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I
spent ten glorious years with my original
Ultimate Windsurfing
Van, a Dodge B250
that I customized (click here to see the
original
ultimate windsurf van).
I used that van to visit 42 states, and windsurf and surf the entire US
coastline. From Key West, FL to Portland, ME on the East Coast, from
Naples, FL to Brownsville, TX on the Gulf Coast, and from the Baja Mexico
to Seattle WA on the West Coast.
Despite
ten wonderful trouble free years with the original ultimate windsurf van,
I was ready to move on and build my next JIC van (JIC = just in case -
Just in case the wind is blowing, just in case I lose my house, just in
case my wife gives me reason to hit the road, just in case .... -
well you get the idea!!!!!)
Being the
type of person who is never satisfied, I set out to make my new Ultimate
Windsurfing Van V2.0, an even better vehicle.
There
were some obvious things I wanted to add, and some that I wanted to
improve.
I chose the Freightliner Sprinter Van with its high roof as my obvious
choice. The fact that it is a Mercedes Benz, gives it an almost unbeatable advantage
over the Ford, Dodge and Chevy vans that I looked at. Starting with an
integrated steel hi-roof was a major factor, but its legendary 5 cylinder turbo diesel engine with its 22mpg economy also played a part in the
decision.
So
herewith is a short resume of my recent journey into making the ultimate
windsurfing van V2.0. If it gives you some ideas or even helps you to make
your own, then this page had some relevance. If not, too bad. I had fun
building the van, that's for sure!
Disclaimer - This
page is to be used as an idea source only. I am no mechanic nor am I an
expert in any of the modification processes I undertook below - do your
own research and make you rown decisions.
The
Final Result - Freightliner Sprinter
/ Dodge Sprinter / Mercedes Sprinter Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
Customizing the interior of the Mercedes Sprinter / Dodge Sprinter /
Freightliner Sprinter Van
Installing the Sound and GPS
Navigation systems in the Mercedes Sprinter / Dodge Sprinter /
Freightliner Sprinter Van
Installing board racks fin the Mercedes Sprinter / Dodge Sprinter /
Freightliner Sprinter Van
Jazzing up the Exterior of the
Mercedes Sprinter / Dodge Sprinter / Freightliner Sprinter Van
Installing
Mercedes G-Wagen 18" mag wheels on the Freightliner Sprinter Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
Converting the Freightliner Sprinter
Van badges over to the Mercedes Sprinter Van Badges
Customizing the Optional Rear Step
Bumper to accept the factory Tow Hitch on the Mercedes Sprinter / Dodge
Sprinter / Freightliner Sprinter Van
One final warning about the
Mercedes Sprinter / Dodge Sprinter / Freightliner Sprinter Van |
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Follow
the story below and take a journey with me as I detail my Ultimate
Windsurfing Van customization project below! |
Customizing
the Interior on my
new 2002 Freightliner Sprinter
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
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My new
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
started its life as a plain vanilla white Freightliner cargo van with high
roof option, rear and side window glass, and rear step bumper.
I
purchased the Van from Jamie Smith of Freightliner South Florida
(jsmith@freightlinersf.com
- 954 545 1013)
- she gave me a great deal and treated me really well - she is one of the
top Freightliner sales people in the USA.
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The
first step in creating the
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van was
to completely remove all the stock liner boards, by carefully drilling out
the rivets.
I made
sure I could get replacement rivets from my local auto body shop before I
started drilling!
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Removing
the supplied tie-down "D" hooks. You do need a Torx head for
these hooks.
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The completely
stripped and
denuded interior once all the wall panels have been removed. Note that the
Sprinter van is not supplied with any ceiling treatment at all, and the
lack of insulation and steel roof will really heat up the large volume
interior
The straight walls
provide very efficient space utilization and make customizing very easy,
but the curved ceiling would prove problematic.
There
are factory ceiling panels available for the passenger van that would make
life easy, but I only found out about them after I finished mine!
