Vanimal: 4x4 Sprinter build

K

Kgorman

Observer
30 days out from another adventure and more mods to come...vanimal 5.0

This year we head back to CO with plans for more dirt roads, isolated dispersed camping, big altitude, 4x4ing, and some time with other family members!

  • more cabinets from rbcomponents
  • ham radio
  • usb outlets
  • interior reorganization


And more..
 
K

Kgorman

Observer
The toolbox has run it’s course. The slides were starting to give up and we wanted something with a bit nicer look..

We ordered a RB components base cabinet, and I’m fabricating slides for the fridge. Man, it’s a tight fit, but I think it’s going to work..

525457

I’ll post more pics once the slide is dialed in.
 
K

Kgorman

Observer
If anyone is wanting to use the 50liter ARB fridge and do what I did, hehe, it’s a really tight fit and you need to be spot on for it to work. But ultimately I think it’s a great way to go.
 
K

Kgorman

Observer
A little more detail on the setup. This is a stock RB base cabinet, and I modified it by adding McMaster sliders. The sliders are easily rated for the weight, and extend 2x their length so they are perfect. The clearance is fine except when you consider you can’t swing the doors open 180 degrees inside because of space. So it gets really tight and I had to band saw off a bit of handle plastic to make it all work. I removed the feet and screwed the slides right into the mounts where the feet are.

rbcomponents.com

Base Cabinet, 36"H x 24"D x 32"W

Available in Steel Grey or Dove Grey Powder Coated Frame and Panels Double Lined Doors, Interior Black Panel Textured Black Trigger Latch for Easy Opening and Closing Single, Horizontal Swinging Door, Left or Right Side Hinge Black Full Length Piano Hinge Adjustable Shelf Mounting Flanges, Full...
rbcomponents.com rbcomponents.com
 
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K

Kgorman

Observer
The spare mount came in, and I wasted no time mounting it up. I have been worried that if I needed the spare I wouldn’t ever be able to get at it under the rear section, especially if I wasn’t on flat terrain. The problem was, I really didn’t like any solutions until I saw the Owl Van Engineering setup on Instagram and knew it was for me..

525761

It took about 1/2 a beer to install and is very stout.
 
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K

Kgorman

Observer
Last time out in NM above Chama I messed up and forgot to pay attention to fuel level and it got dicey. The sprinter has literally the worst fuel gauge ever made, it’s a steady pace until 3 bars and then can drop like a rock, especially if you are looking at scenery. I need to carry a bit of diesel as spare. Hrm....
 
luthj

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Supposedly a skilled dealer tech can change the variant coding for the fuel gauge. Normally it estimates fuel consumption from the ECM, and when it thinks the tank is down to ~5 gallons, it drops the gauge to E. Changing the variant coding allows the in-tank sender to provide the info for the dash gauge, which is more consistent. The normal coding only uses the in-tank sender to detect fill-up events.
 
luthj

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Yeah, I'll try to dig up the post on sprinter-source. Most techs won't even know what most of the variant coding does.
 
K

Kgorman

Observer
526232

New AC unit is installed and working. We live in TX and frequently camp here (as mentioned in this thread), and not having AC isn’t an option for wife and kids, really me either.

We previously had a Dometic 13.5k unit, and used two Honda EU2000i in parallel to run it. Well screw that I spent way to much time hauling all that stuff around and then when we aren’t in TX we don’t bring it because it’s just too much generator stuff.

So I decided to downgrade to a lower power requirement. I called Dometic but after a few minutes on the phone they really just pissed me off. Fairly curt and rude when I was simply trying to understand if they had a product for me.

Mach8 plus Cub to the rescue. Purchased on Amazon and self installed it with a couple buddies, some beer and tacos. Now it’s 9200 BTU and you can tell it’s way less than the previous unit but that’s just physics.

Now we can run things off 1 EU2000i genset plus man it looks way way better (even with my plastidipped handywork).

Wouldn’t you know my generators don’t start or idle crappy so I haven’t tested just yet with a generator but it works great on house power :)sigh
 
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L

Len.Barron

Observer
I mounted a 9200 mach8 on my FMC motorhome directly above the front driving area and run it with an inverter/house battery/dedicated house alternator...it works great!
 
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