OUR VAN TOUR (sprinter conversion for triathlon)

Hey everyone, we're Eric and Paula! We've been professional triathletes for the last ten years and this year we fully remodeled our sprinter van to take it from a rolling metal shell to something a bit more comfortable and functional.
We didn't blow the budget on this one, we did everything as affordably as possible, without compromising quality to the point that things will break or feel cheap. We're extremely proud of our new baby, and we hope you like it!
Please subscribe and hit the like button if you liked the video, it means a lot and we're putting out videos every week! Any questions at all that you have, fire away.
#professionaltriathlete #vancoversion #sprintervan
Some of the parts we used:
New Window: amzn.to/2GNrSn2
Thule Roof Box: amzn.to/2RSCLtX
Swivel seat: shorturl.at/pvMV2
Roof fan: amzn.to/2UgtZHE
Electrical system:
Damian's contact info: [e-mail] IG: @ebbtidetech
He's an awesome guy, does beautiful work, I can't say enough good things.
Electrical System Main Parts:
Fuse block: Blue sea systems safety hub 150
Shore power: No I genius Gen1 smart charger
Battery: lifeline 125ah
Inverter: Phoenix 12 800 pure sine wave inverter
Charging Relay: blue sea systems SI-ACR automatic charging relay
Volt meter: blue sea systems 1733 DC voltmeter
A/C outlets: Home Depot GFCI
Camera Gear we use:
Our main camera: amzn.to/34m1gUk
Old Gopro: amzn.to/33e2VK0
New Gopro: amzn.to/2sMSUY0
Dome: amzn.to/34gufZA
Drone: amzn.to/33i4Aye

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Hey friends! Thanks for watching! This one is a bit different than our normal lifestyle stuff, but we've had so many people asking for it, here it is! The van is now 99% "done"! There are a few small trim pieces that we need to install, like molding, a couple extra LED lights, simple things that we just ran out of time on before leaving for our training camp in Tucson TOMORROW. We'll throw those things into upcoming videos and instagram posts, so be on the lookout and keep being awesome! We just made it to 10k subscribers thanks to all of you and we're blown away at how this little community has blown up the last few months. See you next week!

[@rodrigorios3271]

Eric Lagerstrom thanks for sharing!

[@skelinate]

Now to get you to 50k

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Michael Palfrey if we hit that, we’re throwing some sort of epic party

[@jingwu997]

Ride on, guys

[@Ken-rw8os]

@eric 2500 HR 136 or 159 WB?

[@parthmache4733]

They are very open and clear. No pretentions about the money, like many paid channels where the builds and sports stuff is way out of reality beacause of the cost. Also very very sweet couple!

[@richardmannion2779]

Great to see young people doing stuff like this and living the life they want

[@jorgevillavicencio2955]

You two deserve an Oscar. That was awesome.

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Jorge Villavicencio JORGE!! Thanks man :) I hope you’re doing well

[@trialex6594]

Awesome work mate! Living the dream, the van looks more comfortable and more fancy than my apartment lol. Enjoy your freedom you have with that thing!!

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

You need a quick trip with Paula to the interior decorations stores then haha she could fix that for you ;)

[@jmortiz024]

You guys rock, love this simple van. Working on my own for the lady and I!

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Nice! Send us a pic on IG sometime

[@patrickholstrom1299]

You guys are just so cool 😂 I love following your story and watching you enjoy life. Thanks for the hard work putting the videos together and letting us into a window of your life!

[@Trailvagabonds]

Glad to see all the hard work culminate in this tour! Way to go!

[@lupnetraam]

Love the van! Amazing that so much is done by you guys, enjoy it

[@karstenpenz962]

Thx for sharing your life with us! Love it.

[@TheDrgibbs]

Sweet..... great job you guys. I hope you have a great season. Can’t wait to see this version of the van in use.. love swivel chair!!

[@peterreinhard429]

Great Van build! It has been great watching your progress with not only the van, but with training, racing, and life. Thanks for the sneak peaks into the the pro triathlete lifestyle.

[@triholl]

Love this video; I feel like I totally understand how this van came to be built and that it works perfectly for how you'll be using it. Paula, you did great so I want to see both of you for the videos👌🏻❤️ The info left "nothing to the imagination" between tour and answering questions-format works great!!! Enjoy the trip south and let's see some more of this😍 The efficiency of the van is incredible "a place for everything, and everything its place. Storage areas will fill up!

