Onyx · Sprinter 170

The Story

Onyx was built for an ultramarathon runner. The week before she picked the van up, she finished the Cocodona 250, which tells you most of what this build had to be: tough enough to keep up with the kind of trips she puts her body through, and comfortable enough to feel like home when the running is done. The layout came together well enough that we have since turned it into one of our spec options, but this van is the original, built around one athlete and the way she actually travels.

Recovery drove the interior. The wet bath is 32 inches wide with an infinity shower and a Nautilus door, and the heated floors run on an Espar hydronic loop that also handles cabin heat and instant hot water, so one system warms the bed at the end of a long day and the shower at the start of the next one. All the water lives inside the van. The 35-gallon fresh tank, the insulated and heated 46L grey tank, and every plumbing run sit enclosed in the heated shell, which means she can run four-season without winterizing the system every time the forecast drops. Power was sized for long stretches off-grid: an 800Ah heated Victron lithium bank, 400 watts of solar, and a 280-amp secondary alternator with a Wakespeed regulator that refills the bank while she drives, all run through a Victron MultiPlus 3000W inverter and a Cerbo GX touchscreen.

Underneath, Van Compass Opti-Rate leaf springs hold the rear at ride height under a full load, and a Van Compass Stage 1 kit with Falcon 2.1 monotube shocks smooths out what the springs cannot, rolling on Owl Talon 17-inch wheels with Nitto Terra Grappler tires. The front wears an Owl Vans Ridgeline Max bumper with matching skid plates, and the back carries an Explorer tire carrier, a ladder, and a Monster 40 box for the gear that does not fit anywhere else. Inside, two removable Van Equipped seats ride on SafeTrack rails, in for passengers and out when she needs the floor for race-day cargo. And because she still needs to train between races, we fabricated a custom pull-up bar into the Curious Campervans roof rack, so the workout travels with the van.