But
knowing freightliners parts prices, I am sure mine at around $150 total
excl labor, is waaaaay cheaper than the factory.
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Cutting
the lined Styrofoam roof insulation material with a utility knife and straight
edge. Once cut into size, it is held in place with double sided tape. The
R-value of the 1-1/2" Styrofoam is 6.5.
Before
installing the ceiling boards I ran 5 sets of additional wires in the
ceiling to make provision for the soon to be installed sound system, vent
and 110V auxiliary power system.
Two sets are currently unused but are in
place should I need them in the future.
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The Styrofoam
easily takes the curvature of the ceiling and with its light weight is
easy to hold in place with double sided tape.
I was concerned about the Styrofoam
squeaking if it moved as the van twisted, but this fear proved unfounded.
It
squeaked while I was installing it, but is absolutely quiet once in place.
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The
insulated roof when complete - a couple of hours of fairly simple work. This
was the easiest part!
Installing
the shower stall fiber board as the ceiling was a lot more difficult. Unfortunately
I misplaced the photos of this part of the process. Lets just say it was
character building and it is definitely a two man job.
I used
shower stall liner available at Lowes and Home Depot, as it would take the
curve of the ceiling. I was unable to find bendable plywood that would
confirm to the sharp radius of the ceiling, and I wanted to preserve all
the space available.
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Under
the passenger seat I had the optional auxiliary battery installed as well
as the oversize alternator.
The
auxiliary battery is a great asset if you are going to camp in the van and
run appliances off the battery.
An isolator
isolates the auxiliary batter from the primary battery, so you can completely
run the auxiliary battery dead and still start the van off the main
battery.
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I also
installed a 1000W inverter next to the auxiliary battery, which is the
partly hidden red box in the photo to the left, and wired the van for 110V
with 3 dual outlets at strategic places around the van.
This
allows me to run most electric appliances including a microwave, small
fridge, fan, heater, and all my power tools should I need them.
Watch
for this feature to start appearing on all pickups and utility vehicles in
the future.
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This
photo shows the partially finished ceiling, the new upholstered wall paneling
and the partially installed Fantastic Roof Vent.
I used two longitudinal pieces of
shower stall lined board seamed
along the roof center line for the front of the roof. The back piece is installed as one lateral
piece with a cut out for the vent.
Self
adhesive tape is uses to temporarily secure the boards until they are
riveted in place.
I used
rivets with oversized heads available at any automotive paint supplier
Cutting
a hole in the roof of a new vehicle is a tough thing to do - make sure
that you seal and rust-proof the steel before installing the vent . Roof
vent gaskets are prone to leaking and the surrounding steel is partial to
rusting, but careful installation can prevent these problems.
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This
photo shows the Fantastic Ceiling Vent installed with the trim cover
(white) - you can see that the color of the fan itself is cream, but it doesn't
bother me too much. I
made the mistake of not specifying the vent color and received a cream
colored vent - white vents are available and would look a lot better.
I
installed the Fantastic Roof Vent over the back of the van directly over where
our heads hit the pillow. This excellent fan features dual direction so
you can reverse the direction to blow onto you at night to keep you cool during
those long hot summers nights.
I
installed the vent at the back of the van , and had to custom make a
gasket to fit the valleys created by the roof ribs. I cut the gasket out
of the same ceiling Styrofoam.
The vent
runs off the auxiliary battery.
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For
the wall paneling, I used the original fiber boards that we removed, and
covered them with 1/2" batting and a durable fabric. The batting
provides minimal insulation, but creates a plush cushioned look.
The
ceiling material I used formed to the curvature of the ceiling really well
and has a factory installed look. Shower stall seams are used for seaming
the ceiling material.
Along
the edge where the ceiling meets the steel, I edged the fiber glass shower
liner with rubber auto edging, which is available at any auto paint shop.
This prevents the material from squeaking against the steel frame.
What
you don't see behind the panels is the R30 fiberglass insulation taped in
place in the frame cavities, prior to re-installing the panels.
