Sportsmobile - Mojave Road Trail, USA
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ส.ค. 2015
- An overland expedition crossing the Mojave Desert in California, driving an American off-road classic - The Sportsmobile. Not just a Ford truck with some bits bolted on, it’s a thoroughly well tested and developed customization, that turns a dreary delivery van into a truly awesome piece of off road gear. Its major components have been either heavily modified or in many cases, replaced with newly designed hardware. In this program Andrew takes one across the barren and beautiful Mojave Desert - another US classic. Its one of the country’s best known 4×4 trails, and the best part is, it is not commercial in any way. but like so many things American, it comes with its unique brand of eccentricity.
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We'll be heading to the Mojave Road next month, so thank you for the very informative video!
I've visited the USA in '91 and loved everything about it, once we got out of the cities that is. But then most cities around the world are that way.
I seem more comfortable and happier in desert environments, and so the Mojave has really stirred an interest in me.
Thanks once again. I continue to enjoy and respect your work.
Absolutely your best video yet! I live in Vegas, and I have been inspired to do this trail in the next 60 days. Thank you for the amazing informative inspirational and entertaining films!
I grew up in a small town called Lucerne Valley which is a few miles from Barstow . Living in Florida now I do very much miss the desert . Cheers my friend and have a coke for me LOL
+big john That would be a tough choice for me... Lucerne or Florida?
+big john Ha just down the hill from Big Bear
Haha, no one misses Lucerne Valley.
I know Im late to post comments but I cant help it. I like your way of presentation. Simple and uncomplicated. And Im a huge 4x4 fan especially of the LC!!
What an awesome video. Very professionally done in every respect. A rare jewel in the TH-cam world. Thank you.
I ran Mojave last year after building my truck up. Quite a fun run!!!
+Kumar Rangerboy
im in the process of trying to build my truck up and hope to do the mojave road , any big rock crawling or anything like that?
Thank you Andrew. Great video. Impressive vehicle. Thanks for showing me a part of my country that I will never see in person.
glad you love our desert. i love the desert
It is such a pleasure and honor having you here states side Andrew! I live in Ridgecrest so all the places you traveled are fairly close to me. Man oh man I need my Land Cruiser to do this expedition myself..... :)
Ah man!! You were local!!! Too bad I didn't know you were going to be in SoCal I would have loved to go wheeling with your crew. Love the videos dude!! Best Overland youtuber by far.
I enjoy watching your adventures so very much. They are as informative as they are entertaining. Thank you for sharing.
Another premium presentation, thanks!
lol i know what it says on top of the rock pile.. some friends and I did this trail 3 weeks ago and it was amazing, it's a must to do Trail and i want to good back and do it again. great video keep up the good work as i love watching your videos.
Awesome video as always. The feeling of almost utter insignificance is one of the reasons I love getting out and camping, the night sky is spectacular. I didn’t know of the experiment you spoke about with the Hubble telescope, that’s absolutely mind boggling.
Your videos are getting better. Keep up the good work. Subscribed :)
Nice to see you in my backyard. Great video! love it
Very interesting and beautifully filmed.
Jason
I see my HigherGround4x4 flag was still at the mailbox. glad to see it still flying
Andrew thanks for the videos mate I enjoy them immensely. Particularly this one I could see similarities with the Australian bush tracks across the desert and salt flats and to get your view point on it made for good listening.
Loved this video. Thank you so very much.
Awesome as always Andrew...
i could live in that ,in a heart beat !! I spent 3 yrs touring in a F-150 4x4 with camper shell !!!
That sound my friends,is the sound of freedom!,the squeaking clearly is the front springs/bushings.
Nice video.
Pure brilliance
whitewarmaker
He commented on another comment that it was a squeaky seat
Awesome! I live just south of Bullhead City and it's really cool seeing something from home.
