Bike Shop Owner Lives in Self-Built Sprinter Van

I'm Mike from Losco and this is my house so I've been living in vans on and off for about three years and it all started when the last house I was renting ran out of lease and I was looking for a place but while I was looking at how expensive it was was the rent I realized that I was never really at home. I was maybe there once or twice a week to sleep and shower, but the rest of the time I was always traveling, camping, and riding

bike

s. and do things on a

bike

, so I thought why not just save the rent money and build a fast motorhome and live in it for the summer, so I spent about two or three weeks building a fast motorhome in my old Ford Econoline and while It wasn't the prettiest interior build, it was definitely super functional and really opened the door for me when it comes to van living.

I actually ended up really enjoying it that summer when I realized I could go wherever I wanted. I wanted to do it and as a mountain biker that's the best thing I've ever done, so I rode a lot more,

built

a lot more trails and also saved a lot of money, so I enjoyed it so much that I practically daydreamed about it all the time. The next winter when I had another rental and decided I liked it so much that I was basically going to take all the things I didn't like about my first van and apply them to a brand new Sprinter van so I would have more.

Living in space full time for an extended period. I knew that not only was I going to live in it for a long time, but I also wanted to work in it and have a kind of mobile office so I could film. video when I travel and I also edit everything inside and I do it very comfortably, so this truck is basically the culmination of all the things I've learned about building trucks over the last few years, both for my

self

and to help some of my friends to build them. vans I think it turned out great and in my opinion it's the ultimate

sprinter

van for mountain bikers and I really enjoy living and working in it so check it out so my van is a 2004 Dodge Sprinter 3500 with 158 inch wheelbase , it's the largest one They make I chose to buy the largest just to have the most living space because I live in this full time and I also wanted to fit a lot of bikes and tools in the back so it wasn't necessary.

It was an idea for me to get the largest one they make, since it is the model 3500. It has a double meaning: it has four-wheel drive in the rear. This fan used to be a coffee delivery vehicle for a company in Seattle and I bought it on Craigslist like. Almost everything else I have and I spent about a year converting and building everything my

self

, so everything you see here I made myself, which is pretty cool on the outside. I did a few things to add a little shine to this. I got a bed liner. on the rocker panels to make them look cool and also to protect them a little bit from rocks and stuff, and then we have these cute vinyl tree silhouettes that we made in the

shop

and installed them ourselves.

My mechanic Logan and I did it and it looks great. Great, in my opinion I have a larger wheel and tire combination than what comes standard on these 3500

sprinter

s to give me more clearance when riding off road. I take this truck on many off-road adventures on forest roads. and all that when I'm going to visit remote places where I find nice trails and stuff so I wanted to make sure I put emphasis on getting up and moving when I'm traveling off road okay let's take a look inside welcome. Towards the inside of my van, this is the third van or alternative living space I've

built

, so I knew what I wanted the layout to be.

I wanted to make sure I had a really big kitchen so I could cook comfortably. and cook as many meals as possible and I also wanted to have a fixed bed so I wouldn't have to turn a bench or something before I went to sleep so I could jump into bed and call it a day, but I also wanted to make sure I had a sitting area where I can sit and work comfortably on my laptop, but then I can also turn into a little couch so I can hang out and watch a movie. to make sure I had tons of storage space in case I had to bring spare bike parts or spare t-shirts or something when I was traveling, so I have storage space above the cockpit here, this is kind of like anything goes just a bunch of random things in that one here I'm just going to keep a bunch of food just uh kind of things in glass jars loaves of bread and all that here I just have pretty run of the mill dishes.

I don't have much because it's usually just me traveling, although I might bring some spares and then up here I just have more food, like canned goods, and I always have a bunch of Lara bars with me every time I go on a trip down. On the counter I have another small storage area where I keep a few larger items of clothing. I have mostly flannels and jeans and things that are a little bigger when folded. I also have my propane down here for my stove and I have my shirt down here. loading refrigerator that just opens on sliders is a dual zone so this side is a refrigerator and this side I can make a freezer and here I have the basics usually there will always be plenty of vegetables and Lacroix has I have the croix and then in the center here I just have a bunch of slide out drawers on top I just have utensils and some basic spices this one I have vanity trees pots and pans go here this one I have a junk drawer holds some camera equipment just a few things random socks and underwear down there and then the bottom one just has a bunch of oversized food and a colander that doesn't really fit in other places so this is just anything goes for the kitchen stuff and down here From the sink I have another small cabinet where I keep my drinking water.

