Off Topic - Comfy rides

**BroncoHauler** · 07-26-2007, 08:35 AM

A Sportsmobile conversion not luxurious enough for you? Have wads of extra cash laying around? Check out these conversions.

http://www.beckerautodesign.com/index.htm

Herb

herby · 11-01-2007, 01:31 PM

there is many converters around and if you bring cash sportsmobil and everybody else makes you anything you want.

Ed in Montana · 11-01-2007, 05:18 PM

Well, if you need a rig for the Sahara or a trans-Asia run, I would go for something from Action Mobile:

http://www.actionmobil.com/index.html

Take a look at the "Products" section under their website. A lot of amazing rigs.

It really makes you think as an SMB 4X4 owner, that our wild country in North America isn't really all that tough, compared to the Sahara, the Kalahari, the Gobi or the Empty Quarter.

Velogeo · 11-01-2007, 06:49 PM

I don't know, Ed. I'm starting to look into some things north of here. In the winter the Dempster Highway in the Northwest Territory includes two ice bridges plus it's another 120 miles longer than it is the rest of the year. It continues as an ice road up the McKenzie river to a couple Inuit villages and the Arctic ocean. That seems plenty tough to me.

Hey, there's an idea for a forum rally. And there won't be a problem keeping the beer cold. Wonder what you'd need to do to a PSD SMB to be able to make that trip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dempster_Highway
http://www.peelriverinn.com/dempster-highway.htm

Ed in Montana · 11-01-2007, 07:08 PM

Been there, done that.

I haven't driven the Dempster in the winter, but I have been in Inuvik and across the Northwest Territories several times by canoe in the summer. It's a beautiful place. We drove our old Dodge Dakota pickup to Dawson in the Yukon one summer as well.

There's a write-up on a motorized expedition website of some Subaru owners and Toyota truck owners of doing a ralley in Inuvik in late winter (March) which is pretty impressive. But the roads are really easy compared to off-roading in the Sahara or Asia.

Ed in Montana · 11-01-2007, 07:12 PM

Actually Velogeo, if you need any info about driving North let me know. We've been all over British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon on wheels, bush planes and canoe and can probably help out with advice. We've only been to Alaska once though.

And I have yet to drive our 2006 SMB up there, which was part of the reason for getting the beast in the first place.

Velogeo · 11-01-2007, 08:19 PM

Ed -

I know I'll take you up on it. BC especially is a big part of our plans. I've been up there a lot already, but never anywhere else in Canada. I've found some good map and guide books and am looking forward to exploring all of it in our van. Any and all info is needed and appreciated. It's the second largest country -- by land mass -- on earth, but they have a population of "only" 30 million or so. It's all wide open, and amazingly beautiful. I haven't been any place I didn't like.

I am curious where you camped on Vancouver Island. How far north did you get?

My wife is from Alaska. I've been up there a bunch of times before and after meeting her, but have never made the drive. My little kids are dying to make the drive up to see Grandpa and Grandma, cousins, etc. I haven't had the heart to tell them we can't drive to Dutch Harbor where Grandma lives now.

I do want to get down to Baja and Moab and other parts south too but our dreams lay more north. I'll have to start a thread on mods for extreme cold. I'll wait till I actually have the van, though. I did have Rob -- the electronics guy -- do a couple extra things. Aside from being able to do the remote start via the alarm system I can also start the furnace and the water/engine heater remotely.

jage · 11-02-2007, 09:20 AM

Just FYI you can set the Chili Dog for low temp too and it will start the van (ostensibly with the heat set to on!)

Velogeo · 11-02-2007, 11:07 AM

Jage -

I know there is some of that built into the alarm system. I'll need to figure it out. Right now I'm thinking how to keep the fuel system and batteries warm enough to function in constant -20 to -40 cold. And it's real obvious I'm going to have to do some work on the insulation.

I think it's kind of funny that a thread in the, no offense to anyone, sparesely used Sprinter portion of the forum has been usurped for yet more talk on Ford based SMBs.

jage · 11-02-2007, 11:22 AM

I also find it ironic that my own brother designed and bought a new Sprinter from SMB Texas shortly before I bought my EB and yet has never visited the forum...

Anyway, do you know what the draw on a block heater is? I read 8/10 amps on a Ford Forum, not sure if that's 6.0L or even a van (just looking for rough numbers). I wonder if you could either use a timer to do on off, or just run an invertor and the block heater for an hour in the morning before starting.... 10 amps/ 1 hour = 10 amp hours roughly equivalent to using a microwave for 6 minutes.

Of course that's all assuming your batteries are functioning in -40. I think I'd just leave the van running all the time.