7 BERTH **DIY LUXURY** SPRINTER VAN TOUR! (INEXPERIENCED SELF CONVERTED MOTORHOME)
I hope everyone is doing ok after yesterday’s tragic news. Queen Elizabeth was the Great Grandmother of our nation.
Inexperienced is the key word in that title!! Shots of the van. Creepstopher opens the door and pans over the chavvy interior. He welcomes us to Slovenia. It’s a gorgeous day but they’re leaving. He wanted to take the opportunity to show the van whilst it looks it’s best.
Should’ve filmed it before you wrecked it then. Last summer he converted the 2014 sprinter van. Last year’s road trip was the best time ever. He made mistakes and wanted it to be more comfortable. This is version 3 of the tour and it won’t be changing again.
The van went into Creepstopher’s friend’s shop for the facelift of a lifetime. The 2014 van is the facelift version of the 2012 sprinter van. In 2018 they updated the front and rear. Creepstopher loved the look of the facelift and looked online to try and upgrade it. There were no videos online of anyone upgrading the 2014 version to 2020. Creepstopher studied YouTube videos and was sure he could do it. He rang Mercedes garages, who said it could be done. Creepstopher’s friend was a fellow vanlifer. The friend found it impossible as there is a change in the angle of the windscreen. It’s not possible to upgrade to the 2020 version. They did the other modifications for the exterior. Creepstopher planned to add bull bars and side steps.
The
Inghams van needs a wash. Creepstopher shows us the chrome side steps, which are covered in dust. They have black rhino wheels and added mud guards. They added custom fog lights and a bull bar.
There are two huge Fiama boxes and ladders on each side. When the door is closed they can climb up onto the roof deck. The roof is dusty. There are max fans at the front and over the rear bed. Creepstopher is out of breath after climbing down the ladder. The fans create a tunnel wind affect. He wants to upgrade the solar panels to 600w as they only get a trickle on cloudy days. They use a lot of electricity at night; 19% of the battery. The charger works fast. They have to run the engine to charge the batteries.
There is a storage box mounted on the rear door. It’s invaluable and full of the exterior carpets, beach mats and shoes. Creepstopher has used nets and shelves to organise it. It’s bolted to the door. He has seen sprinter conversions with the American style black boxes on the back but he couldn’t get hold of them. There is a long waiting list. The box looks wicked.
Time to move onto the interior. You can have flairs installed in the van to enable you to sleep with your head one side and feet the other side. The flares increase the length and essential. The van was cladded with wood beams and still is on the right. Creepstopher struggled with leg ache in Ireland so needed the flares. He was often squashed in the corner. He ripped out all the cladding, apart from in the living room. He went for plywood lined with carpet. A lot of van lifers are going for the same option and it looks professional in Creepstopher’s opinion. There are no wrinkles unlike the ones on his face and it wipes easily. There are touch reading lights and USB ports. They have a DVD player with the tv. There are ikea storage boxes that Creepstopher has thrown around. The two at the end have child locks on to make sure they don’t pop open on the road and smash the plates. He installed lighting the whole way around. The winch bed worked well but they never used the table at the back. He didn’t want to compromise on bed space. Isabelle and Esme have a king size mattress. Creepstopher and Lazy’s mattress is too thick. The beds work well. The water tank is under the van. The batteries are under the shower. It’s perfect and there are access panels. The girls have a smart android tv and the trike boxes. There is a fire extinguisher next to the extension lead.
Under Creepstopher and Lazy’s bed is space for books and the mount for the bed swing. The swing is stored under their bed but they can’t feel it thanks to the thick and juicy mattress. The laundry bag is shoved behind Isabelle and Esme’s bed. There are juicy Tat and Me blankets under there in case they’re cold. Creepstopher’s favourite part of the van is the outdoor kitchen under the girls' bed so they can cook on cliff tops. It’s mounted on heavy duty drawer slides. There are fire logs, the Dutch oven, barbecue and gas stored under the bed. There is also the outdoor oven. Creepstopher could sit on the drawer and it wouldn’t break. The drawer is clearly badly put together.
He also installed curtains on all the windows and added nets for Mila’s toys. The pressure washer is on a separate water tank to wash feet. They would often shower in the wild. They wanted a proper upgrade with water in the sink so upgraded the water system to a bobble hot water system, recommended by Creepstopher’s vanlife friends aka vanlife Instagram accounts. They have the 12v as they’re off grid more than on.
Inside the van, things are similar from Ireland. The main upgrade is the fridge under the sofa. They couldn’t be bothered to lift up a lid to access the fridge so Creepstopher made a drawer. The fridge is to store cold drinks. It’s the best modification of the van. It’s empty apart from some chocolate yoghurts as their food is inside the house and they’ve eaten it all. The pans are under the seat. The living area doubles as Jace and a Isla’s bed. The oven under the seats is insulated so safe to use. They have
ordered made pizzas in there a few times. They have had Stranger Things nights.
The Inghams have a new hob as their last one smashed when something fell of a shelf. Creepstopher loves the hob. There is a cold water fan. There are many water bottles and a reed diffuser to make the van smell gorgeous, which it does. The bench next to the drinks is nice to sit on. The ice machine is an upgrade. It uses 1% power an hour. The worktop extends.
Jace has an iPad mount for when they travel. The isofix is in the bottom of the seat. Creepstopher’s solar panel controller is stuck behind the mattress and there isn’t enough flex in the cable to move it. He usually checks the app on his phone. The bathroom has changed very little. It’s a full wet room but the mirror can’t get wet as it’s electric. To sort that out they installed a shower curtain. It also protects the baskets from getting wet.
The storage boxes means they don’t need to use the storage under the sofas for clothes. These days extra food is stored under there, along with Jace and Isla’s bedding. Isla, Jace and Mila have a packing cube as they don’t have a storage box for their clothes. Everyone else does. There are a few text books for homeschooling. Creepstopher reckons he could get into the crawl space above the cab, tuck his legs in and sleep.
Seatbelts are stored behind the tv and in the wall. The van also has a full awning. Creepstopher had to install a caravan rail. It’s a 3m awning and a privacy enclosure. You can zip walls onto the side of the awning. There is an ultra-bright awning light. There is an attachment so you can have an outdoor shower.
Last but not least is the seat-swing. The sun was setting yesterday and they all took advantage of it. Clip from yesterday as Esme sits on the swing. There is washing airing on the doors. Repeat clip of the one used at the beginning. Shot of the van parked on the beach.
End of vlog
Spot the lonely reed diffuser that "makes the van smell gorgeous".
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