I just got filtered water at the grocery stores, it's three gallons that will last me a while and then I have my gray water down here, this just drains right out of the sink. and then I can take this out and wring it out, then I have my trash and recycling bags down here, I have a little broom to clean the truck and I have a rack to dry the dish towels and that's it, here I have a door that goes on A small separate storage compartment, just store backpacks, shoes and things there and then in the door.

I have my dual propane and carbon monoxide detector alarm to keep me safe. I have to have one of those if you live in a van and now. For the kitchen I have a large work area of ​​eight feet so I can cook comfortably. It's super nice to cook in this big open workspace here. It's covered in stainless steel, so it's super stain resistant, very durable, and very easy to clean. and still here I have a small stainless steel sink I have a cover that I just removed activate this switch here turn on the water faucet letting the water run over the sink I have this nice paper towel holder that is like a gear system Notched so they don't fall apart, which is great.

I have a fruit basket also compatible with vegetables, as you can see, and I have my two-burner stainless steel propane stove right here. I left it open a little so I could put it in. like a big wok here or a big pot or something and I still have room to cook so when I'm cooking I just turn on the ceiling fan and I open a window a little bit and it just draws a lot of fresh air through the van. . and it gets all the carbon monoxide and condensation out of the truck so it's nice and safe to cook here here's my bed it's a six inch full size memory foam mattress and it's very comfortable I have a big duvet on top of it that's super warm some flannel sheets stay nice and cozy when it's cold outside, I have a nice long window right here, if it's really hot outside I could open this bad boy, turn on the fan and literally suck in a vortex of air through here and cool it like 10 degrees right away, it's really good for my wardrobe that's up here, I just keep all my clothes up here behind these sliding doors and yeah, I just keep t-shirts and some folded shorts and riding gear up here, I keep my clothes dirty at the bottom and then there's another space back here, which is actually completely empty, I only have a couple of swimsuits back there, but I have plenty of space in case I need to pack some spare things for a longer trip and, Last but not least, I have my solar power up here. charge controller is a renegy mppt charge controller.

I have three 100 watt panels on the roof of the van, so 300 watts total and I have a bunch of batteries and all the wiring goes directly to this guy and I can monitor where my batteries are. and see if they are charging me and if I need to move to a sunnier place up here. I wanted to be able to split the cabin to keep it warm in the front or rear depending on what it's like outside so I bought this. insulating curtain here and it will just come off and hook on these hooks so when I'm camping and if I'm in a city or something like that, then you won't be able to see what's going on back here and it's not a total blackout to be able to have something of light and wake up in the morning and then here under the seat, just pull up this curtain and I have my diesel heater down here with my thermostat controller and I can get really hot in here if I want this to be amazing, it's super efficient.

It's connected directly to the truck's onboard diesel fuel tank, so I just fill it up for one trip and don't have to worry about adding any other fuel to separate tanks. I turn this heater on and it stays really warm, it could be like negative 20 degrees outside, it's really hot in here so I love that, it's a must now for the seating area. I have a small toilet that is mounted under the seat, so if you have to poop in the middle of the night or are traveling and can't find a bathroom. Take this guy out and it's a flushing toilet.

I highly recommend having one of these, they are completely sealed. They don't smell and it's essential in my opinion. I love this on this bench. I have it mounted on sliders in the floor, so you just pull this handle and slide this seat out. It will do a lot of extra things. space for another person to sit here and eat with me or work at the table with me. It's really nice when this bench slides all the way back because you're so close to the door, when it's super nice outside I can sit here and work. on my laptop and just being outside and looking around and it's really comfortable when that bench slides all the way back.

