SMB West CascadeWalnut Build - Page 2

Roonie · 05-11-2011, 06:45 PM

They can cut straight lines!

Looks great I bet your excited.

Jeffrey · 05-12-2011, 12:15 PM

Good luck with your build. This is a very exciting stage for a future SMB owner.

If your'e getting the standard SMB conversion isn't the swivel seat included? I don't remember it being an option when I got my RB 50 built.

joey2cool · 05-12-2011, 01:15 PM

Thanks for sharing the build photos. I got photos during my build, but they were mostly of the finish details and lacked the prep stages you are in now. It's really nice to know how everything comes together. Comforting to see a rubber lining installed around the edges of the opening where electrical wiring is being routed next to the gas fill area near the floor.

CascadeWalnut · 05-12-2011, 08:55 PM

@Jeffery we did a modified RB21, you bring up a good point about it being standard. One of the reasons we decided to cut it out for now is cost savings, and we could easily add it when we have 4x4 installed.

@Joey Thanks, part of the reason I like to post the pictures is to get multiple experienced eyes looking them over. I would have never noticed the rubber gasket material they used to protect the wiring.

CascadeWalnut · 05-15-2011, 04:44 PM

As the pictures keep pouring into my gmail account, I am starting to feel as if the build is going much faster that what I had anticipated. Or Maybe it is just a relative feeling, after all I have been drooling over all of your vehicles and stalking your trip reports for the past 2-3 years!!!

Above all else Joesph at SMB west has been great to deal with, although he has as many as 15 van projects he is dealing with at any given time, he has kept us up to date on the build which is very satisfying for our family. Those of you just starting the build process (like me), or thinking about jumping in should be assured that Mr. Doyle is the utmost professional.

Here are some of the pictures he recently sent....

Everything still looks legit and professional to this point, insulation, walls, windows, flooring, and penthouse attachment.

cbpruett · 05-15-2011, 06:07 PM

FWIW, I just took delivery of my van this past week and Joseph was the sales rep/project manager. Although it was already well under way when I got involved, he was very patient and spent a ton of time answering emails, keeping me updated with pics, taking phone calls and accommodating a factory visit on short notice. He is extremely knowledgeable and when he didn’t know the answer to something (once or twice), he did the right thing and tracked down the answer from someone at SMB or the vendor whose product was in question. Very happy with my experience with him, and SMB West in general. Good luck, they are amazing vehicles.

CascadeWalnut · 06-01-2011, 12:24 AM

So it has been a while since I have posted an update to our build, it hasn't been because of lack of updates on Josephs part. As a matter of fact I have been getting updates every couple of days, without these frequent updates we could have ran into some serious problems. Luckily these problems were caught earlier and corrected (see next post).

The first couple of shots show that the rear slider windows will not be tucked behind any cabinets (which we were worried about)

Next you can see progress on the sink, and fridge cabinets as well as dinette componenets.

Next post will discuss a problem with our build.

CascadeWalnut · 06-01-2011, 12:42 AM

A little background: I had convinced my wife to build one of these beasts a couple of years ago. Since then we have spent a great deal of time designing multiple floor plans with the DIY tool on the Sportsmobile website, as well as the cut out .pdf files.

A few things that remained constant in those designs were; a walk through design, room for a 3rd and 4th captains chair, and no cabinets/dinettes or anything else blocking access through the side cargo doors. This last point my wife was pretty passionate about, not only would this open up the SMB to the camp, but also more options for modular storage.

With that said here are some pictures....

As you can see the dinette overhangs the cargo door and large bay window. In part this was caused by cabinets being pushed forward from rear of the van. My wife was pretty quick to get a hold of Joseph, and by afternoon the next day they had worked out a compromise; shorten the dinette from 49" to 41", and add an extension giving sleeping length of 51".

Conclusion: In hindsight we did not communicate to Joseph how important this aspect of the design was to us, the outcome was completely understandable. We couldn't be happier with the new design!!! When up (without pad in place) the extension wings can act as a beverage holder!! Also as a result of having the cabinets pushed forward from the rear, we now have a functional area to add our Molle panels (we plan on covering the entire backside of the fridge cabinet)

CascadeWalnut · 06-08-2011, 03:42 PM

Things are progressing pretty smoothly with our build, Joseph has been keeping us up to date regularly. The attached pictures are a few days old, he contacted me this morning to say that the production will come to a close around June 20th!

Wow, sounds great! After years of dreaming, the build has gone pretty fast. Now its just down to asking for time off, reserving a rental car for the trip to fresno, and finally planning our maiden voyage. We will be pressed for time to return to Portland, think pick up on Wednesday and return on Sunday. We are thinking about hugging the coast, and going through the Redwoods (I have a thing for big trees). Any suggestions?

joey2cool · 06-10-2011, 10:38 PM

If its big trees you like, I highly recommend a stop one night at Sequoia National Park. It's only an hour from SMB Fresno and there's a few small grocery/cafes in the park. The Sequoias will knock you socks off! Biggest living organisms on earth. Redwoods are smaller cousins.

Anyhow, if you do this you can swing back into SMB after a one night shakedown if needed. We didn't need to, but it was a comfort to know we could and we did end up calling them to get some advise on pulling the penthouse down while we were there (that's all it took).

Another stop or two we really liked included Monteray Bay for an acquarium visit and Half Moon Bay State Park for an overnight stay just south of San Franscisco. Then on to Lady Bird Johnson State Park to see the redwoods. The Lost Coast is another good option for redwoods.

Enjoy! The rig has really come along hasn't it