This Off-Grid-Ready Sprinter "Van-Cation Home" Can Accommodate Five People and Four Dogs

Meet Jen and Kyle and their self-converted tiny vacation home on wheels, "Bodhi." It's a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 with a 170" wheelbase. It's not a full-time mobile home but rather, as they describe it, a "glorified tent on wheels." This is an important detail since the family didn't install some of the must-haves of full-time mobile living, such as a stove.

Surprisingly enough, this family doesn't spend most of their time in a conventional home, as you'd expect. They have a mobile vacation home but live in yet another tiny home on wheels, a converted 40-foot (12.2-meter) vintage bus.

Before we take a closer look at the camper van, let me talk about this family's build budget since I'm aware this is a critical factor in converting a van. The most expensive part, as expected, was the base vehicle. Jen and Kyle bought the Sprinter van for $60,000 (€55,179).

Here's where things get interesting – this family really managed to keep costs to a minimum. Although it doesn't look like it, as you'll soon see, the conversion set them back a mere $10,000 to $12,000 (€9,156 to €11,035) - that's an excellent deal considering some van dwellers pay this much for a robust electrical system. This brings the total price of the camper van to about $72,000 (€66,215).

Like I usually do, I'll start the tour with the exterior. In this case, there's not a lot to discuss. The van is finished all around in white paint with a black lower trim. What's more, it's got a stealthy appearance, with two details giving away its "camper DNA:" the roof rack holding 600 W solar panels and a spare tire carrier at the rear.

Step inside, and you'll discover a bright, colorful interior reflecting the family's personality. Furthermore, you'll notice an open layout, meaning the driver's cabin isn't separated from the living space. In a space this crowded (when the entire family is traveling together), you don't want to make it feel even smaller by separating the two parts.

Dead ahead of the entrance, Jen and Kyle devised a seating area. It consists of a relatively long bench that serves as a small bed and houses sleeping bags and a 12 V electrical system. Its highlights are two batteries with a total capacity of 450 Ah, a 3,000 W Victron inverter/charger, and a solar charge controller connected to the 600 W solar panels. Other notable details in this area are a swivel-mounted TV and a mirror.

Next, we have the kitchen on the interior's passenger side. As I mentioned earlier, there's no stove, but the family made sure to fit the test of the essentials. The kitchen features a deep sink with a faucet that can be swiveled outside to serve as an outdoor shower, a spacious countertop, and two 12 V fridges to be able to fit enough food to feed so many mouths – one's for produce and greens, while the other hold meat, dairy, and more.

Regarding storage, Kyle and Jen use a sink cabinet housing a trash can, as well as two sizeable and striking overhead cabinets made of wood and finished with a stripe of paint. Since they also travel for a few days at a time, they didn't need additional storage spaces.

The couple devised a no-frills bathroom opposite the kitchen, next to the seating area. It doesn't have a shower, but integrates a urine-diverting toilet, which, as its name suggests, separates urine and solid waste. It drains into a 15-gallon (57-liter) gray tank mounted underneath it. For some minimal privacy, they added a small curtain.

Finally, the rear part of the interior is taken up by the bedrooms. You'll discover a full-size bed with many cubbies for clothes storage, while two other beds sit above in an L-shape, secured to the rear doors and the surrounding walls.

How about the dogs's sleeping spots? Jen and Kyle create a dog kennel with a small grated door underneath the main bed. This way, they have their own bedroom and will not occupy the already narrow walking space inside the rig. What's more, only half of the space underneath the bed is occupied by the kennel, with the rest serving as a garage. That's where the family stores some electrical cords, dog food, an A/C unit, and various odds and ends.

All in all, Jen and Kyle came up with an ingenious layout to be able to accommodate so many people and dogs. It's efficient, maximizes the available space, and the best part is it didn't even cost that much to make.