To those who sold their Sportsmobile's, why?? Why trade a "internally" set-up van for more of an "externally" set up (kitchen, etc) Jeep? I am personally torn between a mid-sized van and a J30 setup, leaning more toward a mid-sized van for stealth, security, and faster setup of camp, less driver fatigue over long highway hauls...
If you didn't have the pop-top would you like the SMB better/worse for different reasons?
When I think of a spectrum of rig set ups I'm trying to dial in, the J30 comes pretty close to meeting my needs and habits a little better than my SMB. If I had the time and money, I'd have both. And for the reasons you listed, you may want a van platform after all.
I live and work in an urban environment; tight parking, lots of parking garage use, but when I do get to the woods the inclines can be suddenly steep and rain (thus loose gravel and mud) in this area comes unexpectedly. So, when I start thinking "van" my 4x4 options are either limited or a conversion is $$$$. And if I lift at all, I start running into parking garage issues.
Over the weekend I had my high top (fixed top) SMB in the Cohutta Wilderness. There was a tree partially down but not on the road. A few inches lower and I would have had to turn around. Yes, I should have had a chainsaw (and I bought one yesterday) but sometimes you forget these things. Once you have a domestic van outfitted, especially with a SMB roof, they get to be big vehicles. A lot of times folks end up putting a rocket box on them as well.
As for the internal kitchen set up; I cook outside 99% of the time anyway. The solar shower system and curtain I have for my VW is my favorite set up for clean up as well. My SMB had a shower inside, and I did use it, but my VW solar shower was more spacious and I could get the water just as hot. So, no reason I can't do a similar set up on a J30.
On this forum and others I see folks mention "stealth camping" a lot. I sometimes wonder if folks overestimate how often they will actually do this. I camp more than anyone I know personally and I can count the number of "stealth" occasions on one hand. But that's a classic example of how everyone's needs are different. I basically never do it so it's not a design criteria for me.
I think there is a gap in the adventure vehicle market. If someone would make the modern VW Westfalia with all wheel drive, air conditioning, AND reliable I think it would do very well. You could have urban maneuverability with off-road capability. Or, if Jeep would do this with an integrated cabin on the back end, kind of like a modern Pinzgauer!
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/jeep-mighty-fc-concept/
