After 20 years of misadventures with my now-retired 2004 Sportsmobile, it's time for me to introduce a new (old) van:
- 2005 Sportsmobile
- EB50 layout
- Originally a 2WD van, with only 55K miles on the odometer
- UJoint 4x4 6" conversion, done in 2022
A huge thank you to
KTMRIDER, who kindly shared with me the Craigslist ad for this van!
Except for the fiberglass top, which looks weathered, this van is in almost pristine shape.
This new van is at least 3 feet longer than my old van (+2 feet for RB --> EB change, and then there are the extra large bumpers).
It's 3" taller than my old van (+2" from the Sportsmobile 4" lift --> UJoint 6" lift, and another +1" from larger tires).
The UJoint conversion drives great on highway and off. It handles rough dirt roads with potholes way better than my old Sportsmobile 4x4! No more slowing to a crawl for each pothole I can't drive around.
EB50 is close enough to my old RB50 that I sometimes forget which van I am in, except in the morning when my instinct is to jump out of the penthouse bed down onto the rotated passenger seat, and it's not there! My favorite padded landing is now out of reach -- a foot farther forward from the bed! Time to relearn my muscle memory.
Well, it *was* in pristine shape... Not anymore. I don't seem capable of camping without introducing scratches in the clearcoat.
Vandiesel II
Linear Mode
