Digital nomadic van for two people to stay comfortably for months.

Author: Sanket Sahu

Date: Sept 10th 2020

Inspiration: letsbe.us

Van: Merc Sprinter 170 EXT

Availability in India: Not available

Dimensions

Our first van was the Sprinter 170 EXT wheelbase is 289 inches bumper to bumper, with 180 inches of interior length from behind the driver’s seat to the back doors. The interior height for the high roof is 6’4″ and the maximum width is 95.5 inches

Closest match: Traveller 4020 wb

https://www.forcemotors.com/vehicle/traveller-royale

This vehicle is 1.5 feet shorter than the 170 EXT Sprinter but I think it's good enough. I tried looking for the sprinter in India, it's not available.

Things to buy

https://vanlifestarterkit.com/170-sprinter-van-conversion/

Floor plan of 170" EXT Sprinter (mirror image)

This is just a basic idea. The source files are attached.

Exterior

List: https://vanlifestarterkit.com/exterior-170/

• Propane Tank: This is the LPG tank that we get here in India.
• Fan
• Roof rails
• Door screen
• Ladder
• ...

Interior

List: https://vanlifestarterkit.com/interior-170/

• Pretty much the same thing

Electric

Buy: https://vanlifestarterkit.com/electric-170/

Kitchen

Buy: https://vanlifestarterkit.com/kitchen-170/

• Stove & Oven: Can we do induction over LPG / Propane stoves?
• Induction: What's the challenge? Power?
• LPG: A bit of safety issue
• Fridge
• Faucet
• Sink
• Filteration system
• Oil diffuser
• Spice Jars
• Magnetic knife bar
• Organizers

Plumbing

Buy: https://vanlifestarterkit.com/bathroom-170/

Gray water tank

Reference: 18 gallons (68 liters) of Gray water tank.

• It would be great if we can fit in 30 gallons.

Bathroom

Buy: https://vanlifestarterkit.com/bathroom-170/

Toilet

Explore options between portable and compost options.

This is just the starting point.

Unanswered Questions

• Power:
• Inverter only: Are we going to consume everything using the inverter?
• Inverter + small generator: Like two modes of power (parking and running).
• Solar panels: Need this too.
• Induction vs propane
• If we have small generator setup or something then Induction works well, we won't need propane at all. Same for oven as well.
• Portable toilet vs Compost toilet
• Can we make the water tanks 150 liters or more?
• Drinking water: I think we can install the filters for this.
• AC power: Would we have to keep running the vehicle engine all the time for the ACs to run?