This is our 2027 Mercedes Sprinter van conversion by Momentum Vans that’s updated with all our of upgrades over the years! We usually stop by Momentum Vans for at least one upgrade a year.
You go out and do van life for a season and realize that you would like something new on your van. It’s a constantly moving object with van life.
Sprinter Van
We bought our 2017 Mercedes Sprinter Van new from Seattle Mercedes. When we bought the van we went through the whole ordering process that took a year. We’ve heard that it takes even longer right now.
2017 Sprinter Van Conversion
We started our van conversion by driving from Seattle down to Sportsmobile in Fresno, where they cut the top off our new Sprinter van and added their pop top (penthouse top).
After getting the pop top installed we hired the great people at Momentum Vans to build out the rest of our van. This included pretty much everything! The insulation, floors, heating system, awesome looking cabinets, and everything else you see. They crushed it!
Here are highlights from our initial build
You can checkout our pre updates Mercedes 4×4 Sprinter Van Tour here.
Loinseal Flooring
We decided on this flooring because it was nice looking and very durable. The van life is dirty, and knowing that you can alway clean your floor is a nice comfort.
Rixen’s diesel heating
This heating system is great! With a very small amount of diesel draw we can keep ourselves heated (with the top popped) up to about 0 degrees F. See upgrade below.
Isotherm fridge
Except for my poor decision to chip the ice off the fridge and puncture the coolant line, this has been an amazing fridge! It holds about 5 days of food for the two of you heavy eaters.
Bamboo
We LOVE our bamboo!! Every piece of it! It’s easy to clean, and looks great even after 4 years of use.
Corian countertop
The while corian countertop that Momentum Vans installed has been very durable, easy to clean, and doesn’t show scratches, which is AWESOME!!
Interior shower
Our interior shower is made of corian and has been a nice addition to van life. We don’t use the show that often. It’s mostly used for storing our dirty clothes and toilet. But when we do use it, it’s VERY nice to scrub off the grime.
Exterior shower
This show is used by opening the rear van door and spraying water directly onto the ground. Don’t worry, we always use nature friendly soap!
This exterior shower is actually nicer to use than the interior shower. Mostly because you have more space to move around and less clean up.
Upgrades to our 2017 Sprinter Van Conversion
Almost every season we go out to play and find something new we’d like to have added to our van. This could include something that wasn’t available when our build was completes, or it could be because we started mountain biking.
Not to mention, the innovation in the van build space is moving very fast right now!
Here’s a list of our upgrades:
Agile Off Road RIP Kit
As the 99.9% full time driver of our van, this RIP (ride improvement package) is something I wish would have been installed on day 1. It makes the van ride better and look better, with the added height. See the largest tire size you can fit below.
BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2
Our 2017 Mercedes Sprinter van conversion with Agile RIP tire size it: 275/70/R17
This is our second set of BFG All Terrain T/Z KO2 tires. The first set of tires lasted 64,118 miles.
Black Rhino Warlord wheels
Matte Gunmetal
Diameter 17”
Width 8”
Bolt pattern 6-130.0
Offset 52
Freeze protection
Every 2017 Sprinter Van conversion that does winter camping needs to figure out freeze protection!
Momentum Vans extended the coolant lines from our hot water system to run along the water lines that we froze up the previous winter. This system works like gangbuster until the temps get below -10 degrees F. So, it basically rocks!
Extra water tank
When we moved the space tire to the back of the van we had an open space for a 21 gallon water tank. The tank is only used in summer and we have a second water pump that pumps water from the lower tank to the upper tank.
This is brilliant when we are way out in the woods and don’t want to worry about water!
Owl Vans Sherpa Rack & Tire Carrier
The addition of mountain biking to our routine required that we have a place to keep our bikes. We went with the Sherpa Rack because it looks so cool! :-). And because it can also be used for storing other things when we aren’t using the bikes (snowboards, boxes, ect.). Not to mention it’s very hard to get the bikes off the rack if someone were to try to steal them.
PedalBox
This is an absolute must have for any Mercedes Sprinter Van! I’m not sure how Mercedes could have messed up the gas pedal sensitivity so much, but they did. Well, the PedalBox definitely helps with making the van feel more smooth off the line.
Sportsmobile Penthouse Pop Top Replaced
After our original pop top canvas bug netting tearing in multiple places, and a hole developing in the canvas itself, Sportsmobile replaced our canvas. They installed their new dark gray canvas that added a window to the rear of the pop top, and the ability to unzip all bug netting. This is helpful for getting bugs out and cleaning.
Links from episode:
- Momentum Vans website
- Sportsmobile website
- Black Rhino Warlord Wheels at Discount Tire
- BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 Tires at Discount Tire
- Owl Vans Sherpa Rack
- Owl Vans Tire Carrier
- Aluminess website
- Rixen’s Heaters
- Strawfoot Window Covers
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