JUST EAT CHICKEN!
Country of Qatar awards contract for 17 search
and rescue vans to Sportsmobile West
Flash movie of TV news report, click play button belowLatest update — The order of the 17 Elite Search & Rescue vans has been completed by Sportsmobile West. The vans are are being trucked to the Baltimore Seaport for shipment to Qatar. They are scheduled to arrive Sept. 1 in Qatar.
Sportsmobile West recently received a military contract from Qatar to build 17 customized search and rescue vans. The vans will serve as first responders to many of the world's catastrophic events as part of Qatar's "Humanitarian Mission to the World" program.
"This is one of the biggest contracts Sportsmobile West has ever been awarded," Sportsmobile West President Alan Feld said, "and we are proud to be developing the vans for such a cause. For nearly 18 years, Sportsmobile has specialized in building one of the very best off-road vehicles on the market, with a 12-gear 4x4 system. We are sure our friends from Qatar will be very happy with the final product."
The contract was awarded following a late 2007 visit from a Qatar delegation to Sportsmobile West's Fresno facility.
17 Elite Search & Rescue Vans: one Command vehicle, two Support vehicles, two K-9 vehicles (8 dogs per van), 12 Transport vehicles. Each of the 12 Transport vehicles will accommodate 12 passengers. In total, the Transport vans will be able to remove 144 people in one mission.
Ford Econoline (E350) Chassis:Command Center Van During any major event having the proper command center is the most critical component to ensure all communication channels are working together. The Sportsmobile Command Center van will come equipped with a state of the Art communications system with global positioning, satellite communications and a host of other unique transmission features. Once the Command Center van has identified the key areas for search and rescue efforts, the next process involves recovery of possible survivors.
Dog Transport Vans The specially-designed dog transportation vans are for Labrador Retrievers and German Sheppard’s that are trained at an exclusive search and rescue camp. The dogs are skilled at detecting human scent and are trained to search through rubble for possible survivor’s onsite after a catastrophic event. Each van will have custom dog carriers integrated in to the vans interior that will accommodate up to eight dogs.
The Sportsmobiles boast many unique structural features. With a 6.0 liter, diesel engine, the Sportsmobile’s are equipped with a 46 gallon gas tank that allows for long distance travel. Riding on 35 inch BF Goodrich Off-Road Tires, the Sportsmobile chassis has been upgraded to include a 12-gear 4x4 system, Atlas II Transfer Case, 12,000lb. Warn Winch, ultra strong and ultra light front and rear Aluminess Bumpers, and specialized lighting.
The vans also have been designed to fit on a C130 transport plane. All of the vans will be painted bright red search and rescue colors.
The latest Caltech news is about the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge held Nov. 3. Info about how they featured a Sportsmobile is at Caltech and DARPA.
More about the annual DARPA event is at the 4x4 Caltech Grand Challenger page on this site.
Kawasaki Sponsor Spotlight - Sportsmobile
Story and photos by Teri Conrad (9/25/07) — This article is reprinted from Kawasaki Magazine that was was sent to all Kawasaki owners and passed out at the Kawaski dealers meeting in mid-September at Las Vegas, Nev.
Travel in style without leaving your bike at home!
These days sports enthusiasts are traveling in style while bringing their toys with them. An alternative to the toy hauler or trailer, the Dodge Sprinter Van by Sportsmobile won't limit your freeway driving speeds to 55 mph or hurt your gas budget. As a matter of fact, this vehicle is a 5-cylinder turbo-diesel that averages 24 mpg in freeway/city driving conditions.
Sportsmobile provides updated alternatives for those who wish to travel with the modern conveniences found in many RVs. The company converts Ford, Chevy/GM vans, and Dodge Sprinters into luxurious four-wheeled travel homes — or portable offices — and is ideal for hauling, stowing and touring with your motorcyles. You can even design your own interior to fit your specific needs.
The ROKTM Van is a Lopes 55 model which has a bedroom/bathroom/kitchen/dining room and can easily hold two motorcycles (in some cases three) in the back. This model is very popular with bicyclists and motorcyclists and takes its design cues from Brian Lopes, 17-time Mountain Bike Champion (hence the name).
There is seating for up to five adults and plenty of storage for gear. There is even a portable toilet which doesn't require hookup. A portable shower is easy to hookup in the back where the motorcycles are stored, and an optional work bench for making repairs on the go. Starting price is high $40s but depends on the configuration and upgrades involved. Ours came with several custom upgrades like synthetic leather ($1,200), upgrade audio/video with flip-down and in-dash TV/DVD ($7,000), carbon-fiber dash ($400) and upgraded tires ($850), plus our custom wrap.
ROKTM takes it to the streets in custom Sprinter van
And how better than to advertise our enthusiast club than a moving billboard!
You may have seen the customized ROK Sportsmobile at several West Coast ROK events this summer already, cruising the streets and around the track. Enthusiasts who've attended the races at Fontana, Infineon and MotoGP may even have seen it parked near the ROK Hospitality Area.
It's a real attention-getter dressed in fresh action graphics accompanied by logos of ROK sponsors: California Superbike School, GEICO Powersports, JC Motors, Joe Rocket, Lo Jack, MASA, Monster Energy, RawHyde Adventures, Sportbike Track Time, Sportsmobile and ROK. The thought-provoking taglines like — "It's not like we talke about bikes all day, just when we're not riding them" and "You can't read it. You can't download it. You can only experience it." — are hard to miss and may even remind us of why we choose to ride.
If you're interested in purchasing the custom ROK Sportsmobile, it will be available for sale in mid-October. Contact Alan Feld at Sportsmobile West Inc. at 559.233.8267, or e-mail info at sportsmobile dot com. Be sure to look for the ROK Sportsmobile on display at the Pomona RV Show, Oct. 12-21, 2007, at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. Visit carvshow.com for more information.
