We've had our SMB for two months now and have had a chance to scratch up the sides, bottom out the undercarriage and generally put her to good use. Here is the scoop:
We are still impressed with the build quality of the SMB. A few pieces of trim came loose and I added a couple of screws. Other than that everything has held together and no big mistakes. Except for the D5 issue below, all systems are running well.
They had tried to talk us out of the Captain's bed as being kind of hokey. The Captains bed is a plywood platform and cushion that unfolds onto the front seats to make a bed. It isn't very tall, but it turns out to be perfect for dogs. They get to get off the floor, look out the window and not be on our bed. Recommended for anyone with dogs.
I've had fun with my own projects such as adding strip LED lighting in the cargo area, adding swivel seats, adding an LED light bar, wiring in switches for lights and an airhorn near the bed, etc.
There was an Espar D5 issue, and I can tell you that SMB either knows nothing about Espar, or they don't want to bother trying to help you trouble shoot. They said to please follow the directions in the manual (which was to turn on the switches and thermostat), and if it doesn't work drive it to Fresno. They then gave me the number of the guy who designed the system for SMB, and he helped me troubleshoot. It turned out that SMB missed on screwing in one of the wires into the terminal block behind the switch panel, and it had slipped off. Once that was reconnected the furnace starting roaring again.
So far, knock on wood, we are pleased and having a lot of fun. In fact, here is a trip report from a trip we did with Bivy to Sequoia National Park to climb:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Saber-Ri...s/t12491n.html