How to Sleep Sideways in a Sprinter: Installing & Wrapping VanSpeed Capsules

Hey everybody, Matt here from AVC! Welcome back to the shop blog.

If you’ve ever tried to lay out a bed in a Mercedes Sprinter, you’ve probably run into a fundamental geometric problem: Sprinters are noticeably narrower than Ford Transits. For anyone pushing 6 feet or taller, sleeping "East-West" (sideways) across the van is a recipe for cramped knees and a bad night's sleep.

The ultimate fix? Fiberglass bumpouts.

On our latest shop project, we set out to get this Sprinter bumping by installing a set of VanSpeed Capsules. These capsules extend the width of your van, giving you those crucial extra inches of sleeping space. Today, we’re breaking down the installation process, explaining why we skipped the paint booth for a custom vinyl wrap, and showing how we finished out the interior.

Step 1: Prepping the Van (Glass vs. Metal)

To install capsules, you have to create an opening in the side of your rig. If you have a standard cargo van, this means cutting straight through the factory sheet metal.

However, our client's van came with factory OEM auto glass right where the capsules needed to go.

Whenever we deal with factory glass removal here at the shop, we leave it to the professionals. We called up our preferred local vendors, OE Auto Glass right here in Loveland, Colorado. They popped out to the shop, safely cut the factory windows out, cleaned up the frame, and had the van ready for us to glue the new fiberglass capsules right into place.

Step 2: The Exterior Hack — Wrapping vs. Painting

Once the capsules are bonded to the van, you have to decide how to finish the raw fiberglass.

Normally, builders send these parts out to a professional auto body shop to get color-matched to the factory paint. But let's be honest: it’s a massive pain. * Most commercial body shops don't want to take on small, custom independent pieces.

• If you do find a "mom and pop" shop willing to do it, you're easily looking at $1,500 to $2,000+ just for paint.

To save some serious coin and try something unique, we decided to wrap the capsules in Avery vinyl right here in-house. We went with a beautiful, dark matte silver/gray look that perfectly complements the Mercedes factory finish.

Matt’s Pro-Tip: If you’ve never wrapped anything before, these capsules are not the place to start. Fiberglass curves are incredibly unforgiving for beginners. If wrapping sounds too intimidating and a body shop is out of your budget, let us know in the comments if you’d want to see us do a "rattle can" spray paint tutorial with a cut-and-buff finish in a future post!

Step 3: Insulating and Upholstering the Interior

Because these capsules extend directly out into the elements, you need to make sure the inside is well-insulated and comfortable to lean against when you're in bed.

To finish the interior walls of the capsule, we used a multi-step process:

1. The Insulation Layer: We applied a 1/4-inch thick Landau pad directly to the inside of the fiberglass. This gives the walls a soft, cushioned feel and provides a nice thermal barrier against the cold.

2. The Adhesive: We used Foam Fast 74, our go-to spray glue for a strong, permanent bond between foam and fabric.

3. The Fabric: We wrapped the padded capsules in our popular dark gray burn silver fabric. It matches the rest of our interior kits perfectly and keeps the entire aesthetic clean and cohesive.

Step 4: Adding Ventilation with CRL Windows

You can't have a cozy bedroom setup without a little cross-ventilation. The final piece of the puzzle on this install was adding windows directly into the face of the VanSpeed capsules.

We opted for the industry-standard CRL 1033 slider windows. These are awesome because they feature a built-in screen, allowing you to catch a nice breeze at night without letting any bugs into the van. Once the glass was set and sealed, we called this job officially complete.

Ready to Upgrade Your Sprinter Layout?

Adding capsules completely unlocks the floor plan of a Sprinter, allowing you to push your bed all the way to the back and leave plenty of room up front for kitchens, seating, or gear storage.

If you want to tackle this project on your own DIY build at home, we have the VanSpeed Capsules ready to ship. Drop us a line or check out the store links below to get a set headed to your garage!