This was a nice review on the sportsmobile especially the Ford version.God bless you
This must have been filmed around mid-May, 2015. The Southwest got a late storm right around then that was unusually cold and even brought snow to some of the higher elevations like around Flagstaff, Big Bear, etc. Great cinematography BTW. You really captured the colors and clarity of the light [of] the Mojave Desert quite well. Also, that looked like a California Kingsnake(Lampropeltis getula californiae). Remember the rhyme, "Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. Red touches black is your friend Jack" or something similar so you don't confuse it with a coral snake(venomous). Not really an issue in California(out of its range), but somewhat of a possibility in Arizona.
This was a great video. I loved it
Wow - what a treat!
Some expedition vehicle makers make them truck-independent, so you can ship the camper box without a truck. So it CAN be done, if you want to do it.
The goatee looks good. :)
Loved the video thanks 😎👍
Nice video! Just started following and to my surprise you have the Mojave Trail on here. Grandfather actually owns property right next to part of the trail (after you passed the piute range). Run into people once in a while asking for directions since it can get confusing. Haven't done the full trail yet but watching this pretty much means I'll have to do it soon. Just purchased my first 4x4 not too long ago so now I don't have any excuse for not getting it done. FYI if you ever come back out to the area there are some really good 4x4 trails. About 20 min drive off the trail is the New York Mountains. Within 5 mins it turns from desert to forest.
Extremely extraordinary
Very nicely done video
Fabulous!
I love the USA videos. Hope to see you cover some more areas.
Brilliant!
The Vans are badass I'm trying to get my Chevrolet Astro up to par to do exactly what you are doing
Chevy Astro 😂😂😂😂😂
Cant wait till you review the EarthRoamer!
You missed the Lava Caves, Afton Canyon, Death Valley Mine, and the Desert Megaphone!
Oh man, just got back from the lava tube the other day. That place is incredible!
WOW, I love it
4:30 I fell into one of those at about 8 years old.
Loved this video, I felt like I was watching The Discovery Channel!
thank you. I'm pleased you noticed.
EXCELLENT POSTING!🚙🚙🚙
It’s very obvious when watching these videos vs a lot of other similar TH-cam content that you have been doing this professionally for quite some time and know how to put together a narrative
Great filming and wicked trucks, think i would go with the sprinter. Much more interior space and 85% as capable sounds good to me.
Well I've been looking at a 1990 Ford e-150 with a raised roof and the simple overlander type coachmen camper style. They made very few of them I think I'm going to go ahead and get it this week. This looks like it could be fun.. it's not four wheel drive but after watching this I don't think I need four wheel drive out there. I guess if it pours down rain you might need it but then you can just wait till it quits raining and dries up
Thank you.
i've been to Bullhead city. Great part of the world there, Desert is quite pretty
Ive driven past the mojave desert for years on my way from Vegas, where I live, to Los Angeles to visit family or work. All I saw was vacant, desolate, lifeless, barren wasteland. You make it sound so appealing Im considering taking my Nissan Pathfinder out there for a few daysto go camping. I admire how you find beauty in every place you visit. This is definitely one of my favorite channels along with some Aussie 4x4 channels. It seems people from the southern hemisphere have camping, overland, and 4x4 down. Our idea of camping is a giant gas guzzling 1 ton vehicle with a fiberglass box with a built in living room inside of it, embarrassing.
+Desert Logic Not all of us do it that way, I have a two person tent that my girlfriend and I take out as often as we can. Most of the time is to Lake Mead, but we've had it out to San Diego, Yosemite and I took it with me on a motorcycle trip across the states from Los Angeles to New York and back. I bought the book he is talking about with GPS coordinates, and I plan to drive the Mohave road in my 72 FJ40.
MrXIXX
- Sounds like a good time. I'm familiar with Lake Mead, I spend every weekend there from May til the end of September on my Pontoon Boat. I might try camping in spring. I wanted to go sooner but now its in the 40's and I'm not sure my wife would dig that. You might check out Telephone Cove on the NV side near Laughlin as well, gorgeous views. Take care.
I usually launch out of Temple Bar, it's far enough from Las Vegas that I usually don't run into too many boaters.
Maybe some of us are tired of shitting in a shoe box and can now afford not to!
You sound bitter that some people can camp in style. People like you need to keep your comments to your unhappy self.
brilliant.
hmmmmm my backyard "leaping cactus" LMBO i guess that could be a translation.... it's jumping cholla
Jeff Jones blame Wikipedia :-)
Not teddy bear cholla?