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Installing the Sound and GPS
Navigation systems in
the
2002 Freightliner Sprinter
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
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I do a
lot of driving and put on a lot of miles in the pursuit of great
windsurfing, and I love my music. Great sound is something that I have
always been prepared to pay for, and I spend more time listening to music
in my van than I do in my house, so it makes sense to put a great system
in the van.
The
original Becker CD Radio supplied with the Freightliner Sprinter must be
the worst unit ever produced by Becker - the sound is atrocious and the
unit is non intuitive.
I
immediately replaced the Unit with an Alpine CDA 7995 FM AM CD player. The
original Becker unit is easy to remove using the factory tools, and the
Alpine unit is almost a straight swap.
I had
wanted to install an MP3 Vault, but the current prices are absurd and I
will wait till all portable MP3 players like the iPod have FM transmitters
to play through the head unit.
Despite
the Alpine's 4 x 60W built-in Amp, I installed two Alpine amplifiers
to drive the speaker system
The
Alpine MRP F320 4-channel amp drives the front Infinity separates
and is mounted behind the passenger seat. This amp provides 50W RMS into 4
channels.
The
Infinity 605cs separates are mounted in the ceiling board above the
drivers and passenger's heads. There is just enough space to mount 6"
mid rage drivers, along with the titanium tweeters. This speaker set
handles 90W RMS (or approx 270W) peak, and is in the ideal position for
clear mid to high notes, and has superb stereo separation.
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The rear
speakers are Infinity 6952i's 6x9's and are mounted in the cargo section
in the lower door panels - this is the only are deep enough to accept the
large magnets on these exceptional speakers. They handle 100W RMS (300W
Peak) as well.
The
Alpine MRP M200 mono channel sub woofer amp with 200W RMS drives the
Alpine 12" subwoofer and is mounted behind the drivers seat.
The
sub woofer is a single 12" Alpine SD speaker mounted in a large Q
logic enclosure.
The Alpine
head unit allows complete control over the setup and apart from the
regular balance and fader controls, has separate controls for the
subwoofer output.
Additionally
the Alpine amps have built in adjustable crossovers and gain controls
allowing simple and easy fine tuning of the overall sound quality.
I am
sure that a lot of you think that this sort of sound is a waste of money,
but the joy of hearing every crisp tap of a tympani cymbal above the
thundering double bass, is something I really appreciate.
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The
final indulgence to the interior is the Magellan 750 Nav GPS system. This
is essentially the same GPS system as used by Hertz with their NeverLost
ads. I had used it several times in my rental cars around the US and loved
it so much I had to put it in the
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
The
Magellan 750 Nav GPS system features a complete map of the USA and Canada
that runs in the included computer which I mounted in a custom made
bracket below the glove compartment
Its
as great as having MapQuest installed in your car - but even better, because
it always knows here you are, so you never have to type in your start
address, only your final destination .
If you make a wrong turn it
prompts you to turn around, even prompts you which lane you should be in
to make the next turn. An amazing gadget, well worth the price.
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Building the racks for my new 2002
Freightliner Sprinter
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
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After
carefully measuring the curvature of the walls I started welding up the
windsurfing racks to hold the boards and the booms. By bending the frame
uprights to closely hug the walls ensures that I get the most efficient use of the
available space.
Getting
he formula bard to the top rung is critical, as it takes up the most space. The
narrower slalom and wave boards don't project as far out as the formula
board and leave the bed
space open.
I used
1" square steel tubing for the racks, bent it to conform to the walls
using Oxy-Acetylene torch, and welded the frame with a small 110V wire fed
welding machine.
All
joints were completely seam welded and all tube openings welded closed to
minimize rust. All welds were completely ground smooth for appearances.
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Here you
can see the finished board rack frames, prior to painting, showing the subtle
bend to conform to the curvature of the van waistline.
The
spacing between the boards is kept to a minimum to maximize the usable space.
