$90,000 2005 Sportsmobile

GR8ADV

Explorer
I don't get it. But there is a lot I don't get. Given the choice I would rather not buy the $1.5 million Earth Roamer than not buy this. YMMV.
 

Cummins_expo

Adventurer
Crazy overpriced- BUT if they can offer in-house lending ( maybe not this crazy) They would do well as getting loans on SMB is difficult.
 

Flagster

Expedition Leader
since the multitude of 4x4 and diesel 4x4 options came available with Nissan/transit/sprinter vans...the e series just don't hold their value like they once did...7.3l possibly excluded
 

cdthiker

Meandering Idaho
I am with the poster above.
The e series vans are old tech. They have been for close to a decade. It blows my mind that these vans still have such a high asking price.

Someone posted a newish Sprinter 4x4 van recently on here that had low miles, the 6 cyl diesel and factory 4x4. you could spend 20 grand on a super nice build out and still be under the price of this thing.

In fact there are brand new ready to go sprinter van 4x4 camper packages for about this price. On a brand new rig.....


I just dont get it.

I have spent a lot of time behind the wheel of the e series. Everything from college vans to ambulances in the last decade. I have never been impressed. I would say that the 7.3 e series with a dual wheel rear end is an amazing work horse. But even in 4x4 I am not sure that is what I would spend my dollars on these days.

After what must be over 100k miles driven in dozens of these vans over the years I can safely say that I am more then turned off by them. They ride for crap, drive for crap, start and stop like a brick and they suck at towing. Even my time spend driving the nice 4x4 package after market modded versions was not impressive.


The 2015 new ford 15 pass transit with teh high output v6 I spent time in this summer as a people hauler for a rafting company... Now that was a job to drive. Clearly apples and oranges to a 4x4 camper van but the point is given what are options are the e series sportmobile 4x4 feels a whole lot like the BFG all terrian. Outdated, overpriced, and underpreforming.
 

Keyne

Adventurer
I agree regarding the e-series. I drove a lot of Ford vans over the years and now driving a MB Sprinter 144 I am still amazed at how well the Sprinter drives. Super smooth, handles well, decent acceleration for an RV, and on long drives I find it super comfortable. Ford vans always drove poorly IMO; maybe with the SMB suspension and mods its better but I love my Sprinter. That being said I wonder how they compare off road... the SMB e-series vans from what I have seen have been to tougher off road places than someone would take a Sprinter? However, for my purposed in the North East a Sprinter based RV is awesome.
 

EMrider

Explorer
I agree regarding the e-series. I drove a lot of Ford vans over the years and now driving a MB Sprinter 144 I am still amazed at how well the Sprinter drives. Super smooth, handles well, decent acceleration for an RV, and on long drives I find it super comfortable. Ford vans always drove poorly IMO; maybe with the SMB suspension and mods its better but I love my Sprinter. That being said I wonder how they compare off road... the SMB e-series vans from what I have seen have been to tougher off road places than someone would take a Sprinter? However, for my purposed in the North East a Sprinter based RV is awesome.

I can assure you that SMB suspension does not make their vans smooth and comfortable relative to a Sprinter. SMB suspension is optimized for off-road and accordingly pretty firm on the road. Makes good sense given the weight of the SMB. Anything comfy on the road would probably wallow and be unsafe offroad. The virtue of the E-series is that it is overbuilt and durable. That comes at a price in terms of on-road comfort compared with Sprinter/Transit, etc.

As much as I love my SMB, they are an acquired taste and best suited for those who spend a lot of time off road.

R
 

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