I hunt in that desert. That cactus is why I have to carry forceps!
4xOverland What a great video! Thank you for taking the time to check out some of the country after Overland ExpoWest 2015. My new wife and I video blogged our 5,525 mile journey out to the Expo from Ohio as well on my TH-cam channel. We tent camped in the "mud pit" and loved every part of it. I was really bummed that I missed you at the author's table tent... but maybe our paths will cross another time.
Again, great review of the Sportsmobile and the amazing trails out there to explore.
Cheers
On earth everything has a limit so we are not in a good place to comprehend the vastness of space. We are completely insignificant compared to the limitless universe we live in but we strive to make sense of it and maybe one day we will be able to visit these other galaxies and look back and still see the faint glow of Las Vegas!
such a vast place, very impressive. Like the idea of the 4wd camper, but think those two would be a touch to big for most the lanes back here in the uk
A bit disapointing in the end... I have to work for at least 150 year plus to make enough money to get there.... :(
I like the idea of Sprinter 4x4 motorhome, it's great car with reliable low cost engine. I think I will by one and make some DIY project of motorhome.
you're right on the mark .. the sprinter van factory 4x4 is great value package for the majority of uses - if you haven't plans on rock climbing and just want to get into those remote places -that van has capability - although i like the older inline 5 better than the new add blue V6 , and getting to that oil filter uggg. the van from the factory at 54k , 4x4 lo- hi range , hi roof , great stability package all included , then add your own interior - you'd have one hell of a camper van for less than 65k
For the rich
I totally agree. The Ford and Chevy conversions are nice and obviously extremely capable, but I don't really need that and I also don't want such a fuel hog. The Mrec V6 diesel 4x4 is plenty capable and powerful enough, reliable and relatively efficient...exactly what I want. I'm planning to order a Sportsmobile custom conversion when I retire, but the Sprinter is set to be redesigned in the next year or 2, so I hope they don't mess with the platform too much.
The Sprinter 4x4 diesel has a lot of reliability issues though. I was thinking of one, but not after I googled.
They look cool and are a trend now. But a bad trend, and in five or ten years we're going to look back and ask ourselves what the heck we were thinking. I really think that a complete total garbage I really hate mine. 15000 miles since new and nothing but problems and the idiots at the Mercedes dealerships are complete total morons. I can't tell you how much I despise my vehicle and how much I overpaid. If you're going to use a van for a base and then build it out from there that's a better way to do it than to buy some complete piece of total garbage like an Airstream interstate.
Is that the phone number or the price??
the Ford van is the best set up money can buy. the sprinter is factory there is a company in Austria that make upgraded sprinters with with front and rear lockers and real off road suspension. you should test one off those. I would love to see their capabilities.
Sidenote: The Mercedes Sprinter is not a unibody. It is unibody on frame. It can also be delivered In the same configuration as the Ford shown In this video, even with a double cab! The 4x4 conversion which is delivered as a factory option is built by magna steyr, and is extremely capable!
Great video! Anyone know what the clearance is on the bridge I've seen in photos? Looks like a steel bridge for the railroad companies.
While camping in Yosemite we camped next to a guy with a sportsmobile, it was 14 years old and he was still making payments, more like a house payment over the top expensive
I plan on paying mine out real. Should see it in a year and a half when it's ready
The transfer case for the sportsmobile isn't purpose built. It's an Atlas II and is available to anyone from Advanced Adapters.
Ken MacMillan I seem to overlook the advantege of the 2stick shifting. from the video footage you can shift it to: RWD HI, RWD LO, 4WD HI, 4WD LO. But to me it seems that this could also be done with 1stick??
