2002 Freightliner Sprinter - Full Build, ready for full-time living

[zeeede]

My wife and I bought and built this van, then used it to travel the US and Canada for a year mountain biking and skiing. We're now expected our first child in October and the van only seats two, so sadly it has to go.

It's ready to be moved into today, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive from New Hampshire to the west coast tomorrow. Cruises easily at 75 mph on the highway, tracks straight. Gets 21-22 mpg each fill up.

*See pictures in the next post.

The basics:

PRICE: $7500 as-is. This price is more than reasonable, firm, and is definitely the least expensive fully-built, ready-to-live-in sprinter you'll find. I priced it so it sells quickly and I don't have to BS with multiple offers, tire kickers, etc. If you want to nit-pick rust spots or mechanical wear on a 17 yo van with nearly 220,000 miles on it, I'm not your guy.

LOCATION: Southern New Hampshire, near Nashua, NH. An hour north of Boston.
If you want to fly-and-drive, I'll pick you up at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT). New England is awesome this time of year (or any time of year, really).

THE VAN:

2002 Freightliner Sprinter, 144 wheelbase, SHC. 217,000 miles. 3rd owner - we've owned for two years and ~60,000 miles. It's my daily driver until it sells and we replace it with a soccer mom SUV, so miles may increase a little bit. It's been across the country 6 times since we've owned it.

Within the last year: New front and rear brake pads and rotors, new rear e-brake pads, new fuel pump and fuel lines, new radiator, new AC condenser, new wheel speed sensor, full transmission fluid change with filter replacement. Oil changed every 8-10k miles with full synthetic meeting MB spec.

THE BUILD:

Layout:
Lofted, queen-sized, full length bed with gear garage under
Cross-van butcher block kitchen counter
2 person storage bench facing the slider
Swivel passenger seat
Stow-away table makes dining area between bench and passenger seat
Exterior awning above the slider for shade or light rain protection
Tongue-and-groove cedar ceiling and subway tile backsplash for the homey look

Climate control:
Comfortable 4-season living
Fully insulated with 1" foam board
Webasto Heater with altitude adjustment
MaxxFan above bed
Reflective window covers for windshield and side windows
Removeable screen for sliding door
Screen window covers for passenger and driver windows.

Electrical:
200 Watts of solar on the roof
300 Ah total AGM batteries
Automatic charging relay so batteries charge while driving
600 Watt Xanerax Purse Sine Wave inverter wired with remote switch and outlet in kitchen
Dimmable LED interior lighting
LED reading lamps above bed

Water:
13 gallon water tank with gravity fill (easy fill from jerry cans)
Pressure-demand pump feeding kitchen sink with sprayer
Washdown hose at rear in the garage
6 gallon gray tank located under sink near slider for easy empty
3 gallon "luggable loo" toilet bucket for emergencies

Kitchen:
Large butcher-block counter top
Hidden pantry under foot of bed
Deep sink
No fixed stove - we used a camp stove so we could cook inside or out
42L 12V Edgestar fridge on custom slide

Garage:
Large space under bed
All utilities (batteries, water, tank, etc)
2 full-length 5+foot drawer slides
A fan & ducting on a switch installed to bring heat back here in the winter to keep water from freezing
Room for up to 6 bikes
We travelled for a year with 2 mountain bikes; 4 pairs of skis; and riding, skiing, climbing, and back-packing kits for 2 in the garage.

Drivers compartment:
Upgraded the seats to ones with arm rests and lumbar adjustment
Upgraded stereo with Bluetooth
Upgraded dash speakers and added a small powered subwoofer
Custom center storage bin between front seats
Passenger seat swivel
Almost all of the dash vents are perfect! (only one broken fin)
Ice cold A/C, great heat

Miscellaneous:
I'll include tire chains (never used) and whatever spare parts, extra fluids, jerry cans, leveling blocks, and other do-dads and gizmos I have to go with the van


DISCLOSURES:
- Needs ABS pump repair or replacement. Price reflects . Read about it here: https://sprinter-camper.com/fixing-sprinter-abs-pump/ . This causes the ABS, traction control, and transmission lights to be lit up on the dash. We've been driving without ABS or traction control for over a year with no issues. Up to you to fix or not, but I've taken into account a $2500 price reduction for this.

- Rust spots around the edges of panels, typical of 17 year old van
These were treated with an anti-rust primer coating thing before we left for our trip with the intention of painting over, but we never got around to painting over them, so it looks worse than it really is.

- Dented hood and broken grill
We hit a cow in the middle of nowhere a few hours north of Taos, NM back in January. The van was towed to the closest repair place (an hour away). All repairs were handled there, with new dealer parts for anything mechanical whenever possible. They sourced used body pieces (hood, grill fender). Unfortunately the hood and grill were damaged during shipping, so the old hood was flattened out and re-installed temporarily with the damaged grill so we could get back on the road. Insurance was ok with this at the time, but is now refusing to pay to fix the hood and grill. We've been fighting them since we got home in April. I've taken this into account with the pricing as well.

