-Kevin. It will hold our 12v fridge and have a counter on top. Second, their friends who’ve had them report that they’re usually only good down into the low 20’s, “maybe” the teens. Kyleigh from Freedom Vans gives a tour of "Logan", a Sprinter 170 built for living and working on the road. You can get away with less than a gallon. Conversion van with toilet for Sale ( Price from $8500.00 to $146510.00) how old is it? I\\\’m pretty much following your design with a few changes like the bathroom on the drivers side and a twenty gallon tank inside the van and a propane fired water heater. This winter, the shower has mostly served as a very expensive storage area. Our Mercedes-Benz camper van comes complete with a Refrigerator, Microwave oven, Galley, and Rear toilet. We’ve definitely had our share of custom builder woes including things that were simply installed incorrectly and required a lot of work to fix (which at least they paid for), and at this point I don’t know that I’d recommend our builder either. Yes this was my first. UPDATE: In my new Sprinter Van, I decided to use the same Webasto Dual Top Evo 6 water heater combined with an outdoor shower. Whether you want an executive interior, a motor home/camper van, a dog hauler, a people hauler, a mobile office, or just some shelves; we will exceed your expectations while working with you throughout the process. Even though he had never built a shower in a Sprinter Van before, I trusted him, and we incorporated a bathroom into my Sprinter Van design. Might be a little more convenient and less messy. I discovered there are two reasons for taking a shower – to get clean and because it feels good. Really love your honest and thoughtful blog posts. Hey Mike, do you have a link to the one you used? We have 438 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles for sale that are reported accident free, 329 1-Owner cars, and 127 personal use cars. Thanks so much for the detailed and honest review. All of a sudden you need hot water and a lot more of it. So where does that leave me? Anyway, I don’t see why you couldn’t do something like that. What are your white, grey and black water tank capacities? It’s pretty disrupting to your sleep schedule. All water will be as you mention from 5 Gal container to a grey water container. That’s like Basic 101 when it comes to contracting. Yes, it’s nice to have access to a shower, but it comes at a cost, in terms of space, price, and maintenance. New to your blog. Our stall enclosure is 24×33\” and that extra three inches length is crucial for having enough knee room to comfortably sit on the toilet. I would also have used maybe a solar panel to heat the water (not a photovoltaic panel, but a water heating panel). An outdoor shower would have been a great option, but  I wanted to be in my van year-round, and an outdoor shower would only work in the summer. While we loved the simplicity of the build, we realized that it was primarily built for weekend use; we are hoping to move in full-time at some point and as we are professional clinicians we would need showers on a regular basis. (as an alternative/addition). Your original builder didn’t know what he is doing n screw you. This can give more water in each second but this requires Electricity. We are so excited about our new conversion and both of us enjoy your insight. I’m happy with my battery capacity. You can hang it outside in the sun or pack it on the roof while you’re driving, to warm the water. Travel in style with the amenities of home. But i am more inclined to use a simple shower with a big large bucket for the feet and pressurised pump to make things easier, avoid leaks and save on energy. I haven’t been particularly impressed with Rixen’s but they did fix both issues the day they received the furnace each time, though it cost us a week each time to pull the thing, send it in, get it back and reinstall it. it is quite pricy. Every used car for sale comes with a free CARFAX Report. Did you consider a composting toilet? Otherwise there’s just too much uninsulated surface area on the tanks, the pads can’t keep up and ice starts forming anyway. $0 (Talk to Ebi @(6047166773) ... Rustic Sprinter Van 144" conversion with bathroom $80,000 (Burnaby) hide this posting restore restore this posting. Putting teak on the down would be nice. Turns out, it’s perfectly legal as long as it’s just grey water *which is never held in a tank*; the moment it’s held in a tank for any period it’s considered black water by the government. Sam, Not a bad idea. How has the shower method you described worked for you thus far? That is definitely not the way to do it. Pre-qualify for a car loan with no credit score impact. I’m not sure there’s much you can do at this point to make the outside tank usable in the winter. But it is helpful. I am just starting my sprinter build and am thinking about an insulated 5 gallon tank under the floor with coils from the engine water, or oil lines to heat it whenever the engine is running and an on demand loop for when it is not running. Kristen, I was wondering if those tile- like hexagons are made of ceramic. My husband and I are in the planning stages of our first van conversion and we keep going back and forth about having a toilet and whether we would get a porto or the composting kind. The Helio and Extreme units have positive on/off flow control that makes 1-2 gallon showers both practical and refreshing after an active day outside covered with sunscreen, sweat, bug spray, and trail grime. If I had known just how much it was going to cost to have hot water in the van, I probably would have thought twice about the shower. I am designing my sprinter van build and am interested in the oasis Zephyr and wonder if any one out there has ever used it and