{"id":9216,"date":"2018-04-08T21:12:22","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T04:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/malimish.com\/blog\/?p=9216"},"modified":"2019-02-02T09:41:51","modified_gmt":"2019-02-02T17:41:51","slug":"sprinter-4x4-camper-van-build-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malimish.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/08\/sprinter-4x4-camper-van-build-day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Sprinter 4×4 Camper Van Build: Day 1."},"content":{"rendered":"

Our goal with this van project is to document the entire build via this blog in addition creating videos on YouTube<\/a> and photos & short video clips on Instagram<\/a>. Oh and secret sneak peeks on Patreon<\/a> too. So here we go…<\/p>\n

\"Sprinter<\/p>\n

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Step 1: Make a list of all the things we think we need\/want to do and tape it to the inside of the Sprinter.<\/p>\n

\"Sprinter<\/p>\n

We’ve never done a build like this before and we don’t have a real workshop. But we do have motivation and ten years of living on the road under our belts.<\/p>\n

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We can do this. Right? RIGHT!<\/p>\n

\"Sprinter<\/p>\n

The first item on our list is to remove the entire headliner. It’s not the best feeling to start ripping apart a brand new car but that’s what we signed ourselves up for so no turning back now.<\/p>\n

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As Dan started pulling the headliner off from the mid-section, we realized that we should probably start at one of the ends instead.<\/p>\n

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After a few bolts to remove the visors, we used a plastic molding removing tool<\/a> to undo the headliner clips from the cab area.<\/p>\n

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And then one by one, each piece was taken down… breaking a bunch of little clips along the way. Hope the plastic clips are cheap to replace but with Mercedes you never know.<\/p>\n

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Now that the headliner is gone, Dan climbed up to the roof to pop out the covered pre-drilled holes in order to install our roof tracks. We opted to use ones made for our Sprinter from VanTech<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The face of a man creating holes in a brand new Mercedes. Hahahah. Hopefully each additional hole won’t hurt as much.<\/p>\n

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Dan popped the holes open, laid down tape, laid the tracks over that and then pushed screws through while I worked on the washers and bolts from the inside of the van.<\/p>\n

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It’s actually real nice to have these pre-drilled holes available.<\/p>\n

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This the bit that gets pushed out.<\/p>\n

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Here’s a shot of the aluminum roof tracks from VanTech<\/a> that we installed.<\/p>\n

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Finished with day 1’s projects just after the sun set.<\/p>\n

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Day 1 complete!!<\/p>\n

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No, I didn’t just take photos the entire time. I helped too. Pinky promise.<\/p>\n

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Here is the video Dan created of our first day.
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