Purchasing the Dormobile

Many people ask us how we found our Dormobile. So, here is the story.

When I met my husband in 1995, he owned a Series 3, 88 inch Land Rover. On one of our first dates he took me out in the Land Rover over a rocky mesa in Flagstaff, AZ. I was totally miserable. He could sense this and asked me if I wanted to drive. I was not very good at a standard transmission, but jumped at the chance drive. I have been hooked ever since. In 1996 I purchased a 1989 Range Rover and since then we have also owned a 1993 Range Rover.

We drove our 1989 Range Rover to over 300,000 miles. It was a great car. We traveled all over Colorado, Utah and Arizona. One trip in 1998 we went through the Navajo Nation with 9 nine other rovers. On this trip there were 3 Dormobiles, including the one we would eventually buy. I remember thinking the women were crazy to be traveling is such a small vehicle. Little did I know I would be one of those crazy women.

A few years later, we traveled the Mojave Road in California with about 15 rovers. On this trip our future Dormobile was also present. Most of the vehicles left the Dormobile behind. Since we had owned a Series Land Rover, and knew they were not a fast or smooth ride, we stayed behind with it and got to know the owner.

So, a few years later when the owner was ready to sell. We were interested. We had expanded our family to include our daughter, and the 93 Range Rover had blown a head gasket. The Dormobile was in Davis, CA and so we flew from Tucson to get it. We drove the car back. It was the longest drives of my life. Hot, noisy, and very uncomfortable. Since then we have been working on making the vehicle work for us.