[@hellopixel8203]

Wow guys, thanks for sharing this. You went the extra mile.. Eric thanks for sucha detailed explanation of the Van, gotta few 'van life' friends im gonna share this ... keep it coming guys 😃

[@ryansmith6014]

i love the "bonjour' sign ! great little french touch :)

[@ethanhockett1207]

So cool to see something like this is possible for triathletes to have and use. Love the videos!

[@mickoholland1]

Man thats an awesome job! Some great work there, well done to you both.

[@spencerallen9661]

You two are brilliant. Keep it coming. 👏👏

[@joseenriquemercadomercado8939]

I had seen a bunch of van conversions and this is so far the most practical I had ever seen. Great work guys ..

[@timmykruegertv]

Super rad build! I miss my Sprinter! Have fun!

[@Yamaha_Bolt]

Great video, you two are awesome, genuine.

[@OutOfThisVan]

Ceiling is legit! Awesome 👏

[@tsalles2584]

Lots of respect for you guys being able to do this while training professionally. Your videos are great! 10k subscribers is nothing. I will not be surprised if you reach 100k by the end of the year! Best of luck in 2020!

[@jasenrohatinsky3555]

Great Job guys! Love the videos! Happy training!

[@dp620]

great job on van .. Great balance of functional, practical,affordable and aesthetics.. think that covers it

[@peterwilson9330]

Nice work E & P, great van!

[@marcobertoldi3649]

I love your van super cool I took your advise I started with my pick up me and my wife go up to tremblant on sundays so I can train for the day she sets up a pick nic in the back while I’m training I got some of the best memories with her. She is my best friend and supports me all the way. The van is in my near plans. Keep it up. You and Paula are great.

[@yoavavishai5242]

Incredible! Absolutely my dream!

[@aaronwright465]

Awesome! Well done y'all!

[@meggie_runyourlife4593]

Loved this video. This van is such a dream!

[@manuellessing3669]

Love your videos!!! Keep up the great work 👍

[@markthompson4338]

Eric and Paula, you are both awesome. Thanks for the videos and for sharing a part of your triathlon life. I am a 59 year old Native American from the Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico and have been doing triathlons for 10 years. You do inspire us common folk, back-of-the-pack triathletes. Thank you.

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Mark, thanks for sharing that with us. You keep us going too. I stuck with triathlon when I was 12 because of the incredible community and how encouraging it was to me as a first-time, clueless kid. I’m 30 now and that hasn’t changed at all. All the best, -Eric

[@ejquezad]

This is SO AWESOME!!

[@RudyBeltrame]

Super cool!!

[@PSVitaFan]

Great looking van You a lucky guy to have someone like her to travel with

[@adaday2443]

Absolutely love your guys videos

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Thanks! So glad to hear it :)

[@jameshallfishing3377]

Love the van! You guys are excellent in designing and describing all the little details. Loved it. At only $50gs. That's actually a deal😉

[@penguinvsminja]

I recently found your podcast and KZbin channel. Love the pod! Tons of great tri info and insight. I’ll be at IM IWLQ in 2 weeks - I’m part of the Salton Sea Tri Club, so it’s our home race! Hope to see you there.

[@markramsey5744]

Love the videos, tune in weekly is now a must! Van tour is great ......"This section is for our swim gear and our rehab stuff in here. oh and on the floor is a box of 800 rounds of machine gun ammunition in case we need to transition into the going to war phase...;)

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

😂😂 did I forget to mention the turret on top?! Whoops.

[@ZootSportsTV]

Love it!

[@RayanRanou]

That's awesome .. good luck

[@JOTAGOMEZ23]

Impresionante trabajo! 👏👏👏👏

[@brad4908]

I respect your style of just getting it done and then using it. Too many fussy van builds putting bloody saunas and washing machines in. “Oh, and this is Trevor. Trevor is the van’s creative director...”

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

B Rad haha amen! It just needs to work, then add on as needed ✊

[@runbikerun8189]

Very cool! I used to have a school-bus (short bus). Loved it! Even had a small wood-burning stove inside! Love your ride.

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Oh that would be next level!

[@runbikerun8189]

@@ThatTriathlonLife There has to be a way to set-up some type of recovery system like a cryo-chamber, or hot tub...Or....You could make the van a hyperbaric chamber!

[@tylermarentette9953]

Excellent video !

[@alisontriathlonlover]

Awesome 👏

[@houstonfortney8261]

I have the exact same wooden drawers :) Awesome video, enjoy the van life!

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Nice! They seemed like a simple, non-committal option we could customize later

[@phxrsx]

Good work!

