Final Van Tour - Mercedes Sprinter 3500 Ext 170 4x4 Luxury Van Build
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- We finished our van build! We are super excited to hopefully resolve our continued second alternator problem soon and then venture out for our first shakedown trip. Hope to see you out there on the road and thanks for watching!
Lockable water fill, finally someone else gets it. I’m stunned that so many RVs have external non-lockable water fill ports, basically an invitation for the thousands of crazies out there to poison your water as well as protection against honest mistakes and accidents.
Best sprinter build I have ever ever watched on UA-cam in 4 years!!!no lie
I AM SPEECHLESS! Very very impressive!
Amazing van build! Thank you for putting together this very detailed video and sharing your clever ideas. happy travels.
Thanks so much!
Absolutely awesome build! Your van is a complete masterpiece! Wow!!!
Good decision building out your own van... I know so many people who bought RVs that were built during Covid and are having so many issues with them.. The QC during these times were horrible. Beautiful Van!
So true, if something goes wrong we know exactly what the problem is and can fix it quick.
What a fantastic well thought out van build and a credit to both of you.
This is a beautiful van, simply stunning. It's definitely worth the hard work you guys put into it and the few hick-ups you must endure before you can use your home away from the home van. I simply love it.
One of the best builds I’ve seen to date. You guys have good taste!
One of the best conversions I seen
Thank you!
I have enjoyed watching van builds for over 5 years now. You are the first to introduce me to the incinerator toilet. What? You just skipped over its functions so fast I had to go to the comment section to catch the name. Pretty cool idea. Dry toilet or incinerator. No black tanks. Outstanding van build.
I've been searching and researching vans for a while, and this is by far the most complete(form and function) van that I have seen. I'd love to see an expert like Jarrod Tocci review your build, I believe that they would be extremely impressed. Outstanding build! Outstanding craftsmanship! You guys should be very proud!!👍👍
Thank you so much for the nice comments. I never heard of Jarrod but Chuck said he had seen some of his video tours.
This is the best class b I’ve ever seen. What skill and vision amazing!!!!!!
Thanks Gilbert!
@@chuckanddebbie you welcome
I love the mate finish on the counter
wow great job you two!!!!
Honestly the best i have seen yet ,,,wow !!!!! Stay blessed!!!!
I’ve seen lots of van builds. Some of them look very cheap and cheesy looking. But this, this looks very professionally done! Looks really nice!
Wow there’s some fantastic craftsmanship here…. Beautiful!!
I’m glad I saw your face for the first time since the build on the reflection of the microwave
What an impressive van. Well done
You van is the "bomb"!!! Love it!!!
WOW it looks amazing and so well thought out. Thank You for sharing. Safe Travels
What an incredible build! I don't think any RV manufacture can beat this build. Crazy good. If you could make the dinette recline to a spare bed when not using the garage space would make this 110/100.
I am also speechless. What a great build. Great job.
Looking at that power box I knew someone was in construction. Those tiles on the wall look real when most people use the adhesive ones. Thanks for sharing and congratulations.
Yes, real tile!
Amazing van, wow beautiful.
Really nice layout. I love the Yellow in the back.
Fabulous. You did a terrific job.
Love your mini wardrobe n and shelves for the clothes.
👌 WOW Amazing looks more like a super house Y'all did a fantastic job 👏
Thanks so much! 😊
Beautiful build thanks for sharing
Beautiful job! Everything so thought out and executed perfectly! I saved it to my playlist for inspiration when I finally get to design my van!
Good luck!
Well Done!!
Very nice rig!!! Good luck!
From across the pond 🇬🇧 what an outstanding van build 👏🏾. I would scrap the second alternator and fit a DC to DC charger. 😃
Dc to Dc would never replenish the amp ours we use unfortunately.
Fabulous build
Love it, only thing is to have the water tanks insulated for winter.
Certainly could be done but we hate cold weather!
Excellent build
Excellent excellent excellent build
This is an amazing build, it would be great to see a follow up to see how the van works out for you after a few months and also to hear how the alternator problem gets resolved. As mentioned elsewhere, if you plan to travel to colder climates those water tanks will need some insulation.
Thanks, we have done a 12 day trip so far with a video to follow. We are also getting a Van Compass suspension upgrade in July. Alternator up date video soon but it is working great!
Unbelievable! You have enough power (1140 amp hrs) to literally glow while out and about! Plus you have three sources of recharging power. Wow! I’ve got 420 amps to power everything you have (except that toilet) and have not gone below 97% capacity! We have the 2500 -170 ext version and added two leaf springs ($600) and now have a capacity for 11,500 pounds to the rear. Just one alternator, one 400 watt solar panel and we’re good. No shore power. But hey, if it works for you, more power to you! Changed out our wheels to moto wheels and added a big window to driver side passenger.
