Architect-Designed 2012 Mercedes Sprinter 170 WB – Low Mileage!

Welcome to your new stealth adventure-mobile meets cozy home-away-from-home. She was lovingly designed and built by 2 San Francisco-based architects for a go at #vanlife and cross-country move. We recently moved back to SF and have decided it’s time to find her a new home that will be able to enjoy her more than we can! She deserves to be out on the road and making new memories! 

She’s based in SF but we’ll happily deliver her to her new home if you’re located elsewhere.

Our build is an off-grid, full-featured, 4-season-ready land yacht ready for the long haul. She isn’t a 4×4, lightly built off-roading machine – if that’s what you’re looking for, this isn’t your van! We designed her to be comfortable for both weekend trips and full-time living.

Outside, she has a custom matte black paint job that is both distinctive and stealthy during the day and really fades into the background at night. Inside, we designed for functionality and an open feel with high-end materials and clean lines. The kitchen has plenty of butcherblock counter space for food prep, a deep stainless sink, a 2-burner propane cooktop, a Vitrifrigo fridge/freezer, and 6 drawers for tons of storage. In the back, the convertible table can seat 5 and folds down to create a bed with custom cushions. Portlights, skylights and a fan keep the interior feeling private and safe while allowing for views out and great airflow. The build has a fully tiled bathroom with a hot shower, composting toilet and its own cute, tiny little skylight. 

She’s built for full-time off-grid living systems-wise. On the electrical side, we installed 200Ah of lithium batteries (with room for 100Ah more), 335W of solar, a 3000W inverter + charger, a 50A MPPT solar charge converter + van power charger, a custom DC/AC control panel and multiple 120v + USB outlets. On the plumbing side, she has 35 gallons of fresh water capacity, a 4-gal electric fresh water heater and a 10-gal gray water tank. The whole van is extensively insulated and we put in a backup externally-vented propane heater for cold nights, though it will generally stay about 30-degrees warmer on its own without supplemental heat (50’s inside with 20-deg temps outside).

We’ve put a lot of ourselves into this project since we bought the empty van back in 2019 and have a lot of fun memories with her! We’re sad to see her go but know the right new owner will come along to enjoy her for this next chapter!

Exterior + Base Van

2012 Sprinter 170 WB 3500 (dually)

~150k miles – lovingly maintained with Mercedes-Benz

Custom matte black exterior paint

4-season ready: insulated with Havelock wool (wall + ceiling) and rigid insulation (floor)

Propex Propane Heater 

Suspension Upgrade: Van Compass Stage 3 + Bilstein B6 Shocks – low mileage

All-Terrain Tires: Toyo Open Country AT – low mileage

Interior

Main Cabin

Convertible custom table + bed

Custom cushions with Luna Textiles fabric

FilzFelt wool interior surfaces 

Floor Tile: Concrete Collaborative – Solana – white concrete

Baltic birch bench, wall and ceiling finishes

Roof Fan: Maxxair Deluxe 7500K

Skylights: Bomar roof hatches (~20” square)

Windows: 4x Lewmar operable portlights, custom powder coated (24” x 7”)

Rear windows: 2x round 8” CRL windows

Electric radiant floor heating

Passenger seat swivel

Kitchen + Wardrobe

Refrigerator/freezer: Vitrifrigo C1151XD4-F 4.2CF 12v

Stove/cooktop: Dometic 2 burner propane cooktop

Stainless steel sink

Butcher block countertop

6 drawers with undermount slides

Bathroom

Toilet: Nature’s Head composting toilet

Wall Tile: Fireclay tile with a tiled soap niche

Black rain shower head

Skylight: Bomar roof hatch (9.5” square)

Garage

Fresh water tank: 35 gal

Gray water tank: 20 gal

Fresh water pump: SHURFLO Aqua King II 3.0gpm + accumulator 

Electric Water Heater: Bosch 4-gal 

Storage (tire chains, pizza ovens, ski/board/hiking boots, etc.)

Ski/snowboard cubby

Propane Locker: 2 tank capacity, sealed, externally vented 

Electrical

Solar array: Renogy 335W solar (160W + 175W panels) installed on a custom aluminum roof rack 

Charge Controller + Van Power: Renogy 50A DC-DC + MPPT Solar Charge Controller

Batteries: 200Ah Battle Born Batteries, space for +100Ah

Inverter/Charger: Samlex EVO 3000W 

Battery Monitor: Victron BMV-712

Distribution Panel: Blue Sea Systems custom DC/AC Panel

2x duplex AC outlets

USB DC outlets

Smart LED lighting – LIFX dimmable and tuneable LEDs + iPad Mini controller

Radiant floor heating with Mysa smart controller

Appraisal

We have an appraisal from Camper Van Appraisals that indicates the value of the van above asking. We’re happy to share this with serious buyers.