Where to buy things outside of Munich

I know this isn't what you are asking about, but do you have some sort of long-stay visa for your trip? Tourists cannot stay in the Schengen area (most of Europe) for more than 90 days out of any 180.

Yes, we have a visa. Thanks for asking

We're going to the Alps for 4 months this summer.

spdavidc, this is your first post, you haven't filled in your profile, so I don't know what your nationality is, but the above statement rings alarm bells.
Unless you are an EU/Schengen citizen, you are limited to 90 days in any 180. in the Schengen Area, which includes Germany and all other Alpine countries. Over 90 days, you need a visa or you will be an illegal immigrant. They will probably catch you when you leave the Schengen Area (stamp on your passport says when you arrived), big fine and ban from returning.

Second problem, where are you getting this van from? If you are renting it the rental company may not be happy about you doing alterations. If you plan to buy to, have you researched where from? This may take a few days to arrange. You will need to register it in your name, which requires an address in Germany. And you need to sell it at the end of your stay.
What licence have you got? If this is a non-EU licence, is it valid in the countries you intend to visit for the duration of your stay, or will you need to get a new licence?
And insurance. All vehicles need insurance to be road-legal. For a foreigner this could be expensive,

To get back to your original question. I am unfamiliar with the US brands you list. I suggest you start with OBI. This is a large chain of DIY shops. Website: https://www.obi.de/
Click on "Marktfinder", there are a number in the Munich area.

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Hi, and thanks for replying.

We're from the USA and, as noted above, we do have visas

We are leasing the van, and we won't be altering it. We plan to build a stand-alone pedestal out of wood, that we can simply put inside the van and remove at the end of the trip

Insurance is provided by the leasing company, and we will have a US as well as an international drivers license.

Thanks for the reference to OBI; we'll check it out.

Can you suggest a place to stay on the outskirts of Munich, that would be easy to use as a "home base" while we're setting up the van? A nice and safe community, convenient to the type of stores I mentioned, and also with train access to the center of Munich?

Your best bet is V-Markt for something similar to Walmart. For the homedepot type store any Baumarkt will do, we always used Toom but there are many others to chose from.

DJ

Thanks, DJ: 2 questions:

-- Is Toom like Walmart or like Home Depot?

-- Could you suggest an area outside of Munich (in other words, in one of the suburbs) that is clean and safe, that would have both of these stores, and that would be near a train to the center of Munich?

Several stores like OBI. Toom Baumarkt or Praktiker. Ikea may even have some of the items you are looking for. With camping items, you might have to go to a store like Globe Trotters.

Toom is like a Home Depot. Ms. Jo's comment reminded me there is a Praktiker right next to the V-Markt in Munich (click here for map).

I'm not familiar with a suburb that has these stores specifically but it's not hard to stay in a suburb and drive to V-Markt as they have plenty of parking. Holzkirchen is a nice southern suburb that has good access to the alps but is still on an SBahn line back into Munich.

DJ

Thanks so much.

I went on Google maps and checked out some of the hardware stores. There are several inside the 99 ring road, to the north of the city center, some of which are not far from the EuroIndustriePark. There's a V-Markt up there too. And, all things considered, the north side of town would be best for us, considering its proximity to some of the Bavarian towns we'd like to visit while we're there.

I have one follow-up question: Can you recommend a suburb to stay in that is in the north or northeast part of town? I'm looking for a nice (upscale?), safe, mostly-residential area (with some hotels) that's on a direct metro or train line to the center of Munich. Anywhere within 10-15 kilometers north or northeast from the EuroIndustriePark would be great, and north of the 99 ring road would be fine as well. What do you suggest?

Many thanks for your help.

Can you recommend a suburb to stay in that is in the north or northeast part of town? I'm looking for a nice (upscale?), safe, mostly-residential area (with some hotels) that's on a direct metro or train line to the center of Munich.

That is easy, Ismaning. Very nice suburb right on the S-Bahn line between the Airport and the city center. It's mostly residential but still has plenty of hotels and restaurants (my colleagues usually stayed at Zur Mühle). Last, its within 15km of the shoping area you need.

DJ

Thanks. Would you say that Ismaning is very safe (for old folks like us) to walk around in late at night?

Yes, it's safe (a lot of retirees live in lsmaning).

DJ