Total cost including van $109,000
2019 with 5441 miles. Great vehicle, but yours is set for the apocalypse!!!!!! One more thing, we added led lights in the lower part of the grill. Looks rad!!
Sounds mighty sweet Michael!
Amazing built!!! 👍
Very nice van build! Good adventures!
Way to go Chuck!
You have so many examples of what I would love to do. And you have beautiful hands. You should do some hand modeling!
Love it!
Very nice build. Thanks for sharing.
Really fantastic van, I've watched all the vids you've posted from start to finish on this build. I'm sure this van could pull a decent size trailer for other things to take with you.
I would love this van for just myself.
Anyway good job & enjoy your travels. 👍👍👍
Thanks! Maybe we will see you on the road someday.
Beautiful build! Safe travels
Very nice build
Great build. I have the same van, minus the 4*4. The bed idea is great. Safe travels
Thanks Frank!
great job!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful
This is very exciting a lot of people would love to have a incinerating toilet in a van or RV.
You & Shaiden Valentine’s incinerating toilets are changing van life!!!!
By the way everything looks amazing very beautiful and clean I analyzed this build and I’m projecting the whole build was 85 thousand
Thanks for the awesome video! I've had alot of similar ideas to Chuck like doing the exact same thing with buying my own LiFePo4 cells and making my own battery as I have some experience doing that already. Really curious how the alternator problems pan out - I was going to take this route as well. I've got a 2023 170ext sprinter on preorder and can't wait!! ENJOY YOUR VAN! Definately earned it after all that hard work.
The alternator is working great now, details to follow in a video.
Building your own packs out of cells isn't rocket surgery, but it's still best to do your research and take precautions. I've got a pair of 12v 280Ah packs I built up.
@@wanderingzythophile9083 so true, buy only grade A cells from a reputable source.
@@chuckanddebbie Oh and I really dig that pull-out step for getting up on the bed platform! I'm going to shamelessly steal that idea for my build. :D
Very nice tour. You both did an OUTSTANDING job. Very creative and functional. Fit and finish is spot on. I am totally impressed with your build.
Thanks!
Incredible build, all of it, too many to name 👏👏👏
Once you get that second alternator working, by the time you get to your next destination, it should be all ash!
Would it give more elbow room if you do a "S" shape shower curtain, starting from just behind the door, cross over that fabulous incinerary toilet and end at the right hand side of the toilet. That should protect the door and the toilet from water and you will not feel like being wrapped in plastic while showing. Do you have a recirculating?shower?
Alternator is working great. Unfortunately there is no room on the right side of the toilet with the tp holder and the big bowl liner on that side.
@@chuckanddebbie hehehe, I meat the other right, the tiled side next to the toilet that do not have anything … that I can see 16:32. So when one is sitting on the throne, the curtain will be to the right, the the curtain cross over to the front of the toilet and ends next to the door - as it is now with the clip holding it in place.
And can you in fact run the burning cycle while driving and not use the batteries. More conversation should consider these toilets 👍
@@user9b2 that might have worked. Chuck had another idea on our trip to fix it. After we returned home form our first trip, I shortened the width of the curtain by cutting it vertically and added more clips to the far side of the wall closer to the toilet. That is working out great. I will post it in a future video on more changes that we have done on lessons learned.
Very nice ❤️
Bery nice van build, i love the floor plan and the bathroom because its so large. I heard incellet( i think i spelled it wrong) toilets are great to have, but they do cause a bad smell. I would prefer that and cassette toilet over a nature’s head. Stay safe on the road
If you use it as directed, empty the ashes more frequently and give a clean once in a while there really isn’t any smell. We love it.
Beautiful build. Hit me up when you get to Tampa Clearwater area!!
We live in St. Pete!
@@chuckanddebbie let me know when you are back home. I would love to chat with you guys
Me as well! I'm in Tampa!
@@ameliaantonelli906 sure. We are back home for a while.
@@tampamari030975 sure. We are home for a while.
I've enjoyed the video's. Thanks for taking the time to share. Now that you been done for while, what are the top things you wish you'd done differently?
Thanks! Maybe less water storage, 62 gallons lasts forever even when we both take showers everyday. Would go with a little bigger bunk windows.
Very well built! I fits my needs. The only thing i havent seen is your cook top.
We use an induction cooktop, stored away in one of the drawers.
