2014 Winnebago Travato

[Mike]

You're definitely right. The "official" 2014 Promaster stats (not Sportsmobile) say the body is 101" (8' 5"?) tall. WinnebagoTouring.com says 9' tall after conversion, so the roof A/C adds 7", if my math is correct? So, the Travato might fit under some drive thru overhangs, but it would be too risky to try. If you had Sportsmobile do a custom conversion of a Promaster, and added that under floor A/C you'd be good to go at most Mickey Dees.....
My 2002 Chevy 190P Roadtrek is 100" tall for the sake of comparison.

[mlts22]

I definitely will be paying a visit to the local RV dealer that sells these to take a look come November. So far, this seems to probably be the best compromise. Call me crazy, but I like the Euro style plan with the dinette, because I can leave stuff on it all the time. In fact, I don't even have to bother flipping seats around.

There are definitely some mods that the Travato should have. For one, I am going to be putting in a voltmeter and heavy duty ammeter on the house batteries. After that, comes a Magnum Energy controller so if the batteries dip below 12.1 volts, the genset fires up (if it isn't in quiet hours.) Solar and a MPPT controller also is something to consider, although with the limited roof space, it might not be that useful other than storage. Of course, a macerator pump is extremely useful, and it would be nice to have a permanent one with a grey water bypass.

The fact that the bed can fold out of the way can allow for a lot of storage space that wouldn't be possible in a RT SS Agile or PW Ascent floorplan. When boondocking, I can load the back with stacks of plastic tubs (although I would have to figure out how to do it safely so nothing turns into missiles due to a panic stop), then at a campsite, set up a storage tent and stick the plastic tubs inside that, freeing the bed to fold down. Combined with a hitch mounted cargo carrier with a ramp for a tote tank and some gas cans, and I would definitely be able to stay out in the sticks a while, although I'm curious what the limiting factor will be... other than the amount of vacation days I have.

[Davydd]

I've read all the rationalizations for accepting this Travato design but I decided long ago the only plus for it is its MSRP. As for the ProMaster van itself I think we'll have to wait on the other converters to see its potential, but the only advantage it has on a Sprinter is it is about 3 inches wider. That's good and bad in a way because I like the width of the Sprinter as is. There is plenty of width sleeping front to back in a Sprinter and it lacks sleeping across which I would never want anyway. The extra width would create livability with slightly wider aisles and or bathroom in a Sprinter. I wouldn't want the full 3" but 2 more inches in a Sprinter's width would be ideal. The Sprinter has about a 70" width at bed height and 72" would be more ideal for a lot of design reasons. Winnebago's design idea was to take advantage of the width with side by side bath and bed. Consequently, to do so, they sacrificed both with an inadequate with bed and a trip over the wheel well bathroom with an awkward entry cutting of the corner of the inadequate bed.

The Travato has undersized tanks pretty much all around. We don't know yet if that is Winnebago's cost cutting or an inherent limit of space. Is the fresh water tank always going to have to be in a bench seat blocking the sliding door? The 4 gallon hot water tank disturbs me the least but the 110V requirement does. Boondocking and running generators to get hot water does not compute. Running a generator in a shared campground, especially with tenters, in a wilderness area is an abomination against the idea of being there. Rationalize its use anyway you want but those people will always be a prick in the campground as far as I am concerned.

The biggest debit of the ProMaster will always be the unlevel floor with the cab about 4 inches higher. There will always be design problem transitions of compromise.

[booster]

It is built on a new chassis, a different floor plan, with a bunch of different equipment and features, which almost guarantees a lot of love/hate thoughts from folks.

It kind of reminds me of all the different models and variants Roadtrek was throwing out a few years ago, trying to see what sticks, and what doesn't. I would expect it to morph, or disappear, with probably several more offering coming along also. I don't think anybody in the RV business is sure of where the market really is, although they do seem to be chasing either the high end, or low end recently.

The Travato is not a floor plan we would like, and many of the things mentioned would be issues for us, but we will see where it all winds up.

[Davydd]

True Booster. There is always a market. Compare a Casita trailer to an Airstream trailer.

[mlts22]

I think the Travato will have a niche market, similar to the Rialta, even though the Rialta had some shortcomings (problematic shower, oddball pull-out bathroom, etc.)

The problem with Roadtrek's trying to do low-priced offerings is that the Ranger was an obvious stripped-down model. No shower, cheap stove, and obvious reminders that it was the budget offering. The Travato should help with that market segment (provided it exists) because it has all the niceties, including an Euro-style chassis which sells itself, especially with the MPG (which is a big thing on people's minds.)

