Mods
Homemade air intake snorkel,
Modified suspension for the baddest African roads
Camper interior
Modified suspension for the baddest African roads
Camper interior
Build story
Back in 2018 I was looking for a Mercedes van for my next Africa Trip.
A friend of mine told me that there was still a Mercedes MB100D on his uncle’s old company premises that had to be removed.
The van was left behind by a former tenant of the site after he no longer wanted to pay his rental debts.
For more than 10 years the transporter stood rusting behind a factory hall and other tenants of the site used it to dispose of rubbish.
He said I could have it for free, but he couldn’t tell me what condition the van is in. He doesn’t know why the bus was left behind either.
All I had were a few pictures of the Mercedes totally overgrown with moss.
So when we came to pick up the van, we were prepared for the worst.
We didn’t have an original key, but luckily another one from my collection fit.
After we had made sure that everything important was still attached to the engine, we connected a battery, but the dashboard remained dark.
But as soon as I turned the ignition key, the starter immediately started turning and after a few moments the first ignitions could be heard and a few seconds later the old diesel ran as if it had been parked here yesterday.
So we could drive the Mercedes on my car trailer under its own power.
I used the next few months to get the van back into shape. I repaired the brakes and suspension.
The engine got an oil change and was readjusted.
The biggest problem was the loose grate. This initially made approval in Germany impossible, but a few kilos of Bondo and a new coat of paint also helped to pass the German technical examination.
So nothing stood in the way in January 2019 and I was able to start my Africa trip with the Mercedes. We drove from Germany via France to Spain. There we took the ferry to Morocco, drove through the Western Sahara to Mauritania, then via Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali to Burkina Faso. After a good 7 weeks and well over 10,000 kilometers, we sold the van there to a local and flew back.
A friend of mine told me that there was still a Mercedes MB100D on his uncle’s old company premises that had to be removed.
The van was left behind by a former tenant of the site after he no longer wanted to pay his rental debts.
For more than 10 years the transporter stood rusting behind a factory hall and other tenants of the site used it to dispose of rubbish.
He said I could have it for free, but he couldn’t tell me what condition the van is in. He doesn’t know why the bus was left behind either.
All I had were a few pictures of the Mercedes totally overgrown with moss.
So when we came to pick up the van, we were prepared for the worst.
We didn’t have an original key, but luckily another one from my collection fit.
After we had made sure that everything important was still attached to the engine, we connected a battery, but the dashboard remained dark.
But as soon as I turned the ignition key, the starter immediately started turning and after a few moments the first ignitions could be heard and a few seconds later the old diesel ran as if it had been parked here yesterday.
So we could drive the Mercedes on my car trailer under its own power.
I used the next few months to get the van back into shape. I repaired the brakes and suspension.
The engine got an oil change and was readjusted.
The biggest problem was the loose grate. This initially made approval in Germany impossible, but a few kilos of Bondo and a new coat of paint also helped to pass the German technical examination.
So nothing stood in the way in January 2019 and I was able to start my Africa trip with the Mercedes. We drove from Germany via France to Spain. There we took the ferry to Morocco, drove through the Western Sahara to Mauritania, then via Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali to Burkina Faso. After a good 7 weeks and well over 10,000 kilometers, we sold the van there to a local and flew back.