Hi what a fantastic van ❤you mentioned that you had problems with the alternator. In my opinion it is mounted way too low to the ground and more than likely suffering from water being splashed up or even submerged. Wishing you all the very best
All the issues happened at the beginning, the Van had not even seen a rain shower yet. It is mounted higher than it looks and tucked behind the radiator. Now after 12,000 mile and rain/puddles it is still working great!
@Knight Time Adventures that's fantastic news hope you continue to have trouble free adventures 😀
Awesome war Eagle from Tampa
War Eagle!
@@chuckanddebbie where are you guys located we love your van we are going looking this weekend
We are on a road trip! Currently just north of Phoenix. Back to St. Pete around October 10th.
My most favourite build ever, I’ve looked but I can’t find a detailed video of your bed lift set up, I would really like to try this myself if there is such a video please point me in the right direction, if not could you make one? You did such a great job. Thanks from new subscriber.
Thank you. We love how easy the layout is to live in so far. Chuck said he didn't have a video of how he made the bed lift. We are just back from a long trip to the Bahamas and are planning a big van trip for the summer. Before we leave in the van, I want to make a one year after the build video so maybe I can ask him to explain the bed lift a bit more when we do that video.
So excited to see you made an Incinolet work for you. I definitely want one in my van as well. Did you consider having it powered by propane? You’ve created a beautiful rig. Congrats and thanks for the tour.
Since we use the van to travel vs. live in, we decided to stay all electric as the second alternator can easily recharge the batteries.
Very nice build. Congratulations!. I am currently planning mine. Waiting for the van to arrive. I have been thinking on the incinerating toilet and greatly appreciate your advice and feedback on yours. The use of the van will be full time as plan to travel the Panamerican highway to Southamerica. The only one apparently reliable, electric seems to be the Incinolet as Cinderella travel is propane fuelled. My power system will be at 48 V with 300Ah battery bank ( approx 15 kWh and also a HO alternator). For a comfortable daily use do you think will be ok.
Happy travels and all the best for the New Year!
The Incinolet works great for us as we built the van for traveling. The toilet uses about 140 Amp hours per flush. We use it for middle of the night and for emergencies mostly. That is OK for the two of us but we do have 1,120 Amp hours. That allows us to also run th A/C all night too. Keep in mind that high usage requires a few hours of hard alternator charging to replenish. Dry flush toilets like the Leveo are a good option.
exceptional fit and finish in this build! you guys are very talented . RV manufacturers should be building to this standard. however, I hate to think whats going to happen to your water filter hanging down behind that rear tire the first time it gets hit with a big rock
Thanks Mark. The filter is higher than the adjacent body panel so we hope it will be ok.
Wow
great video please do the video on the alternator . we are looking to do the same. did they give you a new one for free? I hope it goes well with the 3rd try
I recommend total boat epoxy for the boat
War Eagle!!!
War Eagle and thank you for your service!
Very nice...curious about the spare tire water tank. Where did you find it? did it require modification? I've only seen tanks for the 2500 tire carrier, thought about swapping a 2500 into my 3500XD. Appreciate the info!
We got the spare tire tank from Van Land and the website did not mention not being compatible with a 3500 but it will work with 2 modifications. First, we had to lower the front attachment point of the underside bracket by using only one set of bolts through the lowest bolt holes. Second, you have to beat upward the two metal frame brackets that hang down from the frame that prevent the tank from rising high enough to secure the tire hanger bracket back in place at the back.
Wow!!
Awesome build! Can you give me the details (measurements and specs of 80/20) on the bed lift system ? How were the 4 vertical beams engaged with the bed frame, etc.?? Thanks !!
1.5x3” perimeter bed frame with 2 1.5x1.5” cross members. I think this was overkill though. 4 vertical guide rails are 1.5x1.5” with #6815 linear bearing that is attached to the bed frame. Frame is 54x75, biggest that would fit when raised to the ceiling. Hope this helps.
I hope that alternator has a under engine carriage shield..
It is higher than the front frame so I think it is protected enough.
Good job on the build….like the cabinets, bed, and your storage.
What brand of bed did you get? I think 6” is good depth. If you had to do everything over again, what would you change to decrease weight?
Thanks! We got a cheap 4” mattress from Walmart. It is surprisingly comfortable. Only thing we might could have done for the weight would be to reduce the water capacity down to something like 40 gallons. 62 gallons last forever and we both shower every morning. The 3500XD handle the weight excellently.
Nicely done .What length of the actuators did you use. I am doing the same thing.
30” with 150 lb capacity.
Hi really i have been seeing so many videos on conversion but this one was very good of them all . i was wondering what is the measurement on the center
Awesome van! thanks for showing it. Can you share the paint code for the Yellow wall paint?
