Proudly owning a Sprinter van could be a good way to discover the world, however customizing it to your liking can take it to the following stage by way of consolation and cupboard space.
Once I was designing my third Sprinter, I knew I wished to maximise my gear storage, whereas making my spare tire extra accessible.
That is the place Owl Vans got here in – providing modern and smooth van equipment for Sprinter van homeowners trying to improve their van life expertise. From purposeful add-ons resembling roof racks and out of doors storage to ladders and extra, Owl Vans can assist remodel your Sprinter van into a personalised journey automobile.
With a give attention to sturdiness, light-weight design, and performance, Owl Vans has turn out to be a trusted Sprinter van equipment model, and also you’ve possible noticed their gear on vans at trailhead parking heaps. On this weblog submit, we’ll dive into the Owl Vans equipment I’ve on my van and the way they will elevate and improve your individual camper van’s design.
Owl Vans gifted the gear for my new van. As all the time, all opinions and proposals are my very own, and we solely share merchandise we really love and assume you’ll too.
Owl Vans Ladder + Tire Provider
On Sprinter vans, the spare tire is usually carried beneath the van which is a really inconvenient place to have it if you happen to have been to get a flat tire on an uneven dust street or muddy street.
As a substitute of getting to precariously crawl beneath your van, Owl Vans Ladder + Tire Provider lets you retailer your spare on the again door of your van, offering simple and instant entry. Having your spare mounted on the again additionally lets you carry a full-size spare tire, which is very necessary if you happen to plan to do any off-roading in your van.
The tire is located low sufficient that a median top particular person like myself (I’m 5’5″) ought to have the ability to get it off the again of the van with none points. You too can add a Rotopax diesel canister to the skin of the spare tire if you wish to carry further gasoline. With the spare tire mounted, this provides 16″ to the again of the van, so it doesn’t add important size to your van. With the spare tire being extra simply accessible, I like to recommend throwing a lock on the rack to forestall anybody from stealing your spare tire.
The Owl Vans Sprinter spare tire rack is mixed with a ladder that gives roof entry. This implies you don’t have to decide on between a ladder or a spare tire in your again door. It’s product of bendable aluminum alloy which is stronger and extra light-weight than different van ladders in the marketplace.
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The primary ladder peg is slightly onerous to succeed in from the bottom if you happen to don’t have a rear step, however there are many locations to seize on to hoist your self as much as that first step. People who find themselves shorter or who’ve brief legs may need slightly hassle with this although.
Once I first tried climbing up the ladder, I felt like I wanted to be slightly extra cautious than a normal ladder because the steps are a lot smaller, however when you get used to it, it’s very simple to climb up. I used to be capable of climb up there 25 weeks pregnant, no drawback 🙂
If you wish to see the ladder in motion, take a look at this video I posted on Instagram.
B2 Provider and Mini Sherpa
Once I was designing my third Sprinter Van, I wished a storage field to hold gear that doesn’t must be contained in the van – ie instruments, our water hose, jumper cables, and many others. I used to be drawn to Owl Vans Sprinter Van equipment as a result of the Owl Vans service opens with the again doorways so that you by no means need to swing the service out of the way in which first. It makes accessing issues behind the van very simple.
B2 Provider
I selected the B2 Bike Provider which is a light-weight, modular service that you could mount quite a lot of Owl Vans equipment to. I’ve paired mine with the Mini Sherpa Plate and the Medium Expedition Field. Made with TIG welded aluminum, this service is sturdy and very sturdy.
The primary characteristic of the B2 is the power to mount bikes, together with e-bikes, on the again of your van. With a complete weight capability of 150 kilos, this is among the solely racks of the market that may deal with the burden of e-bikes whereas nonetheless permitting you to freely open and shut your again doorways.
Within the picture beneath, the bike rack can be mounted on prime of the cylindrical tubes which might match 2 bikes facet by facet.
Mounting bikes does require the separate buy of 1up Bike Trays. Being modular, the B2 lets you select how excessive you need to mount your bikes. You’ll be able to mount them low on the B2 for straightforward entry or larger so you’ll be able to pair it with a storage field.
