Do you need to dream of taking a 4×4 Sprinter van camper off-grid and overlanding for days, you’ll wish to do that amazingly rugged rig.
We Roll With It’s 4×4 Queuing off-road van is prepared for journey, with suspension modifications, 37″ tires, a whole {photograph} voltaic setup and a substantial amount of inside residing area.
This van isn’t solely used for off-road adventures, although, it’s residence to van life couple Kate and Levi.
I caught up with Kate to see what it’s like residing in such a hardy Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 Camper, and the best way through which they discovered their residence on wheels.
How Kate and Levi ended up in a Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 Camper
When Kate and Levi first met, they have been each residing and dealing in New York Metropolis. Kate labored in images contained in the vogue commerce, which required fairly a couple of worldwide journey, and Levi ran his personal Jiu Jitsu school.
Each had an adventurous streak, with Kate rising up racing grime bikes and van tenting in Australia, and Levi spending his childhood in Alaska and residing on boats.
Nomadic life appeared appropriate for the pair.
So, they began a selling company collectively often called https://www.sweatequitycreative.com/and commenced a rig to name residence.
Their first automotive was a 2018 Sprinter 4×4 3500 with two sliding doorways, which the couple constructed out as their first overland camper.
However as rapidly as they landed TouRig as a client for 2020, Kate and Levi equipped their first van and invested proper right into a mannequin new Sprinter van camper, now often called Bruce Banner.
Discovering their 4×4 Sprinter Van Camper
Bruce Banner didn’t begin as a 4×4 Sprinter van. It was a initially a 2wd and now has a 4×4 safe axle swap-out. The 2 needed a rig that can bridge the outlet between journey van and big overland vans.
“As rapidly as a result of the safe axle conversion was accomplished in Florida, the Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 van had the look and the capabilities we have been after, it pushed the restrict of what was attainable on the Mercedes physique platform, nonetheless it was white. We don’t do white vans. So we drove it as rather a lot as Portland to go to our buddies at LineX The Coast,” talked about Kate.
LineX The Coast focuses on full-body sprays of overland rigs, they usually did a two-tone paint job the couple’s new van.
“When he turned from a small white van to an infinite inexperienced monster truck, and that’s after we named him Bruce Banner,” talked about Kate.
The modifications on their Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 Camper
The pores and skin elements on Bruce Banner are from Backwoods Journey Modswhich make rugged entrance and rear bumpers for a wide range of autos.
“They hadn’t nonetheless made a roof rack, ladder or sidesteps nonetheless it didn’t take a lot convincing from us for them to start out creating these,” talked about Kate. “We now have the primary designs of every onboard and are doing R&D for the model ahead of they launch them to their product line.”
Then, the engaging inside Kate and Levi’s new Mercedes off freeway camper is a TouRig design.
The Sprinter 4×4 camper van has a full bathe, big mattress, campervan kitchen, {photograph} voltaic and lithium arrange. Plus, Queuing Airliner Aluminum cupboards give the couple a substantial amount of storage and latch shut when off-roading.
There’s furthermore a kitchen with diesel cooktop, a heater and scorching water powered by diesel and a 28 gallon reserve gasoline tank.
“The TouRig workforce takes fairly a couple of consideration into their builds to make one issue which is each clever, mild weight, sturdy and likewise aesthetically attractive as you need your property to be welcoming,” talked about Kate.
Bruce Banner’s Overlanding Capabilities
Bruce Banner is an 4×4 Sprinter van camper with some main off-road capabilities.
It has a Dana 60 entrance and 70 rear with 37 inch Falken MTs on Black Rhino Armory rims.
There are 600AH of Victron lithium batteries, which worth from each the alternator and 375 watts of {photograph} voltaic. There’s furthermore 40-gallons of water on board, which Kate and Levi use to scrub, do dishes and wash down gear on the rear of the van.
The Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 Camper will even be outfitted with on-board air, which permits the couple to alter tire strain on the paths.
Now we have a great deal of storage contained inside the van nonetheless furthermore additional storage in Roam Journey Co bins on the roof and contained in the Backwoods Rear Bumper space,” talked about Kate.
Furthermore they’ve fairly a couple of restoration gear on board in case they get in a jam whereas off-roading – the entire points from a winch, to MaxTrax, a HiLift jack and a few gear from Problem 55.
“Contained in the cabin we use the Garmin Overland to regulate to trails and we have now Scheel-Mann seats to make the journey further cozy.
Dwelling the van lifetime of their 4×4 Sprinter camper van
Kate and Levi love taking Bruce Banner out overlanding, exploring distant areas and discovering solitude in nature. They will comfortably do a month as a substitute of their overland camper, with presumably further time if close to a stream.
“The suitable challenge about van life is with the ability to expertise so many attractive areas and under no circumstances having to resolve to residing in only one place,” talked about Kate. “With the van we’re going to dwell by the seashore someday and in a pine forest the following. This retains me feeling artistic and impressed, if I would like a modern outlook we merely pack up and uncover one!”
Her least favourite challenge is the dearth of group. It is perhaps exhausting having fairly a couple of social time when all people seems to be on the swap.
“We meet loads of people and we’re very social nonetheless I do usually miss a wide range of the frequently routines of brick and mortar life,” talked about Kate.
A variety of the powerful journey they’ve undertaken of their 4×4 Sprinter van camper is after they have been leaving Colorado all via a blizzard and the freeway was closed down.
They needed to take Bruce Banner down an outdated logging freeway to get spherical.
“I don’t suppose that freeway would usually be terribly troublesome nonetheless the native climate circumstances actually made it powerful. We obtained some superior photographs that day,” talked about Kate.
The 2 don’t have any plans for stopping the van life anytime shortly, and have this suggestion for individuals considering of attempting it out:
- “Plan an earnings forward of time (or have some excessive financial monetary financial savings) We began Sweat Fairness Artistic in NYC and even did just a few jobs there ahead of hitting the freeway. We’ve got now been able to attempt our enterprise growth and assure it may work for us.
- Take some smaller journeys first to goal it out, there’s fairly a couple of good rental corporations within the market, attempt https://kaiuka.com/
- Letting go of bodily factors can usually be exhausting nonetheless know that the journey will most likely be value it and likewise you want means rather a lot a lot much less ‘stuff’ than you suppose”
Should create an earnings stream ahead of you reside the van life? Affirm this out: 40+ methods to earn money from a campervan