Hinterlander X.E.V. "Xtreme Exploration Van" 4500 Severe Duty 4x4 Sprinter

Tweaking the engine performance of an overland vehicle for remote travel is a risky proposition. Installed components should be readily available and engine tunes, if any, should minimize the strain on engine components. 

With this in mind, I've taken an approach which should be manageable while also adding a little to the capabilities.

• RENNTech Engine Tuner HHT adds up to 69 HP and 104 lb.-ft of torque 
• Pedal Control with smart phone app interface. This allows me to run on eco mode for long distance, flat travel and a sport mode for navigating city traffic and hilly or rough terrain
• Terrawagen snorkel cold-air intake for long dusty tracks w/ cyclonic pre-filter inlet

To Do

• Auxiliary diesel fuel filter / water separator to mitigate issues from poor international diesel fuel sources
• Hydraulic steering assist or similar; possibly upgrade power steering pump
• Steering stabilizer(s)
• Second alternator

AT Tires & Wheels
The Founder's tire and Hutchinson wheel assembly have a load range and design that allows airing down of a medium-duty vehicle.

• Founder's 305/70R19.5" 
• Rim Size: 19.5 Diameter / 8.25” - 11” Width 
• Max Load: 6610 lbs 
• Load Range: J
• Max Inflation Pressure: 120 PSI
• Ply Rating: 18 PR
• Load Index: 146/43
• Speed Rating: K (68mph)
• Hutchinson 19.5" heavy-walled aluminum commercial dual bead-lock. Federal DOT Certified for highway use

• Front: Custom HD welded steel sub frame with radius rods powder coated semi-gloss black
• Wheel wells altered to fit 305/70R19.5 tires axles; altered front lower edge of front doors, fabricated fill-in plates
• GVWR now Federal DOT certified to 13,990.

To Do:

• Re-do rear axle and suspension system to improve upon the Whitefeather design
• Re-do the Whitefeather 75 gal. steel extended range fuel tank which hangs too low for off-road use; currently it severely decreases break-over angle. Will run 2x shallower aluminum tanks with cross-over.
• Re-do the Whitefeather exhaust routing from in front of the passenger rear tire path to up and over the rear-end modifications with added heat shielding

• Front: Dorman .810 wire x 17.5" tall coil springs and lift under perch with built in angle 
• Oversized front (1.375 inch dia.) Roadmaster chrome-moly sway bar w/ Zerk greasable poly bushings
• FRONT AXLE: Dana Super 60 Ford F550 7K load range 10 on 225 MM wheel bolt pattern 4.88 gears w/ Detroit Eaton electric locker w/ dash switch
• Front hub lock w/ dash switch
• Hand blueprinted Red-Head steering gear
• OEM Transmission & Custom TCU Tune
• NV 271 transfer case; low gear is crawling gear w/ transmission in low
• OE drive shaft shortened / balanced = to 300 MPH road speed
• Custom Dan Spicer drive shaft sublet, altered to be compatible w/ Dana companion flange rear
• REAR AXLE:  Dana 70HD w/ .750 thick tubes
• Dana D70U Detroit Eaton electronic locking differential for 4.56 and up gear ratio; custom machined-down width carrier .025 on one side and .018 on the other to maintain proper ring gear centering for 70HD axle, dash switch
• Dana Spicer 4.88 D70 Ring & Pinion
• Steel rear lift blocks with built in pinion angle adjustment
• 1.50 dia. Hellwig chrome-moly sway bar, poly links & custom frame links
• Rear Super Steer/Whitefeather rear axle track bar with cross link, poly bushings 
• Tri-8 rear U-bolts 
• Billet aluminum hub-centric wheel adapters
• Front / Rear Axles: Slotted & cross drilled rotors with matching Reybestos ambulance service pads & rotors
• Whitefeather designed, custom machined of chrome-moly rear ABS tone rings, painted with high temp paint, custom ABS sensor mounts for OEM sensors
• Braided stainless/Teflon lined rear brake hoses, 10 MM to frame, 3/8 banjo to caliper, spiral wrapped, rubber dipped retainers 

Physical

• Stainless steel anti-drill security plates on doors
• Exterior slide-bolt locks for doors to mitigate door-peeling attacks
• Electronic dead bolts
• 3M Anti-Bash film on all tempered glass windows

Electronic

• Customized Mid City Engineering remote start / vehicle immobilizer / alarm system with high-idle switch
• ECU relocation to mitigate through-fender attacks
• Steel security screen for tilt-open sliding door window.

