Part Time Van Adventure/Full Time Love Life

[sprintersnale]

Hello cheap RV enthusiasts...
I'm a part time van enthusiast, couple year owner of an '05 Sprinter DIY conversion. As a minimalist at heart, I find myself aligning with much of the CRVL content regarding simple lifestyle and its freedoms. The acquisition of this van, for work and pleasure RV'ing, has increased the adventure department for myself, wife and dog. Despite the sometimes assumed expense of such a vehicle, it has been reliable and affordable to operate We researched for a year before buying.
We're on the road a few days monthly. The van setup is thematic with many CRVL conversion tips. There's a sink, battery bank, a solar panel, inverter, microwave, butane stove, Olympian heater, Maxx fan, 12 volt fridge, a cupboard, porta potty, a mattress and some tunes. We are slowly increasing the comfort level, and decorating, but spend much of our free time adventuring, relaxing and recharging our souls rather than working on needless (expensive) upgrades.
Get out, experience, and enjoy!
Thanks for the wonderful content and contributions.
Snale

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums sprintersnale! It sounds like you have your Sprinter set up perfectly for your adventures! Any pictures that you have to share will be appreciated.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Theadyn]

Hi and Welcome!!!

 

[janncoo]

"Relaxing and recharging our souls" is simply not as complicated as we make it for ourselves. We had our first boondocking experience for 3 months in Ariizona this winter. We were traveling in a conversion van, pulling a 6x10 cargo trailer. We learned we had too much stuff and promptly sold the trailer on our return home. We are downsizing more to enjoy the experience and not get bogged down with the stuff. Many folks on this forum express living the adventures out of their mode of travel rather than in their mode of travel. Living simply does not mean living without. Sounds to me you are on the right track. Best wishes and welcome to the forum. Jan   

 

[offroad]

I see dodge sprinter vans are about $15000 in 2005 vintage, which I guess is not bad for a live in vehicle with a diesel engine (that can be used with biodiesel too). Did you find it difficult to do all the additions to make it livable? Assume that could run another $1000 to $3000 to add into it.

Am considering the dodge sprinter.

 

[sisterearth]

Welcome!!!

 

[sprintersnale]

Offroad, you are correct. There is more upfront purchase cost. Sprinters can run 350k to 500k miles if maintained with correct oils and going easy on the pedal & turbo. 21mpg for a 1-Ton is saving about $1k/yr in fuel over my old box van which got 9mpg on a good day after rebuilding the tranny ($2.5k) and a new motor ($5k) In the end I still had a solid work truck with no airbags, marginal handling and stopping power. Too expensive to go anywhere but on job assignments...not useable as an RV. We can drive about 450 miles on 22gallons. We depreciated some of the costs through the business and do basic maintenance ourselves. Model years and drive train packages vary in mileage and reliability. Think twice before buying one previously used in commercial service or with high miles. We expect to own this for many years which offsets the purchase cost.

Regarding build out, it's similar to American vans except a 6 foot ceiling. Many attachment spots on the floor and walls. Many of the recommended items on this forum are perfect for build out. There are a couple forums and Pintrest which detail Sprinter build outs; simple and elegant. I do have some van tours on my YT channel - dalesnale.

Back to the adventure...We're at Black Butte Lake today in Glenn County, CA...heading out for a hike after coffee.

 

[sisterearth]

wow love the back! Is that a painting? Very cool!! Peace!

 

[sprintersnale]

wow love the back! Is that a painting? Very cool!! Peace!

Those are standard panels, with poly-batting glued then wrapped in a tapestry from an artist we discovered...easy-peasy to install.

Details are in this video...

Sprinter Update Summer 2014