the next adventure

[ilanarama]

This weekend we are headed up to Laramie to look at a used Sportsmobile. It's a lot like our old Westfalia Synchro, except, you know, with an actual engine instead of a hamster wheel. Absurdly expensive, too. Um, yay?

Comments

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

If you are going to Laramie, shouldn't you be looking into buying a Jordan Playboy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Motor_Car_Company#Jordan_marketing)?

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

Also, my friend in San Jose is selling this RV (http://tugrik.livejournal.com/645740.html) for $5K. He is honest and trustworthy.

[adw3345.livejournal.com]

Somehow I feel threatened yet aroused at the same time when I see that van with its roof popped open.

-Derrick

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

She can tell what a sassy pony, that’s a cross between greased lighting and the place where it hits, can do with eleven hundred pounds of steel and action when he's going high, wide and handsome!

And, we actually used to have an RV sort of like that, but it just wasn't what we needed. We are after something smaller and 4x4 for the kind of stuff we do. Plus, we want a diesel engine so we can run it on biodiesel.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's a remarkable vehicle. My brain is feeling a little bent and folded, trying to figure out where they put everything in that wee little space. Very cool.

[frosch.livejournal.com]

Marsha's been after me for an RV for a long time now, and a Sportsmobile would be a fair compromise between what she would ideally like (Winnebago/Airstream) and what I would be willing to drive on the interstate (Alaskan).

I keep pointing out, though, that an RV would mostly just sit in our driveway, since the kind of trips we generally take involve getting on a plane and flying somewhere, or driving somewhere to stay with friends or family.

Does biodiesel (or is it projected to) retail for significantly less than petroleum? I can't think of anywhere around here that you can even get it.

[de-wynken.livejournal.com]

I've seen many Quigley's up on the passes, they are neat. I'll stick with my $2000 big jeep and a good tent though..it can out wheel them hands down at a fraction of the cost.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Now I'm all nostalgic for T.BOBbing.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

It's like a boat, really, the way everything's all cleverly shoehorned in. Although it's all plastic and plywood instead of nice teak, since weight is an issue. But basically, the reason why class B RVs (van conversions) are so expensive compared to regular big RVs is that it all has to be small and specially-made.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

We used to have a small RV (24 feet) but even that was too big for me to be comfortable driving it. On the interstate was okay, but once you get into a city, yikes. Plus, we were really limited by the size and clearance to pretty much staying at parks (we found state parks the best deal and the nicest places), rather than just pulling off on public lands which is easily doable all through the west. When we had our VW Synchro we did a lot of long-weekend and week long trips in the mountains where we'd drive somewhere, then mild 4WD into the national forest/blm/whatever to camp, and then bike or hike from there. That's basically what we're getting this for, to do again, although another Canada/Alaska trip like we did in 1993 with our VW is also appealing.

We had the added problem that we have no driveway and couldn't legally park the RV on the street here. So we kept it at Britt's family's ranch, about a half hour's drive away, but that made it a lot less handy.

Biodiesel is typically about a nickel more than petrodiesel, but it's better for the engine - you do need to blend 50/50 in the winter around here, though. However, it used to be that diesel was significantly cheaper than gasoline, and that's not been the case since Katrina.

(We are investors in a local biodiesel plant which is still in the construction stage. Right now, Blue Sun Biodiesel has pumps scattered all over Colorado. I think they're based in Kansas.)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Oh, if you want only 2WD and a gas engine, it lowers the price of the Sportsmobile a lot. But a used cheapo RV is still much less. (See Dave's link above.)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure, but we're not in it for the macho gnarly stuff - we like the (comparative) luxury of not having to go outside in the weather to cook, set up a tent, etc. We are weenies! We like mints on our pillows! :-)

Mostly the 4WD is to get us into the backcountry enough that we can camp for free and not be bothered. Any real exploration we do on foot or bicycle.

[hwrnmnbsol.livejournal.com]

This would all be SO MUCH EASIER if we could only figure out how to make Windom fly.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, WE LOVE YOU!

[de-wynken.livejournal.com]

That's true. A bio-diesel van would serve you well for that.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Ahhh! Oooh!

I want one. For later, though.

[frosch.livejournal.com]

I learned from Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer (http://www.rammerjammeryellowhammer.com/) not to lowball on an RV.

If you haven't considered Alaskans (http://alaskancamper.com/), you might want to take a look. They have models that will fit into an 8' pickup bed (with an optional cabover to sleep in) and collapse to a pretty aerodynamic profile

I don't know what you wind up doing with the camper when you're not using it, but being able to take it off the pickup would seem to give you a lot of options that you wouldn't have with a van conversion.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we thought about a pickup-camper, since we have a truck. But it's nice to be able to walk back into the back from the front - I think we just have had our preferences warped by having owned that VW camper van. It would also give us an emergency second car, since right now we only have the one vehicle and occasionally (very infrequently, to be honest) it would be convenient to have a second.

I hadn't seen that particular model before, though, and it's very nice! Britt's brother has a pickup-camper and we've stayed in it...it was okay, more room than one would have thought.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Well, if we buy it we will show it off to you on the way back down!

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I'll jump on the weenie-mobile bandwagon. The first trip we took with our 2WD Sportsmobile was down to Big Sur in October a few years ago. It was great to pull into the campsite in the dark, light off the propane BBQ, light a fire in the firepit, and be sipping Cabernet and chowing down on chicken and rice within a few short minutes of arrival, knowing that we didn't have to A)pitch a tent, B)inflate an air-mattress, etc. etc. The second night there it *poured* rain. The campsite next to us (in a tent) bailed out early in the evening, but we were snug and dry throughout the night. It was great to wake up in the middle of the night to the hammering of rain and think "no need to worry about the tent leaking" :-)

You guys will like the Sportsmobile -- I'm convinced of that. Just make sure to check it out thoroughly (badgertrek.com will give you some good pointers on what to look for, I think). Oh, and if you end up with one with a bathtub (not even sure if that's an option anymore) make sure that the faucet valves are really, truly closed before turning the water pump on. I'm just sayin' :-)

Eric W.

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

GIP

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Ooh, do you still have yours?

Britt had gotten a lot of info from the Badger site, so that was good. He asked a lot of questions, anyway. So, um, we have a Sportsmobile now. :-)

You should get an lj just so you can reply easily! Or if you have a login at any OpenID enabled site, you can use that.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[(Anonymous)]

Yup, still have ours. Don't use it nearly as much as we'd like; having to pay for 3 college educations seems to interfere with the fun stuff :-)

Glad to hear you guys got it! I'm looking forward to pictures, specs, etc.

Eric W.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Well, if you want to see it now, it's the ad about halfway down the page at http://sportsmobile.com/z-PO_calif.html - the one in Laramie.

The seller owns a bike store so we made a deal which included some very nice mountain bikes and a rack on the back. We're already plotting a shakedown "cruise" to the Cedar Mesa area of Utah.

And, pshaw, paying for 3 college educations means that you should take domestic road trips instead of fancy overseas flights, right? Lots of excuse to take the camper places. :-)

[(Anonymous)]

Didn't see one from Laramie, but if it is the one shown from Montrose... very nice! We're hoping to do some trips this spring/summer but work coupled with the big $$$ for fuel may conspire to limit those. Looking forward to a report on the shake-down cruise!

Eric W.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Nah, not that one - that one has more gear and cost more $$. I guess they took it down.

[(Anonymous)]

Forgot to mention... there's also a yahoo group for the 4x4 van crowd: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/4x4van/

Eric W.