My story and preparing for the build

The background:
It's always been my dream to get a T1N Sprinter, ever since I saw videos on youtube of Sprinter houses. When I learned that you can legally sleep in a van for free out of city limits or on BLM land, I knew I had found the solution to reducing housing expenses, in order to accomplish my goal: Owning land. I was amazed and figured I would never be able to afford one.
 But the thought lingered, and I began crafting a DIY solution. After riding through rain and winters on my Ninja 250, enjoying the $7/month insurance and 50mpg+, I saved up and bought my first 4 wheeled vehicle. An old 2.2l diesel minitruck for $1800. I built a flatbed on it and completely tore down and rebuilt a moldy smelly fiberglass camper that ended up being too unwieldy for the minitruck in the end.
 I then made a camper out of 2x4's, painted plywood, pond liner and flashing. I painted it black, that was a mistake. It worked better, but the thing was still slow, tiny, and the floor leaked, of all things to leak. It was a constant project and I wasted plenty of money on all the camper bs, but I learned some things. One thing I learned is that vans are best for mobile dwelling on the road imo because they are made waterproof, more aerodynamic, have better handling, better stealth/aesthetics (less cop callers), and better mpg, typically. Here is a good comparison of vehicles possible for dwelling.
 
The preparation:
 I found a delivery job on craigslist and started saving money, not for anything particular. That old truck saved me so much money with its 35+mpg and low cost of maintenance, that it enabled me to get a Sprinter. It also was the start of my career. Between keeping my motorcycle and my old truck running with a youtube education and a service manual from ebay, I began to realize that mechanics are very expensive and very important, to just about every single person out there. So, I decided to get a degree in diesel service technology. It's only two years, what's the worst that could happen? In hindsight that was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Once I got into the Sprinter tiny house hobby, I realized what I really want to do: Fix up sprinters and convert them into tiny homes. A synergy of being a mechanic, solar and lithium systems designer, DC electrician, and builder. I love do it yourself projects. When I'm procrastinating something, I'm researching for my next project or usually van stuff. I don't even play much battlefield anymore, because I have a thirst for knowledge. That's how I know it's my passion.

The purchase:
I got my 2004 Dodge Sprinter about 8 months ago. 209K, 13 grand, good condition. I may have overpaid a little, but the seller did have a receipt for a $3K transmission overhaul due to the k2 clutch pack slipping from its previous life towing - added value in my book. Rode to another state, had to beat another buyer there to get it. Gave me an understanding of what a "Sellers market" is. I did plenty of research, but despite my planning, in my haste I didn't have an allen wrench with me to inspect under the injector cover. The first sprinter I saw had real bad black death, you could see it oozing out of the injector cover on the high pressure lines and you could smell it in the vents. Seller assured me it was nothing to worry about *rolleyes*. So, seeing this clean ish sprinter in comparison made me not worry. The engine bay was free of oil spills except for under the battery, but there were no active leaks. It drove home perfectly and was the nicest vehicle I had ever operated.

Problems unnoticed:
I later found the source of the oil was an improperly seated upper intercooler hose. Real easy fix, just push it on there and tighten the hose clamp. Then I later noticed some oil on the turbo return line, and the turbo muffler (resonator) was blown and oily. All easily fixable problems. In hindsight, I got lucky. The Sprinter gave me no problems for 6 months aside from a small coolant hose clamp leaking slightly because it needed tightening. And I began to notice the very faint smell of diesel exhaust, which I fixed by first duct taping the holes on either side of the hood, and replacing the turbo resonator with the $30 dorman part.
The mild rumble strip noise began to concern me so I used ATF-134 from Mccoy sprinter center for a torque converter and pan drain. I cleaned off the speed sensors on the conductor plate and sprayed brake clean, then performed Dr A's rumble strip fix (DARF). Here is a video tutorial I made for this easy to do mod developed by Dr A. All credit goes to the legendary Dr A of sprintersource forums who found the cure. There are other videos and the free manual here: http://aie-services-2.net/Sprinter/ to show you how to drain the torque converter and remove the pan and conductor plate. It's really easy and I shouldn't even have been worried about doing it. You'll need to borrow a torque wrench from an auto store, and you need a $13 rail of 1/2-3/8 torx bits from home depot.
The Sprinter drives "Like a mercedes should" now; nice and quiet, smooth shifting at the right time. I am still very happy with this mod. After doing all these repairs I feel much more confident in my ability to keep my Sprinter on the road (As opposed to in the shop). It's hard figuring it out the first time, and what takes the most time is actually getting started (for me), but once you do it, you have that skill for life. I have saved myself thousands of dollars in labor.

