I haven’t been in that many Sprinter vans but it seems as though most of them have broken heater vents. Yesterday I got some used replacement vents from a wrecked sprinter van that weren’t perfect but much better than my vents. I’ll install them later when I get some of the more major things done, if I did it now it would sort of be like putting frosting on a cake before you make the cake. Here is a youtube video describing the removal process of the passenger vents.

Both Tressanna and Savina are currently enrolled in drivers education class. They both came home a little freaked out over the “nasty” (not my favorite word) videos they watched yesterday. They are both becoming more confident drivers and gaining more driving skill. Here is a picture of a very, very, serious Tressanna concentrating while she takes a turn at the wheel of the van.

The van came with a fancy electric ladder rack (about $3500 when new), I’d like to sell it and I have it posted on Craigslist for $500.  I think it will probably be tough to sell. I don’t need the ladder rack, it kind of makes the van look like Bullwinkle the Moose (big antlers) so I took it off yesterday with the help of my friend Tim. I like the look of the van more now without the ladder rack but I’ll need to do something about the wires sticking out the top of the roof.

I drilled out the rivets that held the composite wood floor to the van floor and pulled out the two piece floor. The floor is dirty and needs to be degreased but I plan on using the floor again. I will add insulation and sound deadening material to the floor, walls and ceiling of the van. I’ve been perusing the internet looking for some insulation tips and a place to purchase good inexpensive materials. I found a report from a Western Washington University student who did a scientific test on what type of insulation to use on a bus project (the report is on the EZ cool website). The van really needs some sound deadening material but it is already significantly quieter since I removed the metal racks and the and the passenger compartment metal separating panel.

I purchased a seat today for second row seating. When installed we’ll now be able to carry more than two people. The second row seat will need to have some windows installed
so passengers can see out. It might be kind of a long trip if you were seated in the second row and you couldn’t see out the side of the van for 5 or 6 thousand miles!

Here we go, a new adventure and planning for a fantastic road trip is under way. I purchased a used 2004 Dodge Sprinter van from a local HVAC company. It is a 140″ cargo model with metal shelving and passenger compartment divider.