The MB100D van: facts and equipment

After our introduction I would like to tell you the story of our hardware, the van which will transport us to our desired destinations and will be our home for the next three months.
It is a Mercedes-Benz MB100 D from 1992, one of the last pieces of the old model (as the German fans call it: Altschnauzer). After '92 this model was replaced by a new look with longer nose. If I have to choose, I definitely prefer the old one. The model has another nickname: Kutter. The reason is that the kutter is a boat type, and the feeling of the MB100 passenger is like a ride on a boat.
I didn't give it a name, I call it MB100 D, because I am an engineer, and in my mind all cars are just machines, even though they sometimes act so capricious like a human.
The MB100 D is made in Basque land in Vitoria-Gasteiz by Mercedes-Benz España S.A. and is powered by a 2.4 litre diesel engine. It has a quite reasonable fuel consumption (between 8..10 litres per 100 km). Fans say if it's taken care of, it lasts for one million kilometers. This one had 375.000 km when I bought it and 400.000 km now at the beginning of the journey.

The pictures above were taken in the Balkans in 2017, which was so far the biggest journey together.
The wonderful cloudy paint job was done by my friend Hillel Eflal, in the times when he was on tour on his tallbike in Hungary. Unfortunately it seemed quite impossible to change the car color in the traffic license, so I had to paint it partly back to white.

The bumper under repair with glass fiber and epoxy

Fortunately I have a pit in my workshop where I can check and fix things on the bottom of the car body. The van fit into my workshop like a glove, just 2 centimeters left when closing the door. The initial rusty spots on the body didn't like the dry place and stopped growing after some care with sandpaper and paint, but last winter I had to store it outdoor, because I used it on the countryside to go to work every day. When one day it was -20˙C in the morning, the cooling water froze, but the engine survived.

The car cost me about 1000 euros. I am the owner for 2 years, and from this period the first semester consisted fully of repairments. The engine was OK, but almost everything else needed some gentle touch ups. The thermostat, a back spring, some of the lights, window wash tank, a steerer bearing, and so many other things needed a replacement. The body was rusty at some places close to the ground, so I cleaned it up and welded some patches of steel to the missing spaces. I never did car repair before, so it was quite interesting work with different materials and technologies, but on the other hand it was also a very time-consuming activity.

First 3D model of the interior

After the construction was ready to do the job, I started to design the space in the back. The concept was that I leave the 5 seats, and behind the rear seats will be the bed, because there is still more than 180 cm long space to sleep. I built a bed about 40 cm above the ground, which was partly transformable into a table. I designed and welded even the mechanism for the table legs, but later it turned out to be useless. Otherwise all the furniture is mobile, so that I can take them off every time when a bigger transport is needed.

Sylvia working hard

Before the road to Spain we completely renovated the interior. The walls and the roof got a black chalk paint, the side window got a hinged shutter, both for more relaxing sleep in the bed. New shelves were needed to extend our storage space since the staff on the boat increased at least by 100%. The car body wears a plastic cap which allows us to use the edge as a rail for a sliding roof shelf. Like many of my favorite things in the van, it has also double purpose: it can hide the roof window, again for increasing sleep quality during daylight.
The new kitchen is made up of a shelf and a kitchen counter with proper LED lights. We have a new Camping Gas Stove with 2 kg gas tank. The electric equipment like the USB socket is powered by a secondary battery.

Sometimes there are still some things to care about, but in general the MB 100 is a reliable vehicle, and even in case of trouble, it is usually quite easy to fix the problem. We had great adventures together, and we are both excited for the upcoming 6000 kilometers.

You don't have to go far from the bed to get to the kitchen 

Hymer and MB100