Blenthcathra
Blencathra was our 3rd campervan build and we purchased her in January 2021 during lockdown. She popped up on the website of the dealer we bought Scafell and Dolomiti from and she looked absolutely stunning being black! She had low mileage and had a few extra upgrades including air con (rare in a sprinter) and the chrome grill so was perfect as our next build.
Blencathra enabled us to build on the learnings of building Dolomiti and going from a LWB to a MWB and how to make the best of a smaller space. We made improvements in several areas including using better hinges on cupboard doors, thicker depth oak for the table and the cupboard fronts which is much less likely to warp and a few extra oak features including a lovely oak bed front.
Blencathra was been sold to an amazing lady who loves her to bits. She recently said the following which was lovely to hear:
" You two created something that's been life changing for me and i'm the luckiest person to have found you and own this van. It's a work of amazing craftsmanship or should we say womanship"
The Van
Vehicle: Mercedes Sprinter 313
Year: 2015
Colour: Black
Wheelbase: Medium wheel base
Mileage when converted: 85,000
Payload following conversion: 860kg
Berths: 3
Conversion Specification
Kitchen
- Full size working kitchen with beautiful live edge Pippy Oak worktop and flip up matching kitchen extension. This is the same size kitchen as the van we live in (Dolomiti) and we make full on roast dinners, cakes, bread etc in the van with lots of room for chopping and baking using the Omnia oven on the hob. We have also handmade a slide out larder cupboard which gives lots of extra storage for spices and bottles.
- Thetford 922 hob – 2 burner hob with electric ignition
- Soft close drawers all have 9kg pull strength magnets to prevent them from opening when travelling and maintain a sleek kitchen finish.
- Round stainless steel sink with handmade copper tap and Whale 12v water pump with switch.
- 2 x Copper and pippy oak shelves which match the worktop
- Water 60 litres (We like to use 10 litre jerry cans which can be filled up anywhere including fountains, streams, fuel stations etc. Sometimes it can be tricky to fill up permanently fitted tanks if there isn’t a hose which is why we went for easily removable jerry cans).
- Alpicool G22 Fridge Freezer
Lighting
- Mood LED lighting around bedframe with lovely Blencathra mountain light feature
- Bespoke LED copper ceiling light
- 4 x bespoke LED copper kitchen downlighters
- 3 x bespoke LED copper down lights that come on when the camper doors are opened
Seating Area
- Two sofa benches with storage underneath and cupboard for dometic 976 portable toilet.
- Pet cubby hole under bench
- 2 x storage cupboards under the bed
- Beautiful oak pull out table with 75kg hidden sliders
- Eberspacher diesel heater with 3 years parts and labour warranty (We only use excellent quality German diesel heaters that are built to last rather than cheaper Chinese alternatives)
Shower and Toilet
- Dometic 976 portable toilet
- Pop up shower system More info on this here.
Sleeping Area
- Fixed width ways double bed with memory foam mattress
- Additional 3rd berth made up from the sofa benches and cushions
Garage Area Under Bed
- There is a huge garage space underneath the bed which contains:
- Water container box on heavy duty sliders make it super easy to get the jerry cans in and out.
- 4 x 10 Ltr Water Containers
- Electrics cupboard with hinged door to keep everything safe
- Open storage space for extra equipment such as hiking and climbing gear, inflatable kayak etc
<b> Electrics </b>
- ABSO charging system with DC to DC charger and MPPT
- 1500 Pure sine wave inverter (remote controlled)
- 1 x Sterling Lithium Lifepo 120ah battery with bluetooth BMS system with 5 yr warranty
- 8 x USB charging sockets (bed and seating area)
- 1 x 3 pin plug socket for use with inverter
- 1 x battery capacity voltmeter and temperature monitor
- Victron battery charger with inbuilt bluetooth connectivity enables access to the VictronConnect app. Connected to the batteries permanently
- 2 x 150 watt semi-flexible monocrystalline solar panels (300 watt total solar capacity)
Ventilation
- Maxxair deluxe fan with smoke lid and remote control
Insulation
- Celotex, spray foam and earth wool with silver bubble wrap and aluminium tape vapour barrier.
External Features
- 1 x opening side window and 1 fixed side window
- Rear door ladder
- Rear door wheel carrier
We also made sure the side bumper trims were sealed and holes all cleared out to prevent any water damage underneath to the bodywork and inside insulation.