New baby + new house project = SMB Remodel? or SMB Sale?

[NRL]

Originally Posted by billwilson

Jage

i am tottally cool with the "group concensus" for SMB only stuff

merely mentioning my thought process to the OP re: the thread title

I have seen tons of stuff where a families of 5+traveled extensivly in a Westy
(one great pic was 4 kids in the westy ph

as stated often, there is no perfect rig
jeep/suv/truck/combos w/ tailers/smb/full expo rigs

we are blessed at we have so many choices

My two main goals
1) be able to travel North America, off the beaten track, with wife, dog and baby
2) keep Mom and baby comfy so they want to go, and for more than a few days

You bring up a interesting point:
Alternate vehicles
- we lost Yellow Fellow's mom as a contributor
- maybe others too
Maybe time to add that

Add to that an increasing number of HomeBrew rigs
(plenty of help here for them)
- and those home brews have never nor will most likley never visit the Mother Ship(s)

Now if i could just get the Cool of a Westy, the agility of a rockcrawler, the comfort of a RV, and the economy of a pirus,.......

My next rig is going to be a UniMog Camper!
The Van is a keeper since it fits thru In&Outs which is my criteria.

Check out these two unimog campers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6WlMVmo ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk_zql7q8BM

[daveb]

In & out of what! The burger place? Maybe yes maybe no.

[suitable1]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

is this company still in business.

It appears to me that everything on the website is dated around 2005.

[Ketcham]

For the price of two SMB...

http://www.earthroamer.com/

better for winter camping. Resolved off shore power issues and has more water/storage capacity. Heavy Vehicle though.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by Ketcham

For the price of two SMB...

http://www.earthroamer.com/

better for winter camping. Resolved off shore power issues and has more water/storage capacity. Heavy Vehicle though.

more like price of 2.5 sportsmobiles

[jage]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

more like price of 2.5 sportsmobiles

I should totally do that to my F250, but my wife would kill me...

[Aldercrest]

Bringing this thread back from the dead... because I never remodeled, and now the question is up for consideration again.

So... we built the new house, and as you can see, daughter #2 joined daughter #1 in the process:


Then...


Surprise! They got a baby brother! He is now closing in on a year old, and we need to go play in Vanna. Good thing we didn't remodel the SMB with seating for 4! But it is now time to add a fold-down bench seat and a couple more windows to seat 5. Sleeping will be SMB + tent for now, maybe a trailer or something else in the future.

I need to defend the cost of the remodel vs. selling and buying something else. The remodel quote from Van Specialties (new fridge cabinet, fold down bench, big windows on left and right in back, new floor) is about 20% to 25% of the SMB's current market value, but if we sell and look to buy something else, it's a bit of a crapshoot. A Sportsmobile with a similar price will have all the additional joys and risks of something new-to-us and unknown. Plus, I really don't want to give up my awesomely quiet fridge, and it's pretty unlikely we will get another 7.3 with 80,000 miles on it.

Any wisdom out there from the forum on how to best argue for the remodel? [Edit] Preaching about the wonders of the 7.3 is not likely to help my cause...

[86Scotty]

I would totally go for the rebuild. You have a sweet van! Could you not do it a little cheaper though? I don't know what's underneath the rear bed in your van but it would seem pretty easy to make the rear a bench/bed fold down and maybe just add a loft across the rear top for the kids? You could skip the loft and keep your headroom using a tent as well and it would be even simpler. Another idea that might be cheaper is an offroad trailer with a rooftop tent, then you've got enough storage space for 5 and everybody is off the ground. It would seem to me this would only cost you a few grand, and you'd have a split bedroom floor plan to boot so you and Mom could have a little more peace and quiet.

It seems like there are better options out there for you than selling a near perfect van.

[JohnandMandi]

The age old boat conundrum. Pour money into this hole or that hole.

Possible angles for your cause:

Sentimental value of existing van. Great for your kids to remember all of the trips in the same "old" van. Maybe one day the grandchildren camp in it too. A van legacy of sorts.

Customization. Instead of buying something that mostly fits you'll get exactly what [s:28yf087l]you[/s:28yf087l] your family wants.

Cost. Getting a different set-up that will be comparable in capability will probably be more expensive. Money saved goes to future camping fund or some other pending priority. If nothing is there to catch the savings propose an international trip, Disney World or college fund.

Mostly brain dead today so these are weak but tried and true. If anything else comes to mind I'll post again. Congrats on the home and expanding family... beautiful.

-John

[rockbender]

Thanks for posting! Your house turned out beautiful - I had always wondered how things were going for you in the upper left portion of the state.

Congrats on the new additions. We've been doing great as a family of 4 in our RB50-ish layout, so I think with the EB and fixed top you are bound to find a good solution. We just got back from a 2400 mile trip with the four of us (me, wife, kids 4 and 2) PLUS my mother in law (added the third captains chair) and the van was great for traveling. We only slept 4 in the van, but as a sheer travel rig it was sure nice having the extra space and having everything we would need tucked away where it belonged always within easy reach.