The Atlas has hi, neutral, & low on each shifter. One is for the rear axle & the other is for the front axle. The main advantage of this is that you have rear wheel drive, front wheel drive, and four wheel drive at your disposal. That includes front wheel drive low. You can't have one axle in hi & one in low, the design won't let you do that. On the trail front wheel drive allows you to perform what is known as a front dig which is useful for pulling the truck around certain large objects like trees & rocks. The overall advantages of Atlas cases is that they're gear driven which is stronger than chain driven & they can be mounted in almost any position you want. Is it worth the money? For most people probably not. The NP205 can be modified for the same twin stick capabilities for a fraction of the cost. Also, for most transfer cases the only way to get RWD low is to put it in 4WD low and unlock the front hubs. It's probably not a good idea to do that but I don't know for sure.
so bottom line is they are gear driven not a chain so you gain those advantages, is what you are saying. Because I see no advantage offhand of to why you want only LOW front or Low Rear only.
The Mojave is my stomping grounds for many years those cacti 🌵 we call them jumping cholla cactus ... the cactus is actually named the cholla cactus but if you get close enough the segments practically jump out onto you especially the drier pieces so it’s earned the nick name jumping cholla. I’ve kicked them before and ended up with spines through my shoe into my toes ... It’s a small piece to pay for such a wide open beautiful landscape.
I love your intro music. Is there someplace that can be purchased? Or did you commission the music? My girlfriend is a dressage rider and mentioned it would be a perfect tempo for her riding. Just curious if she could get the rights to use it some how.
Great content, BTW. Keep it up!
Very good video. What is that infernal, non-stop groaning/squeaking sound?
S Dem. My god... that would drive me crazy eventually.
Sounds a dodgy seat anchor or something in that area
S Dem. creaky seat. It would drive me crazy too, but it wasn't my vehicle, and it seems the mic exaggerated it somewhat.
+4xOverland
hi, have a 4x4 tacoma i'd like to try this trail , should i expect any rough rock crawling?
It sounds like a sailing yacht in a windy sea
new sub here thats awsome you got to take a trip like that with mr sportsmobile himself, you can go around the world in those yet still park it onthe street or in a parking spot 🗽my previous van was no where close but still was so fun, cheezy short video on page
for a more complete explaination of why there was a garrison at a watering hole do a search for "Mormon Deseret" I wont go into it further here because it is likely to start a argument in your comment section. Digging a little further down about Deseret and how they maintained their administration will explain why an armed post was built over the single most valuable commodity in the immediate area
desert not deseret
"Deseret" is correct in this case; OP is referencing a Mormon term rather than describing the landscape. See Wikipedia for more info.
@0:39 Andrew found a California King Snake, seriously? Great footage. King Snakes eat Mojave Rattlers for breakfast.
Finally, did you decide which design, accessories or details I would add to the Sportsmobile to leave it as you would like?
Big Sky Country is in Montana! come on up!
lol you haven't been to rural parts of Cali obviously
obviously
Where do you get your power step install on the Ford E350??
DID YOU GO THRU THE WATER CROSSING AT AFTON CANYON? I HAVE VIDEO ON MY CHANNEL OF THIS AT THE END OF THE MOJAVE RD TRAIL.
Great video, Andrew! I knew you would get a kick out of the Frog Garden in the middle of nowhere! Is the Gnome Garden still there? I am now in the possession of a Tommy Lasorda gnome that will end up in that garden this fall/winter!
Did you finish up the trail by going through Afton Canyon? It is sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of the Mojave"
Cam
Mojoe - Outfitters No. Maybe next year. I want to do Death Valley in May with my wife.
is that a Submariner time piece?
keep up the good work.
Cheers Mate
Yes. 35 years on my wrist. Thanks.
Andrew sure loves him some Richtersveld
I've driven through that desert. I was a Marine training at 29. Watch out for turtles.
Can you still get the Ford in a diesel? And use the diesel as a fuel source for the stove?
I live about 100 mi south of the barstow,but before I can get my van off road i need to have my front end fender/bumper modified a tad so My 295s will not contact in certain situations. Anyone know of a specific place that has the proven experience modifying the front tire/fender clearance without me going to the nearest( 200 mi+/-) sportsmobile shop? i was just going to attach a pic of the clearance area,to help illustr8 the issue,but see theres no option for that here. guess Ill go to the sportsman forum and post it.
Big sky country you mentioned in opening is Montana not California.
