Our Rig: Titus

Meet “TITUS” our 2014 Sportsmobile…
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XuwcaP3iNfw/VOPW7hFc8nI/AAAAAAAAtcc/JJyLNqul_V4/s144-c-o/IMG_1770.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/115263927216347870948/Titus2014SportsmobileHomeFromSFToPatagonia#6116969036881130098″ caption=”Beach camping Baja. #Sportsmobile” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1770.JPG” ]

Deciding on an overland rig is a very stressful decision.   There are so many factors to consider and you will spend many months debating what you want in a rig, and go over all the pros of cons of each of them countless times.

The good news is that any rig / set up can work well.  On the road you run into so many different types overland rigs from motorcycles to full-luxury motorhomes.   You can live/travel in pretty much anything, but here is what “we” wanted and prioritized. This led us to our 2014 Sportsmobile.

1.  Size.  We wanted a rig that wasn’t too much larger than an everyday vehicle, so we could be confident we could drive it around most cities.  It also had to fit into a shipping container.  The Sportsmobile RB (regular body) felt to us to be about the largest rig you can get while still being able to drive it around most of San Francisco (where we are from).  And it ships!

2.  4×4 capabilities.   We wanted to drive and camp on the beach, and we wanted to get to some remote places.  We also needed our rig to be good in the snow.  4×4 was a necessity, and so far in the last 6 months we have used four wheel drive for beach camping all over Mexico and crawling off-road around Utah.  The Sportsmobile 4×4 conversion is awesome, maybe more that we need, but we love it.

3.  Pass-through into living area.  We originally wanted a pass-through for safety/stealth camping reasons . In addition to those perks, we found we absolutely love having our entire vehicle accessible from inside.  It greatly expands our living area. We can even fit 4 people inside our Sportsmobile for dinner and it easily sleeps 4.  Our Sportsmobile feels so roomy, and we love hanging out inside when its too cold to be outside.

4.  Seamless indoor/outdoor living.   We wanted to be able to live both inside AND outside. When we open up our Sportsmobile doors and put the awning out, it’s like we’ve added a giant patio to our rig.  We do all of our cooking outside and the set up of the Sportmobile is so great for this.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-IxPtKqw7NW4/VOPZYbGJW-I/AAAAAAAAtco/ZkTYjFDUXy8/s144-c-o/IMG_9400.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/115263927216347870948/Titus2014SportsmobileHomeFromSFToPatagonia#6116971732512889826″ caption=”Camping next to the surf, Mexico. #Sportsmobile” type=”image” alt=”IMG_9400.JPG” ]

5.  A reliable/newer vehicle.  We didn’t want to become mechanics, so that ruled out a lot of older van campers like the VW Vanagons.  The 2014 Ford E350 6.8L v10 is a great vehicle, and we hope it will last us for decades.  We looked for almost a year for a used Sportsmobile to fit our needs, but we never could find what we wanted at a decent price.  Sportsmobiles seem to hold their value really well, and the 2014 is the last year Ford is making the E350.

6.  Ability to carry our gear. We really wanted to be able to carry surf boards, kiteboarding gear, bicycles, and backpacking/trekking essentials. The Sportsmobile regular body van could accommodate all our needs.

7.  Pure enjoyment. Most importantly, we wanted to be super excited about spending countless hours inside our rig.  The Sportsmobile design, look, features and comfort won us over.   6 months on the road (as of Feb 2015) and we are still so excited to be living in our rig.

We really love our Titus, and we hope this relationship continues to be a great one!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CvckXhEz8bk/VOPVohL0BRI/AAAAAAAAtOk/2img9vlFyTI/s144-c-o/IMG_1230.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/115263927216347870948/Titus2014SportsmobileHomeFromSFToPatagonia#6116967610978665746″ caption=”White Rim Trail. Utah. #Sportmobile” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1230.JPG” ]

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