Custom off-grid studio vans · Designed in Bozeman, Montana
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 170 Extended · Rear entry

Walk in the back. Hose it down. Play.

A rear-entry Sprinter built as a self-contained studio and workspace: a shower-pan floor that washes itself, a locking airlock wall, solar and Starlink, and room for a pop-top bed above the desk. Lay it out yourself, get a quote, and I'll act as your general contractor and run the build with Bozeman shops.

Flagship layout

The Studio

As configured$0
Est. monthly*$0

*8% fixed APR, 20 years, $0 down. Estimate only.

189 inCargo floor length
70 inInterior width
53.1 inBetween wheel wells
79 inInterior height, high roof
61 × 73 inRear door opening (main entry)
51 × 72 inSide door opening
290 inOverall length
≈107 inOverall height

Manufacturer and dealer figures for the 2026 Sprinter 170 extended cargo van, which comes in high roof only. Figures vary slightly by model year and chassis, and every number is confirmed on the actual van before anything is cut.

Build

Lay out your van.

The floor is drawn to the Sprinter's real dimensions on a 3-inch grid and loads with The Studio. Pick a piece and tap the floor to place it. Tap a placed piece to move, rotate, or remove it; with a mouse you can drag it, and arrow keys nudge it. The 3D cutaway (five angles), side view, price, and payment update as you go.

Floor plan

189 × 70 in · 1 square = 3 in

Pieces

length × depth

3D cutaway

Side view

Driver side in front, passenger side faded
Quote

Your build, priced.

Build estimate

Planning estimate from the layout above. Your confirmed quote comes after I check the design with the builders.

Send it to me

Or send it directly: hello@vanbozeman.us
How it works

From layout to keys.

1

Design it

Lay out your van above. Every piece is priced and sized to the real Sprinter.

2

Send your quote

Submit the layout with your details. Nothing is binding.

3

I confirm it

I review the design with Bozeman builders, then reach out with a confirmed price and timeline.

4

We build

Once you approve, I act as your general contractor and manage the work: fixed price, milestone payments, a 100-point inspection before delivery, and a written warranty.

Why The Studio

Designed by a touring musician.

I'm Garrett Summers, a keyboardist and organist who tours out of Bozeman. I start a long run of touring in January, and I designed this van for that life first, so I can show up fully self-contained with no hotel and no borrowed gear: hauling two 88-key keyboards, skiing on days off, and showing up anywhere ready to play. Every space does two jobs, everything stows, and the mess stays at the door.

Shower-pan entry

You come in through the rear doors onto a sealed, sloped pan with a floor drain and a spray hose. Snow, mud, and a wet dog get rinsed right there, and it drains to a tank. The entry washes itself.

Airlock vault wall

An insulated, locking wall with a door sits between the entry and the cabin. The heat stays in when the back is open, and the whole studio locks when you fly out.

Rear door organizers

The insides of both rear doors carry pocket panels for boots, cables, leashes, and cleaning gear, right where you need them on the way in.

Studio wall

A 60-inch station holds two 88-key keyboards stacked, with a Focusrite and DI built in and a bench seat for a guest. Cables run through a removable chase to one patch point, so new gear swaps in.

Sleeps two, either way

A queen lift bed rises to the ceiling by day so the floor stays open, and a 72-inch berth gives a second person their own bed.

Built to last 20 years

  • Cabinets on aluminum rails that unbolt
  • Oversized conduit with pull strings
  • Systems mounted to be serviced
  • Side door kept as a big window for fresh air

Off-grid for three days

Solar, Starlink, gray and black water tanks, and acoustic insulation that doubles as temperature control let the van run unplugged for a three-day stint, then reset back in town. Engine-charged power is an option for the days the sun is not enough.

A desk that is also a bed

The bench seat doubles as a 72-inch bed, so you can nap without reconfiguring anything. Add the pop-top and you sleep up top while the workspace below stays set up.

Tailgate sink and outdoor shower

A pull-out sink rides on the rear door and a shower hose stows on the other, so dishes, boots, and people get washed outside. Both run off the water tanks.

A workstation that earns

Add a full desk with a monitor, swivel the two cab seats around, and drop in rack bays to run a small portable data center on solar and engine power.

Next up: rack and hitch

A roof rack for boards and boxes and a three-point tow hitch are in the builder now as V3 options, priced as planning estimates.

Inspected before it ships

Every build follows one design standard and goes through a 100-point inspection before delivery. Parts are modular and redundant, so service is simple and a returned van is easy to rebuild.

Financing, explained

What a build costs per month.

A build is usually financed with a fixed-rate loan: you pay the same amount every month until it's paid off. Each payment covers that month's interest, and the rest pays down the balance. A longer term means a smaller payment but more interest overall.

$150k at 8%MonthlyTotal paidInterest
10 years$1,820$218,390$68,390
15 years$1,433$258,026$108,026
20 years$1,255$301,118$151,118

Why a longer term can make sense

A fixed payment never goes up, while rent usually does. At 3% yearly inflation, a $1,255 payment in year 20 feels like about $716 does today. Pick a loan with no prepayment penalty so you can pay extra in good years or refinance if rates drop.

Where builds land

The target launch build is about $150,000, with payments under $1,500 a month on a 20-year loan. Specs run from roughly $154,000 to $220,000 as you add options such as the pop-top, water tanks, or a rack bay.

If the van is for work

Touring musicians and other owner-operators can often hold the van in a business, which can make interest and depreciation deductible. Ask your accountant before you buy.

Costs to plan for

Interest adds up, over $150,000 on a 20-year, $150k loan if you never pay extra. Insurance, fuel, maintenance, internet, and parking come on top. Vans lose value, so early on you can owe more than it would sell for; GAP coverage protects you if it's totaled. A resale program that addresses this is in design (see Resale below) but is not offered yet.

Resale · in design

Built to be bought back.

Most camper vans are a poor place to store money, and plenty of owners who change their minds after a year or two end up owing more than the van will sell for. I'm designing a resale program to fix that. It is not live yet.

One standard, every build

Every van follows the same design philosophy and passes a 100-point inspection before it ships, so I know exactly what I'm taking back and what it will fetch.

A way out

The idea: if you decide the van isn't for you, you sell it back to me. The sale price goes toward what you still owe, and any remaining payment shrinks by a share of the resale. Terms are not set.

Rebuilt, not scrapped

Because the interiors are modular and built with redundancy, a returned van is torn down, rebuilt to the next owner's spec with salvaged parts, and resold as a certified pre-owned build at a lower price.

Not an offer yet

I'm also looking at pairing the loan with a protection product, possibly through an insurance partner, so a short stay doesn't leave you far underwater. That needs an insurer, a lender, and legal review before anyone can buy it. Until then, nothing on this page is a guarantee, an insurance policy, or a buyback commitment. The financing table above shows ordinary fixed-rate loan terms and is the only financing described here.