Trip to Sportsmobile Austin

[HighLonesome]

I am back in Texas tomorrow and moving into an apartment for a few months.
I am just down the road from Sportsmobile. I want to stop in and talk to them about building a class B sprinter style van.

I don't think I will have them do it because the waiting list is about a year long.
BUT.... I want to ask some questions so I have some ideas when I go talk to the company that I am going to have do it.

I have alot of research to do but I thought I would ask here as well about anything that is super important with respect to the quality of the interior build.... cabinets, insulation floor, roof and walls etc...

I don't know anything about custom builds and I want to try to get as educated as I can about what needs to be done for a quality build on a van.

if you have suggestions.... please tell me. I'd appreciate the help.
I am not going to do anything till I have a good understanding of what needs to be done.

thanks

[mlts22]

I live about five miles away from SMB Austin, and I have toured the factory a few times. Their QA is very good.

I had a Sportsmobile build for about a year now I was going to get done, but financial items that popped up, put that project on ice until late 2017.

Because they can do custom stuff, I have a few recommendations on your SMB build:

1: They can do a Truma Combi LP gas furnace and water heater. If you are doing propane in your rig, get this, as it will save you a lot of space.

2: Consider the van platform you will be wanting, and get with them before you buy the van. There are some options which can help greatly, for example with a Sprinter, getting a smaller DEF tank. Sometimes buying the factory hitch receiver is a good thing, other times, it may not be.

3: Don't expect to negotiate about upfit prices. SMB's prices are take it or leave it. This is good, since they are reasonable for what you get.

4: I would recommend the option (if available for the model) of a second alternator. That way, one charges the engine batteries, the other is dedicated for the house batteries, and with an inverter, it will (check with SMB to be 100% on this) give you enough power to run an A/C. You can use it with a generator if you want, because the alternator is charging up the 12 volt side, the generator is on the 120VAC side. Because I live in Texas, the SMB build I was doing would have a 3000 watt "hybrid" inverter, so I could run the A/C from the engine, the generator, or shore power.

[jjson775]

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

[HighLonesome]

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

[gregirish1954]

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

[garmp]

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]

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.

[gregirish1954]

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.

[HighLonesome]

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.

[buta4]

What he said!!

[rockymtnb]

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.

[Shearwater]

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.