- Tires are fine, but will probably need to be replaced in the next 20,000 miles or so


PRICING information:

If the van was perfect, I would list it at $15,000 and wouldn't accept an offer below $12,000.

$12,000
(- $2500): ABS Pump
(- $1,000): Hood and grill
(- $1000): Credit for eventual tire replacement
========
$7500 firm.

 

[zeeede]

Interior pictures:


Looking back at the kitchen and the bed. Note the L-shaped countertop so you can reach the sink from inside or outside the van. A large drawer is under the counter with the refrigerator on a drawer slide. A large 18" x 12" x width-of-van pantry is under the foot of the bed behind the backsplash. USB and 12v outlets and a Viton battery monitor is at the far right of the backsplash The cabinet to the left under the sink has a large drawer slide the allows you to use all of the volume under the sink. You can see a couple of the recessed lights (5 total), the reading lamps at the head of the bed, and the MaxxFan.

The bench has storage under accessible by sliding doors on the front of it or by flipping the top of the seat up on a hinge. The passenger seat swivels, making a lovely "living room" area. You can sit on the bench and enjoy the view out the sliding door. The hooks above the bench hang from a large over-head storage cabinet. Mesh netting gives a lot of storage space for soft goods above the drivers compartment, and velcro straps stow the reflective window covers.

The hidden table in place, making a dining area for two between the bench and swiveled passenger seat. The table swivels, too, so you can use it as a work station at either seat. The black curtain behind the drivers seat is a black-out curtain, making it super easy to stealth camp in cities (we spent many a night parked overnight on sleepy residential streets without being bothered).

All of the storage available in the van. An overhead cabinet above the bench, the storage under the bench, the door for the hidden pantry under the foot of the bed, the huge kitchen drawer, and the slide under the sink. Not pictured is the center console/step between the front seats. You can also see the 120V outlet for the 600 Watt PSW inverter and the inverter switch - conveniently located so it's accessible at the kitchen counter, the table, or outside the van through the sliding door.

The front compartment. Upgraded stereo, intact, fully-functional dash vents (all except one fin that I accidentally leaned on and broke a few weeks ago

). Note the storage console/platform between the front seats.

 

[zeeede]

The garage.

Two drawer slides. there are basically flat trays plywood trays with 500 lb. slides that you can set up however you like. From the top of the slide to the bottom of the bed is around 40 inches. The drawers are around 24" wide and 5 feet (60") long. There is some space between the back of the drawer slide and the kitchen cabinet. On the bike side, this is taken up by batteries. On the gear side, it's open space so long items (like skis) can fit. Lots of flexibility back here.

Currently one is set up for two mountain bikes. One of those frames is an XL, the other a medium. The medium fits with the dropper up. The XL has to lower the dropper (I have a 36" inseam). We have the forks propped up to give room for tool storage under the bikes. Can also fit my XL fat bike in this space, so your bike will probably fit.

The other gear slide is set up to travel with 4 of those large bins on a platform so skis fit underneath. You can see the tips of my 188 cm Rossis sticking out. You *might* be able to get 190s under there. Anything longer than that, your skis or too damn long. (or cut a hole in the bulkhead so they can stick into the back of the kitchen cabinet, or remove the door trim panel so they can stick into the door).

Note that we have a "headboard" above the garage to separate the bed from the outside when the rear doors are open. It's fully insulated, and it's great because it keeps people from seeing all your bedding when you're gearing up at a trailhead. Also lets you have the rear doors open in the winter to get skis in or out without loosing all the heat from inside the van.

This is theoretically removable - it is held in place with magnets and foam insulation around the edges and it has quick-disconnects on the wiring for the reading lamps above the bed). I made it removable in case we ever wanted to hang out in bed with the rear doors open. We lived in the van for a year and never felt the need to do this, but I guess it's an option.

The dented hood and grill The numbers on the replacement fender have since been wiped off.

 

[zeeede]

If you have any questions or want more information about anything just ask. You can post here, or PM me.

Will consider trades for a 2-3 year old, small-to-mid-size soccer-mom SUV (with some cash on our end, of course). Think Rav4, CRV, Escape, Cherokee, etc.

 

[VacMan1]

Would you consider one last road trip to SoCal to deliver it? Happy to help you make arrangements for the flight home.

 

[nomad661]

This is how a for sale ad should be done. Not in the market for this but good luck with the sale!

 

[spon]

I have a few questions and sent you a PM. Give me a call. Quite interested!

 

[lactic]

PM sent

 

[zeeede]

Sale pending. Guess I should have priced it higher!

 

[Jdubucsd]

Cool!

 

[Salty42]

PM me if it doesn't sell. I am interested

 

[dr. benny]

Would you consider one last road trip to SoCal to deliver it? Happy to help you make arrangements for the flight home.

My Dad lives in NH. He sure would love to visit me in California... ??

 

[zeeede]

SOLD!

 

[yotarunner]

dang my dreams of living at walmart have been foiled again!

 

[jhjeff]

Congrats on the sale, and nice job on the build details. Love the sliding bike tray/storage.