Sportsmobile North - My Experience

CocoaVan

New member
It's time to write up my positive experiences with Sportsmobile North of Huntington, Indiana. For about six years, I drove my family around the US and Canada in a 27' Lazy Daze Class C motor home. It was a perfect fit for my wife and me, our two teen/pre-teen age kids and the dogs. But as the kids reached high-school age, I realized our motor home phase was drawing to a close and we needed a more versatile vehicle that could replace both our motor home and our big SUV. I came to a conclusion that a converted high-roof, 140" WB Sprinter would be the best fit. So about this time last year I embarked upon a search for the right chassis and converter. I ended up picking Sportsmobile North and ordering a Sprinter from my local Freightliner dealer. Sportsmobile was able to order the same Sprinter from a Dodge dealer in Indiana, but I was able to get a slightly better deal from my Freightliner dealer. I had visited the Sportsmobile factory earlier in 2008, so I had a good feel for what they could produce. I had also visited the Great West Vans factory outside Winnipeg, Manitoba and the Roadtrek factory in Kitchener, Ontario. Living in Hershey, PA, I am fortunate to be able to spend numerous hours at the annual Pennsylvania RV & Camping show year after year to see the latest in Sprinter-based Class B RV products. For me, Sportsmobile offers the best blend of customization and build quality. I realize that there are plenty of van converter choices in the US, and I was impressed with many. I really wish I was blessed with the craftsmanship skills possessed by many of the sprinter-source members who are able to convert their own vans, but I could only handle the electrical systems.

I scheduled my Sprinter conversion to begin at the beginning of June 2009. Then the Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings kept my Sprinter hostage at the Ladson factory for about two and one-half months, and that destroyed the conversion schedule. Sportsmobile was great throughout the process, and even though they had a queue of other customers behind me, we kept in close contact to reschedule. Not long after I received my Sprinter, they were ready for me to bring out the Sprinter and begin the conversion. They even promised not to adjust any of the quoted prices, although 10 months had expired since they issued their quote. Even before I delivered the Sprinter, they answered all of my questions to my satisfaction. They even let me talk directly to the shop foreman on the phone when I had technical questions the front office couldn't handle. When I dropped off my Sprinter, I walked through each major area of conversion and I knew the shop foreman understood my expectations. During the conversion, they emailed me pictures of the work-in-progress. When I picked up my Sprinter five weeks later, I was completely satisfied with their work (and I still am). I think the key to success was the open communications I had with Nancy, Jim and Chad throughout the process. I'll post pictures and a write-up of my Sprinter under the RV's & Conversions Write-ups section.

If anyone is considering a Sportsmobile North conversion and wants to talk further about my experiences with them, feel free to reply or send me a PM.

Brian
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jkolodzinski

New member
What is your experience with routine maintenance and repairs of the van? I owned 2003 VW Eurovan (under warranty) and had a terrible experience even with oil changes. They charged me $85 for oil and did not replace filter, put the wrong oil and overfilled by about 1 litter. The new brake pads cost me $1200, and 2 weeks waiting period for them to order the pads.
Outside North East there are very few VW dealerships. My van air condition stooped working in North Texas. I had to drive 200 miles to the nearest VW dealership in Oklahoma.
They were to busy to even look at the van and told me to come back in 3 days, so i drove 2000 miles without condition in the middle of Summer. Turned out, there was a very simple repair for $50.
My impression is that most US mechanics do not now how to service and repair vans built with advanced German technology. I hope, the situation is better for Sprinter.
I am in the process of ordering 2014 Sprinter conversion from Sportsmobile North.
 

Mrdi

Active member
Have Mercedes maintain the mechanical and have Sportsmobile
maintain their conversion.
 

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