This week Fred checks out the Sportsmobile 4x4 Ford Van. The Sportsmobile is great if back country exploring and camping are your favorite pastime. It is designed for off road use
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00:00 This week on Dirt Every Day we are at our top secret test facility in the hills of California
00:05 to talk to you about off-road campers.
00:08 Now if you're going off-roading and you want to go camping, one vehicle you've got to check
00:11 out is the Sportsmobile.
00:12 This is a four-wheel drive Ford van that's fitted inside for all types of off-road gear
00:17 and camping.
00:18 Now one thing you probably don't want to take with you if you're going off-road camping
00:22 is an 86 pace arrow.
00:25 So today we are here with Alan Feld from Sportsmobile.
00:44 Sportsmobile has been outfitting vans for camping and off-roading for about 50 some
00:48 years and Alan brought his personal Ford van out here.
00:51 What can you tell us about Sportsmobile?
00:52 What is the idea behind that company?
00:55 Well Sportsmobile actually started in 1961 with the Volkswagen camper vans and you're
01:00 probably too young to remember that but all the old Volkswagen's you see them on the road
01:04 the tops go straight up and the Westfalia is tilted to the top to get around the patent
01:08 we have.
01:09 Now what year is this?
01:10 This is a 2010.
01:11 2010 and it's one of the last diesels that they made?
01:13 It is the last year that Ford offered the diesel motor in this chassis.
01:17 That's probably pretty valuable I guess guys that are going camping maybe exploring really
01:22 like the long range.
01:24 Like the long range and the torque of the diesel off-road capabilities you know braking
01:28 capabilities engine braking like the diesel a lot for that.
01:32 What type of things do you do to a van to make it off-road ready?
01:37 Well we actually get a two-wheel drive van from Ford Motor Company and we put it up on
01:41 a lift and basically take everything underneath off.
01:44 We take the drive shafts out we take the whole suspension system off we actually put a Dynatrack
01:49 Pro-Rock 60 axle with F550 brake rotors because the vehicle is heavier we're putting bigger
01:54 brakes on it.
01:55 We put an Atlas 2 gear driven transfer case in it.
01:58 We do custom drive shafts and then our own spring shocks.
02:03 Leaf springs front and rear?
02:04 Leaf springs front and rear yeah we like that for the travel and if you'll notice the front
02:09 leaf spring though it is almost flat because a lot of our customers 80-90% of their driving
02:15 is getting to the destination it's got to be a good ride.
02:18 We do have a sway bar in the front with the sway bar attached it's got a quick disconnect
02:22 on it with it attached we have 19 inches of travel with it disconnected we have 26.
02:27 So it drives great on the highway and then off-road it crawls like almost anything else.
02:33 And then front and rear bumpers it's got a winch hidden inside here?
02:36 Yeah this has a 12,000 pound Warren winch bumpers are made by a company called Aluminus
02:41 and they're all aluminum the racks aluminum ladders aluminum we wanted lightweight and
02:46 the nice thing is they never ever rust.
02:48 I guess if you're building a vehicle this big you have to be pretty conscious on weight
02:53 on everything so that it'll actually perform off-road without getting just bogged down
02:58 every time.
02:59 Yeah.
03:00 How would somebody go about getting a vehicle out there?
03:02 You can either get the van through us we're actually a Ford, Mercedes, Nissan drop ship
03:07 you can go to your local dealer and have a drop ship to us or you can actually buy one
03:10 and bring it to us.
03:11 Does it have water tanks and stuff like that?
03:14 It has fresh water it has gray water has a cassette toilet in it it basically has everything
03:18 a motorhome has just compacted refrigerator microwave.
03:23 So the old saying of living in a van down by the river that's not really an insult.
03:28 Oh god.
03:30 Then you got storage gear on your rear bumper, spare tire.
03:36 We have underfloor storage but going off-road we do go where other vans don't go and gotta
03:43 have your recovery gear.
03:44 Alright I have to ask because I know the guys that watch this are going to want to know
03:48 what's the price range on a vehicle like this?
