Cy Sutton has had his hands in so many cool things, it was probably only a matter of time until he turned his creative energies to pimping out a Sprinter, in this case one with a 170-inch wheelbase. The van had housed a mobile pet grooming business, which apparently had suffered a flood and rather than drying and fixing the flooring, the previous owners simply added more flooring on top of the wet. Sutton’s demo took out hundreds of pounds of unnecessary weight and a scary amount of mold.

“I realized that I needed to remove everything and start from scratch,” he writes. “I knew coming up with good design was key. I needed a well thought out space that served multiple functions and had built-in incentives for keeping my stuff orderly. I spent a lot of time prioritizing my needs and thinking about how to most simply address those needs.”

In the end, open space and flexibility were key. He wanted a wood stove to avoid problems with propane heaters. He wanted a kitchen and a fridge and enough solar power to drive the fridge, not just his laptop.

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Working with a friend and an electrician, the buildout took about nine days spread over two and a half weeks. The final cost was around $8,000 (plus van).

Here’s a list of features the van has now:

1. Vertical racks at the rear for shortboards, tripod, beach umbrella, fishing rods and yoga mat

2. Raised bamboo grate, solar shower and shower curtain that spans the two back doors to create an outside but private shower area.

3. Sink and pump faucet

4. Propane stove with propane container mounted on outside of van

5. Clothing storage and hanging rack

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6. Top loading compressor fridge (energy efficient)

7. Food storage

8. Glass water jugs with pumps- padded and secured

9. Clothing and backpack hooks

10. Fold up third seat

11. Ventiline vent with 12v high power fan

12. Fold up bed- underside is a white board and cork board for storyboarding, planning and note taking

13. Hammock mount and hammock desk- my most proud invention (game changer when working)

14. Longboard sling on inner roof

15. First aid kit

16. Kitchen towel and paper towel rack

17. 2 sets of 32′ LED Christmas fairy lights

18. Compact wood stove 8″ x 8″ x 14″ (yet to be installed)

19. Rear exterior mounted propane cylinder and diesel gas can

Camp Notes is a big high five to the fun of sleeping outdoors and all that comes along with it. You know, camping and stuff.