Class B Micro Camper

[mlts22]

I talked with the guy at Morehead Design Labs a few weeks ago. He seems to do good work, and his prices are about the same as Sportsmobile, so if I lived in NC, I'd probably be looking at using him for an upfit.

[stanw909]

This is a simple Colorado Camper Van conversion built on the longer low roof model Promaster Hey All,

Upon completion of my van I have decided to put it out there for sale. It is not something I need to sale, but would enjoy selling it for a fair price. I have enjoyed this van, and I will enjoy another if I sell this one. I enjoy building out vans and it may be time to do another. Below is a link to a video of the van and the craigslist ad but I will just post the craigslist ad text here. Thanks for looking. Please e-mail: gknwscer@hotmail.com for inquiries/questions/interest.

Thanks!
Stephen

http://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/5018971216.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtQqlJHPG5k

CRAIGSLIST AD Below, click link for pictures:


Custom Colorado Camper- Ram 1500 Promaster- 3.6L Pentastar V6 280 HP. Front Wheel Drive. City-16MPG; HWY 21MPG. 46,700 Miles

$47,000

The first of its kind in the nation to my knowledge. I know it was the first for Colorado Camper Van (CCV). Almost certain that Sportsmobile was not doing pop tops yet for the Promaster when I had this complete last January. I am selling the vehicle because building vans is a passion and hobby for me. I am going to do the same thing all over again. With this being said, I will not lose money on this van. It is a custom made camper van with a lot of cash, blood, sweat, and tears in it. Please NO LOW BALL offers. I do NOT need to sell it. I would however enjoy selling it for a fair price to start building another.

So many great things about this vehicle. I get asked about it EVERYWHERE I go. killer van for anyone wanting an adventure-mobile. What really sets this van apart is that it takes and sleeps 4 people. Most of the sprinters/camper vans out there take two, sleep two.

I have been converting it with CCV for the past 7 months. 95% was done by them. I installed the swivel seat and had the radio done else where. Pretty much everything else was done professionally by CCV. They are:

- Custom Pop Top- Sleeps up to 6'8ft. Insulated vinyl (upgrade), on remote control. 6 windows that can be unzipped to clear vinyl (see outside), then another layer unzipped to mesh. The bed also folds back so you can have standing height throughout the van when parked. You can also just take the panels out all together if you don't need them and just want to sleep in the downstairs bed. LED Lighting on dimmers.

- Lighting- 2 main switches, both on dimmers. One for upstairs, one for downstairs.
- Kitchenette- 2 burner propane stove with sink that has automatic pump (no hand pump, they suck..) Slider underneath for cooler/fridge. Storage/cabinets. Soft close latches that lock.
- Battery system/inverter- extra auxiliary battery that has a smart solenoid. Basically if you run out of power for your aux battery it will not start feeding off your car battery. It closes the current and it makes sure your car battery is charged before charging your aux battery. 2000W inverter. Strong enough for a small fridge or microwave. I use it just for phones, laptops, bluetooth devices, etc. USB and wall plugs.
- Swivel Seat- Passenger seat Swivels and creates a usable seat when parked.
- Custom removable Bench Seat- Sprinter seat that has been welded and bolted through the frame. With seat belts, removable.
- Custom Flooring- Heavy duty custom fit to floor mats that are very easy to remove and clean.
- Paneling and insulated
- Windows- Both windows in the cargo area are by CR Laurence. Both have the ability to open for venting. One is a slider (passenger side), the other is opened by turn knobs on the bottom (driver side)
- Downstairs Bed- Custom first of its kind storage bed. Awesome quality firm open cell foam bed with storage inside the bed itself. The lids are on gas struts so you don't have to hold the lids open. There are storage openings on both the back and front of the bed. There is also a switch that provides lighting under the bed.
- Fan-tastic Fan- For ventilation on summer days. Feels like AC when its on!
- 50' LED Light Bar- Awesome for rolling into your camp site at night and seeing EVERYTHING there is around you. Also nice to turn on for your friends while they set up their tents... (suckers....)

[stanw909]

Flagged.Strange.He must have made somebody mad.

[VWWeekender]

Thanks for the good summary (sailorsoon) and the many excellent replies. I've been searching the web for US converters who plan to offer camper conversions of the upcoming Mercedes Metris (due out this October) (aka Vito). I have not seen anything yet. Anyone heard anything about such a conversion?