I left just enough space to ensure the footstraps had some
clearance. The
short lower rack is designed to accommodate 8 booms.
The
windsurfing board and boom frame is bolted to the wooden floor at the
bottom and to the van body on the walls and ceiling.
This
three point fastening ensures that the frames stay put even in a violent
crash. The last thing you want is those boards hitting your head as you
come to a sudden stop
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This
shot shows the bed frame at a fairly advanced stage. I used 1-1/2"
rectangular steel tubing for the bed. I wanted the bed frame to be
made in two pieces so that I could easily remove one side to make space if
I needed to haul large items in the van.
Here I
am making adjustments to the female receivers for the removable side.
The long
unbroken side is the protective cover for the masts and long sails. The
notch in the bed allows the booms to hang below the bed level.
I wanted
the maximum amount of storage height under the bed, so the height of the
bed is 22" off the floor. This is the maximum height that an average
5' 8" tall person can comfortably sit on the bed and still have their feet touch the
floor.
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Now its
time to add the base of the bed. Here I am measuring the 5/8" plywood
to provide the base for the bed and forward seat.
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Adding
the second plywood base. As you can see the right half of the bed will be
able to be removed in one piece.
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This
is what the finished bed will look like when installed in the van, and the
cut out for the booms is clearly visible.
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In this
photo you can see how the frame is curved to meet the walls of the van and
maximize the usable space. The frame is bolted to the floor and to the
stringer above the checkered wall covering.
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Here I
am stapling the carpet to the wooden floor supplied with the Freightliner
van. I purchased inexpensive commercial grade carpeting from Lowes.
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The bed
frame has been installed in the van and bolted to the floor at 12 points.
The last thing I want is the steel frame coming loose in an accident and
moving forward.
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The boards
have been placed on the racks.
The boards
are secured with standard 5/16" shock cord obtainable from any marine
store, and used stainless steel hog rings to make the loops at the
securing end so that they would always be easily accessible and make it
easy to remove the shock cords.
The
racks were designed to allow easy access to the three boards.
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The 3
boards, 10 booms and 10 masts are shown in their respective spaces.
The
formula board is the board I most often sail (light Florida winds) and it
would be more convenient to have it on the lowest rack. However at 1m wide
it would intrude in the bed space so that's why it occupies the top
rack.
The rack
that supports the formula board looks too narrow, but it has been
purposely cut short to allow the formula board to be raised up at an angle
and then placed horizontally on the rack.
The
boards are all the way to the back of the van to provide seating space on
the bench behind the drivers seat.
I will
custom design a protection partition behind the drivers seat to protect
the driver from the boards in the case of a sudden stop.
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.
As my
sail quiver is always changing, making fixed storage for the sails didn't
seen the prudent thing to do, so the sails are not quite as neatly
stacked.
It was
critical to ensure that all sails were protected from above so that now
one would step on or sit on the sails by accident, permanently creasing
the monofilm.
The
formula sails share the first partition with my Hobie 16 sail. These are
the longest sails and get protection from the bed extension above.
The rest
of the sails are short enough to get their protection from the bed.
In the
storage containers are all the wet suits, harnesses, extensions, fins,
bases and other windsurfing paraphernalia.
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For
appearances and for protection from wet clothing and dripping boards, I varnished
the plywood bed boards with Cetol Sikkens marine varnish
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The bed
boards have been secured in place, and you can clearly see the cut out for
the booms, as well as the forward seating area behind the drivers seat.
The
right hand board is easily removable along with the steel frame
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Here is
the detail of the simple support connection for the removable bed.
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The finished
product - View 1.0
With
my wife's good taste, I chose a blue and green nautical patterns to tie in
with the wall panels.
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The finished
product - View 2.0
The view
from the rear. Doesn't this look like a really comfortable bed?
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The finished
product - View 3.0
The
protection offered to the sails and the extra jump seat.
