Longest trek in a Sportsmobile?

[oc2bc]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum but have been a long time admirer of Sportsmobiles. My wife and I have decided to sell the house next spring, buy a Sportsmobile 4X4 Penthouse Top, and take a year or more to drive from Vancouver down the Pan American Highway to Punta Arenas, Chile. Not sure about Diesel or Gas, but am reading the forums to figure it out.

So, my questions to the forum are:

1. What is the longest (Time & Distance) anyone has spent continuously in a Sportsmobile?
(We plan on doing some volunteering for room & board, house sitting and having some hotel nights to break it up, I'm just curious)

2. Fuel quality can be suspect in some countries, so any suggestions on what is more robust, Diesel or Gas?
(We will likely bring spare fuel/air filters, replacement pads and whatever else is recommended.)

3. Has anybody taken theirs into Central/South America? If so, any suggestions/suggested reading/websites?

Thanks team, we are super excited about the trip and I can't believe I now have to wait another year to sell the place so I can get the SMB!

OC2BC

[vwteleman]

This couple made it as far as Panama in their SMB.

Probably not a lot of relevant info for your planning phase, but you can't make that trip without first reading Tim Cahill's Road Fever.

Brent

[oc2bc]

Thanks Brent! I like their blog and I appreciate the book recommendation. I notice you're in North Van, are you a SportsMobile owner or VW? My understanding is that you can't import a SportsMobile into Canada, but hopefully you're proof that I'm wrong.

Also, how did you find my post. Everytime I go into the General Discussion forum, I don't see the post.

Thanks again!

Jason

[sdwindansea]

Can't help on the SMB part of this topic. However, Tim Cahill is definitely one of my favorite "adventure" writers. I would highly recommend giving him a read.

[pjpvi]

South America is on my list for some day. Have several years ahead of me before that can become a reality though.

Here's a link to a blog that you may be interested in if you haven't seen it. They did the trip in a SMB.
http://www.landhopping.com/index.html

There are a lot of other blogs I've read and/or are tracking of people that have driven to the tip of SA.

If you create a stand alone blog on your trip, let us know. I'd love to follow along.

Phil

[vwteleman]

Originally Posted by oc2bc

are you a SportsMobile owner or VW?

Not an SMB owner. We previously had an '89 Westfalia, and now have a 2008 Ford GTRV conversion. Our van is explained in this thread.

Originally Posted by oc2bc

Also, how did you find my post. Everytime I go into the General Discussion forum, I don't see the post.

Not sure why don't you see it. For me, any new thread or any thread with new activity pops to the top of the list. Maybe Jage or another admin can chime in.

Cheers,
Brent

[yvrr]

Our first trip was two weeks long and we stayed in motels every few days. That was partly because we didn't have the bed situation completely figured out yet. We started out with a piece of foam over the penthouse bed but eventually evolved to our current system of memory foam and a pillow topper. Since then, we've done a few month-long trips without staying anywhere else. Since we have hot water and a way to take showers in the SMB, we no longer think about staying at motels...to a certain degree, it is a hassle to carry everything we need from the van to the motel room and visa-versa.

[oc2bc]

Thanks to everyone for all the posts and links. I look forward to reading Tim Cahill and the blog links are inspirational. We will definitely be putting up a blog chronicling the entire adventure from concept to end, including the quest to find our SMB or GTRV (so we can bring it back to Canada with us). I'll do some research on the fuel quality and post my findings for others. Thanks again, I'm looking forward to being a full-fledged member of the club!

Jason

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by oc2bc

I notice My understanding is that you can't import a SportsMobile into Canada.


Jason

Whats up with no SMB to canada??

[LenS]

Our longest trip was two months and 12,000 miles. It was an Alaska trip from the lower 48>