what are your comments please and thank you . Can add hot water if we heat it on stove. As a Daimler Vans Master Upfitter, HQ Custom Design has paired the unparalleled performance and safety that Mercedes-Benz Sprinters are known for with our in-house engineering and superior craftsmanship. Thanks so much for writing this article. The furnace and hot water system installed are the Mobile Comfort System by Rixen’s in Oregon. I know this thread’s a bit old, but having had a Sprinter 4×4 170 for two years now that I had custom converted, I wanted to share my experience with having a bathroom put in. He is not a good man, just a cheat. They also make them for purchase. Re: lack of hot water: have you considered using a ‘Summer (Solar) Shower’ bag inside your shower area? If you are building from scratch again, 1 piece of PVC pipe used as a tank on your ceiling(aluminum even better) below the insulation will work for lukewarm water as heat rises, or if u put it on pulleys you could lower and add two gallons of water heated up on the stove. Have you also seen my @sprintercampervans instagram account? Hi Kristen – BTW the link to the Webasto dual top – thats 2100 in UK pounds (not USD), $2900 USD plus shipping and duty. The other thing I’ll mention about my shower is that the water was leaking through the floor the day I left my original builder’s shop. The Mercedes-Benz Luxury and Executive Sprinter Van can even be fitted with an optional bathroom package. Find the best Mercedes-Benz Sprinter for sale near you. Shop millions of cars from over 21,000 dealers and find the perfect car. If I could start over, I think I’d do things a little more simple. The internal water tanks definitely take up some space, and part of me wonders if we could have just drained both the sink and bathroom to ground as our friends do and eliminate the grey tank. Thanks for this precious information , I have designed, (but not yet built) , a Transit Jumbo 350 RV conversion with a bathroom with an electric power shower fed by 1200 watts of solar and 1000AH of battery! Took a while, but hey we got water! Perhaps some kind of propylene glycol heating system from an Espar diesel furnace (like our Rixen system) could be used, with the glycol hose making radiator “s-curves” all along the bottom of your tank? We got a plastic tub from amazon that we sit in for a shower to avoid getting water everywhere (not much/korean or chinese company – it’s probably 3 feet high i forget – has a little inflatable pillow to sit on) and you can sit in that while you shower inside and it’s very easy and fast to setup and tear down. Yes, that heating pad is definitely a possibility but they draw a lot of power like you said. Just pass the water by the engile like the engine cooler does. Thanks! You can leave a comment, but you wont be able to add any links. The dimensions of my bathroom are shown in the image below. Neither did we use the grey water tank – just always put a bucket under the sink outlet to catch if we used the sink. Still trying to figure out the heating and whether or not I really need hot water. This made the water warm enough to shower. 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Cargo Van 2-Owners, No Accidents, Diesel, $66,990 ... JIM PATTISON FLEET CARGO VAN SALE!! Yes, we could have added a bathroom, but where would we have put our bikes, ski gear, or kids? A custom Sprinter van for sale is the finest limo in the market, both for its elegance, class & sophistication made famous by the Mercedes brand and for the incredible power & driveability. I use a big preseruzed pump, which is actually a container with hot water with a pump on the top. You have done one of the most perfect set ups i seen in a long time. The Zodi pump runs on batteries (zodi has other models – another uses a hand pump which many ppl like) and it comes w a bin for water (and for storage of the pump and hose/shower head) – pretty handy. With my winter sleeping bag around them. I live in a motorhome and I often just shower without using the heater. You’re other option is the ITR Oasis Zephyr – one machine (made in Canada) that does everything – engine preheat (and vice versa – engine heats hot water), heat, hot water – just don’t make coffee in the morning for you. It’s not too compact, but it fits nicely in the spare tire area underneath the van. Mercedes-Benz Sprinters. I can certainly understand why you might regret having put in a bathroom (especially in a 144–our friends just use a porta-potty with a hung curtain in theirs), but we haven’t regretted it at all, though it did indeed require the right planning and appliances. when my husband was contracting in Holland, then France and Germany, we bought a big enough campervan that he could live in and the family could go and stay with him. Yes. and we use organic soap so don’t worry about dumping if boondocking. And we have to be very careful not to bump the shower handle while using or the water will suddenly become freezing or scorching. Drew – Sorry for never responding to your extensive writeup. We have had the same thoughts! Hey Tyler, check out Fantastic Fans, they make all types of great fans: http://amzn.to/2bcYTtQ, One can wash up pretty well at the sink too. Curious…did you ever consider a propane fired h2o heater like you find in a regular r.v.? That way you can figure out how to do it cost effectively. I wear rubber gloves. We did have problems with water coming out around the bathroom door, but I figured out it was due to water soaking into the nylon shower curtains they installed inside the bathroom, which let water soak through, run down the door, and out around the door frame. I considered the truma combi, which is a propane heater, but I wanted to stick with diesel to minimize the number of different