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Jazzing up the Exterior of the
Freightliner Sprinter
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van
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Presenting
a smart looking exterior, as opposed to an obvious windsurfing camper van,
is a critical component in how to build the
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van.
The plan is to be able to park and sleep on the side of the road in any neighborhood
and hopefully fit in and not attract any attention. I prefer to sleep in the better neighborhoods,
as they are generally more secure, and an attractive looking vehicle fits
right in.
A large rusty van plastered with surfing and windsurfing
stickers will get you rousted by the cops before your head has touched the
pillow. Believe me - I spent over a year living in my original ultimate windsurfing
van, and I have many fun and not so fun experiences to tell you about.
But
if you don't want to accept the above, lets just accept that I just wanted
a cool looking van!
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The
newly painted Ultimate Windsurfing Van V2.0 returns to park next to my
original ultimate windsurfing van. As you can see the width of the vans is
similar but the 140" wheelbase Freightliner Sprinter is significantly taller and approx
20" longer.
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The
superb silver and gun metal
two-tone paint was professionally done by Efren Diaz of A1 Body Shop
Repair Centers in Deerfield Florida (954 974 4479). They
specialize in Freightliner and other large vehicles. Only body shops that
do trucks can accommodate the height of the Sprinter in their tall painting
booths.
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What
a great job. The plain vanilla white cargo van is transformed into a spacey
executive looking vehicle - very futuristic by current American van
standards. Now all it needs is a decent set of after market wheels to finish off the
executive look.
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Finding and Installing Mercedes G-Wagen 18" mag wheels on the
Freightliner Sprinter Ultimate Windsurfing Van
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Finding 18" wheels for the
Freightliner Sprinter Van
Finding
18" wheels to fit the Freightliner Sprinter Van took me over 3
months of research. I looked at several hundred styles and sizes of
wheels, and
test fitted 3 styles that met the exacting specifications for a van of
this weight.
The
Ideal Wheel Spec for Freighliner Sprinter Van
Diameter = 18"
Width = 8"
Offset = 60-70mm
Bolt Pattern = 5 x 130mm
Center bore = 84mm
Load Rating = 2250lbs per wheel minimum
I
would have considered staying with the 16" original wheel size but
the tire options are so limited that I started looking for 18" wheels
that would meet the load requirement and offer a larger tire selection. In the 16" diameter rage, there are
very few tires with load ratings over 2200lbs.
In
terms of overall look and style, I wanted to wheels that would enhance the understated
executive looking style that would be in tune with the paint job, but as
you will find out, there are only a very few wheels that will fit this
van.
Note that the
5 x 130mm bolt hole pattern is only found on Porsche sports cars and the Mercedes
G-Wagen.
Unfortunately
none
of the hundreds of really cool Porsche wheels meet the 60mm - 70mm offset needed, and
only a few met the load
requirement of at least 2,200lbs per wheel.
Wheels
that meet the above criteria and that are 8" wide will fit within the
bodywork. As soon as you go beyond the 8" width, the wheel/tire combo
starts to project past the body work - basically pimping the look (which I
didn't want) and also creates an issue of the wheel spray residue on the
lower body panels behind the wheels.
I
didn't want to spend my whole life keeping the lower panels clean, so I
kept looking for my ideal wheels.
Wheel Option #1
18" Antera Type 323 Wheels
for Freightliner Dodge Mercedes Sprinter Van
I
really liked the attractive Antera 323's for light trucks shown above, and
they would have been my first choice. They almost have the right offset,
and they have a deep polished lip which I like, but they only come
in 9" width at the required load specs, and would have required getting
some custom wheel arch flares made up to hide the protruding tires on the
sides of the vehicle.
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Wheel Option #2
18" Mercedes AMG Wheels
for Freightliner Dodge Mercedes Sprinter Van
I
did test-fit the set of AMG wheels shown above that met all the specifications, but the
8.5" width also projected past the wheel arches and gave it a bit of a
ghetto/pimpmobile look that I wasn't keen on. I did like the style and I have always
been an AMG fan (as you can see from my awesome
2004
Mercedes AMG E55 and
2006 Mercedes AMG CLS55 vehicles, and I was really disappointed that they didn't work
for me.