03:51 Well actually this is my personal vehicle so there's a little extra stuff in it.
03:55 They start about $50 and then you know I mean obviously wheels, tires, bumpers, Atlas transfer
04:00 case, Dynatrack axle.
04:01 They're all the best parts you get.
04:03 They're the best and they add a lot and they add up quickly so you can get a pretty nicely
04:08 outfitted one between $80 and $100 depending on audio video and exterior lighting.
04:13 Yeah.
04:14 Alright let's look inside.
04:15 Okay.
04:16 This thing's pretty cool.
04:23 We have a microwave inside but we have two butane stoves out here so we do a lot of fish
04:28 and a lot of barbecue and even when it's raining we put the awning out.
04:32 We flip this thing out here and we do our cooking right out here.
04:36 Geez.
04:38 I've lived in apartments that were worse than this.
04:40 This is pretty nice.
04:42 Actually I have too.
04:45 So first thing is we have a little refrigerator here.
04:48 Okay and everybody goes wow that's really small.
04:51 I just carry my pretty much my food in here.
04:54 So you have a freezer in the back, you have a little fridge here and then you have another
04:57 mobile cooler.
04:58 Yeah I carry a Coleman cooler too.
05:00 We got a big drawer here with all our pots and pans and silverware and things like that.
05:05 Bowls, dishes, microwave.
05:08 It's got a 2000 watt inverter so we actually have generator on power through the inverter
05:14 and if you look at that little controller up there we have a 185 watt solar panel up
05:19 on the roof.
05:20 So we're sitting here, fridge is on, I can be running the microwave and we're at 13.8
05:26 volts generating electricity right now.
05:28 Wow.
05:29 So the solar panel runs the big battery and it never touches the battery that starts the
05:34 engine?
05:35 That's correct.
05:36 There's a separator between the two batteries.
05:38 Solar panel only charges the rear battery but we do have a switch up there that if that
05:42 front battery goes dead we can hold that and it links the batteries together to start the
05:47 vehicle.
05:48 It's kind of a safety feature.
05:49 And then this is where you said you can sleep up here?
05:52 Yeah this is the back part of the bed.
05:53 The main part is suspended from the top here so at night you lower that down, marry it
05:57 up with this and you got a huge bed up there.
06:00 You got five windows that open.
06:02 It is a great place to sleep.
06:04 And then this actually folds into a bed down below also.
06:07 A lot of audio/video options.
06:09 I mean some people have you know flip down TVs and everything, surround sound.
06:14 Just all depends on what amenities you want and how you camp.
06:17 Alright I want to go for a ride.
06:18 I want to feel how this thing rides off road.
06:21 We can do that.
06:22 Well this is pretty luxury.
06:36 Well it gets you there and then it gets you back.
06:40 Yeah.
06:41 But you can find some pretty good camp spots.
06:48 How long have you been driving something this size off road?
06:52 Oh my first one was a 89.
06:55 Oh nice.
06:56 So it has been a while.
06:59 So you got some experience.
07:01 That is the thing that a lot of people I think once you are used to that size vehicle or
07:05 that type of vehicle it is not that intimidating.
07:08 If you are not used to a vehicle this size you know going over ledges and up cliffs and
07:15 things like that it is really good to do it in a controlled environment.
07:19 And know what the capabilities are.
07:21 Even if you are not going to use it in those kind of situations if you know what the capabilities
07:26 are you know we are way ahead of the game.
07:30 So it is pretty awesome because we just kind of drove through that rutted riverbed.
07:36 Nothing is banging around.
07:37 Everything is still locked up tight.
07:38 Yeah and if we needed to stop right here we could stop right here, set up camp and in
07:43 the morning you know get on out.
07:46 The way Jim McGeehan designed the front end and the steering arms and everything we have
07:50 no steering stabilizers don't need them.
07:52 Eighty five miles an hour on the freeway you can no bump steer.
07:56 Zero.
07:57 It rides on the highway really nice.
08:00 This thing rides nice off road.