I think I need to keep in mind that this is Winnebago's first salvo into the US market with this van chassis. I would be surprised if more floor plans are not due to follow in the next year or two. The knowledge is out there in Europe how to build decent campervans on the Ducato chassis, it is just "translating" things to the US market (gasser chassis, FWD, generator, black tank instead of cassette toilet, 120 volt electrical, etc.) that will take some thought. Thankfully it isn't completely reinventing the wheel though.

[markopolo]

Official news release today:

FOREST CITY, Iowa, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO), a leading U.S. manufacturer of recreation vehicles, is debuting several new and exciting products at America's Largest RV Show in Hershey, PA.

The all-new Travato is the latest Class B motorhome to join the Winnebago Touring Coach lineup. The Travato is also built on the Ram ProMaster chassis. At just under 21' long, the Travato is unbelievably agile while still offering a full-feature RV experience that is perfect for the adventurous explorer. Travato also provides value-conscious enthusiasts amazing fuel efficiency. With swivel cab seats, LED ceiling lights, standard touch-screen navigation, a split dinette, and an abundance of features, the Travato delivers a whole lot of fun. The Travato is the only product in its industry segment to provide a 3-point seat belt harness for passengers in the dinette. The innovative 59G floorplan features a rear double bed that is designed to flip up out of the way to allow for large items like bicycles to be stored securely inside and making them easily accessible through the large double doors at the rear of the coach. The Flex Bed system allows for additional sleeping in the front of the unit as well.

We should soon see some comments from Hershey show attendees.

[stanw909]

I noticed reading the spec sheet that the diesel will have a 5 year 100k warranty while the gas will be 3 year 36k. That could be worth the extra $3500.

[markopolo]

That is valuable for sure Stan.

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I merged the two 2014 Winnebago Travato topics to keep all of this early info together. It makes for a very large topic but also makes it easy for anyone just finding out about this model to get quick access to all the info and comments from April to now.

Another 2014 Winnebago Travato posted on Winnebago's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Winnebag ... 5802020790


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Winnebago Travato quick links:
Preliminary Specifications
Main Photos, Photos 2, Photos 3, Photos 4
Videos
Travato Floor Plan
New Video of Travato photos

[kellyllek]

I was just thinking about this Travato again after seeing it at the Hershey show, and namely the bed in the back. I love light so I prefer the folding to the bath side somehow. Plus to get my bikes in full size I need the bed to be higher. Perhaps the layout could allow for a bed in the ceiling, with even a full size mattress, that drops down over the bikes. Headroom is not so much of an issues if it is mainly used a toy hauler back there.

This Travato layout would be great for me alone, and save the hassles of having to dismantle the bikes. (Traveling and biking is my whole reason I'm considering a Class B). But I also just like the standard designs of the Roadtrek Popular 190 or 210, and with my budget I'm still thinking a 90's version of one of those will be best for me. I think I could not only house the bikes (with wheels off) , but I could also have room for a guest.

Though I love a contained bathroom/shower , the disadvantage of the Travato overall of course is it does not allow for any living space in the back. And I must say when I sat in the back of some of the other Class Bs, with the table set up, or just sitting in the couch layout, many of them felt like very comfortable little living rooms or offices. I could see easily having a office setup back there during the day with a view of everything!

I also noticed that by sitting in the very back of some of those Class Bs that area greatly reduced the noise of the ACs which are above pointing forward. I wonder if there are any Class B AC systems known to run quiet? All the ones that I looked at were really noisy. I'm surprised they aren't utilizing the concept of a mini-split AC with the condenser outside and just the fan inside. (The condenser unit could pair up next to the spare tire ) Perhaps though with, your head sleeping that direction, it'd be just as noisy.

[mlts22]

I can see the Travato's layout being changed to allow for a bench on the driver's side wall that extended to a bed, similar to what European "B"s do. That would allow for another area of the van to be used as a space to eat or watch TV. The bench can be folded to the side to allow for a mini garage for a pair of bicycles as well.

What would be interesting would be a floorplan that would be similar to the Roadtrek SS Agile or the PW Ascent, but the rear couch would be on a drop-down system similar to how the couch is moved on toy haulers. This would also allow for the couch to be turned into a bed, and another bed on top, which gives the ability to sleep 2-4 fairly comfortably if they slept sideways (which is easier with the Ducato van due to the few inches of additional width.) It would also allow the couch and the bed to be moved up and out of the way. Of course, the downside would be no overhead storage, but perhaps that could be dealt with somehow.

[mlts22]

It has been a while since there has been news on this. Just came across a PR statement that the Travato should be shipping to dealers next month.

