Mercedes Metris Turned Ultimate Camping Car
As longtime experienced car campers Marilyn and David came to us looking to up their game. They no longer wanted to have to pitch a tent and sleep on the ground, easily bring along their Brompton folding bikes, camping and travel equipment, all while not needing to step up to a ‘big’ van such as a Sprinter. “Oh”, they asked, “Can we have a toilet too?”
The result exceeded our expectations! We began with a stock-standard Metris cargo van with a small lift kit to get a little more ground clearance, a pop-top painted to match the body, two slider windows in the side doors and a Fiamma awning to supply shade.
We then turned our focus to the interior and the customers desire for a lot of storage and a lounge spot/couch for lazy days reading or napping while not feeling cramped. We designed and fabricated a passenger side storage cabinet that has tons of storage and a spot for their Jackery battery unit which we wired into a simple marine grade 12V distribution fuse block with an alternator charging to keep it topped off while driving and portable solar panels to keep it charged while in camp. We topped it off with a bamboo countertop with a custom bracket for the simple but efficient water jug.
On the drivers side of the van we designed and fabricated a bench with plenty of storage underneath and space for the Yeti cooler up front with easy access from either inside or outside via the sliding door. With the sliding door only being used for ventilation and cooler access and half of the passenger side door being covered by the cabinet/counter, we built custom storage pukas for yet more storage and zero wasted space.
Oh, yeah, the toilet. We created a custom little spot in the rear of the drivers side bench to house a Laveo Dry-Flush toilet concealed by an easy to lift lid! We topped the whole bench with a custom cushion setup so the bench can be a couch with a nice bolster to lean on with arm rests on each end, or a long sleeping space for naps with a cushion over the cooler.
The customer chose the fabric and floor finishes which we think look great. We added powder coated L-Track in the back of the van to secure their Brompton folding bikes and fabricated custom inside trays on the rear doors to secure the camp chairs and camp table. We templated and paneled the interior after insulating with Thinsulate behind Reflectix, added some LED lighting and USB charging outlets easily accessible from up top in the pop up bed, or from down below.
The van came out super clean with an unbelievable amount of storage, the shelving in the cabinet is sized for their storage bin of choice and with the bikes, chairs, table and cooler being strapped in the van is a nice quiet safe ride while in motion yet everything is easily accessible once at the destination in an easy to park small sized vehicle!
