Bike Shop Owner Lives in Self-Built Sprinter Van

i'm mike from the losco and this is my house [Music] so i've been living in vans on and off for about three years now and it all started when the last house that i was renting my lease ran out and i was looking for a place but while i was looking at how expensive rent was i realized that i was never actually at my house i was maybe there once or twice a week to sleep and shower but the rest of the time i was always on the go camping and riding bikes and doing bike things so i figured why not just save the money from rent and build out a quick camper van and live in that for the summer so i spent about two or three weeks doing a quick camper van build in my old ford econoline and while it was not the prettiest interior build it was definitely super functional and it really got my foot in the door when it comes to living in a van i actually ended up enjoying it so much that summer when i realized that i could pretty much go wherever i wanted to and as a mountain biker that's like the best thing ever so i rode my bike a lot more i built a lot more trail and also i saved a lot of money so i enjoyed it so much that i pretty much daydreamed about it the whole next winter when i had another rental place and i decided that i liked it so much that i would basically take all the things that i didn't like living out of my first van and apply it to a whole new sprinter van build to have more space live out of it full time for an extended amount of time i knew that i was going to not only live in it for a long time but also i wanted to work out of it and have kind of a mobile office so that i can film video when i'm traveling and also edit everything inside and do it very comfortably so this van is basically a culmination of all the things that i learned about building vans over the past few years both for myself and also helping some of my friends build out vans i think it turned out great and in my mind it is the ultimate mountain biker sprinter van and i really enjoy living and working out of it so check it out so my van is a 2004 dodge sprinter 3500 158 inch wheelbase it's the biggest one that they make i chose to get the biggest one out there just to have the most amount of space to live in because i do live in this full time and i also wanted to fit lots of bikes and tools in the back so it was a no-brainer for me to get the biggest one that they make since it's the 3500 model it's a dually meaning that it's four-wheel drive in the back this fan used to be a coffee delivery vehicle for a company in seattle and i got it on craigslist like pretty much everything else i own and spent about one year converting it and building everything myself so everything you see in here i did myself which is pretty cool on the exterior i did some things to add a little flare to this thing i got some bed liner on the rocker panels to just look cool and also protect it a little bit from rocks and whatnot kicking up and then we have these sweet vinyl tree silhouettes that we made at the shop and installed ourselves me and my mechanic logan did that and it looks super cool in my opinion i have a bigger wheel and tire combo than what comes stock on these 3500 sprinters to give me more clearance for when i'm driving off-road i do take this van on a lot of off-road adventures on logging roads and whatnot when i'm going to visit remote locations where i find sweet trails and stuff so i wanted to make sure that i had an emphasis on getting up and around when i'm traveling off-road all right let's check out the inside [Music] welcome to the inside of my van this is the third van or alternative living space that i've built so i kind of knew how i wanted the layout to be i wanted to make sure that i had a really big kitchen so that i could comfortably cook and cook as many meals for myself as i possibly could and i also wanted to have a fixed bed so that i didn't have to like flip a bench around or something before going to sleep so i could just hop into bed and call it a day but i also wanted to make sure that i had a seating area where i can sit and work at comfortably on my laptop but then i can also convert down into a little couch so that i can hang out and watch a movie on i also wanted to make sure that i had lots and lots of room for storage in case i needed to bring spare bike parts with me or spare t-shirts or something when i'm on the road so i got storage over the cab here this is kind of anything goes just a bunch of random stuff in that one up here just going to be keeping a bunch of food items just uh kind of things in mason jars loaves of bread and whatnot in here just got pretty run-of-the-mill dishes i don't have a lot because it's generally just me traveling i could bring some spares though and then up here just have more food just got like some canned goods and always have a ton of lara bars with me whenever i go on a trip down below the countertop i got another little storage area where i keep some bigger clothes items i have mainly flannels and jeans and things that are a little bit bigger when they're folded also got my propane down here for my stove and down here i got my top loading fridge which just pulls out on sliders it's a dual zone so this side is a fridge and this side i can make a freezer and in here i just kind of got the basics it's generally always just going to be a ton of vegetables and lacroix gotta have la croix and then in the center here i just have a bunch of slide out drawers top i just got utensils and some basic spices this one i have like toilet trees pots and pans go over here this one i got a junk drawer keep some camera equipment just some random stuff socks and underwear