Trip to Sportsmobile Austin
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. ...
Forum Discussion
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.
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.
