We finally bought a Sportsmobile, but not one with a typical layout. As some of you folks might recall, the wife and I had sold our diesel pusher due to our age and the little use it was getting, and we were dead set on buying a travel/camping type of van that could be garaged, but the garage part did not work out for us, for whatever reasons. Out of all of the things that we thought were most important to us, and there were a bunch, in the final analysis, it was overall vehicle condition, air conditioning, and low mileage that proved to be the most important to us. That, and the convenience of it being available locally rather than having to travel to see it; plus it was being sold by some mighty fine people.
It is a 2008 Ford E350 SD, 6.0L Diesel with about 36,000 miles on it, and we hope to start using it in the very near future, with, perhaps, a trip to Texas later in the year, but we might put that off until next year. The previous and original owners bought it to transport their dogs to shows and/or transport them between duty stations, and since it was kept clean as a whistle, so to speak, and used so very little, it fits our need as is. That said, we have also been thinking of having the platform removed and putting in more of the typical camping type amenities. Right now, it has a small fridge, microwave, Danhard AC, electric top with bed, 2000W Tripp-Lite Inverter/Charger, Powertech Diesel 3.0K (?) Generator, plus fresh water tank, outdoor shower, extra battery, etc.
We're very happy with it, although my wife looks as if she is trying to put her foot in a stirrup to mount a stallion in order to get to her seat...it's all good, so thought we'd share the good news with you fine folks!
James