[rockymtnb]

A Metris camper coversion would need a pop-top to be useful, so that narrows the potential US converters to Sportsmobile, Colorado Camper Van (who did the Promaster discussed above) and GTRV. Sportsmobile is by far the largest so you might call Barb or Paul at Sportsmobile Texas to see what they have planned. Derek at CCV can build a top for just about any vehicle, many customers have CCV build their top and then take the unit to Van Specialties or Sportsmobile for the full interior buildout. Haven't heard much about GTRV recently but it might be worth a call.

The Elephant in the Room is Winnebago. They built thousands of Eurovan Campers on the VW T4 chassis from 1995 to 2003, stopping only because VW quit importing vans in 2003. Russ Garfin (rgarfin@winnebagoind.com) is the Class B product director at Winnebago so you might want to contact him and reinforce the desire for a Metris version of the campervan.

Whoever does produce such a unit will have a unique product - the only garageable RV, at least of the self-propelled variety, in the US market. Given the proliferation of covenant controlled HOAs and active retirement communities that would be a very nicely targeted product.

[stanw909]

I would think Winnebago would build poptop van on the Promaster low model if they went Westphalia type rig.Sportsmobile makes a superior Westphalia type rig anyway. It is called the RB50. Why the preoccupation with this Metris ? As suggested above. Colorado camper vans will do a top for just about anything. You can have a local carpenter do your interior. Westphalia's are a very simple build.

[reconcampers]

We plan to do the Metris with a pop top as soon as they are available. Most of the larger components are designed and ready to be built. The layout will be very similar to our Nissan NV200 Camper seen here:

Recon Campers | The Future of Pop Top Camper Vans in the USA

The Westy style Micro camper is back in the USA!!!!!!

[rockymtnb]

Originally Posted by stanw909

I would think Winnebago would build poptop van on the Promaster low model if they went Westphalia type rig. Why the preoccupation with this Metris ? ...

The big advantage for Metris is garageability under a standard 7ft US residential garage door. At 76 inches tall the Metris allows enough space for a pop-top (4 inches) perhaps some solar panels and roof vent, and still provide trim clearance under a 84" standard garage door.

The Promaster low roof is 90" tall so with a 4" pop-top it will be very close to a non-standard (tall) 8ft garage door. With garage door trim and solar on the pop-top it might be tight enough to need a 9ft door, which is really unusual for standard US residential construction.

But I agree the Promaster would make a much more roomy and comfortable RV. It's just an issue of what could fit into US mass market residential garages.

[stanw909]

Here's the link if it works. The 2015 Sprinter Van. Ahead of its time. Again. .

[VWWeekender]

rockymtnb's comments speak to our interests exactly. The only reason we don't have RV is we live in a city and don't want to buy used VW T3 or T4 at a premium price for a weekender (though if we were smart, we would have rather than waiting for the return of a sub-200" pop top).

[stanw909]

BTW The link above should say Metris.

[VWWeekender]

Roadtrek was nice enough to promptly respond to my inquiry if they had plans to convert the Metris into a camper. Their response was, "We do not have any units in our currently lineup in the sub 16' category. "The model 170 is just over 18' and that's our most compact offering at this time. We don't have plans in place to convert the Metris, unfortunately." Similarly, Mercedes has no plans at this time to import the Marco Polo, "At this time, there are no plans to release the Marco Polo Sprinter variant in the U.S. We will however be adding the Metris to our Sprinter line due for release this fall to add to our customizable Sprinter line." Lastly, the micro Recon Campers (Recon Campers | The Future of Pop Top Camper Vans in the USA) is considering conversions of the Metris.

[rockymtnb]

European van converter Reimo is showing a North American version of their Vito Trio campervan on their new website at:

Reimo Americas - Home

The location is listed in Quebec Canada but the marketing materials seem to indicate the Metris campervan version will be available throughout North America.

[Nomad32]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ispjydDl1aU

[Nomad32]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKwhrx1-XII

[reconcampers]

We are working on the Metris full camper van and hope to have it complete by late winter.



We have completed our Nissan NV200 full camper van with pop top, sink, fridge, portable stove etc. We also have a weekender style Ford Transit Connect LWB with pop top and small table to go with the factory seating.

The Nissan NV200 complete camper sells for around the price of a loaded up Metris chassis only.

You can see more info at: Recon Campers | The Future of Pop Top Camper Vans in the USA or Facebook page: Recon Campers

Glad to see all the interest in the modern day pop top camper vans!!!

Stephen
Recon Campers
info@reconcampers.com