Since I used to be pregnant after we bought this van, we haven’t used the B2 to mount our e-mountain bikes but. I’ll say I’m slightly hesitant to journey long-term with our e-bikes on the skin of the van since I’m afraid they’ll get stolen or broken from climate or extreme mud. Once we do determine to mount the bikes on the again of the van, I’ll in all probability need to throw some form of cowl on them to guard from the weather and ensure the bikes have been insured. For weekend journeys or for transporting bikes to and from trailheads, I believe the Owl Vans B2 is an incredible answer.
When switching to winter sports activities, Owl Vans additionally sells a ski locker that mounts to the B2 which helps preserve the within of your van dry whereas defending your skis from dust and street particles. That is particularly helpful for these of you who’ve Flares in your Sprinter Van and sleep sideways. For this type of van flooring plan, skis are sometimes to lengthy to suit beneath the mattress, making the Owl Vans ski locker a superb answer.
One different factor to concentrate on with the B2 is that it might intrude with the backup digital camera sensor. We now have a 2021 4×4 170″ Sprinter and each time we put the van in reverse, it triggers the backup sensor to sound the alarm as if we’re going to again into one thing.
Mini-Sherpa
If you happen to gained’t be carrying bikes in your Owl Vans B2, you should use the Owl Vans Mini-Sherpa modular mounting plate to mount quite a lot of gear like a DMOS Shovel, a Rotopax for further gasoline, MaxTrax restoration boards, or no matter else you need to carry.
Do take into account that the spacing of the holes on the Mini-Sherpa are uniform, so relying on what you need to mount, you will have to drill a gap or two in your Mini-Sherpa. We discovered that to be the case after we went to mount a Rotopax and the spacing on the Mini-Sherpa didn’t match up with the spacing of our Rotopax mount. Sadly, winter (and our child) arrived earlier than we had an opportunity to drill holes to mount our Rotopax or another equipment, however it’s on our to-do checklist earlier than we hit the street this summer season.
If you happen to don’t plan to hold heavy e-bikes and the concept of drilling holes in your model new gear is intimidating, you may take into account the Owl Vans Sherpa Cargo System as a substitute of the B2/Mini-Sherpa. The Sherpa Cargo System has extra flexibility inbuilt resulting from quite a lot of spacing of the mounting holes. The draw back, nonetheless is that the entire weight capability of the Sherpa Cargo Provider is 100 kilos, so 50 kilos lower than the B2 Provider.
Medium Expedition Field
On the underside of our B2 service, now we have the Owl Vans Medium Expedition Field which – much like the ladder + tire combo – provides 15″ inches to the again of the van. I actually love this field because it permits us to retailer issues like our hose, bathe hookup, instruments, jumper cables, and different gear that we actually don’t have to entry from contained in the van.
The field is product of a particular gauge of aluminum and has TIG welded seams, permitting the field to be each ultra-rugged and light-weight. It may maintain as much as 60 kilos of substances and could be mounted to both the Sherpa Cargo Provider or the B2 Provider that now we have. If you would like extra cupboard space, there’s a big dimension field out there.
The field comes with a lock and key so you’ll be able to safe no matter is contained in the field with out having to purchase an additional lock. The field is all-weather and has been put to the take a look at right here in Utah this winter the place we’ve had a ton of snow.
Total this field has proved to be tremendous helpful and simply the precise dimension for carrying the gear I discussed.
Different In style Owl Vans Equipment
Along with the Owl Vans equipment I’ve, Owl additionally manufactures quite a lot of different overlanding gear to get your Sprinter van equipment dialed. Right here’s a couple of extra of their hottest gadgets they both manufacture or promote:
Observe: The Spare Tire Ladder combo rack and the B2 require 180-degree hinges, which your van might or might not include them. You should purchase 180-degree hinges from Owl Vans or out of your native Mercedes supplier.
How To Set up Owl Vans Equipment
All of my equipment have been put in by my customized van builder, Exterior Van.
If you happen to plan to self-install, Owl Vans has step-by-step video directions for all of their gear.
If you happen to’d choose to have your equipment professionally put in, take a look at this checklist of licensed Owl Vans set up facilities.
You probably have any questions on Owl Vans merchandise, take a look at their complete FAQ part.
I hope this Owl Vans overview helps you select the very best Sprinter van equipment to your journey rig. You probably have any questions on these merchandise, please depart a remark beneath.
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