You can then remove this table from the wall and mount it between both benches. I keep this cushion behind my driver's seat and there you have it, it's now a sofa and under this bench there is more storage space, just lift it up and put a bunch of stuff in there too for building materials. This thing is super isolated behind all the walls. 15 degrees warmer inside than outside, even without the heating on. I have quarter inch plywood lining all the walls and then use quarter inch tongue and groove pine on the ceiling. I have quarter inch tongue and groove pine on the backsplash in the kitchen area and then all the cabinets and all the storage are made from pine boards that were cut on a table saw to be super square and then some of These cabinets were glued together which took some time, but they looked really nice on all of my cabinets.

All the doors and drawers are held closed by these little spring-loaded rotary knobs, so they close automatically when you close them and then can't open when you're driving. To open everything, it's super easy, just place one hand on a handle. and then turn the knob, open it, close it again, done, you don't have to worry about closing things and it saves a lot of time. I wanted it to be super bright in here, so I have six super bright LEDs that are connected directly to this light switch right on the wall and under the kitchen cabinets.

I have an LED strip light that's on a dimmer, so if it's a little gloomy outside and I'm watching Harry Potter or a horror movie, I can dim them a little bit to give it a little movie theater effect and then I have a light that's on top of my bed that dims depending on what I'm trying to do, if I'm trying to read or work or something in bed, so that's super nice that was the interior space now let's look at the coolest part of the truck the garage welcome to the garage and this is a big reason why i bought the biggest sprinter van i could because i own a bike

shop

andI wanted to make sure it had room for bikes and a lot of tools and I also wanted to have a built-in work stand in the back area so I could work on bikes, so back here there is not only room for tools and bikes, but it's also an area for public services.

I have a big 17 gallon fresh water tank back here that is connected to the sink and I have a hose up here that I can easily connect to a faucet on the side of a building or at an RV fill station so I can fill up my water fresh and be able to wash the dishes and all that in the tank. I also have a hose, so if I'm going for a really muddy bike ride I can spray my bike and clean it. turn it off before you put it away or if it's really hot outside and I wanted to take a shower, I could just shower outside and that's a pretty cool feature on top.

I built this wall to completely separate the living room from the back garage area and I have magnetic strips and bungee cords holding all my tools. These things are super stable and secure. They never move. It's really nice to have all the space here to organize everything easily, so if I need to work on a bike in a pinch when I'm out. I'm traveling or working on a client's bike. I don't have to fumble in a toolbox and I can grab the tools from there to store the bikes. I can easily fit two full size mountain bikes back here.

I have two floor mounted fork stands that the forks lock into so the bikes don't move when we ride down forest roads on this side. I keep all my clothes, helmets and pads. I don't have any crazy fancy system. Over here it's kind of an organized pile. I wanted to keep it open, so if I needed to put a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck, I wanted to still have the ability to put a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck. They go and I have ski racks up here and I can carry a pair of skis very comfortably and easily and then also all the wiring for the solar system and all the accessories go directly into this little compartment down here.

I have three Agm batteries. with a total of 465 amp hours so I can power all my accessories without problems when I am completely off the grid and running on solar power only and then I have a fuse box here and all the internal accessories are all 12 volts and everyone works with this. fuse box and I have an individual fuse for each one. I also have a waterproof floor in the garage and everything is completely trapped and sealed in here so it's waterproof so if I go out for a wet bike ride my bike can be emptied and I don't have to worry about water running down it. everywhere and get behind the cracks and crevices and then if I go on a ski trip and my skis are leaking here, that's all waterproof too thanks to the tone for tuning in and watching this van tour. video of my truck now what do you guys think about my truck?

Would they live in my truck? Is there anything about my truck that you would change before living in it? Leave some comments below. I'd love to see what you guys think if you liked it. this video and you are new to the channel, hit the subscribe button with the little bell notifications so you don't miss any of our future videos and if you want to get some of these sweet Lasco products, I'm using right now and that I used on the video, visit our website at vlasko.com and while you're there, pick up some cool parts for your mountain bike, we'll be happy to help you with any questions you have too. about compatibility, availability or pricing, so feel free to call us at the store at 360-306-8827 or email us at info thelostco.com until next time, happy following