down there and then the bottom one just has a bunch of just oversized food items and a strainer things that don't really fit other places so this is just kind of the anything goes for the kitchen stuff and down here below the sink got another little cabinet where i keep my drinking water i just get filtered water at the grocery stores that's three gallons that'll last me a while and then i have my gray water down here this just drains straight from the sink and then i can just take this out and drain it then i have my garbage and recycling bags down here i got a small broom to clean up the van and i have a dish towel drying rack and that's that right here i got a door that goes into a little separate storage compartment just keep like backpacks and shoes and stuff down there and then on the door i have my dual carbon monoxide propane gas detector alarm to keep me safe gotta have one of those if you're living in a van and now for the kitchen i have a big eight foot work area so that i can comfortably cook it is super nice cooking on this big open workspace right here it's covered in stainless steel so it's super stain resistant and it's really durable and it's just really easy to clean and keep up on over here i got a small stainless sink i have a cover that i just take off pop this switch right here turn on the water boom running water up above the sink i have this really sweet paper towel holder that is like on a notched gear system so they don't unravel on me which is cool i got a fruit basket also compatible with vegetables as you can see and right here i got my two burner stainless steel propane stove i left it kind of open so that i can put like a big wok on here or a big pot or something and still have space to cook so when i'm cooking i just pop on the ceiling fan and open a window a little bit and it just sucks a bunch of fresh air through the van and pulls all the carbon monoxide and condensation right out of the van so it's nice and safe to cook in here here's my bed it's a full-size six-inch memory foam mattress and it is very comfortable got a big comforter on top that's super warm some flannel sheets stay nice and cozy when it's chilly outside got a nice long window right here if it's super hot outside i could just crack this bad boy open turn on the fan and literally suck a vortex of air through here and cool it down like 10 degrees right away it's really nice for my wardrobe that's right here i just keep all my clothes here behind these sliding doors and yeah just keep t-shirts and some folded shorts and riding gear up here keep my dirty laundry in the bottom and then there's another space in the back here which is actually completely empty just got a pair of swim trunks back there but i have plenty of space in case i need to pack some spare stuff for a longer trip and then last but not least up here i have my solar charge controller it's a mppt charge controller from renegy i have three 100 watt panels on the roof of the van so 300 watts total and i got a whole bunch of batteries and all the wiring comes straight to this guy and i can monitor where my batteries are at and see if i'm being charged and if i need to move to a sunnier spot up here i wanted to be able to divide the cab keep it warm up front or warm in the back depending on how it is outside so i got this insulated curtain here and it's going to just kind of stuff away and clip onto these hooks so when i'm camping and if i'm in a city or something like that then you can't see what's going on back here and it's not a total blackout so i can have some light come through and wake up in the morning and then down here underneath the seat just tuck this curtain up and i got my diesel heater down here with my thermostat controller and i can get it seriously hot in here if i want to this thing is awesome it's super efficient this thing is plumbed straight to the diesel fuel tank on board on the van so i just fill up for a trip and don't have to worry about adding any other fuel to any separate tanks just turn this heater on and i stay super warm it could be like negative 20 degrees outside it's super warm in here so i love that thing it's a must-have now for the seating area i have a small toilet which is mounted underneath the seat so if you got to take a poop in the middle of the night or you're on the road and you can't find a bathroom slide this guy out and it's a flushing toilet i'd highly recommend having one of these they're completely sealed they don't smell and it's just a must-have in my eyes i love this thing on this bench i have it mounted to sliders on the floor so you just pull this handle slide this seat out it's going to make a whole bunch of extra room so another person can sit here and eat with me or work on the table with me it's pretty sweet when this bench is slid all the way back because you're really close to the door when it's super nice outside i can sit here and work on my laptop and just pretty much be outside and look around and it's really comfy when that bench is slid all the way back you can then take this table off of the wall and mount it in between both of the benches i keep this cushion behind my driver's seat and then there you go now it's a couch and under this bench is more storage just lift it right up and fit a whole bunch of stuff in there as well for building materials this thing is super heavily insulated behind all the walls it saves about 15 degrees warmer inside versus outside even without the heat on i have quarter inch plywood lining all the walls and then i use quarter inch tongue and groove pine on the ceiling i have quarter inch tongue and groove pine on the backsplash of the kitchen area and then all the cupboards