge and two 100 Ah leisure batteries charged by Sterling power 60 A DC-DC charger. Planning to get solar before next summer. Fresh water and grey water tanks underneath. 50 mm of polyurethane insulation all around where possible and rockwool in watertight plastic in cavities and gaps. Underfloor also 25 mm PU.





I have still some work to do before the next summer like painting the acres of timber and wallpapering but we'll be actually heading to France and beyond for Christmas so exiting times ahead. We have been doing plenty of trips in Ireland to test things out which is good as mentioned in the diesel heater thread.

Edit: Fixed the links and as mentioned the trip didn't happen due to injury.


panda
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 26.11.2019  ·  #2
Very nice van :up: Welcome to the Craic !

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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 26.11.2019  ·  #3
Lovely job Sami, looks super good. Welcome to MotorhomeCraic .... Check out our club at craic-club/ where there is tons of meets and other things happening throughout the year.
Enjoy your stay.

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samih
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 14.02.2020  ·  #4
As mentioned elsewhere had planned to travel to the Continent in December but had an accident and broke my collar bone. Getting back in the shape now and itching to drive the Sprinter again. Heading to Scotland for a week or so next week and we can't wait. Finished my bathroom walls so will be traveling in more comfort with a working shower.



Also added some LED lighting.



Roll on Tuesday!


panda
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 14.02.2020  ·  #5
Stunning! Lovely work Samih ...

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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 14.02.2020  ·  #6
Wow!

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samih
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 14.02.2020  ·  #7
It will be great to get this show finally on the road!

Got the wallboard from enviroclad in Kilkenny just in case anybody's interested. The boards are 250 mm in width and really light weight. They snap on together after filling the joints with silicone and as far as I can tell this stuff can't leak (famous last words, lol). At the bottom there is a starter trim that is also glued/screwed on the ply underneath and then filled with silicone before pushing the trim panels in.

The LEDs are RGB+warm white and you can select any colour and intenstity you like. All of this stuff is incredibly cheap online and for example the snazzy looking touch panel is less than a tenner from aliexpress and you can connect it directly to 12-24 VDC so perfect for vans. The 5 mtr LEDs strip was also less than tenner. The most expensive bit was the actual alu profile with lens, about 30 yoyo for 6 meters bought from a local supplier.





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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 14.02.2020  ·  #8
It looks great Samih. It must be well exceeding its maximum gross weight, what with all that travertine you fitted in the shower. 😉

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samih
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 14.02.2020  ·  #9
Quote by The Rambler

It looks great Samih. It must be well exceeding its maximum gross weight, what with all that travertine you fitted in the shower. 😉


"Stone built is better built."

The van is getting quite heavy now alright so I tried my best to construct the bathroom using as light materials as possible. Planning to call the weighbridge at Lisburn on the way to Belfast on Tuesday as I'd like to know myself where exactly we stand. During the DOE in November it was past 3 tons with the driver so she's not a feather weight.


samih
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 06.04.2020  ·  #10
We decided to install a solar setup in preparation for the travel restrictions to be lifted. I bought and fitted an Amerisolar 320 Watt panel and Epever 3210AN MPPT charge controller. The panel is a domestic one purchased at low low price of EUR 116+VAT (about £100) from a supplier in Dublin.

First I installed the rails I used Radionics purchased 40x10x2000 mm alu profiles which I bolted on the Sprinter original attachment points with rivnuts. The profiles installed across I bought from the panel suppliers. I fitted the leading edge approx. 15 mm lower than the rear to reduce pooling of water on the panel.






The rails look neat enough from the ground level and more importantly Mazy approved the installation:



The van already had 2 x 100 Ah Monbat leisure batteries connected in parallel. The wiring is a very DIY but it all works. I have everything camper apart from the diesel heater now connected via the Epever controller. For a handy location for the remote display I had to also solder an extension for the supplied 2 meter RJ45 cable. I could have used a 3 mtr network cable but buying one from shops in Ireland is not easy at the moment and I really wanted to finish the job.







MPPT controller is a must for a high voltage panel as you get multiples of current (in the picture above 6.5 Amps from panel supplying 2.8 Amps). And the compressor fridge can now house permament stash of cool beverages cooled by the magic:


Roll on lifting the restrictions.


panda
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 06.04.2020  ·  #11
Very nice samih :up: ....Great price on that solar panel too!

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samih
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 06.04.2020  ·  #12
I couldn't believe that you can pick a panel that cheaply in Ireland. Really considering a panel setup for the house now.

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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 06.04.2020  ·  #13
A panel that size with your compressor fridge would be a great thing for the man-shed!


eirebus
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 06.04.2020  ·  #14
Very neat job Sami 👍

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hillton9
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 06.04.2020  ·  #15
Proper fridge needs nothing else 🍺😁

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Hymer544
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 12.04.2020  ·  #16
looks great samih, would you share the link for the panel supplier please? is it mono or polycrystalline?...im about 80% through a crafter conversion and am looking for solar soon. Thanks


samih
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Re: Hello and a Sprinter home conversion

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Posted: 15.04.2020  ·  #17
Of course Hymer544. The panel is this one:

Amerisolar 320W

Good luck with the Crafter! I have been doing the final bits of woodwork myself. Now only if the B&Q opened again as I've ran out of timber. Got the rear barn door surround done but need some more to completely finish the van. The lockdown is good time to work sans the lack of materials.

And edit: Due to the high voltage of the domestic panels (mine shows typically high 30's Volts DC when in full sun) you will need a genuine MPPT charge controller as opposed to a PVM one to get the most of panel. Some 10-30 quid ebay/wish/aliexpress ones claim to be MPPT when they are not.


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