Wheel Option #3
Mercedes AMG G-Wagen 18"
Wheels for Freightliner Dodge Mercedes Sprinter Van
Recently a great looking set of AMG G-Wagen wheels were being offered on
eBay. These are standard on the $100,000 2004 MB G-Wagen and they
obviously fit the Sprinter van bolt pattern, offset and center bore specs
perfectly, and meet all the wheel loading specs but they are 9-1/2"
wide and that is just too wide for the Sprinter. They will cause
interference with the front bumper when turning lock to lock, unless you
modify the front bumper.
Wheel Option #4
16" Borbet Wheel for
Freightliner Dodge Mercedes Sprinter Van
Tire Rack is now offering a
Borbet 16" mag wheel for the sprinter - ONE wheel style only,
and if you know Tire Rack than you understand how rare these 5x130mm x
60mm offset wheels are, because Tire Rack usually has at least 20 wheel
styles to choose from for each vehicle type. They offer no 18" wheels.
But as
the Sprinter becomes more popular expect to see more wheels becoming
available.
Wheel Option #5
The G-Wagen
wheels were my final choice. The 18" x 8" gave just the right
proportions, looked smart and not overtly aggressive.
18" Mercedes G-Wagen
Wheels for Freightliner Dodge Mercedes Sprinter Van
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While
you can now buy these wheels on eBay or from the local Mercedes Dealer, I
imported my G-Wagen Wheels from Germany. Please note that the tires often
sold with the G-Wagen wheels on eBay will definitely not fit Freightliner
Sprinter Van. (These wheel and tire combos taken off from G-Wagens where
owners are trading up to 20" and 22" wheels)
The
Mercedes Benz part# is 4634010902 or 4634011202
and the wheels should
cost you around $500 or more each, including the longer wheel bolts and
Mercedes Emblem center caps, excluding the tires.
You
will need the extra long 17mm alloy wheel bolts to hold these wheels to
the hub - the wheel bolts on the Sprinter Van are for the steel wheels and
are not long enough for the thicker aluminum wheel.
You
will be limited to 255x55x18' tires or they will interfere with the body
work on the front fender when turning lock to lock.
18" Mercedes G-Wagen
Wheels for for Freightliner Dodge Mercedes Sprinter Van
The
first set of G-Wagen 18" rims shipped to me from Germany included one 16" rim by
mistake - hence the odd rim in the photo above.
What
a difference the wheels make!
It really does change the look of the
vehicle overall. Compare it to the shot above.
Before - Standard
Freightliner 16" Rims and tires
After - With 18" Mercedes
G-Wagen Wheels
The
wheels do not project past the side of the van. They are shod with
255x55x18 Continental tires. Tire Cost is around $200 each
Total
cost of rims and tires for my Sprinter van was around $3,000 and made a
huge improvement in the ride.
Just
owning
a Sprinter always gets a lot of attention, and people are always stopping
me and coming up to me to talk about the van.
Now
with the executive looking wheels, my ultimate
windsurfing van draws even more than
its fair share of attention. Its impossible to go anywhere without being questioned
about the vehicle.
Heaven help you if you pull
up to a Home Depot or Lowes - there will be a crowd around the van - you
just have to deal with it.
Its
amazing that a plain old cargo van can attract so much attention.
And lets
face it - its pretty cool to have a Mercedes Ultimate Windsurfing Van!
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Converting the Freightliner Sprinter
Van badges over to the Mercedes Sprinter Van Badges
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Yup, I
finally succumbed to the temptation to do the Mercedes badge conversion on
my trusted Freightliner Sprinter Van.
I now present
to you my new Mercedes Sprinter Van!