To-Do: 

• Custom catalytic Converter anti-cut shields

• 100% Rust Mitigation
• Lizard Skin Spray-On Thermal Barrier and Spray-On Sound Deadening interior + wall framing & voids. Also provides waterproof body protection against interior plumbing leaks and condensation on all sheet metal surfaces
• Lizard Skin Thermal Barrier spray-on roof exterior. 
• Butyl Matting interior for forward living space floor, cab roof & three forward doors
• Raptor Liner Exterior Shell: 15% reduced body (Jeep Gator Green), 10% reduced accent trim (Black) & pure Raptor exterior roof (Jeep Shark Gray).
• Installed emergency egress window drivers side and fabricated strut attachments system to prop open as a huge tilt-out window for ventilation. Removeable no-see-um netting screen with magnets provides bug-free airflow when installed at window frame
• Installed sliding door window with security screen for tilt-open window
• Terrawagen Bug Barrier Window Vents
•  Nano-Ceramic window tint for IR heat mitigation 

•  Aluminess Front Bumper; defense v. deer & kangaroos
• Backwoods Rear Bumper
• Van Compass Rocker Guard Slider DoorstepsCustom Bi-Level 8020 Roof Rack with locking surfboard cage and aluminum access walkway
• The extra-wide design allows space for and frames around all roof components for protection against tree limbs.
• Rhino Rack folding hardshell kayak rack (swapable to Thule rooftop carrier)
• Locking / Tilting Raptor Liner coated balsa wood solar panel mounts framed in aluminum and operated via 2x 12V 2000 lbs. linear actuators which double as auxiliary kayak lift
• 9.5K quiet AC by RecPro /Haughton w/ Micro-Air Soft Start, mounted forward above living area
• MaxxAir Fan w/ following mods: 12V regulator, power light lens condensation drip hole drilled & circuit board conformal spray condensation waterproofing, mounted rearward in garage

To Do:

• Engine/Transmission & Transfer Case Skid Plate(s)

• 1" Aluminum framing floor grid
• 1" Polyiso floor insulation
• Double layered 1.5" Thinsulate matting wall and ceiling insulation
• Removable wall and ceiling paneling attached to OEM body framing for easy access to wire runs, plumbing, etc.
• 1/2" Balsa plywood sub-floor coated with Raptor Liner for waterproofing against interior plumbing leaks / mold mitigation
• Lightweight adhesive tile flooring
• Soft-touch foam padded automobile textile window and door trim
• 1" profile 8020 Cabinet framing with lightweight okume plywood drawers and balsa plywood doors
• Press-lock flush profile cabinet latches/pulls
• All floor cabinets removable via grade-8 bolts
• Ranger aluminum sliding door cargo divider: Originally installed in the cargo van behind the cab is repurposed as living space / garage divider. It has an easily removable installation method for cargo conversion, and is installed with full-length acrylic mirrors on both sides replacing the OE window in the door

• Swivel passenger seat
• Aftermarket door armrests
• Lagun Mount table moves into cab between seats, across the front of the swiveled passenger seat, and raises up and down for use at the pullout bench/bed and as an "L" extension of the kitchen countertop module
• The bench module behind the driver's seat provides day seating and night sleeping for two. The 1.5" 8020 frame has interlocking polyurethane coated okume wood slats and pulls straight out into a double sized bed
• Thule Anti-Condensation mat for roof-top-tents cut-down into two parts for pull-out bench/bed platform
• Dommetic CFX3 95DZ dual-zone chest refrigerator under bench behind driver's seat for easy access from exterior of van and cab
• Custom full width quad-locking chest refrigerator slide w/ actuator pull-bar handle 
• Huge dual-locking storage drawer under bench rearward of Dometic fridge for bed cushions & bedding
• Cab ceiling cabinet for removeable insulated magnetic window coverings w/ Bluetooth speaker
• Compact floor to ceiling closet w/ three lower shelves for footgear
• Triple ceiling cabinet above bench
• Double ceiling cabinet above removeable kitchen unit
• Dimmable LED under cabinet lighting
• Dimmable LED recessed ceiling lighting throughout van
• Interior cabinet lighting

Kitchen Cabinet Module

• 19.5" x 58" custom hardwood countertop w/ matching sink cover
• 24" Countertop Extension with two adjustable height settings
• Surface mounted sink 17" x 14" x 9" deep
• Four drawer storage, built-in pull-out trash bin and under-sink cabinet access 
• Forced-air ventilated aluminum nook for built in microwave/convection oven/air frier
• Pullout sprayer faucet for use inside or outside van via open side door

