Finally got my moto van! (Update: Cargo area done)

Nice, inside pics?

Nice. If you don't like the color you could always have it wrapped. It's cheap and effective.

Wow Josh , that is freakin' sweet! I had to settle for the standard extended Chevy Express. I do love it , but I bought it as a " work in progress ".....and believe me , it's been a lot of work haha! Congrat's buddy!

Awesome Rig! Makes me want to sell my Suzuki Equator and get a Moto Van!

I like

Congrats man! I love my 170 high roof. Just a piece of advise, maintenance is critical on these rigs, as well as the very specific fluids used. If you're doing your own oil changes and stuff make sure to hit up Mercedes' approved fluids list. It will give you the specific approval number that needs to be on whatever fluid bottle you're using. Biodiesel is death on the exhaust filtration system.

Staying on or slightly before the service schedule will give lots of trouble free miles. Enjoy!

May I say that is pretty cool and I actually like the color!

I think once the dust settles from the divorce I might go that same route. Keep us updated on the build out!

Congrats! That's an excellent platform for a build. Post some updates along the way.

Congrats, Sprinters are the shit- I like the color, too. I'm sure
it'll grow on you.

Nice

Hell yeah man! Congrats. Got a older 2005 sprinter high roof long bastard fleet van. Love it, I finished it out to my needs so its only for camping and riding.

I love driving the thing until it gets windy, good lord its a hand full on a long haul. Went to club mx this year for a weekend, about a 6 hour drive, windy the entire way, had arm pump when I got there.

needs a bubble window with a dragon.

Nice, if I did a moto van I was going to go with the cheaper Ford Transit.

Thanks guys, glad you like it. Luckily with the van came a nice booklet outlining everything that needs to be serviced and when to do it, so I should be covered. Oil change interval is 20,000 miles on this thing, no way I'm waiting that long! Here are a couple quick pics from the inside:




I think the color will grow on my over time, I'm kind of just happy it's not white because everyone and their brother has a white one. I think I'm going to run a bed over the top of the bikes that can raise up when on in use, that way I don't lose any floor space and I can easily lower it when needed. Still deciding on what insulation I'm going to use, definitely staying away from anything toxic or hazardous though because I don't want any particular matter flying around as I'm driving. We'll see, it's going to be a constant project, not anywhere near the craziness I've seen on here before, but just something I can drive every day and sleep in comfortably for a night or two.

Dude, you're now a "high class" moto bro. Upper crust.
Very cool set up.
Congratulations on your new bike hauler.

Just needs the "free candy" stickers and you're set.

You are in CA, I would worry about a radiant barrier than insulation (See reflectix). Noise is a big deal in a open cargo. Look into sound deadening materials as well.

Nice

Markee wrote:

You are in CA, I would worry about a radiant barrier than insulation (See reflectix). Noise is a big deal in a open cargo. ...more

Markee wrote:

You are in CA, I would worry about a radiant barrier than insulation (See reflectix). Noise is a big deal in a open cargo. Look into sound deadening materials as well.

...more

The thing with Reflectix is it needs about a half inch or so of dead space for it to work, if it's just applied to the side of the van the heat will just conduct through rather than get blocked as radiation. The R-value of Reflectix isn't to great for conduction, so it's kind of a waste as far as I'm concerned. I'm hoping I can control the temp of the inside better with my AC after it's insulated rather than have it just radiate out of the van, but I'm also risking trapping heat it's a little bit of a double edge sword. I was considering using either rigid insulation or carpet padding as the insulation, that way it won't get broken down and will deaden the noise significantly. Honestly though, I was pleasantly surprised how quiet the van is just stock, it's pretty impressive actually.

Edit: I am planning to get some Reflectix pieces to cover my rear windows though, it would be excellent for shielding the windows since heat can easily radiate through.