[@michaelcolitziii5035]

Great van. You should drive it to St. Petersburg, Florida in April and enter St. Anthony's Triathlon. It has a great purse for the pros!

[@trulswagener665]

Would probably never get that build aproved in Norway... Great van!

[@karstonprice2281]

Hey Eric. My name is Karston and I’m a senior in high school. First of all I’d like to say that you and Paula have gotten me out of a rut that I was in, just not having motivation to go to the gym. Watching your videos though have just given me that push that I needed and once again I’m feeling good and really just feeling myself. I just was wondering if you had any workout suggestions for someone, like me, who is wanting to get into triathlons. With having had no experience with them before now. If there’s already another video over this than you can just point me there lol but if not and if you have the time I’d love to hear what you have. And also great job with the van build I love the simple simplicity of it.

[@thexxit]

Really nice!

[@kevinmutlow]

Hey Eric & Paula, loved the van tour, thanks for sharing. Inspired, and curious to find out more about the van, which model is yours? LWB, MWB, hi-top etc? Any tips on buying a van with a tri/bike-focused conversion in mind?

[@gabbechico8471]

dream car!

[@kraut51]

Very impressive.

[@jay0726]

Very sweet couple..The only thing you need is freedom in life...Some time little is more!"

[@MrOscar5690]

im always excited to see new conversation vans, this one unfortunately wasnt as exciting..

[@fmayi1191]

Inspired

[@anthonyjagielo9415]

Awesome video! Does your van the 144 wheel base or 170?

[@nic92lewis]

Going to the Canadian Rockies with a van this summer any heads-up and things not to miss? Also really love coffee what’s the best spot to buy some in Canmore/banff

[@danged_up]

Great video!! Once you retire from racing, you could possibly start a van-conversion business. :-)

[@tamarahayes8740]

Hello, Nice job on your van. What is the name of the material you used on your walls by the bed? Thank you

[@jacobmonkelbaan1406]

All things considered, if the two of you just attached a small generator to your bike trainers, you would have more than enough wattage to power your espresso machine. :D

[@JC-ss2sn]

is that actually possible?

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

It definitely is, but even riding at 300W... we’re going to have to ride a LONG time to have an impact.. that’d be interesting to try and quantify how many hours of riding to full charge though 🤔

[@jacobmonkelbaan1406]

@@ThatTriathlonLife Just take the Watt-hours of the battery and divide by your power output and you have your answer! I have also watched a cyclist on KZbin power a 700W toaster for like 2 or 3 minutes.

[@bonn1771]

enjoy AZ, that van will be great if you do other transition 4 videos in different areas of US/Canada

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

bonn1771 that’s the plan! Opening up some possibilities for new locations

[@slavvs]

Great video as aways and great van! I don't know if this is the right place but i just signed up for my first Ironman in 8 months from now. And i have decided to vlog the whole preparation leading to it. I have never been swimming more than 50m and never been bike riding and i got 1 year of experience in running ( mostly trail ultra marathons ) and few more years training other sports as american football and etc. I have a question. How did you started collecting gear for triathlon? As beginer i find myself not able to spend so much money on all the gear needed for a triathlon (a tt bike and tri-suit and so on) Can you give me some tips? Thanks guys! You are my motivation and you are awesome!

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

First off, Good luck with the journey! That’s insanely ambitious. I collected gear very slowly over the years. I had been racing for 5 years before I got a true triathlon bike, and I was racing for 10 before I spent over $2k on a bike. Swap meets, used, old stuff from friends, you don’t need fancy gear to enjoy the sport 🤙

[@slavvs]

@@ThatTriathlonLife Thanks! Keep being so great!

[@runzization]

I'll have to watch your old video of Chevy Express. I do have an Express Cargo for a work Van and it has 350k+miles on it original Engine/Transmission(knock on wood). It has the 4.8 V8. What Engine/transmission does the Sprinter have?

[@miked3535]

I'll buy it! $50k is a great deal...Canadian that is :)

[@tyler-yp4cf]

I want one but I'd definitely want a better inverter for my nutribullet lol

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Haha yeah man. Swag out!

[@MarcelloQuieti]

very cool van guys! what's the stain color you used for the roof?

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Honestly, I don’t remember haha I think hazelnut or something.. it has a bit of red in it, but just a little

[@Ari-ot1dp]

Love the vids! Unrelated question, are there free massages for athletes at the ironman village before or after the race? I see "massage" scheduled on the itinerary so was wondering.

