A List of Features Your Tricked-Out Sprinter Van Should Not Be Without

If you can dream it, chances are Outside Van can customize it.

(courtesy of Outside Van)
By Pete Cottell

If you can dream it, there's a good chance you can put it in your Sprinter.

Not unlike the iPhone, the release of the popular Mercedes utility vehicle has created a cottage industry in customization. Companies like Outside Van make it easier than ever for explorers of all stripes to add all manner of bells and whistles to their makeshift home—provided they can afford it.

While Outside Van won't cop to installing things as audacious as terrariums, waterbeds or pizza ovens, here's a list of features they say your Sprinter should not be without.

1. Rigid LED light bar, which provides over 30,000 lumens to light up remote areas and backwoods.

(courtesy of Outside Van)

2. Rock guard bars to prevent frame damage caused by boulders and debris encountered while off-roading in search of that perfect off-the-grid Bureau of Land Management camping site.

3. 480-amp 12-volt battery, which uses solar panels to bank enough energy to power lights, air conditioning and other accessories for up to four days off the grid.

(courtesy of Outside Van)

4. 17 types of color-coded wire to make it easier to troubleshoot problems with the electrical system.

5. Rooftop vent exhaust fan with sensor that closes the vent when it detects rain.

(Katie Reahl)

6. 3M Thinsulate insulation—the same as that used in jackets from the North Face.

7. Soundproof insulation to prevent being awakened by gas-powered generators used by RVers to keep their rigs powered at night.

(Katie Reahl)

8. German diesel-powered water heater that can operate in temperatures down to minus 10 degrees.

9. Thatched floor from Sweden that's waterproof and gasoline- and fire-resistant, just in case.

(courtesy of Outside Van)

10. Stainless steel shower that works with the water heater to provide hot  showers in temperatures as low as 10 below zero.

(courtesy of Outside Van)

11. Couch upholstered with high-grade material from Sunbrella that's water- and mildew-resistant.

(courtesy of Outside Van)

Oregon's Exploding Boomer Population Is Flocking to the Vanlife, Turning a Once-Grungy Counterculture Into Big Business | The Portland-Raised Creator of the #Vanlife Phenomenon Says You're Getting it all Wrong

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.