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I’m sharing a DIY Sprinter van conversion! This is a camper van I traveled in, and the process of how it was built out in 18 steps.
There was a lot to do for it to be road trip-ready after stripping it down. From putting in the flooring and walls to installing the water and electricity, you’ll get the full process.
It wasn’t easy and took a lot of time. So without haste, let’s go!
1. Strip down the van.
If you’re going to do a complete van build-up, you might strip down the van. This means taking out all the extra stuff down to the bare walls.
This Sprinter van was previously owned by a contractor. It had passenger seats, tons of shelves, and a lift gate in the back.
These things weren’t needed, but it would have been nice to have the extra seats. In the end, they took up too much room, so they were removed.
You might buy your van without all these extras, so you won’t have anything to worry about. But it took time to get all this stuff out.
2. Put in the new floor.
The van had a thick industrial, automotive wood floor. They refer to these as phenolic panels or multiplex panels.
So, the floor was removed down to the sheet metal. Then Styrofoam insulation was added, as a cargo van won’t come with any.
After adding the automotive wood floor back, more wood was put on top of it. This was so it would be thick enough to screw the benches, furniture, and fixtures through.
3. Do the dirty work, cutting.
Now it was time for the dirty work. This involves cutting out everything, and yes, it’ll be messy.
So, cutouts were made to install the windows and ceiling fan. Don’t forget about the cutouts for cables and wiring.
The van was going to have four big windows for natural lighting. Then an exhaust fan was installed on the top.
4. Make the frame.
The next thing on the list was to make a skeleton or frame. You’ll need something solid enough to screw your furniture and fixtures to, besides the floor.
Without the frame, you can’t bolt down the shower, sink, etc. You don’t want stuff flying around while on the road.
Many people converting vans make their frames out of wood, but this one used aluminum. It’s more lightweight and worked very well.
In this picture, you’ll see the insulation in the walls, but I’ll get to that later.
5. Run electrical wires.
Electrical wires were routed from the power source. You’ll have to run wires to the thing that needs the power.
This included the solar system, lights, USB outlets, ceiling fan, security cameras, speakers, etc. That’s why it’s important to plan this, as adding electrical outlets later will be a headache.
Leave slack in the wire so it won’t be too short. And if you think you might change your mind later, you can run some extra lines.
You’ll want to test your outlets and electrical sources to make sure there’s juice running through the wires.
6. Run water lines and install tanks.
The water lines and the water tanks were installed next. Again, there were fresh and grey water tanks under the van.
The fresh water lines ran to the sink and shower. Then they had lines to drain the dirty water into the gray water tank.
What about the toilet? Well, it was a dry flush model, so there’s no emptying it with sewage lines.
At this point, you can test it out some. But it was easier once the shower and sink were installed.
7. Install the insulation.
Insulation helps regulate the temperature and was used in this van build. I know some people don’t like to use it.
It was stuffed into the hollow spaces in the walls of the van. Then paneling was placed on the ceiling.
8. Put in the walls and ceiling.
The walls and ceiling were made of 1/4 inch (0.25-inch) plywood. Of course, cutouts had to be made for the windows.
Then automotive fabric came next. This was glued in place. Note that this was done twice because the first fabric wasn’t ideal and had to be replaced.
I actually cut and ironed the trim that ran around the windows. This took a while to cut all the pieces and fit them.
When putting in the walls, you’ll want to be careful not to pinch any cables. And you want to make sure everything is tight in the walls and ceiling, so you won’t get rattling noises when you drive.
9. Finish the floor.
The floor was finished by gluing PVC flooring on top of the wood. It came from a home improvement store, and some people like to use laminate instead.
The floor came out nicely! It’s nice to walk on and easy to clean.
10. Install furniture and fixtures.
The furniture and fixtures needed to be installed. At this point, the van conversion was almost ready.
The benches housed the power system and doubled as convertible beds. The shower, sink, and storage cabinets on the bottom and top were put in.
I’ll note that the toilet was installed along with the shower. It’s in a little cabinet that pulls out into the shower area.
When not in use, it rolls back into the front cabinet. This really saved space.
11. Hook up the sink and shower.
After installing the sink and shower, they had to be hooked up to the lines. So, the fresh water and grey water were ready.
You’ll want to test them out to make sure there aren’t any leaks. This was done by actually taking a shower and using the sink.
Make sure the water works and drains where it’s supposed to. You’ll want to fix any issues now before going any further.
12. Test the power.
Now it was time to test all the lights after installing the furniture. You can test the lights early on just by flipping them on.
But you’ll want to test again to make sure no wires got pinched along the way. Make sure your power system is good and working like it should.
If you have a solar system, check that everything is hooked up.
13. Build up the center console.
So, at this point, it was a good idea to upgrade the center console. You can make it into a charging station and a place to lay phones.
The original van didn’t have anything there, so it needed to be built up with more outlets.
14. Do the exterior job.
You can get fancy and make your van the way you want it on the outside. The Sprinter was wrapped with foil.
And there’s a special foil on the window to prevent break-ins.
15. Add optional additions.
You might want to add on to the outside of the van. Adding a roof rack, traction boards, storage boxes, an outdoor cooking table, and a roll-in awning made this van into a real overlanding vehicle.
And some things were added during the inside job. For example, the security cameras and solar panels had to go on earlier.
16. Make the camper van cushions.
Towards the end of the van conversion, I made some bench cushions for the convertible bed.
I explain how I did that in another blog post, which was a feat of its own. I know how to sew, but they took a lot of time.
17. Do the suspension.
Since the van had the 4-wheel drive, the suspension had to be done. A lot of weight got added to the van during the build-out.
So, by the end of the process, the van sat lower. Raising the suspension was a good idea so the van wouldn’t hang down.
18. Do continual improvements.
As you travel in the van, you might add or replace things. For example, might include changing out the doorknob to the bathroom door or other small upgrades.
The build-out took over six months total. In the end of it all the van was done, and the hard work paid off!
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