We arranged to have an SMB contract driver bring our new rig to Las Vegas to take delivery so we would not incur CA sales tax. Plans were made weeks in advance where and when to meet him, and we were on the road to Las Vegas already when he called with major problems in making the connection due to the flight he was planning to take to Fresno not operating on the Saturday before Christmas. That resulted in a lot of last minute rearrangements and uncertainties. Not SMB's fault, rather the driver did not make sure he could live up to his end before he committed.
The van itself is awesome. (See Gallery)
They got everything right, even the brilliant (or crazy- remains to be seen) cargo attachment system we devised for our rear cargo area. After our walkthrough we headed for Yosemite, where we found a few very minor things either not working quite right or maybe we weren't operating them right, we weren't sure. There's a lot of information to absorb in a short walk-through. But we called SMB West and they said come on in we'll take care of it.
When we arrived they had a whole "pit crew" ready to tackle our list and they swarmed over the van like it was an entry in the Indy 500. Everything fixed and back on our way within a couple of hours.
We did end up making one more visit back to Fresno after we thought we were done because there was evidence we might have a roof leak. They did a flood test and determined there was no leak, just a lot of condensation between the roof and ceiling from the extreme humidity (central California was having a 100-year rainstorm).
We have finally escaped the gravitational pull of Fresno and are glad to have the van home and be done with all the traveling back and forth, sometimes in two separate vehicles. Hope to take it to New Mexico next month and stay in the parking lot at Taos Ski Valley while we get some turns in on the slopes. Anyone have experience with camping at ski area parking lots? Are the powers that be usually cool with that?
Sportsmobile (AKA Money Pit)
Linear Mode