08:02 It does.
08:03 I mean it is a motor home off road so it does good but you know with what we do ninety or
08:10 eighty percent of the time it is getting there.
08:12 And then you do the Alpine loop or you get out in the Moab and you spend two or three
08:15 days in the back country but then it is a twelve hour ride home.
08:19 Our customers are probably like minded people.
08:23 We do have a lot of, it is a wide variety I mean from wind surfers to kayakers to adventurers
08:29 to photographers.
08:30 Our biggest customer base from an occupation standpoint is school teachers and firefighters.
08:34 Really?
08:35 Because they have the lifestyle.
08:36 Yeah.
08:37 You know the teachers they have got winter break, summer break, springs off, firefighters
08:43 are on three off four.
08:45 They are just outdoors people.
09:06 Allen this thing is really cool.
09:10 Like it is a house on wheels, it has got four wheel drives, it has got a winch, it has got
09:14 all these lights, it has got everything you ever could want to go off road and camp out
09:18 and live out there for as long as you want.
09:20 Right?
09:21 That is it.
09:22 Alright well I want to show you my 1986 Pace Aero motor home and you can tell me if this
09:28 is as good off road as that.
09:30 Comparison huh?
09:31 Yeah I mean this thing is not as fancy as yours but it does have a big block engine.
09:37 Well that is pretty much all it has got really going for it.
09:42 Okay.
09:43 So inside, you might want to watch out for this step, it is kind of broken already.
09:48 This is a 1986 Pace Aero.
09:53 This was probably the top of the line or somewhere in line back in 1986.
09:59 But nothing against your sportsmobile which is very nice, this is similar but different.
10:04 It has kind of a bathroom area.
10:07 You could have running water with this shower.
10:11 There is a closet here and another one here.
10:15 It has got a broom in it if you need a broom.
10:18 There are also beds much like your van.
10:21 There is more storage, there is a fridge.
10:24 It is probably not as nice as yours because it does not always work.
10:30 Okay but it keeps the beer cold.
10:32 Well yes it would, probably if you put ice in it.
10:35 Okay.
10:36 Whoa.
10:37 That kind of smells funny in there.
10:38 I think it has, it does have a...
10:39 Microwave.
10:40 Okay.
10:41 I do not know that that works either but I mean it is kind of nice.
10:48 It is great.
10:49 Would you like to go for a ride?
10:50 Let us do it.
10:51 Alright well here, you want to go for a ride.
10:55 Metal flake helmets.
10:56 What year, it came with the motorhome right?
10:59 1960 something?
11:00 Yeah, something like that.
11:01 We have got to keep it classy and safe.
11:04 Yeah.
11:05 Oh, big block 454 under the hood.
11:08 Can Alan be proud?
11:09 I know it is kind of hard to beat.
11:10 It does start right up.
11:11 454, you want to see it?
11:12 Look.
11:13 There it is right there.
11:14 That is a 454 right there.
11:15 In case you were wondering.
11:16 Sharing the animal.
11:41 That made me down.
12:08 It is the dragon.
12:09 Oh, it is off.
12:12 It has kind of got a big turning radius.
12:18 It is like we are driving a school bus.
12:19 This thing rides awesome.
12:20 Oh yeah.
12:21 Boom.
12:22 I think there is a KOA right up here we can stay at.
12:35 Uh oh.
12:42 I
13:10 think the microwave fell out.
13:12 I think this is where we are camping tonight.
13:14 This will be perfect.
13:15 We can sleep right here.
13:16 See, it is not that bad.
13:17 What do you think?
13:18 It is kind of like a sportsmobile.
13:19 Well, it is a great camp spot.
13:20 We have got a little bit of shade here.
13:21 We can do cooking outside now.
13:22 We can make this work.
13:23 Yeah, we should set up the Barbie.
13:24 The microwave.
13:25 See, it is pretty good.
13:26 I think this is it.
13:27 I like it.
13:28 Let's camp here.
13:29 I think we should set up the Barbie.
13:30 I think we should set up the Barbie.
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