2014 Double Slider DBL-SLDR Sprinter

[Daniel]

One rainy night a rare Sprinter showed up on a trailer at the shop. A client had spoken to us about finding a DOUBLE SLIDER Sprinter. Unique already but in Blue Grey color as well!

 

[Daniel]

We took the opportunity to include the initial walk around of the van the next morning and put it into our video series. It starts at the 2:42 mark of the video.

 

[Daniel]

The first thing we did was lay out a typical 32 gallon water tank we use and 3 battery boxes. The double slider is also a double rear dually so the wheel wells are much wider.

 

[Daniel]

After discussion with the client we made the first shot at a layout. One goal is to incorporate space for bike.

We also need to make sure the space has a bed for the client and a possible guest. After a few zoom meetings we were ready to start fabricating some of the initial design.

 

[Daniel]

This will be a four season van so lets get it down to the surface under the stock floor so we can start on the sound deadening and insulation. We KILLMAT every place we can find that is not already covered in the factory sound deadening.

 

[Daniel]

Next up is a minicell kit from DIYVAN but instead of just a regular 3MTAI that come with the kit we will put a full layer of Thinsulate over it.

 

[Daniel]

After the minicell is added between the floor ribs, the full thickness of the thinsulate insulation is added. Overkill yes but we love overkill to keep things warm on a cold night lol.

Then on top of thinsulate we put full minicell sheets.

Instead of reusing the older factory floor the client opted for a full 3/4" baltic burch floor. We used the old floor as a template and even modified a bit of the doorway extension for future use.

 

[Daniel]

Over to fabrication we get Kobe on welding it all out for the initial client walkthrough.

 

[Daniel]

The clients arrive and we go through options and tweaks on some of the design. This is always a fun time when the clients get to feel out the space for the first time.

 

[Daniel]

During the visit we laid out the closet location but I did not account for the curve of the back of the sprinter van.

After placing the closet in the closet is way too wide and would intrude on the bed area.

 

[Daniel]

We want as much closet space as possible so we will just need to modify the closet to follow the curve a bit more. Back on the welding table it goes.

After some modifications we are within one inch of the initial design.

A quick call to the client and we settle on the larger closet space which will also have storage space next to it.

 

[Daniel]

We will be adding a Dometic RTX 2000 12v DC air conditioning unit to this build. The units always arrive well packed and ready to install.

In order for us to install the unit we use an adapter made by DIYVAN that follows the ribs of the van top exactly. Time to lay it out and get ready to cut.

We also need to lay out the position of the front MaxxFan 7500k which will help with airflow at the front of the van. This version has a rain shield/cover so it can even be used on rainy days.

With both laid out we will start cleaning and prepping the top of the van before we cut or lay down any sort of adhesive.

 

[Daniel]

After prepping the surface of the roof where the adapters will sit we cut the holes for the front fan and rear AC unit.

 

[Daniel]

Prep work all done we can now do the first part of adding an adhesive to bond the adapters to the roof. The clamps are set on lightly at first and after a couple of hours we tighten them a bit more.

 

[Daniel]

Next up Yuri adds Plus Nuts to test fit the wall panels. All drilling and priming of holes is done way before any wiring is added to the build. This insures that we never have someone drill into a wire that has been run. A bit of planning makes for no worries down the road.

Eduardo starts adding the panels. Even though they will all go in for fitting they will all be removed before the next phase of the build.

 

[Daniel]

The client purchased a set of the factory Mercedes roof rails from SprinterWorld. In order to insert the factory roof rails we remove the plastic plugs and clean the area around the preexisting plugs.

The kit comes with everything needed we just add a little bit of loctite the the bolts as well.

 

[Daniel]

Our client decided to add a bull bar to the front so we install it.

 

[Daniel]

A bunk window from RB Components will be added to the rear passenger side of the van.

 

[Daniel]

One of the things the client wanted was a light bar. A quick look at the area the light bar will need lets us know we should wait to put it on after the front fan is installed.

 

[Daniel]

On to the fan install. We use butyl tape tape and another sealant then a sealing tape to prevent any leaks. Overkill but its worth it.