tanks I’d have to fill up. More basic builds (not including the cost of the vehicle) start around $25,000 depending on what customers want. The No Bathroom option. Taking the lessons I learned and putting them into the next one. The price. State parks will often sell you a shower even if not staying there. it’s good to share the cons – thank you. This toilet is amazing. As the toilet and basin were in there plus a huge mirror we all used it as a dressing room and like you, a dumping ground for big stuff. Come find a great deal on used Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Passenger Vans in your area today! It was a shitload of money, but since the shower was already built, I felt I didn’t really have a choice but to install hot water. The factory Arctic White exterior and the Tunja Black interior are in practically showroom condition. There is a reason that where there is natural gas that is what all homeowners use and not diesel. Search from 763 Used Mercedes-Benz Van / Minivans for sale, including a 2017 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 144", a 2017 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 170", and a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 170". Does anyone have any suggestions, they would really be appreciated! My toilet is a Thetford portable-potti. At least that is the plan! After seeing how little space it takes up we wished we’d listened to their suggestion. That means there is no plumbing associated with it, and the entire toilet is self-contained. has it cracked at all since you put it in? Don’t assume malice when incompetence is a sufficient explanation. I am in the Chicago area and could help you locate or plan the build of one. No complex hot water plumbing, although a grey water drain tank, and of course a real shower pan, are still needed. Another idea is to minimise baths by using Tena wash cream which is a cream that also has a cleaning and reparation effect – currently used by many elederly in nursing homes all over Denmark. Such a pleasure to read your blog. 2. We were worried that the marine shower would have taken too much space from the overhead storage above the sink outside the shower so picked a regular shower valve setup, but we did have the marine shower put in near the back doors underneath the bed for an outside shower as well. The other thing that we never used was the big water tank which took up all the space under one double seat – it was a weight to carry round when travelling and for drinking we preferred to get bottled water to make sure it was always fresh. I would like a bit of advice on where to find a van conversion company. For washing we always used the facilities on site. In some ways a porta-potty might have been nicer since our shower is quite small and the toilet takes up space, but it does act as a shelf to hold our shower caddy and a footrest when my SO shaves her legs. In the winter, having the glycol tank under the bed makes it so that we are ‘sandwiched’ in warmth when the furnace runs as hot air floats above us and the tank heats the storage space below, it’s quite cozy. I love your van’s interior design and the bathroom and wanted to copy it. Class B camper vans built on a Chevrolet van chassis offer the amenities of a traditional RV without all the hassles. the Ecotemp for under $150 and a simple water heater element and control for about $40. In the winter you could just heat your van a little more with your propane heater so you don\’t mind the cold water so much. Hey Kristen, wonderful job. I totally agree with you on van-conversion values. This youtube video demonstrates the process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhWud4a5Aj8&t=8s), Thanks Eli. If you live in a warm climate and don’t plan on using the van too much in freezing temps, then you can store water outside the van. Did you buy your couch/bed? In the meantime, I hope this helps those Sprinter folks out there who are considering a shower whether or not it is a good use of van space and a good fit for your lifestyle. I carry 60-feet of RV hose, stored in a flat plastic bin along with an RV water filter, and with only a couple of exceptions have been able to fill from the first free water source I find. My SO and I live in Denver and are avid climbers (primary activity), snowboarders, and mountain bikers. We use a ‘shower-n-box’ in our campervan conversion. CMI converted this 2017 Mercedes Sprinter 170’’ Passenger van for a racing family to escort and accommodate them at the race track. Holds the water and is pressurized. I asked them about this when designing our build and they advised against them. We did have problems with the furnace this summer requiring two rebuilds, first for failing temperature sensors and second for a failing blower fan that became loud enough to wake us up at night. Jon. I have had the bathroom without a water Hook up.. During winter I kept water jugs in my bed just a few . hi there. For storing more water, are you reusing your water from shower to your portable pee pot? Ditch the bathroom and all of a sudden you have a van that can sleep four in the winter (six in the summer) with all the necessary equipment. If so, whomakes it and what model is it? Similar products are sold for diesel engines that basically hug the core of the engine, the block, and keep it at above freezing temperatures. Main Features: Six captain's chairs with swivel and recline capabilities (front seats recovered to match) Custom enclosed bathroom; Galley area with fridge and microwave So in cold climates, you might be running the unit 24 hours a day just to prevent water from freezing in the unit. portable toilet suitable for travelling. We just haven’t yet felt the need to spend the money to haul the plumbing around!