Markee wrote:

You are in CA, I would worry about a radiant barrier than insulation (See reflectix). Noise is a big deal in a open cargo. ...more

Markee wrote:

You are in CA, I would worry about a radiant barrier than insulation (See reflectix). Noise is a big deal in a open cargo. Look into sound deadening materials as well.

...more

JM485 wrote:

The thing with Reflectix is it needs about a half inch or so of dead space for it to work, if it's just applied to the side of ...more

JM485 wrote:

The thing with Reflectix is it needs about a half inch or so of dead space for it to work, if it's just applied to the side of the van the heat will just conduct through rather than get blocked as radiation. The R-value of Reflectix isn't to great for conduction, so it's kind of a waste as far as I'm concerned. I'm hoping I can control the temp of the inside better with my AC after it's insulated rather than have it just radiate out of the van, but I'm also risking trapping heat it's a little bit of a double edge sword. I was considering using either rigid insulation or carpet padding as the insulation, that way it won't get broken down and will deaden the noise significantly. Honestly though, I was pleasantly surprised how quiet the van is just stock, it's pretty impressive actually.

Edit: I am planning to get some Reflectix pieces to cover my rear windows though, it would be excellent for shielding the windows since heat can easily radiate through.

...more

Isn't there enough room to add the Reflectix to the back of the paneling instead of the van wall? It would be a harder install than just sticking it to the van side but, it should give you the necessary air gap.

Badass Bro!

BAMX wrote:

Isn't there enough room to add the Reflectix to the back of the paneling instead of the van wall? It would be a harder install ...more

BAMX wrote:

Isn't there enough room to add the Reflectix to the back of the paneling instead of the van wall? It would be a harder install than just sticking it to the van side but, it should give you the necessary air gap.

...more

Hmm, there could be enough room to do that, there's about 2 inches of thickness to work with. I'm wondering if maybe I could use carpet padding to fill the void between the Reflectix and the van wall for noise, but I don't know if that would be suitable for an air gap since heat could still conduct through. I've done quite a bit of research and have seen others say it's not worth insulating if you live in a hot, dry climate, but it's also only that way for about half of the year and a lot of my overnight trips would likely be in the winter where the insulation would be beneficial. It's kind of a trade off I guess, what's good for the summer won't be so great for the winter, so some decisions have to be made in that respect.


Plans for the bed frame have begun to take shape. I'm planning on making a lower able bed frame that sits above the bikes and let's me sleep length wise in the van. I made a quick MatLab program today that allowed me to quickly change materials and sizes to determine how much my frame design would deflect, and I'm leaning toward using aluminum over steel. It's going to be more expensive and a bit more hassle since I can't weld it myself at home, but for the weight savings I think it's worth it. Also still deciding on a partition wall type, but I need to let funds recoupe a bit before I do much.

Euro snob! Sick, congrats on a sweet whip.

Haha "high class moto bro" ^^^. So sick. Much deserved!!

Nice van! I see you're at Club Moto, how's that track these days?

Yeah bro!!

I'll see ya at one of the tracks soon and come check it out.

Congrats!

Welcome to the Sprinter family!

We have a 2009 315 cdi(high/long) with a professionally made mid section of van with 4 seats etc.

Great van, the driving qualities are amazing even though it is a really big van!

Nice van! It just purchased a motovan a few weeks ago. I was planning on getting a sprinter but i ended up getting a smoking deal on a 3.5l ecoboost transit.

NorCalRedRyder wrote:

Nice van! I see you're at Club Moto, how's that track these days?

NorCalRedRyder wrote:

Nice van! I see you're at Club Moto, how's that track these days?

...more

This was the first time I'd been there in a few months but it was pretty damn good, Mike does an awesome job with both his tracks. There's a quick gopro clip on my IG if you want to see what it looks like. Layout is pretty tight and jumpy, but it's fun. i don't know why but that track always just beats me up though, I think it's just because to go fast you really have to hit things aggressively and that's not always the easiest on the body.