This was a great way to start a trip. Two days of hiking and hanging around the campfire. I would not attempt to camp here except in early spring or this time of year as it gets very hot in the summer.

It is a beautiful place with lots to see. There are full hook-ups at one of the campgrounds but the other camp ground is great also as you can walk up and use the showers anytime. Finding the internet or cell phone coverage is a problem without moving around but it can be done.

The Sportsmobile crowd, including me, and a couple of guests had a great time. There were a lot of dogs, at least 2 cats and all got along fine! The campfire bs session’s complete with tequilla were mucha diversión.

I started the trip on my birthday so I put my birthday cards out. Presley and I used this stop as a test of sorts before heading out across the country.

http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm and http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7921

From Mac McIntire, Sportsmobile Forum.

We will meet October 7-9 at Arch Rock Campground in the Valley of Fire near Las Vegas, Nevada. I will arrive on Thursday, October 6 and reserve a camp site (by placing chairs at the site) for anyone who lets me know in advance they will be there. If we overflow Arch Rock campground I can also reserve sites at Atlatal Campground which is a short walk away.

Valley of Fire is gorgeous and has showers and flushing toilets (even has hookups) in Atlatal Campground and vault toilets (no showers) in Arch Rock Campground (where I prefer to go and there would be plenty of room for everyone). The two campgrounds are a short (10-15 minute) hike from each other or you could drive to the showers from Arch Rock Campground. Camping is $20 per night with no hook-up or $30 per night for electricity (at Atlatal only). V of F is 45 miles (an hour) from Vegas but is not too far if anyone wants to go see the sights in Vegas during the day or night. Valley of Fire is away from the city lights and the night sky is filled with billions of stars.

Hope to see you there!

Yesterday Presley and I were at Sportsmobile in Fresno. While we were looking around I saw a lot of rear-ends – must have be the angle or something. Things were pretty busy there with one new van going out to some lucky person.

When I first got there, there was a pallet of AGM4 batteries sitting by the back door. They had just been delivered. Someday (or on the next SMB) I’d like to have 2 of these.  The perfect place would be where the spare was as it would put some weight on the axle for traction in the snow.

And last, let’s not forget the SMB professionals who put it all together!

We wouldn’t get very far without them!

Sitting here day after day counting raindrops gives you lots of time for thinking of modifications to do on your Sprinter configeration. I think we all do them. Winnebago owners, Country Coach, Sports Mobile – everyone wants to put their mark on their RV. The problem is, the longer it rains, the more ideas come to mind and pretty soon you are thinking of big changes!

First let me say Sportsmobile does an excellent job in building out the Sprinter. I got just what I designed and everything works great. Alan, from Sportsmobile, told me that by the time I did my third build, I would have everything perfect. I think he has it right. Since my next one is not scheduled until the 2016 model, I’ll have to make some corrections as I go along and who ever ends up with my current Sprinter will get a perfect one!

Currently on the driver’s side of the Sprinter I have me, fuel tank, water tank, propane tank, black water tank, spare tire, my AGM battery, Suburban heater and all of the electrical. I have had no problems with this arrangement but I think redistributing some of the weight cannot be bad. That is one reason for the modifications I want to make. Also I find the Suburban heater, while definitely keeping us warm, uses more electricity than I want to use – another reason for modification. Lastly, although we designed it without an air conditioner, and have done fine without one, the fact that some of the grand kids now live in Arizona, makes us rethink that design decision.

What is planned then, is to drop the propane tank totally along with the Suburban heater and the propane connections to the stove-top. I will add an Espar D2 heater and a Danhard A/C on the passenger side. I plan to replumb the stove to use propane cannisters. I will end up with some additional storage under the gaucho and take a little away on the galley side plus a more effiecient (diesel fueled) heater, air conditioning and a little better load balance.

Thursday we left for the Sample Meadow campground in the Sierra National Forest. It was about a 5 hour drive with the last 1-1/2 hours in the mountains. It seems we live too far from the mountains!

The occasion was a meet/great for Sportsmobile owners and we had a great turn out. Two Sprinters, six 4-wd Sportsmobiles and 1 rental Class C (Driven by a potential SMB buyer, Andrew, from Switzerland and his business partner from France.)

We camped in a couple of groups and had a great time. It got down to 26° F. but during the day was quite warm. At night in the Sprinter it was cold – we opted to use the heater in the mornings to take the chill off. Presley had a great time hiking, eating snow and trying to take in all the smells and sights. He was afraid of the poping wood in the campfire so during that time he slept in the bus.

I don’t think I could have run the heater all night as we were parked in semi-shade and never got a full charge. I may start looking at 6volt AGM batteries to replace the 12volt I have.

The 4wd’ers took off for some real challenging runs while several of us opted for hiking. I had hoped to see some wildlife but we just saw signs of their presence. The other Sprinter (08) took off to see some scenery but had a turbo boost failure and had to limp out of the mountains. I think it may have been one of the inter-cooler hoses but I will make a note here when I find out.

There were too many foo-foo California hunters in the area. I say that because all they do is drive up and down the roads slowly, peering from their vehicles which are often bristling with the guns of too many occupants. (Yes, I hunted for many years in Colorado, always successful and NEVER from a vehicle, ATV, etc.) OBTW, hunting from a vehicle is illegal as were the 2 shots we heard long after sundown on Thursday night. Give me a break!

Around the campfire at night, every one sitting close because of the temperatures, a lot of information and ideas about Sportsmobiles, 4-wheel driving and more was exchanged. I think everyone there learned something.

We had a great bunch of participants and I look forward to next year’s event.

The day before we left, Big Dog, as I called him, (His real name was Cracker Jack) followed a couple of our hikers and their dogs into camp. He had a collar on with name, number and address (of course, we had no connectivity) and a tracking device. Seems he was a “bear dog” used apparently to for hunting bears. I know nothing about that and prefer not too.

He was still there on Sunday morning so Debbie and I decided to take him to his home. We had no way of knowing if his owner was on the mountain or not (turned out he was but lower and a long way from us). He was a blue tick hound dog, very well behaved, and slept all the way to his house.

We got great mileage going and coming and the Sprinter, turning over 30k miles on the way home, continues to be a delight!

And PS, you need to haul your own trash out. Don’t leave it in the outside toilet buildings like some ignorant, stupid, deserve to drive off a cliff at night, idiots.