Sprinter Van

[Blair S. Paulsen]

I got around to spraying bedliner to freshen up the floor a little, and then went safety gaga to remind folks where the edge of the world is.

I actually used a paint designed for absorbing vibration in ships hulls instead of bedliner. Its great, but it was expensive ($800 just for the materials) and tricky to apply. If I had it to do over again I would just use bedliner.

Pics and details of my Sprinter build out can be seen on my website:
alacritymedia (dot) com

Cheers - #19

 

[Jeff Barklage]

Sprinter van pictures with shelves

Sprinter van pictures with shelves

Here's some photos of my Sprinter van with shelves. These are the GORILLA brand shelves I bought at Sam's Club, installed these units by bolting them to the floor and to the sides of my Sprinter. I first removed the plastic inner side walls, taped in the aluminum rolls of insulation and then ran 3/8x16 threaded bolts [pointing outward toward the center of the van] thru the welded-on verticle wall supports...re-attached the plastic inner wall coverings, The shelves are thus bolted to the walls with these bolts. I ran 2"x2"s on the floor down the length of the van on each side to help secure the cases that sit on the floor.
I had a shop install a heavy duty 1200 watt inverter so I can power small work lights [to help wrapping in the dark] as well as charge batteries while we travel to & from locations. I also installed a work bench with a power strip [tied into the inverter as well as an exterior plug on the vehicle for shore power, got that at an RV dealership] as well as a hi-hat bolted onto the bench to allow hauling heads and building cameras...another Arri dove-tail plate is bolted to the bench to allow for camera placement for short company moves as well as extra body building.
Interior flouro light is mounted above workbench as well as white rope lights mounted in the upper channel near the ceiling to give work light. I had to install a back-up video camera above the rear doors with it's tiny 3" monitor on the dash..I'm a DP, not a truck driver, and had a heck of a time backing this beast up!
In installing the shelves, I noticed that by flipping the shelf upside-down, I could use the self's small lip or support to work as a case holder..for cases that are smaller than the 18" self width..for some of my larger cases, I flipped the shelves back to their regular orientation to allow the edges of the cases to protrude beyond the shelf edge...check out the photos to see what I'm talking about.
The gray carpet that covers the shelves was purchased at a hardware store [like Lowes or Home Depot] and glued to the wooden shelves with carpet glue.
The photos with all the cases was for a feature I did where we used both of my RED packages..a bit more gear and accessories than I normally like to haul. But still, with both sides of the isle rigged with shelves, I had plenty of room for my Magliners. The sticks ride in the very back, babys on one side, standards on the other. This way you can easily grab what you need without having to climb aboard the Sprinter.
Design away and have fun...just be sure you can change it around after you have had a month or so of working out of it. I certainly did :smile5:

 

[Jeff Barklage]

Sprinter van pictures with shelves #2

Sprinter van pictures with shelves #2

Here's a better view of the back door area...where you can see the sticks [on each side] and the shelves.
The work bench area is on the right side.
I LOVE the step at the rear of the Sprinter!

 

[David W. Jones]

My Sprinter does not have that cool step in the back like yours.
I may have to investigate one.

 

[David W. Jones]

What I'm thinking of now in keeping with the modular theme I've got going on, is replacing the temporary brackets on the left side of the van which hold the dolly track, with a shelving unit on the upper right side above the E-Track & sliding door, which would be supported by E-Track attached support brackets.

 

[David W. Jones]

That way the whole shelf could be removed when not needed, or be moved to the opposite side of the van.

 

[David W. Jones]

Well here is the latest version of the track holder made with Harbor Freight goodies. I'm sure it will change, it's only Monday.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

If anyone needs shelving, let me know. I can see if I can arrange a good deal. My father works in material handling, and specializes in used material which is where you can generally land some good deals, especially for shelving.

 

[David W. Jones]

Thanks for the heads up Steve, everybody loves getting a good deal!

 

[David W. Jones]

OK my loading ramp came in yesterday, and now I am really starting to think about adding a winch to help pull up loaded carts.
Any experience out there?

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Alexis Vanier]

Isn't a winch a little overkill? I've seen plenty of cube trucks with hydraulic tailgates, but cargo vans with winches? I've never seen a setup like that. Pictures anyone?

 

[David W. Jones]

A winch overkill?
Not after 30 years of this stuff, my back is a mess!
Well if I wasn't such a DIY miser I would have installed a liftgate.
BUT... The ramp I got is only 6 feet long, and the next size up was an additional $800.
So the incline on the ramp is not as gradual as I would have liked, which is not that big a deal, unless for example I am alone & need to offload my cart with the HMIs, think HEAVY magnetic ballasts. I'm thinking a small Harbor Freight winch with remote control mounted inside the cargo area would help in those situations. And could also be useful on non/slow paying clients.

 

[David W. Jones]

Inexpensive container store cart.

 

[david_winters]

I'll try to get some winch photos tomorrow on a commercial I'm on. The sound guy has one in his astro van.

 

[David W. Jones]

That would be a big help David.

 

[David W. Jones]

Well I picked up a Harbor Freight winch on sale, but it will likely be this weekend before I figure out where to mount it. It is a little heavier than I expected so I'm contemplating side mounting it along with a cross mounted pulley.

 

[David W. Jones]

Still haven't figured out where I will mount the winch.
Have been doing test fittings in the mean time.

 

[David W. Jones]

Well sorry, not much of an update on the Sprinter progress.
I have low key magnetic graphics on the way, which means I will need to get my website under control before I use them.
And still no progress on mounting the winch.
I have been putting together a small ADR room this past week, along with regular business, so I have been a busy boy.
Man I love the small of fresh cut wood! I have the walls up and ready for acoustic control treatment. I'm trying to decide on a camera system for the rooms now.

I'll post fresh pics when I get the winch mounted.

All the Best!

Dave

 

[David W. Jones]

Well it looks like I will need to make charts showing where everything goes on each cart and where it rides in the Sprinter. Having donated the use of my gear sans camera for a local project, and assured by a close friend, these guys have shot a number of projects and know what they are doing, all I can say is... what a cluster-F!.... Ring Ring, we are wrapping, OK I'll be there in 20 to pickup my Van... When I show up they are trying to figure out how to case the Red One they had, and all my gear had just been tossed into my van and covered with blankets. What the hell? Well we didn't know how it fit on the carts. I made these jokers pull everything and reload. They got pissed, and then started to bitch about how my gear was crap. Three of the lights blew as soon as we turned them on! Did you bring them in from a 17 degree outside into an 80 degree room and turn them on without letting them acclimate to the temperature change and let and condensation evaporate? What does that mean, was the reply. They can't even afford to replace the two HMI lamps or the Diva power supply repair.

Live and learn!

 

[Tony Lorentzen]

Urgh man - that sucks! I'm feeling for you.