and all of the storage is all made out of pine boards which were cut on a table saw to be super square and then some of these cabinets are actually glued together which took some time but they turned out really nice all of my cabinet doors and drawers are all held closed by these little spring loaded turn knobs so they automatically click closed when you close them and then they can't open up when you're driving to open everything up it's super easy just put a hand on a handle and then turn the knob open it up close it back up you're good to go you don't have to worry about like latching things and it saves a lot of time i wanted it to be super bright in here so i have six super bright leds that are wired straight to this light switch right on the wall and underneath the kitchen cabinets i have a led light strip which is on a dimmer so if it's kind of gloomy outside and i'm watching harry potter or a scary movie i can dim these down a little bit give it a little movie theater effect and then i got one light that is above my bed which dims depending on what i'm trying to do if i'm trying to read or work or something in bed so that's super nice that was the interior living space now let's go check out the coolest part of the van the garage [Applause] [Music] welcome to the garage and this is a big reason why i got the biggest sprinter van size that i could because i own a bike shop and i wanted to make sure that i had room for bicycles and i had room for lots of tools and i also wanted to have a work stand built into the back area so that i can work on bikes so back here isn't just room for tools and bikes but it's also an area for the utility stuff i have a big 17 gallon fresh water tank back here which is plumbed to the sink and i have a hose up here which i can easily hook up to a faucet on the side of a building or at an rv fill up station so that i can fill up my fresh water so i can do dishes and whatnot plum to the tank i also have a hose so if i go on a really muddy bike ride i can spray down my bike and clean it off before putting it away or if it's really hot outside and i wanted to take a shower i could just take a shower outside and that's a pretty neat feature up top i built this wall to completely separate the living area from the back garage area and i have magnet strips and bungees holding all of my tools on these things are super stable and secure they never move it's really nice having all the space up here to easily organize everything so if i do need to work on a bike in a pinch when i'm on a trip or work on a customer's bike i don't have to fumble through a toolbox and i can just grab the tools right off of there for bike storage i can easily fit two full-size mountain bikes back here i have two floor mounted fork mounts which the forks lock into so that the bikes don't move around when we're driving on logging roads on this side i store all my clothes and helmets and pads i don't have any crazy sophisticated systems over here it's just kind of a organized pile i wanted to keep it open so if i did need to jam a bunch of stuff in the back of the van i wanted to still have that ability to put a bunch of stuff in the back of the van and i have ski racks up here and i can carry a couple pairs of skis very comfortably and easily and then also all the wiring from the solar and all the accessories go straight down into this little compartment down here in here i have three agm batteries totaling 465 amp hours so i can power all my accessories no problem when i'm completely off the grid running just off of solar and then i have a fuse box over here and all of the accessories inside are all 12 volt they all run to this fuse box and have an individual fuse for each one i also have a waterproof floor in the garage and everything is completely caught and sealed back here so it's waterproof so if i go for a wet bike ride my bike can drain and i don't have to worry about water running everywhere and getting behind the crevices and cracks and then if i go for a ski trip and my skis are draining down on top of here that is all waterproof as well thanks to tone for tuning in and checking out this van tour video of my van now what do you guys think about my van would you live in my van is there anything about my van that you would change before living in it yourself drop some comments below i would love to see what you guys think if you enjoyed this video and you're new to the channel hit that subscribe button with the little bell notifications so that you don't miss out on any of our future videos and if you're wanting to get some of this sweet lasco merchandise that i'm wearing right now and that i wore in the video head over to our website at vlasko.com and while you're there pick up some sweet parts for your mountain bike we would be more than happy to also help with any questions that you have on compatibility availability or pricing so definitely feel free to give us a call at the shop 360-306-8827 or shoot us an email to info thelostco.com until next time happy trails [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: The Lost Co.

Views: 5,170,570

Rating: 4.8989186 out of 5

Keywords: dodge sprinter, sprinter van, sprinter 3500 conversion, sprinter camper van, mountain bike van, camper van tour, sprinter van conversion, sprinter van tour, sprinter van build, sprinter van camper, sprinter van camper build, mercedes sprinter, how to live in a van, camper van, van life, solar power van, bellingham washington, camper van build, promaster camper, galbraith mountain, ford transit connect, vanlife, tiny home, mountain bike

Id: E1N4uI2EsWo

Length: 16min 41sec (1001 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 13 2019