Oh well, better late than never. I'm looking forward to checking some things out. Things I'm curious about are how solid the bed feels when down (if it wiggles when getting in or out), how usable the shower is, if the front bed is comfortable at all, how well the sliding glass doors work for storage under the bed, etc.

[Davydd]

Here is an idea that would work with the Travato as currently designed and accomplish much of the same in that back space.

http://www.resourcefurniture.com/space- ... s/lollipop

[AmCruiser]

Reminds me of the fold-up berths on the old Maine Maritime Academy training ship (former troop transport USNS Upsur). I found out the hard way that they could be folded up with someone (me) in one.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Here is an idea that would work with the Travato as currently designed and accomplish much of the same in that back space.

http://www.resourcefurniture.com/space- ... s/lollipop

Winnebago should offer that as an option. It would be a better use of the space and maybe the top bunk could fold down to meet the bottom bunk and form a sofa for day use.

[markopolo]

Looks like Winnebago is planning for greater Class B production:

http://globegazette.com/news/local/w...a87442dd7.html

Winnebago and the city, owner of the building, have agreed to a five-year lease of the 100,000-square-foot plant.

"This is a definite win-win for us," said Winnebago Chairman, CEO and President Randy Potts. "The Lake Mills facility is much larger than our current Class B production facility in Charles City and allows us to expand our growing Class B motor home line."

He said Winnebago's Class B market share in the U.S. has been steadily rising with 17.9 percent in the calendar year to date through September 2013 compared to 16.5 percent in calendar 2012 and 7.8 percent in calendar 2011.

and

He said Winnebago plans to begin staffing and equipping the Lake Mills facility immediately with the goal of starting production by early February.

He said the Charles City facility will continue to manufacture Class Bs during the transition process.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Winnebago should offer that as an option. It would be a better use of the space and maybe the top bunk could fold down to meet the bottom bunk and form a sofa for day use.

They had one but discontinued it.

http://www.resourcefurniture.com/node/14

for this...

http://www.resourcefurniture.com/space- ... llisoft_in

A lot of cool stuff from Resource Furniture.

[mlts22]

I'm curious how well Winnebago would do with floorplans if they offered models both with the traditional US black/grey tank layouts, versus European layouts with a grey tank, and a cassette. Just by ditching the black tank (and the fact that the toilet has to be on top of it) allows for aisle showers with roller doors for privacy, toilets with bowls that rotate into place when needed, out of the way when not, flip-up sinks, drop-down beds, and many other cool options.

The one question is going to be how the Ford Transit changes things. I don't see many European upfits using it except the Westfalia Nugget... but with the van getting completely redone, it just might be a prime choice for upfits. I personally like the Ford interior from snapshots given, and I also like the fact that Sportsmobile and Quigley will be able to convert it to 4WD without losing dealer authorization.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by mlts22

I'm curious how well Winnebago would do with floorplans if they offered models both with the traditional US black/grey tank layouts, versus European layouts with a grey tank, and a cassette. Just by ditching the black tank (and the fact that the toilet has to be on top of it) allows for aisle showers with roller doors for privacy, toilets with bowls that rotate into place when needed, out of the way when not, flip-up sinks, drop-down beds, and many other cool options.

That's describing a lot of things I would not be too interested in. I already have a slide out lav in the bathroom that I grow less enamored with. Pleasure-way has the best lav. Aisle showers seem like more trouble than they are worth though we rarely take full showers unless with have full hookups. Great West just has a system where you can leave the doors open that create an ample prep and dry down privacy area for more elbow room but you stay within the fiberglass bathroom enclosure and once you are done close the doors and be back to normal. The cassette idea is best left to other RVs, IMO. If you have to dump gray water then dump black at the same time. The electric convertible sofas are still the most practical and versatile idea to give you a living space, a queen bed, and seating with proper seat belts while driving than just about any other solution. Advanced RV and Great West Vans with tri-fold designs on side rails also allow you to move the sofa forward for a large storage area behind and still be able to sit on the sofa. But you are right about being more creative with beds like drop downs, wall beds, beds that raise and lower for storage etc. There are not very many good ideas out there. I like what Winnebago ERA 70A has done for a fixed bed raised and easy to get in and out of and get to storage underneath if you leave the notch filler out.

[bobojay]

Doesn't surprise me that Winnie is expanding their class B's to another and/or bigger facility. We've been to the Charles City plant and there's absolutely no expansion space available there. The whole assembly building and parking area might be 3 acres total, and to top that off it's in a residential area, and about 55 miles from Forest City.
The wife and I figured they would have to move into something else after bringing the ProMaster into the mix.....