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Typically, yes for after.. I’m not sure about before, probably depends on the race and if they have a local massage clinic represented at the expo

[@barth510]

Hi Paula and Eric I just started watching your videos really like them ! My question is do you bring your dog, sorry I forgot her name, I know she loves to go swimming! thank you

[@fysh1945]

Congrats on the new whip! I always thoughts Eric was 5' 5"???? jk Congrats on the sub growth too! You can monetize this KZbin stuff now... woot woot!

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Thanks! We’re pumped!

[@fysh1945]

@@ThatTriathlonLife Have you guys released your 2020 racing calendar yet?

[@ashleyderrickkish5004]

Curious what kind of fabric did you use that the grease wiped right off? Thank you!!

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

It’s actually a couch-grade material, I don’t know exactly what it’s called. I got it from Cindys Window Fashions in Gresham, Oregon.

[@skelinate]

Would be fun to get your race schedule for this year if you two have it planned out. That way us age groupers can sign up for some of the events and watch you two fly by us on the loop courses. Or stalk you out in public to make it on the vlog.

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

We can definitely do that! Just curious (since we’ve been wondering how to incorporate it) are you interested in that as a video topic..? Or just a list posted somewhere?

[@skelinate]

@@ThatTriathlonLife Would love to know your guys race schedule... As an age group racer/finisher most of us plan one or two events a year. Would be cool to see how you two have to plan logistics/events/races plus you two have your sponsor events.... I bet it can get crazing saying... that race I want to race and win it... this race is going to kick our butts but we are going crush the field. a great video of you two ... talking about logistics... and wait id Paula Olympic bound... but wait we got a 70.3 Eric needs to get to... the madness of pro couple :) .... Keep up the videos 5 years in Ironman finished my first full in AZ last year.... you two are why we watch and have so much fun in this sport. Maybe one year the Overland can become open to all people

[@robertnastasi8643]

What does your race season look like for 2020?

[@Steven-ko6ky]

Triathlon for life! Do you have a name for your van?

[@TheresaTower]

I know you mentioned the bed cross things from Ikea...but how did you mount it?

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

I put angle iron into the van walls using rivnuts and big lag bolts. Then the ends of the ikea braces just hang over the lip of the angle iron. It’s not EXACLTY how I was planning to do it originally but I think it’s super sturdy and over engineered this way

[@MichaelAKheps]

I want to see this van? When you are going to Tucson?

[@barryfield9300]

Great video, thanks again for sharing your lives with us. Consider visiting Albuquerque, NM we're at 5,500 ft with flats/hills/mountains, outdoor training year round. Our fitness center & pool (jccabq.org) will always be available to you. Only 500 miles from Tucson, easy drive in your Super Van.

[@ShaneLavell]

So for instance when you roll into Tucson will you guys totally just sleep in that van? or do you get a house??? I mean you could totally just sleep in that thing no worries, just find remotes places or a friends driveway etc... totally cost reduction for other things in the Sport. If you can train and live out of this it makes travelling to events FIVE STAR :)

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

So, Paula May chime in here separately, but we could definitely live out of it for a few months, but the amount of time spent just finding stealth spots, bathrooms, buying groceries every day.. you have to take that into consideration with long-term stress and training quality. We’re going to play with it and see what the sanity threshold is ;) but for races... 👌primo

[@curtiswilliams6902]

Bravo! It’s accrued equity! It probably is worth 50k now Plus since you’re both famous….. so there’s that,no?

[@aaron___6014]

How do you keep clothes clean if your training almost everyday?

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Aaron ___ paula does laundry almost every day while I edit videos and photos. Teamwork makes the dream work

[@aaron___6014]

@@ThatTriathlonLife by hand? I realize most of its probably sports clothes but do you do anything special to dry your clothes?

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

No, we don’t often go so long that we can’t just have a bin of dirty clothes to do once we get home or to where we’re staying next. If stuff is wet and we’re parked, we hang it on the back ladder or from these hooks behind the seats, and fire up the ceiling fan.

[@karlvickers]

Where can I get an argon 18 cap like that??

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

I think they’re for sponsored athletes only 😕

[@karlvickers]

@@ThatTriathlonLife ah you may me your one then.. Thanks in advance 😂

[@Laststepp]

"I'm like 5'6, 5'7., 5'8..,5'9..,5'10?..."

[@RookYZRM1]

Wait...Ikea makes van furniture now?

[@beej3030]

Is there room for a puppy dog?????

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

Plenty of room for clark to be our adopted road dog for a trip!

[@manooms78]

I hope you like my comment too.

[@rosemil69]

i am sure you can afford a portapotty, go in the bushes ??? really we are in 2020 now , dont do that not safe.