 Forward Living Area Plumbing

• Custom slide-out under-sink mount for stainless steel filter housing accessed from outside of the van sliding door. Contains charcoal water filter (6th & final stage of filtration system)
• Kitchen cabinet module has color-coded red/blue waterlines with quick-disconnects from wall 
• 5 gal. Scepter gray water can for sink drainage. 100% bio-degradable cleaning products used.
• 5 gal. Scepter freshwater can (auxiliary storage location)

• +/- 84" long full-height garage
• Stowable Dry Toilet System

Passenger Side

• Removable modular passenger side storage workbench. Has work surface at rear passenger side, cabinet for scuba tank compressor on slide-out tray, cabinet for inflatable sit-on-top hybrid kayak/SUP board, under bench storage drawers for parts and tools, under cabinet storage for 6x Scepter 5 gal. water cans above wheel well, tools and access to electrical switching components, and a ventilated electrical cabinet.
• Two passenger side ceiling cabinets for storage
• Under cabinet lighting of benchtop work surface
• Interior cabinet lighting
• Dimmable LED recessed ceiling lighting
• Wall organizer at bench work surface
• Wall mounted L-Track tie-down
• Workbench end has discrete doors that fully open for side-access of electrical cabinet
• 2x SCUBA tank mounts on cabinet at rear door 

Driver's Side

• Floor mounted removeable dirt bike rack. Custom mountain bike rack will be fabricated to replace dirt bike rack in same floor mount.
• Wall storage for hanging backpacks and gear
• Wall mounted L-Track tie-down
• Wall mounted folding dirt bike ramp
• Ceiling mounted storage cabinets
• Wall mounted Scepter water can holder
• P&H cabinet
• Floor storage space for man-portable water pump system in the works

Rear Doors Interior

• No windows for security
• Fully insulated
• On-door storage organization includes rubber clamps, pouches and cargo net for dive bag
• Passenger side has mounting knobs for removeable bicycle maintenance clamp

Rear Doors Exterior

• Owl Vans mounting systems
• Buckstop storage box
• Custom horizontal fuel can rack for 3x jerry cans
• Owl Vans ladder & spare tire carrier. This rack will be modified with a bumper integrated folding support bar to increase dynamic weight capacity of the rack for the commercial A/T tire weight. This is a work-in-progress. I may find that I need to go with a different rear bumper system to accommodate the spare, gear box and fuel cans via swingouts. My plan at this point is to integrate the fabricated folding support bar as a mount for the dirt bike ramp when its folded down, eliminating the need to strap the ramp to the bumper when loading/unloading the dirt bike. I'll probably also switch out the large storage box for a tall storage box to increase storage of lightweight moto gear and recovery equipment.

Multiple connectivity options to the outside world is a safety measure for remote travel. To that end, I've incorporated multiple communications methods. 

• GMRS Two-Way Radio
• COMPACtenna on Midland hood mount
• Proxicast Pro-Gain 4G/LTE MIMO 360-degree/wide-band cellular antenna on Proxicast Pro-Grade aluminum pivot J-pipe mast; operated by 12V linear actuator
• Proxicast coaxial lightning arrestors
• XRDS-RF & KMR400 coaxial cables
• MoFi Network 4500 4GXeLTE Cellular Router w/ International bands with:
• GPS/GLONASS military antenna 

To Do:

• Starlink w/ International Roam
• Ham Radio License & Gear

 I've utilized the upfitter keyed electrical connection under the driver's seat as a trigger for powering the Auxiliary 12V circuits via relays where needed. The relays receive power via the Auxiliary 12V system, and little load is placed on the 

OEM system.

