Right now, we thought we'd be somewhere in Siberia, driving our Land Cruiser Troopy east for Mongolia and the Stans. But like almost everyone, this year hasn't exactly gone as planned.
With the coronavirus serving up an unexpected fork in the road, we now find ourselves back in the US on a very different sort of adventure. We're kicking off another vehicle build. Our goal this time around is to transform a stock 2019 Mercedes Sprinter 170 van into a comfortable tiny home on wheels! A DIY van home. An off-the-grid camper van that serves as our mobile basecamp to ride out the pandemic and enable multi-sport adventures across North America and Europe.
This is our 3rd vehicle build, but a first in many ways. It's our first van build, our first vehicle build in the US, our first build that's not based on a diesel, and our first build that's not a 4WD. Plus, it's the first build in which we plan to do all the construction/fabrication work ourselves! No Matt Savage, Alu-Cab, or R&D Offroad to help us transform our demanding build specs into reality. This time it's 100% on us to get it done!
Put another way, we're taking on a big project and we're simultaneously excited, nervous, and overwhelmed in that way we always seem to be at the start of a new project. Join us as we roll up our sleeves and start construction on our ultimate DIY off-grid camper van. A comfortable tiny home on wheels that we hope will make the perfect complement to our Land Cruiser Troopy - a true expedition tiny home!
Click the link below to view the video, and click this link to subscribe to our our vlog on Youtube to join the journey as we try to navigate life during this pandemic.
Hey guys – would love to see an update of where you are in your sprinter build. My wife and I have your exact van on order and are taking inspiration from your vlog. BTW – did you drive Indy pass in the sprinter…how was it? That’s my primary concern with the 170 – not being able to traverse some of the tight mountain passes and forest service/BLM roads that we are used to driving in Montana (and the west in general)
Hi Rich. Thanks for reaching out. We post our latest youtube vlogs on the website, so you can see our latest update (which is installing the Maxxfans). We have a few more projects we just completed and will be posting videos soon about those (window installation, solar panel installation, and swivel seats). And now that we have the exterior finished, we’ll be moving onto the inside build, which we’re pretty excited about. We love this van and have been surprised at how easy it is to drive. We drove the Independence Pass ( assuming that’s what you’re referring to) with no problems. We drove some pretty tight, twisty mountain roads recently and just took it slow. I think you get used to the size pretty quickly. Enjoy your new van!!