In removing the Suburban propane heater I also removed the thermostat. That left a couple of ugly holes so I decided to cover them.

I looked for a weather station of the right width and found one on Amazon. A couple of days latter, voilà.

The sender is wrapped in a couple of baggies and down in the propane compartment with the fuel pump for the new heater and outside water connections.

This mod took me much longer than I had expected. I was over-whelmed by all the procedures involved including cutting a hole in the floor and having to follow wiring diagrams to connect wires to connectors.

The results are good though. It puts out enough heat to drive you out and is more quite than the Suburban – on the inside anyway. On the outside it sounds like a gas water heater on steroids.

The first problem was the fuel tap on the Sprinter. It was about 2 inches long. You can remove the cap by pressing a square shaped button on the side. You couldn’t get a grip on it except to hold it between 2 fingers and to top it off, the fuel tap was 7.89mm and the hose that came with the Espar was 5mm.

Back from the auto-parts store with a 2 feet piece of fuel line I was able to get it clamped and routed to the pump. I mounted the pump inside an existing compartment for water, propane, electric, etc.

Underneath the Sprinter almost all usable space has all ready been taken by fuel tank, grey water tank, AGM battery, propane tank, etc. I lucked out and found about a 6″x6″ area that was just where I needed to put the heater above. The picture shows the hole for the heater just behind the battery container and just in front of the rear spring – not much room.

You can also see in the picture the silver exhaust pipe which goes through a hole in the chassis to the rear and the black air intake hose which just drops down about 6″. The clear line is from the fuel pump.

I wired the Espar into the existing fuse box using the connections the Suburban heater used. The mini-control unit is on the panel with a/c and d/c just above the refrigerator. I fished the wire through the wall and out near the other wires.

The completed install next to the power converter with the outline of where the old heater was so you can see how much space we picked up. We picked up verticle space as well because the old heater filled the space top to bottom and front to back.

The last photo is of the wiring before installation. The altitude sensor is on the top left. The circle part is the wiring I had to connect up. Not shown is the connector for the mini-controller which also has to be done.

You just don’t plug in the Espar. It comes with a lot of wire and looms and little metal connectors for you to do your-self. The on/off control, the altitude compensator and the fuel pump all have to have multiple wires and none are just plug and heat. Only the main connection to the heater just plugs in – thank you very much and turn on the heat.

I have been a little intimidated by 4 or 5 pages of instructions in 5 different languages complete with electrical diagrams that look like hieroglyphics. But – and I saw that with hope in my voice, I shall “get ‘er done.” This week. Next week we are heading to the northern coast of California and if I don’t have a working heater my wife will be very . . . upset (ahem) – not to mention the dog who starts to shiver when you say the word “cold.”

Today I started the add the Espar into the space that used to be occupied by the Suburban heater. You have two choices of mounting, one using a mounting plate and cutting a hole about 5×3 in the floor or just using a rubber grommet and drilling 7 holes. I tried the drilling but if you have a SMB Sprinter that won’t work.

The floor is too thick and you will need to cut a oval circle in the shape of the rubber grommet. I went ahead and cut the hole and will finish up tomorrow and post pictures here.

I still think it is cool being able to just plug my drill and saw into an outlet on the Sprinter and not worry about extensions cords. I should do the work at the park instead of my driveway!

Today I switched the standard emergency brake with the folding one. Why this isn’t standard on any Sprinter that is going to have swivel seats, I don’t know.

It took 15 minutes or less. I needed a 16mm socket and wrench, a small block of wood and a rubber mallet. The wood and mallet were to get the front cover of the emergency brake off. The rear cover comes off easily. After that it is unplug 2 wires, remove the 2 bolts that hold the brake in place and pop loose the pin that holds the emergency brake cable.

Now to set the brake I pull up on it like normal and then just push the handle down. The handle is out of the way for swiveling the driver’s seat. To release the brake I just pull it up until I hear it engage and push the black release button.

Those Sprinter owners who have a swivel seat know that it doesn’t swivel when the emergency brake is set. Or you have to swivel the seat first and then try to set the brake.

I am not a big emergency brake user myself. In my old Eurovan every time you set the brake it would tighten (adjust) the rear brakes. So I would set it only every month or so to reduce the wear on always tight brakes. Right or wrong – I don’t know.  Just seemed like a good idea.

So back to the Sprinter. For my adjustable idle control to work, the emergency brake (eb) needs to be engaged. Since I use the adjustable idle control while camping, most often I have the seat swiveled. The cover of the brake looks like a scarred Spartan warrior.

Enter the folding eb! This is spected on some newer RVs now and it is easy to retrofit. I called the parts department (Jeff) at my dealer (Rocklin MB) and it took about 5 minutes to order, shipped to my home. Part number -  Part # 906-420-03-12. It should cost you $133 or less and takes 5 days from Germany. It is a returnable part if for some reason you don’t like it.