Trip to Sportsmobile Austin

We had a 2006 Sprinter from Sportsmobile. We replaced it after 10 years and 110,000 miles. They make a quality product at a very reasonable price.

I suggest first going to their very extensive website to get an idea of how you can design your own van. You put in the options you want and can come up with a fairly accurate price.

For custom built vans, a waiting list of a year is pretty normal.

Being located near the upfitter would be a huge plus when considering a custom van. That alone would seem worth the extra wait if Sportsmobile designs suit your needs. The interiors are a bit utilitarian but they're rugged and well built.

We've received excellent support from Sportsmobile Texas and we're a thousand miles away. I would love to be next door and be able to send our unit over for some minor improvements now that we've owned it a few years.

What he said!!

Yeah.... being down the road is great. I can't wait to get up there... as soon as I have my living stuff sorted out in my new apartment. I have looked at their excellent website extensively too.

The reason I am not going to have them do it is because a year is just TOO long to wait. The builder I will have do it says they will do it in about 6 to 8 weeks.

That seems to be about the time with all the others I have checked as well. only Sportsmobile is taking a year to get it. creative mobile interiors is another great company... and they too only have about a 6 to 8 week wait time.

i just can't wait a year. I have already taken TOO many years to even pull the trigger on something. I been thinkin about doing this since about 2005. I think. I can't remember it's been so long. lol

Anyway....the other builder is also in the area.... so I will be close by when they need to see me.

still..... going up to Austin and seeing Sportsmobile will be great for getting information.

who knows.... maybe their build time will have shortened by the time I get up there in a
week or so. lol
ya never know.

I'm on my second Sportsmobile which is a 2010 Sprinter and as far as insulation goes, the more the better, but in the end it's still a steel box with a lot of glass and door openings so it's never going to be as cozy, or cool, as a stick-built house.

If I was starting from scratch I would gently stuff all the bays around and between the steel structural elements with paperless fiberglass batt (low tech but rot-proof) careful not to interfere with door-opening/lock mechanizes, then lay a thin (1/4 inch) closed-cell foam with the joints well taped over everything before fastening the wall and ceiling panels in place. This helps 'decouple' the outside temps from the inside temps.

As for the floor, it's the least important place to insulate (Relative to walls and especially ceiling) and I've been happy with just a subfloor under a marine-grade vinyl flooring with a rug-runner thrown on top. Sometimes I have to wear booties to keep my feet warm, but that was good enough for my grandparents so it's good enough for me.

I did design my Sportsmobile so that all tanks and drains and valves are inside the insulated envelope which greatly simplifies winter use.

gregirish1954 wrote:
I'm on my second Sportsmobile which is a 2010 Sprinter and as far as insulation goes, the more the better, but in the end it's still a steel box with a lot of glass and door openings so it's never going to be as cozy, or cool, as a stick-built house.

If I was starting from scratch I would gently stuff all the bays around and between the steel structural elements with paperless fiberglass batt (low tech but rot-proof) careful not to interfere with door-opening/lock mechanizes, then lay a thin (1/4 inch) closed-cell foam with the joints well taped over everything before fastening the wall and ceiling panels in place. This helps 'decouple' the outside temps from the inside temps.

As for the floor, it's the least important place to insulate (Relative to walls and especially ceiling) and I've been happy with just a subfloor under a marine-grade vinyl flooring with a rug-runner thrown on top. Sometimes I have to wear booties to keep my feet warm, but that was good enough for my grandparents so it's good enough for me.

I did design my Sportsmobile so that all tanks and drains and valves are inside the insulated envelope which greatly simplifies winter use.

Hi just saw your post. I would love to see pics of your build.
thanks for telling me about the insulation.... thats good to know.

Member of the Sportsmobile family since 2012 and proud of it. Can't beat the product. The way they built it to YOUR likes, not an off the self take this or nothing. Great people! Our was from Sportsmobile North, but the entire organization is great!!!

HighLonesome, I'm hardly new to camping and van conversions but I am new to this forum and after reading the rules a few times I think it's OK to post a link to my blog as long as it's on topic, but I'm not sure so we'll see if I get yelled at or not.

If you go to "travels of a rambling van" and use the archives list to check out the posts from January 2014 you will find photos and a painful amount of my rambling on about what/why/how I set up The Van (My current Sportsmobile).

There are a few posts and photos scattered throughout the blog of changes I've made since as I evolved from a worker-bee to a retired layabout, such as removing the Micro and TV, but for the most part The Van is still the same today.

greg

gregirish1954 wrote:
HighLonesome, I'm hardly new to camping and van conversions but I am new to this forum and after reading the rules a few times I think it's OK to post a link to my blog as long as it's on topic, but I'm not sure so we'll see if I get yelled at or not.

If you go to "travels of a rambling van" and use the archives list to check out the posts from January 2014 you will find photos and a painful amount of my rambling on about what/why/how I set up The Van (My current Sportsmobile).

There are a few posts and photos scattered throughout the blog of changes I've made since as I evolved from a worker-bee to a retired layabout, such as removing the Micro and TV, but for the most part The Van is still the same today.

greg

Thanks Greg... I'll have a look

I have friends on their second Sprinter based Sportsmobile from Austin. They have been very happy with them.