It is actually bright orange - 2916576-C, 8900-8Y26.625, 8915-5Y7.5, 8935-1.625, 8942-12.375
@@chuckanddebbie thanks! what brand do those code go with?
Do you have links of where you purchased everything like the water tanks and solar stuff
We bought most of the solar (Renogy panels) and electrical components (all Victron) from Amazon. All but one tank came from plasticwatertanks.com
Love your bath set up. Can you tell me the measurements please?
24x48 inside dimensions
Incredible build!! 11k lbs though! Do you think the hydraulic bed added a lot of weight? It's a great way to add dual purpose to a small space
technically the added weight is only the actuators and the extra ceiling. maybe an extra 100 lbs max. we knew we would be heavy so we got the 3500XD.
I too have the 3500, extended, XD 4x4. My typical loaded weight is ~10,700 to 10,800 lbs. I think its genetics.
Great build. Can you tell me the dimensions for your bathroom? Also do you know what the total weight of the van after the build? Thank you
24”x54”, a little bigger than most since the Incinolet is a bit large. Shower pan is 24”x24”. Finished and loaded weight is 11,120.
💯
also would you tell where can i buy the vent system on the bathroom roof
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TVQF5QD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Nice job! I wonder what kind of actuators you did buy since they seem to be quite fast. If you have the URL or more info I'd appreciate it since I'm about to construct something similar.
Here are the ones we used - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q74JPWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
@@chuckanddebbie thanks alot and kudos for sharing!
Would you please post what brand and where you got your side steps at 0:29? Thanks.
www.sprinterstore.com/sprinter-van-running-boards-sx6
Sure looks like the price has gone up but we do love them.
Nice build 👌 Can you please tell me the weight of your van?
11,100 with full tanks of water. she’s heavy!
Please. Isotherm fridge and freezer make and model? Airfryer/Microwave make & model? Toilet exhaust pipe space taken up?
Isotherm Cruise 195, Panasonic HomeChef 4 in 1 - shop.panasonic.com/products/homechef-4-in-1-multi-oven-1-2-cu-ft-1000w. Toilet exhaust is 4” just like a clothes dryer.
Wow, nice looking van but diesel I don’t know here in Canada diesel cost more than gas
Thanks. Yes, diesel is a bit higher here in US too. So far we like the efficiency of the diesel engine.
Very nice. Those small windows on a big van look weird.
What a troll 🙄. That’s all u have to say with ALL the OTHER kicka** things about this van?!!! (And, she already expressed she wanted larger windows).
@@source5729 I said it was nice. Can't you read. I do not like small windows.
A lot of watts to have a crap ?
For sure, but well worth it.
@chuckanddebbie I'm in uk but can never understand why people carry insane amounts of battery weight and accessories ? When you can buy a honda eu33 that will deliver a continuous 3000w? So would make sense to start honda for a crap or air con ?
Our battery is only 144 pounds. Not an issue for a 3500 XD. Wouldn't want to take up space for a generator or the fuel it would need to mention the noise.
@chuckanddebbie run for hours on little fuel depends how often you need 3000w
@@darrenrichardson6803
Makes noise. Batteries don't. Run ac all night on batteries. Not so with a generator.
Hi, where did you source the linear actuators for the bed? model number? thanks!
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q74JPWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
WHAT ABOUT A SECURITY SYSTEM???
That is next on our list!
I know this must be a expensive build but can you give a ballpark number ?
Here are some of the bigger ticket items:
Electrical - $10,000
Fridge - $3,000
Tire carrier/ladder/steps - $2,950
80/20 aluminum - $4,400
AC/fans/adapters - $4,000
Tanks (5) - $1,500
Awning - $2,900
Toilet - $2,400
Micro/convection oven - $530
Insulation/Kilmat - $900
Windows - $1,500
Plywood - $1,200
Shiplap - $750
Tile/flooring - $575
Plumbing - $1,500
Cushion foam / fabric/ upholstery - $1,100
These include shipping which adds a lot to some items. Does not include thousands in miscellaneous glues, paint, fasteners etc. Also does not include tools. And a reminder we did 100% of everything ourselves.
professionally done, including addressing the overweight problem, would be in my estimation as a 3500, 170 extended, XD, 4X4 owner, $280,000 +
War Eagle
Did you get the alternator issue ironed out? If so, what was the cause?
We changed a lot of things but think main culprit was a bad BMS. I posted a separate video on the alternator that you can watch on alot of changes we made. With that said I think we may have bought a lemon. The alternator burnt up on us a few months ago on our Great Southwest Van Trip and we had to sit in Albuquerque, NM to get it rebuilt. I am working on editing the videos from that trip now that we are home. I have only posted videos from that trip up to the first few weeks so far.
!!!