A first-pass build plan for a large luxury Sprinter — pick your component tiers and the total adds up live, then set your hours/week to see how long it takes. Refine once the exact van's chosen.
Quick answers to your brain-dump
Sideways double bed at 165 cm? Yes. Any L3/L4 Sprinter gives ~1.65–1.70 m clear width after panelling — you fit east-west, flat, no flares or recesses needed. Build the bed low (near wheel-arch height) to keep the full width. On the XLWB (L4) a sideways bed frees the whole rear as a garage — ideal for your tools + e-bike.
Battery sizing: a single person maxes ~9.5 kWh/day, so a 12–15 kWh bank (or ~10 kWh if you shore-charge most days), a 4–5 kW / 48 V inverter, ~600–800 W solar, and alternator charging as co-primary. Full breakdown →
All-electric / no gas works — induction + microwave + kettle are fine on energy, but they drive inverter size (run one big load at a time). Going gas-free removes a vented locker + certification.
Solo + occasional guest: a pull-out single→double or a powered lift bed (rises by day) both work; passenger swivel seat = your desk + workstation. For a guest you can legally belt in — seats that fold into a bed — see the AWD page's travel-seats → bed options.
Components & budget.
Click cheap / medium / luxury on each row — "Your build" totals your picks live (default = medium). The three fixed totals show an all-one-tier build. Watch the dependency notes: power voltage, gas-vs-induction and rooftop A/C are the three choices that swing everything.
Component
🟢 Cheap
🟡 Medium
🔴 Luxury
Your build—
All-cheap—
All-medium—
All-luxury—
Blue figure = dry-fitout weight. A medium build ≈ 680 kg dry; add water (1 kg/L), gear + you, and keep the laden total under the 4,490 kg car-licence GVM (~800 kg headroom on a medium build). Cabinetry is the biggest controllable (birch ~230 kg vs poplar ~80 kg). Full electrical breakdown →
Parts only — excludes the base vehicle and your labour. Indicative AUD (2026); imported items add ~15–25% landed. Don't double-buy heat + hot water (a Truma Combi is both). See the plan page's Build & budget summary →
Power & electrical.
The full breakdown — an interactive energy calculator, battery + inverter sizing, the all-in-one vs DIY systems comparison, inverter specs, charge times, and an exhaustive component list with costs and weights — lives on its own page.
Headlines
A single person maxes ~9.5 kWh/day → target a 12–15 kWh battery (or ~10 kWh if you shore-charge most days), a 4–5 kW inverter, 48 V (thinner, safer wiring).
Building fresh — a new battery either way. Container-able van → DIY 48 V Victron (cheapest, most repairable, AU + EU service). Tall van → a plug-and-play all-in-one bought in Europe (Zeliox NEO / EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra / Bluetti).
These few choices cascade into everything else — decide them first, because they re-price the whole build.
The decisions that control the build
Power voltage — 12 V vs 48 V. 48 V is what makes rooftop A/C + induction + microwave co-exist without melting cables. Choosing it re-prices the whole electrical loom (thicker cable, Class-T fusing, 48 V DC-DC, 48 V A/C). Decide before buying anything electrical.
All-in-one vs DIY (buying fresh). A tall van that ships RoRo favours a removable all-in-one bought in Europe; a container-able van favours a cheaper, repairable DIY 48 V Victron build. See the electrical page.
Gas vs induction. A fork, not an add-on: gas → vented locker + bottle + certification; induction → bigger inverter + battery. You lean all-electric — that removes the gas locker entirely.
Rooftop A/C yes/no. It forces a large battery / 48 V and adds roof height + weight (watch EU 2.6 m car-park/ferry bands). Under-bench is the lower-profile alternative.
Bed: fixed east-west vs powered lift. East-west fits you at 165 cm and frees the rear (garage); a lift bed frees the floor by day for an office but needs ceiling clearance + structure. Pick one early — it sets the whole layout. (A third route — a pop-top roof bed — is on the AWD page: it frees the floor but needs a low-roof donor.)
GVM plating. Keep it ≤ 4,490 kg to stay car-licence-legal + simplify shipping; a loaded luxury Sprinter gets close, so weight-budget every component (weighbridge milestone in the schedule).
Build schedule.
Task hours from real builds (~650 core, plan ~850 with rework). Set your hours/week and the weeks recalculate. Blue rows are testing milestones — baked in at the right points.
I can work hours/week → —
Task (in build order)
Hours
Weeks
Notes
"Weeks" = task hours ÷ your hours/week. Total shows core hours and a realistic +30% rework figure. Cabinetry (~130 h) and electrical (~70 h) are the big sinks; pre-made cabinet kits are the biggest time-saver.
Dimensions & SketchUp.
Internal dimensions to rough out a model, plus existing SketchUp shells to start from. You use SketchUp — import a shell, then verify it against these before drawing furniture (many Warehouse models are slightly off-scale).
Internal (mm)
L3H2 (LWB high)
L3H3 (LWB super-high)
L4H3 (XLWB super-high)
Load length (flat)
~4,307
~4,307
~4,707
Width wall-to-wall (above arches)
~1,787
~1,787
~1,787
Width between wheel arches
~1,350
~1,350
~1,350
Standing height
~1,976
~2,243
~2,243
Side door opening (W×H)
1,260 × 1,899
1,260 × 1,899
1,260 × 1,899
Rear door opening (W×H)
1,555 × 1,927
1,555 × 1,927
1,555 × 1,927
Usable east-west bed width (after panels)
~1,650–1,700 — a 165 cm sleeper fits flat, no flares needed (build the bed low, near arch height)
Retractable hard shower door (Nautilus) — a real shower that rolls into a ~5 kg cassette so the aisle reopens. video
Slim shower + toilet wet-bath (24"×48") — composting toilet doubles as the shower seat; full bathroom without stealing the galley. Sara & Alex James 144 build
Rear "garage" with slide-out trays + L-track — fixed bed up high, season-swap bins below; perfect for your tools/e-bike. video
48 V architecture (native Victron NG) — ¼ the amps; what unlocks induction + A/C + big fridge together. 12V vs 48V
48 V second-alternator charging (5–6 kW while driving) — refills a big bank fast on short hops; makes electric-everything realistic. guide
Gas-free induction galley — no propane, no locker, no leak/CO risk. why
DC (12/48 V) air-con, no inverter — runs straight off the battery, ~30% longer runtime. Velit 2000R
Motorised lift / ceiling bed — rises by day to free the floor for an office, drops at night. DIY · AU kit
Swivel-seat workstation — passenger seat + fold-out counter = your office. Swivel the passenger seat (not driver) to keep driving position right. how-to
Truma Combi diesel heat + hot water — one 17 kg unit, cabin heat AND 10 L hot water off the diesel tank, no propane. install
Interior slide-out e-bike garage trays — drawers extend ~4 ft to load bikes at waist height, then tuck inside (stealthier than a hitch rack). FarOutRide
Magnetic insulated blackout window covers — privacy + thermal + stealth, pop in/out in seconds. tested DIY