At Long Last

The motorhome has arrived! I picked it up in Fresno on September 25th, advised the Sportsmobile (SMB) crew on a few last minute additions and adjustments, and drove back to San Diego that evening. The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity, saying au revoir to good friends and making preparations to travel. Pressed for time, this post will be the first of several to bring you up to date.

I flew up to Fresno on Thursday morning. Jonathan of SMB picked me up at the airport. We were oddly quiet on the drive back - before we'd always had planning details to discuss, now it was all done. As we arrived at SMB I scanned the parking lot. No, my van wasn't there - the final wrap up is all done inside the shop. When I finally laid eyes on the van, I could hardly believe it was mine, it looked so good. I'd seen the exterior before, and it hadn't changed much, so I stepped inside. It was almost eerie how closely it resembled the 3D renders I had done during planning. It was as if my thoughts had taken on substance.

There were a few details to iron out. A shelf under the sink conflicted with some plumbing, the clothes rods and a couple lights hadn't been installed yet, pending my direction on exactly how I wanted them done. What shone through, both in the work up to this point and in burnishing these final details, is the great pride the entire crew takes in the quality of their work, they want it to be absolutely perfect, both technically and in meeting the customer's expectations. Once we'd specified those final details, Jonathan gave me the introductory tour of all the features of the RV. It was certainly worthwhile, but I already knew most of it from reading and re-reading every word on the website and watching the posted videos.

While the crew was still hard at work on the finishing touches, Jonathan took me to lunch in downtown Fresno. A family-run Armenian place, George's; I had the lavash roll with garlic dipping sauce, and it was fantastic. After lunch, I went through the paperwork with the finance person at SMB; that went smoothly with no surprises. It took the crew until 4pm to get everything just right, then they drove the RV out into the parking lot and handed me the keys.

I'll admit, it's intimidating to sit behind the wheel of a new vehicle, particularly for a make and model you've never driven before. I didn't shift it from park for at least 20 minutes, just trying to familiarize myself with the controls; I had a five-hour drive ahead of me, the last half of that would be in the dark, and some of that would be on Los Angeles freeways. Talk about a trial by fire. Immediately, though, it was evident how smoothly the van handled and how easy it was to drive. It feels very narrow and fits easily between the lane markers. The controls are very intuitive. Anytime there's a car beside the van - I won't use the term "in the blind spot" because with the lower portion of each side mirror presenting a wide angle view, there are no blind spots - a red icon glows in the respective side mirror. It gives a great sense of confidence when changing lanes. Since I first selected a Sprinter, I've been concerned about the effect of side winds. South of Fresno, I ran into some pretty heavy gusts ( maybe 30 mph ) and barely felt them.

I got back to San Diego at 10:30pm, tired but elated. I didn't think to take any pictures until the next morning. Consider this a downpayment on many more to come.

Here's from the driver's seat looking toward the rear:

Now from the middle of the van looking forward. Both cab seats are swiveled to face the living space:

This is a view into the rear of the van. That's the bed with storage below on the right, and the shower stall on the left:

Sorry this has taken so long to post. As I write this, I'm two days into my journey already. Everything is working out great. I'll try to catch up on these posts quickly.