I
purchased the badge kit from Nick in the UK for around $150, and I used my
own FedEx account to send it over. If you want to order the parts
from Nick you can contact him at
nick.mercedes@ntlworld.com
- just tell him you found his address at
www.danny-steyn.com
It
included the complete Mercedes front grill and two trim pieces, the blue
Mercedes Emblem that appears above it on the hood, and it included the
silver Mercedes Benz decal that goes on the left rear door in place of the
Freightliner badge.
The kit
was supposed to include the 4 wheel caps, but these were not shipped. I
did not make a big fuss as I already have installed the Mercedes G-Wagen
Alloy wheels.
The kit
arrived well packed, and the installation and took less than a morning.
However
I still had to paint the hood as it had not been painted under the Freightliner
badge when we changed the van from white to silver.
I left
the painting up to my good friend Efren Diaz at A-1 Body and Paint in
Pompano beach South Florida - once again they did an awesome job.
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It is
really simple to remove
the Freightliner grill, hood emblem and side trim pieces that appear under
the front headlights.
Just use
a star screwdriver for
the grille and trim, and just pull off the badges - they are glued in
place with double sided pressure sensitive tape. The new grille and trim
pieces just screw in place.
I
carefully measured, center punched and drilled the hood for the blue
Mercedes hood emblem, and made sure that the hole was well prepped prior
to painting the hood to avoid corrosion.
In my
case I had to repaint the entire hood silver as the hood was originally
white under the original Freightliner badge, and I had to paint the two
trim pieces gun metal to match the lower paint waistline.
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As you
can see here, I have taken several liberties at the rear of my van.
I
drilled and secured a large Mercedes Benz star emblem on the left rear
door. I purchased this from my local Mercedes Dealer, and it uses a single
bolted post. I measured, center punched and drilled the rear door, and
again prepped the hole properly with zinc primer.
This
Star is not found on the European version, but since the star emblem
appears on every Mercedes Benz car in the USA, I thought it would be
appropriate to add it - (just one mans opinion!)
I also
placed the Mercedes Benz decal below the tag in the darker gun metal
waistline. The decal shipped by Nick was silver and would have disappeared
into the silver background had I placed it in the correct location above
the tag, and the lower location seemed like the best option.
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And yes
- the Mercedes Conversion does make a tremendous difference. To Me at
least!
My
Mercedes Sprinter now draws way more looks than my Freightliner Sprinter
ever did, and people take more notice of it because of the Mercedes
Badge.
But in the end it
ALL MEANS NOTHING! - I just happen to prefer it
with the MB badges!
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Customizing the Optional Rear Step
Bumper to accept the factory Tow Hitch |
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They
said it couldn't be done!
You either have a tow hitch, or
you can have the optional
step bumper, but you cant have both. That was the word from my
dealer and from several other sources, including suppliers of the tow
hitch.
Well phooey to that - and here is
how I set about rectifying that problem, and its pretty simple.
DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO MODIFY
THE TOW HITCH - tow hitches are factory certified and are specifically engineered for their duty.
Please
note - I am just an amateur and if you choose to follow my procedures,
you do so at your own risk.
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I have to thank Ron, my
learned service technician at Freightliner of South Florida Pompano, who
gave me the tip. You see
the factory approved bumpers attach to the exact same place that the factory step
bumper supports attach to, hence the conflict.
1. The
first step is to remove the plastic bumper - this is easy to do - just
remove the 2 reflectors to remove the two bolts hidden behind - then pop
off the 4 black plastic rivets holding the bumper skin to the metal step
below. They are sacrificial rivets - you will need new ones so don't try
and conserve them when you remove them.
2. Then
pull off the bumper - Sit behind the vehicle and pull it of towards you -
it pulls off in one piece bringing the rear side bumpers with.
The side
bumper moldings slide in plastic retaining grooves which are mounted to
the body of the van - there is no need to remove these retainers.
3. The
next step was to remove the steel step. both of the step supports are
secured with one bolt through the rail and with two bolts under the rear
cross member. A pneumatic wrench and socket makes quick work of this.