+Colin McCarthy Big sky might be Montana's motto but places like Mojave and western texas is 99% sky, and it is much bigger sky than I aver saw in Montana.
lol you need to visit small towns in southern and deep northern California & you'll see
+Colin McCarthy i live in montana haha
the motto for montana is actually "the treasure state"
wyoming too
wow best video,
pleaseee make cross country video pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....do alaska pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
At the end
Sprinter for Scale
Taco for Scale
Rock Pile for Scale
The diesel version will go 1287 kilometers on a tank of gas.
A diesel aint doing much of any thing on a tank of gas.
You should check out Alaska if you can . Thats where the best overlanding is Ive read.
Well, I'm a disappointed you didn't take the time to give us a full tour of the Sportsmobile, its functionalities, sleeping areas, etc. It's almost impossible to find a decent review of this vehicle and you were given the chance to do a proper review of it... Too bad you didn't take that chance.
I second that, would have like to see more about the Sportsmobile and more info on how the two models compare.
TheUnorthodoxx Yeah... I mean, it's a great video and what not but I want to see the trucks more :)
Xof Its always a challenge to know how much truck, and how much of the trail, to show. I try for an even mix - suppose I can't please everyone. But thanks for the comments. I'll always keep them in mind.
Overland Bound has a tour of it if you're still looking. This is an old comment so I doubt it but just in case you're curious still
But it’s an AWESOME vehicle that I’ve lusted after for as long as the company has been in operation. The Ford version not the Mercedes.
the ford model is a great package .( it would be better if still available and with a diesel ..presently ...except when you factor " real world value " into it .. ! ( as an expedition camper i.e.. .. what the fellow was talking about )
yes its quality ,great weekend / local camp mobil .. but as an expedition vehicle , you can purchase a used 80's unimog U1300L / 435 and mount a removable or fixed box / C container on the back - all and all getting far more room / payload capability / versatility for far less cash in - also running costs / fuel economy is about the same . not only that but the unimog platform is far more capable 4x4 , easy to maintain , more range all with room for a interior shower/bath rm. i know because i've been there , done this .
also the unimog is known world wide for its hell and back reliability / durability / build quality ..and these can be / could be shipped inside a container if you remove the tires and mount the chassis on a set of rims , and or remove the box / container if your height or width is an issue . there are many options .
I would LOVE to own a UNIMOG.
that van is just vantastic i think the diesel will have better range
It's a crime that thing isn't a diesel
They used to be. After 2010 ford quit putting diesel in them
They wouldn’t be able to drive south of the border if they were diesel
@@AaronGeller Why is that?
@@Malc664 Because modern diesel engines require ultra low sulfur diesel and south of the border, it's not always easy to come by.
@@AaronGeller So is south of the border Cali or Mexico? Forgive my ignorance, I'm from Perth Australia.
What kind of mileage do you get on this Chevy ?
Its a Ford. About 10mpg
Must have said something pretty impressive on that plaque. I think I would engrave on the rock my name in the date or at least painted on there with some paint. Who wants to just leave a plane Rock
I could live out of it, easy. But then, former infantry, I can live and thrive about anywhere.
I would have em take out the back seat, move the floor and storage bins up and put in a secondary good size fuel tank.
The problem is it has the gasoline V10 instead of a diesel. 42 gallons is about 160 liters
just googled that plaque. That is funny.
1:19 I read that as "ugly 70's cars not advised"
But does it have Wi-Fi?
Every time I see these overlander people taking their overlander 4x4 jacked up rigs out to deserts I can't help but noticing they're always on dirt roads. You could take a nine 4x4 down all the roads I've seen them go on. I've yet to see them go off the main road or the main dirt road. Not sure why they have to have four wheel drive. I could have taken my two wheel drive car down any of those roads if it was jacked up about 4 in. I'm beginning to think the 4x4 is just part of the look and the fact that you have it
I'd like to see this in a V8 turbo diesel.
I think the writing at the end of the video says " the cake is a lie"
Lol, love "portal" references
Ha ha. You are calling the cactus "vicious" whilst you rip it apart with pliers.