VAN TOUR with HIDDEN SHOWER | Modern Luxury 4x4 Sprinter Van Build After 3 Years of FULLTIME VANLIFE

Welcome back to Lewis the Van. After almost three years of living in our low-roof Sprinter van, we are so excited to introduce you to our newest tiny home on wheels, this 4x4, 144-inch Sprinter van. We will be living and traveling full-time in this van over the coming months as an opportunity to test out many of the new features you'll see highlighted in this tour. But if you are interested in this van or future ones, don't hesitate to reach out through the contact link in the description box below. In that same box, you can find the links to many of the items used in this build. We can't wait to show you around. Let's check it out. Upon entry, this tiny home features this divider wall, this large floor-to-ceiling unit, and this bench. The divider wall has a pocketed sliding door and is, in our opinion, one of the best ways to fully transform a van into a home on wheels. Without the ability to seat into the cab, this space feels much less like a vehicle and much more like a cozy space of its own. This insulated wall also offers privacy, temperature regulation, and is the perfect way to keep our cat safe while on the road by ensuring she stays behind the partition whenever we are entering or exiting the vehicle. To add some character to an otherwise large white wall, we incorporated this accent shelf. At the base of the wall, we have this S-bar D2 diesel heater, which is mounted under the passenger seat and vents into the living space. When you're living in a space this small, every decision requires give and take. Needing to step over this bench is a small inconvenience for us, and we chose this durable distressed faux leather for the cushion to combat any signs of wear and tear. Personally, we love that this bench provides an alternate seating option and contains a fully hidden bathroom and shower. After all of our experience living in a van these past few years, we knew we'd be much better suited to a flexible shower space than a permanent one. For now, we're using this cassette travel toilet from Dometic, but plan to incorporate a composting toilet in the future. When you need to rinse off, make sure to turn on your 12-volt electric water heater. Once you've given your water enough time to heat up, remove the toilet, lift the curtain frame, and hook each of the four corners into the hooks in the ceiling. To avoid any moisture buildup, turn on the max air fan directly above you. To help conserve water, we have this handheld shower extension. The attachment makes it much easier to regulate your water usage, which is an important aspect of van life and allows you to remain off the grid for longer periods of time. There are two gray water tanks mounted underneath the vehicle, the first of which is hooked up to the sink and can hold 15 gallons, and the second of which is hooked up to the shower only and can hold 11 gallons. It's important to mention that this curtain is mold and mildew resistant and dries completely when left hanging up for 30 minutes or so. Tile-to-floor transitions have become a staple in many of our builds and usually serve a purely aesthetic purpose. This transition is slightly different as it serves a functional one, too. Beneath these tiles lay a 12-volt heated floor pad, and the tiles work exceptionally well to conduct the heat. This location is especially nice for stepping out of the shower with wet feet. Right beside the bench in the bottom compartment of this large floor-to-ceiling unit, we have a large pit where we keep bulky items such as laundry, bedding, and window covers that take up a decent amount of space. In the middle cabinet, we have our 65-quart isotherm refrigerator and freezer. For additional surface area, we have this tabletop pullout, which works perfectly to unload groceries or as a third counter. The top upper cabinet in this unit acts as a pantry for dry goods. Four upper cabinets run along the length of the left side of the van and three along the right. On this side of the kitchen, we have a white sink, a gold faucet, a minimal backsplash, and these geometric rattan partitions. We love how they create a visual and mental divide between the kitchen and seating area. The gold hardware on this unit is from RV Labs, an Australian company that specializes in these pull latches for mobile homes. With their unique design, these latches keep your drawers locked in place while driving. Latches endure a lot of use in a van, so choosing high-quality ones is well worth your while. We'll have these linked down below, and if you're interested in purchasing some of your own, you can use our discount code louisthevan to receive 5% off your order. The opposite side is entirely push-pop to allow for appliance clearances. One of the devices in this unit that requires such clearance is this Webasto diesel cooktop. Similar to the diesel heater that we showed earlier, this cooktop is tapped into the onboard fuel tank and runs off the diesel fuel in the tank of the vehicle. This appliance is a hefty investment, but it's a major change from the induction cooktops we've used previously, as it requires much less power and allows you to cook for longer periods of time. Underneath the cooktop, we have this 12-volt oven. It's very small, but will give us the ability to bake something every now and then, which is something we've never been able to do in a van. This device, along with the heated floor, diesel cooktop, and water heater are all examples of 12-volt appliances we're excited to test out for ourselves and potentially include in future builds. Lastly, there's this pop-down cabinet in the bottom where we currently keep all of our toiletries. Living and traveling with our cat full-time means having a litter box in the van. To tuck what would otherwise be an eyesore out of the way, we built this litter box into a drawer that pulls out from the step. Because the back half of the drawer is storage, only the front half needs to be pulled out on a consistent basis. The seating area forms a U-shape and each bench lifts up to reveal extra storage. In the left bench, is housed inside a custom tank that fits over and alongside the wheel well. The fill port can be accessed with the back doors open. Underneath the right bench, you can find the main powerhouse of the van. This lagoon mount serves as a table when seated and can double in size by pulling out these leaf supports. This table also acts as the remainder of the bed platform. To go from seating to sleeping, break down the lagoon mount, remove this back cushion, slot the table into the gap, and move the four other cushions into place. Our cat loves to use this additional cushion as her bed while we sleep above her. This Dometic Heki 2 skylight lets in tons of natural light and really brightens up the space. This bar opens the skylight and these clips lock it into place. The skylight has a blackout cover as well as a bug screen. For additional ventilation, there is one opening bunk window on either side of the van and a max air fan nearest the divider wall. All of the window covers seen in the cab are from The Wonderful Co., who we'll have linked down below. These blackout covers are magnetic and give us peace of mind when leaving the van. There are six total touch-dimmable lighting options in the van. This set of three controls the overhead middle and outer LED strips, which run down the length of the ceiling, as well as these underglows, which illuminate the center walkway and tile-to-floor transition. There's a switch on either side of the kitchen and one last switch nearest the back, which illuminates the entire seating and sleeping area. A single 400-watt solar panel is mounted atop the vehicle. Although renewable energy serves as this tiny home's main source of power, this battery-to-battery charger ensures your batteries continue charging anytime the car is turned on. This is especially nice, since there is no guarantee of endless stretches of sunny days. Electrical setups can get complicated, so to make the system more manageable, we've divided the contents into two main areas. The lower compartment can be found underneath this side of the bench and houses 412 amp-hours of lithium batteries. The system contains an MPPT charge controller, LYNX distributor, and inverter. Everything is accessible through Bluetooth, and thanks to this Victron Smart Shunt, you will always have the most accurate percentage reading on your batteries. Since our stove and water heater are both 12-volt, these outlets are used primarily for charging our laptops. This 15-amp shore power charger gives you the ability to plug into shore power. This small upper cabinet serves as the main user interface and contains anything you need to access daily, such as this Blue Sea Systems 120-volt breaker box, each and every 12-volt fuse, stove controls, heater controls, and the inverter switch. In the next upper cabinet beside that one, we have switches for the heated floor, water fill light, and various warming pads associated with helping to winterize the vehicle. Lastly, you can find four USB ports, one 12-volt port, and this voltage regulator for our security system. If you enjoyed this tour, give it a thumbs up, and make sure you're subscribed to the channel. We're so grateful for the ability to share such a major part of our lives here with you all, so thank you for watching and supporting us. We'll see you on the road.