Sprinter Vans are So 2016 - Bliss or Die

By now, many mountain town dwellers are familiar with Sprinter Vans. These vehicles, sometimes regular van size, other times behemoth, are popping up like balsamroot on summer hillsides. They cost a pretty penny and are often further pimped out for tens of thousands more. We call these Sprinter vans whether they’re the Mercedes Sprinter version or some other type. A Sprinter van unlike all others showed up in Bozeman the other weekend and was parked a few blocks from my house.

Calling it a van is a stretch as it looked like a mini dump truck towing a trailer. Attached to the outside was one dirt bike and one mountain bike. Camping gear appeared to be attached to the roof of the trailer.

Blissordie.com was emblazoned on the side. My friend Dave and I drove by on the way out of town and couldn’t stop commenting on it. We were curious (Who wouldn’t be?) and our imaginations were captivated. Who was the owner? Our minds had so many ideas, most of them clichéd and unoriginal.

Bliss or die. What a strange saying. It didn’t take much for both of us to picture a loud angry grrg, grrg, grrg speed medal guitar riff behind those words. Sing it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.

BLISS OR DIE! GRRG GRRG GRRG

It turns out, the Bliss or Die vehicle is owned by a family who decided to travel the country after surviving a medical hardship.

‘We gave up a traditional career and typical American way of life to live a life of freedom in an adventure RV,” their website announces.

They have one child who is being home schooled as travel around seeking adventure. Think what you like of the situation, I'm always captivated by people's tales of giving it all up for a new live.

Their vehicle, something new to me, is a 15-foot Bliss Mobil camper unit mounted to an Army cargo truck. You can find out all of the stats on the Bliss or Die website where they do not hide the fact that this rig gets six miles per gallon on the highway.

The Bliss Mobil company is based in the Netherlands and offers a variety of containers so you may create your own van—meets-dump truck. Their aim is to redefine “the definition of independent travelling (sic) by introducing five truck-independent models, following the unrivalled (sic) features and benefits of the container concept.”  

The containers are suitable to be mounted on trucks with a wheelbase of 3800-4200 mm. Once complete, these creations designed to go “off grid” for up to 30 days. So you have to buy a truck, a Bliss Mobil container, and a trailer to attach to it if you desire one.  As for price of the set-up, Bliss or Die states, “The short answer is, it’s about as much as a small house.”

The Bliss or Die folks are from San Francisco. I wonder of if they're thinking a small San Francisco house. Either way, it that’s a good chunk of change. There’s a Sprinter van parked down the street from me with an $85K price tag. I pass it each day as I bike to work – it’s been there for several weeks now. Sounds like a deal compared to a Bliss Mobil vehicle, but maybe it hasn’t sold because Sprinter Vans are on their way out as we make way for the next new thing.

For those of you hoping to climb the mountain town status ladder, here’s a new item to aspire to owning. I’m on the lookout for spotting the first Bliss Mobil vehicle to sport Gallatin County license plates. Send photos my way if you seen one.