Disaster struck:
And then my engine all of a sudden shut off from a stoplight. It would do this randomly, but I still could get to school while monitoring live data on my scanner, and I started riding my handy backup (moto). I of course always carry an Autel MD802 scanner in the van. Here are the nitty gritty details.

It took me weeks to figure out the problem, because I got confused over some omitted information in the manual - The rail pressure solenoid is to be tested for leaks while plugged in. Mine leaked plugged in, but didn't leak unplugged. I didn't want to spend $900 on a new rail without being sure, so I took it in to MB Wilsonville for diagnostics. It ended up costing me $600 and they were wrong, claimed two injectors must be replaced. But, that was completely my fault - I told them it had passed the rail solenoid test, hoping to save some shop hours billed to me, because it didn't leak while unplugged - stupid mistake, let the mechanics do their job. I asked Dr. A. and he explained that my rail solenoid had failed the test I had previously done.

All that studying paid off:
I cross referenced the MB part number and started searching for a cheaper, yet still OEM rail. I learned that many of the auto parts stores like buyautoparts will sell you aftermarket "OEM equivalent" parts, not good. Or they will order parts (not have them in stock) from the OEM supplier (Bosch) - which would be the best option for a genuine part, but I was unlucky. The problem is that the fuel rails were all backordered in Germany! Oh nohhhh. I exhausted my searching and paid up $945 shipped from an online mopar parts dealer. I replaced it myself in a parking lot in half an hour and it started raining halfway through, but I was very careful not to let any water or contamination in. It worked!!! I had saved my sprinter from certain death, and myself from bankruptcy. I wonder how many Sprinters have gone to the grave over this little diaphragm return spring losing tension?


Proper Maintenance Prevents Piss Poor Performance:
My mission now was to invest as much time and money as possible into making the van completely trustworthy. That means going through everything on the service schedule, changing every fluid with the MB BEVO approved fluids, changing every filter with an OEM replacement, protecting and feeling wires, performing tests and measurements, countless months reading on the sprinter source forums.
6 months later after a lot of learning and TLC, I took it in for a checkup at Mccoy Sprinter Center. They only charged me $60! They found worn ball joints and front shocks, loose U bolts (which I torqued to spec) and excessive play in the steering rack. I could have checked that when I bought it by jacking up the front. That mistake cost me $450 so far for a new steering rack. I'm hoping that it's just some air in the system and slightly too low of fluid, cause it can cause excessive play in a normally robust steering system, I later learned. Here is my guide on saving money on Sprinter maintenance and parts, and an incomplete list of what all I fixed up. All in all I have spent well over $2500 on parts and maintenance. Sprinters aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for.
Now this may seem like a lot of money, and it is. But a money sink, to me in my situation, it is not; it's an investment. Let me explain.
There comes a point, in fixing up a used car, where you have put so much into it that it is tangibly worth a lot more, at least to you, and will stop requiring so much paper sacrifice. I've got a Cardone rack, Koni shocks and Napa control arms now, so these problems will be solved once installed. And they will be good for at least 200K more, these ball joints have grease zerks and Koni's are way higher quality.
Every car at 200K is in need of new wear parts. Wear parts have a limited lifetime and engineers know that, (like wheel bearings) and that's why service schedules exist. If you replace wear parts and perform maintenance by the time the service schedule says to, you don't have to worry about breakdowns aside from freak events. Diesel school ingrained in us that the most expensive repair is an unexpected breakdown on the road. These two reasons are why you do preventative maintenance. You can't just expect things to last forever.


Time to save up again:
 Buying the Sprinter made me stone broke, then fixing up the sprinter made me stone broke, but I knew it was time again to keep saving. I didn't go out and instead went to the skatepark and read pdf's for free. I spent around $200 a month on food, and I stopped buying everything I could do without, realizing it ain't gonna fit in the van. I started selling possessions and working more. I've been buying my conversion supplies piece by piece. I'm actually not rich, and all my money goes into the van nowadays. But I didn't want to start my conversion not having what I need. A van conversion is kind of like a chess game. The first pawn movements restrict or allow the other pieces to move later in the game. This means I had to figure out my whole build, from step 1 to finished. If I'm staring at a wall, I'm probably envisioning a sweet Sprinter build, playing Sketchup in my head.

Build philosophy:
 Simpler is better, usually. No expense will be spared to achieve satisfactory quality; I'd rather wait until I can afford the part in question, rather than get a half measure or something that will break. My buying philosophy is similar to milspec equipment: Highly durable, high quality, yet not extravagant, for the lowest bidder. I want my van to be nice, not a hackjob, not a taj mahal, yet on a (Relative) budget. Still cheaper than a years worth of rent.