Bright and White Van Build

We both still had full time jobs when we bought this van and only worked on it at nights and on weekends. It took us what seemed like forever, but its also what sparked our business and eventually led to us uplifting campers/RVs and building more vans!

the van

WE HAVE A 2014 MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER 2500. 170” WHEEL BASE.

IT HAD 3 ROWS OF SEATING AND THEN SOME EXTRA CARGO ROOM IN THE BACK WHEN WE PURCHASED IT. WE FOUND IT ONLINE IN NORTH CAROLINA. IT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN USED AS A RENTAL VAN FOR TOURING BANDS (SOME OF WHICH WE KNEW AND ACTUALLY FOUND PHOTOS OF THE VAN ON THEIR INSTAGRAM! SO COOL…AND MAYBE A LITTLE SCARY! HA!). IT HAD AROUND 90,000 MILES ON IT WHEN WE BOUGHT IT.

ALS0 - WE WERE ABLE TO SELL THE SEATS ON EBAY TO HELP FUND A PORTION OF THE BUILDOUT! (MAKE SURE AND KEEP THE BRACKETS THAT HOLD THE SEATS TO THE FLOOR OF THE VAN…THE SEATS ARE WORTH MORE WITH THEM THAN WITHOUT!)

SOUNDPROOFING

We went with Kilmat 80 mil car sound deadening mat. We were SO impressed with what a difference this made!

INSULATION

We ended up going with UltraTouch™ R-13 Denim Insulation Batt 15" x 93" (77.52 sq. ft.) for the walls and ceiling.

Poly-Iso insulation on the floor from Home Depot. On a warm day, if you feel the walls and ceiling of your van, and then feel the floors, you will notice a considerable difference! I’ve heard of people not insulating the floors of the van, but we ultimately decided a thin layer wouldn’t hurt.

After we installed all of the denim insulation, we put Reflectix insulation over everything, using Reflectix tape to hold it up and seal the seams.

ROOFTOP FAN

This is one thing we wish we would have done differently. We went with this fan. Don’t get me wrong, it is great! It makes such a huge difference and has held up so well. We just wish it had a REMOTE like this one.

SOLAR PANELS

We had to use the slim design of these in order for them to fit between our rooftop A/C and our fan. They fit perfectly. We have a total of 3 for 300 watts.

We used these cables.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Batteries

Battery Meter - would have loved to have had one with an app to where we could check it without opening our bench (our battery meter and inverter switch are both in the bench…love that they’re hidden though!)

Inverter

Relay Transfer Switch

Battery Isolator

Inverter remote switch

Charge Controller

Fuse Panel

Our van is ready to be set up to be able to plug into shore power, but we haven’t needed to do it yet, and highly doubt we ever will. Our solar + battery isolator (charges the batteries with the van’s alternator).

Lighting

Dimmer Switches

PLUMBING + REFRIGERATOR

Switch for Pump

Water Pump

Water Tanks (We have one fresh water and one grey water and have a couple more we keep in the “garage” so we don’t have to worry about filling up water as much)

Faucet

Sink - it is an under mount, but we still used it as a drop in and have had no issues.

Refrigerator

OTHER DETAILS

Cabinet Hardware

I made the 2 Euro Pillows and one white and gold pillow on the bench (fabric is from Erika Powell Textiles). The lumbar pillow is from Erika Powell Textiles. The green pillow on the bench is from World Market.

Flooring

King Size Mattress (Memory foam and we used a turkey carver like this one to cut it to fit). We ADORE this mattress. We might even get another when we need a new mattress in our home. My back looks forward to sleeping on it when we’ve spent a few nights away from the van.

Paint Color is Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.

Countertops are from Floor and Decor.

Rug is from Etsy (one of a kind but there are a lot of beautiful options on Etsy and Ebay!)

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