• Cascadia 4x4 hood mounted solar with MPPT for constant maintenance of start battery
• OEM system powers 8x cameras for 360-degree views + rooftop; monitor replaced unusable rearview mirror

Auxiliary 12V System

• 2x Battleborn heated batteries for 200 AH capacity.
• Exterior sidewalls each have 220W Merlin solar panels in parallel for charging via Victron MPPT.
• Victron Phoenix charger under passenger seat; seat pedestal vented on three sides with added access for storage from behind the seat
• EGON DC hub under driver's seat integrates Aux. 12V systems
• System powers Warn 12K winch, 360-degreess of Rigid off-road / camp lighting, and small 12V interior lighting loads as a back-up to the house system provided lighting

Primary House System

• 120V & 12V powered by portable Point Zero Energy Titan Solar Generator w/ max 3,000 watts continuously, 6,000 watts peak power out. At the time of purchase years ago, this gave me the best power storage and delivery system in a small 12" deep x 18.5" floor footprint.
• 2000WH battery packs. The Amp Hours of these batteries is relative due to the multi-voltage output of the Titan. Per battery, this equals 166Ah at 12V and 16.67 AH at 120V, of which I have four with room to expand to a 5th battery. The manufacturer states each is 74AH and I currently have a total of 296 AH, with room to expand up to 370. 
• I also selected the Titan because the upfront investment is a mobile system I can use outside the van. That said, because of advancements in technology, I'm currently evaluating other higher-output and power storage options.
• I've connected the system between the various charging systems and my 120V & 12V distribution panel. This allows me to disconnect the Titan and plug directly into shore power like a standard RV and use the Titan for another purpose.
• The Titan can also charge my 12V Aux. system as a back-up, stand-alone source.
• Solar charging consists of 3x 220W Merlin solar panels mounted to the tilting roof array. Merlin panels are polymer an 1/8th" thick. They are highly impervious to damage and can be walked on. An N-Type bi-facial glass panel with proper air circulation would charge my system faster, but cannot withstand the abuse these may face, such as tree limbs scraping over them, heavy hail, etc.
• It is generally optimal to have a 2:1 ratio of solar wattage to battery amp hours whenever possible for rapid charging. This system will charge in overcast conditions with light drizzle, albeit very slowly.

 The P&H design allows filtering of natural water sources into drinking water and facilitates complete removal of modular floor cabinetry.
The concept is to have a highly winterized vehicle system for use in cold climates such as Alaska, Canada & Scandanavian countries. The other priority is easy water fill at any location water can be found. As such, all water lines are routed within the interior only, and no exterior water tanks are utilized.
Instead, my water system utilizes 5 gal. Scepter military water cans of which I can store 8 for a total of 40 gal. of fresh water. The benifit of this approach is extreme portability allowing the flexibility in freshwater filling points. The con of this approach is the regular exchange of emptied cans for full ones as water is utilized. Rearward Moto Garage & Storage Area

• Shower: Interior located Bullfinch quick-disconnect shower connection w/ stowable handheld shower head. Positioned for use inside or outside the rear of the van 
• Stowable privacy shelter "shower curtain" used in conjunction with:
• Van Compass Rear Storage Trunk/Shower Basin
• Zurn pex tubing with expansion fittings/joints. Highly resilient polymer technology PEX not impacted by chlorinated municipal water systems like some competitors, and highly durable against frozen pipe occurrences
• Zurn tubing is run through OEM body framing to eliminate the need for furring strips to maximize interior room width for storage
• Zurn PEX is run on the inside of all insulation and up the wall and through the ceiling from the plumbing cabinet instead of through the floor. This mitigates freezing of pipes and ambiently heats water in the pipes for instant warm/hot water
• 12V heating pads installed in all wall & ceiling voids along PEX waterlines with manually operated switch for use in sub-freezing temperatures
• Isotemp Slim hot water heater plumbed with isolated coolant loop from heat exchanger connected to engine coolant loop under hood. Electrical heating element provides secondary heating option.
• Coolant loop also runs through an auxiliary heater w/ fan mounted within the P&H cabinet for heating the garage space
• P&H cabinet sits over and within the depth of the driver's side rear wheel well. Cabinet has magnetic, removeable front cover for full access of P&H components. The cabinet contains the Isotemp, water pump, expansion tank, first four stages of the water filtration system, and a 12V distribution panel
• The cabinet has temperature monitoring display, but runs warm from the coolant lines and excess heat from the Isotemp by design to mitigate freezing issues. There are also manual switches for the water pump, floor heater, etc.
• Water Filtration is accomplished via a spin-down filter (1st stage), three drainable stainless steel filter cartridge holders with filtration down to .5 microns (2nd-4th stages), and residential sized UV filtration (5th stage). All fittings are stainless steel
• Fresh water source via the Scepter 5 gal. cans modified with quick-disconnect fittings to connect to a bulkhead connector on the side of the P&H cabinet. Source can is secured in a wall mounted aluminum holder beside P&H cabinet.
• Eberspacher diesel heater straight mounted under passenger seat