4. Here
is Ron's secret. Swap the mounting brackets on the metal step right to left.
Then the
brackets will mount from the outside of the rail, leaving room for the tow
hitch to mount to the inside of the rail.
5. Once
the step removed, the next part is the toughest. Using a grinding wheel to remove
as much of the welds as possible, and then using a 4lb hammer and cold
chisel, I pried off the two mounting brackets off the step. Since the
plastic bumper is going to hide all the modifications, I wasn't too gentle
and the supports came off easily. Here you can see the right hand bracket
(with towing hook) removed.
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6. To
get the plastic bumper to fit when you re-weld the step supports it is
critical to take
time to mark the positions really carefully. I re-installed the brackets
in place in their new position, and rested the metal step in place on top
of the brackets, and
then remounted the plastic bumper.
Here
you can see that the step brackets have been swapped from side to side - what was previously
the Right hand side bracket (with towing hook) is now mounted to the Left
hand side
From the underside I carefully measured
where the brackets now contact the step. I then took off all the items
again, and carefully laid them out and secured them in place with several
vise grips and clamps, and welded the brackets to the underside of the
step again.
7. Once
welded I repainted the completed assembly to prevent it rusting . While it
was drying, I installed the tow hitch. The hitch is bolted in place with 4
bolts through each frame rail, and with 4 bolts and an angle support
(supplied) into the cross member and is really simple to install. Leave off
the bolt for the step brackets on each side of the rail.
I
used a jack to lift the heavy duty tow hitch into place while I bolted it
to the frame rails.
8. Next
I
installed the modified step on the outside of the rail - it fits perfectly
and is simply bolted in place.
9. I installed 2 super
heavy duty (2500lb ea) Quick link rings to make it easy to hook up the safety
chain.
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10. Once it is secure, slide on the plastic
bumper and secure. I obtained the replacement rivets from my local auto
body shop.
11. The
final part of the mechanical installation is to install the Quick load
2x2" square ball mount and ball. I chose a 2" drop for the ball
mount to match my existing Hobie Trailer height, and I installed a cool
combo 1-7/16 & 2" quick change ball.
I had to
trim 1" off the length of the ball mount as I wanted it to be
recessed to be as inconspicuous as possible. In the original length it
projected too far into the rear and would have interfered with lowering
the spare wheel carrier. I drilled a 2nd 11/16" dia hole for the
locking pin.
12. With
the ball mount and ball removed, the tow hitch almost completely
disappears, leaving the original step bumper looking original and
absolutely functional.
13.
The
electrical hook up is COMPLICATED yet simple thanks to the most comprehensive set of
instructions I have ever received for any auto accessory, and the longest
wiring harness in automotive history!!!!!
It has to be
routed a specific way and has to hook up to 4 items in order for the computer
to function correctly - just follow the instructions and its very straight
forward.
You
cannot just hook up the wires to the brake lights and the turn signals as
with most tow hitch installations - the computer will malfunction (or so I
am told).
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One final warning about the
Freightliner Sprinter
Ultimate
Windsurfing Van |
WARNING
- BEWARE
There
is one problem with the Sprinter Van being so conspicuous.
It has to do with its
superb acceleration and ease of driving, plus its tall roof line.
You
will get speeding fines! Believe me,
before you know it, you are way over the speed limit, and the Sprinter Van stands out in the traffic.
Cars
can zip by you going twice your speed, but you are going to be the one
that catches the cops attention, and you will be pulled over.
Mark my
words! Take
it easy and stay out of trouble
Happy
Trails my friends and let there be wind and waves!
If this web page has helped
you in any way, or inspired you to try your own conversion in any way, a
simple thank you email to dannyATdannysteynDOTcom would be
appreciated.
Regards,
Danny Steyn - Creator of the
Ultimate Windsurfing Van!
Disclaimer - This
page is to be used as an idea source only. I am no mechanic nor am I an
expert in any of the modification processes I undertook below - do your
own research and make you rown decisions.
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