A little deflated after the Aktiv test drive...

[AlexJ]

Originally Posted by 35603

Unfortunately the wait is now 18 months.

The wait time, scarcity, and quality definitely help preserve their resale value. No one has the patience to wait these days.

[BBQ]

.

My take...


Don't worry about a tight galley.

You won't (shouldn't) spend much time in it.

When the weather is good,
you will cook outside. BBQ. Sit by the fire.

When the mood is good,
you will go find a nice restaurant. Sit on the porch. Enjoy a glass of wine. Watch the sunset. Watch the world go by.

The galley is for making coffee in the morning,
and the occasional one-pot meal.


It is a Class B.
No matter how big is the galley,
it is small.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Well, I think the diesel criticisms are overblown. There have been some very vocal complainers about Sprinters from a few years ago, but it seems to be quiet on the newer models.

Yes, MB can be expensive to repair. But Fords aren't exactly cheap these days either. Almost all the vans need a commercial service center, which there aren't a ton of. But that is for warranty repairs. You can get oil changes and the like just about anywhere.

The emissions system is warrantied by law for 10 years. My 2011 Silverado is still under this warranty. It's been a reliable work horse and is still going strong at 100,000 hard miles. Early on, GM had to replace my DEF tank because the sensors burned out. They also had to replace an injector. Both fixed without any fuss. The upside is economy - the interval between oil changes is 20,000 miles. The average MPG is above 19. Not to mention it pulls like a train and is actually easy to drive climbing mountains, even with a heavy load.

My gas vans have served me well. No warranty issues on the chassis at all and I've gotten great fuel economy. But they also have no towing ability, and come up short on power. They are heavy vehicles after all, and I don't expect them to have the performance of a car.

My next van will probably be a Sprinter. I'm enamored lately with the short Sprinter. It may perform very well with a gas engine, but there are advantages sticking with the diesel besides the great fuel economy. Having a deisel heating system is a very nice thing to have in an RV. Being able to have the 2nd alternator and idle the engine would be much more useful to me than a genset. Idling a gas engine for long periods to do the battery charging has it's own issues. So far Promaster is the only one you can safely do this. Can a Transit? Will a gas Sprinter?

Exciting times with all the new product coming online!

Hear, hear.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

My take...


Don't worry about a tight galley.

You won't (shouldn't) spend much time in it.

When the weather is good,
you will cook outside. BBQ. Sit by the fire.

When the mood is good,
you will go find a nice restaurant. Sit on the porch. Enjoy a glass of wine. Watch the sunset. Watch the world go by.

The galley is for making coffee in the morning,
and the occasional one-pot meal.


It is a Class B.
No matter how big is the galley,
it is small.

BBQ 100 percent correct. I've never understood the desire to use a B to make gourmet meals while camping. While it can be done -why. B's are for quick travel and quick easy meals

[mumkin]

Definitely... BBQ and Gerry are spot on... quick easy meals. Boil water for tea. A quick sandwich at a rest area on the road. None of them are big enough for two people to prepare a meal.

But then... that is pretty much how I cook in my regular kitchen too...

[booster]

Us too, and we always are kind of amused with the comments we hear a lot about which side the kitchen should be on related to carrying on a conversation with people outside the van while preparing a meal. For us that would be very, very, very, short conversation.

[AlexJ]

We're the other extreme. We definitely use our kitchen on the road...Vitamix, Instant Pot, toaster, Toaster Oven, Microwave, 2 burner stove. It's one of the things we love about our B...controlling our own diet.

[MsNomer]

We're there with you, Alex. It's 34° out there right now and I just had a nice fat hot omelet for breakfast. If I had cooked it outside, besides myself being frozen stiff, the omelet would have been cold before I could get a bite to my mouth.

We use our van year-round--much more than we thought we would when we first started. If the daytime temperature is at least into the 40's, we can hike. At the end of the day, we want a hot meal in a warm van. We only have 200Ah of battery, but all our cooking is electric and we run a Webasto.

This is in a 136" PM self-build. We have more than 4' of counter, plus readily accessible table space, and didn't have to sacrifice permanent bed or doorway space to get it.

[AlexJ]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

We're there with you, Alex. It's 34° out there right now and I just had a nice fat hot omelet for breakfast. If I had cooked it outside, besides myself being frozen stiff, the omelet would have been cold before I could get a bite to my mouth.

We use our van year-round--much more than we thought we would when we first started. If the daytime temperature is at least into the 40's, we can hike. At the end of the day, we want a hot meal in a warm van. We only have 200Ah of battery, but all our cooking is electric and we run a Webasto.

This is in a 136" PM self-build. We have more than 4' of counter, plus readily accessible table space, and didn't have to sacrifice permanent bed or doorway space to get it.

Very nice. We only have propane for our cooktop and our Truma AquaGo water heater. Still have a half tank left after 23K miles and lots of cooking and hot showers. We are also very happy with our gas Webasto furnace...toasty.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

We're there with you, Alex. It's 34° out there right now and I just had a nice fat hot omelet for breakfast. If I had cooked it outside, besides myself being frozen stiff, the omelet would have been cold before I could get a bite to my mouth.

We use our van year-round--much more than we thought we would when we first started. If the daytime temperature is at least into the 40's, we can hike. At the end of the day, we want a hot meal in a warm van. We only have 200Ah of battery, but all our cooking is electric and we run a Webasto.

This is in a 136" PM self-build. We have more than 4' of counter, plus readily accessible table space, and didn't have to sacrifice permanent bed or doorway space to get it.

Do you have diesel Promaster? My question relates to Webasto.

[MsNomer]

Gas and gas Webasto. The PM has the second port into the tank.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

Gas and gas Webasto. The PM has the second port into the tank.

did you build or buy van in Canada? For some reason in usa gasoline webasto and similiar are a no or builder hesitant. Just wondering

[michaelingp]

Originally Posted by indoorsy

I still haven't learned if protecting AGMs from winter cold is easier than protecting lithiums. I've been looking at used MH's and researching and learning that people are buying campers they thought were in good shape only to find out the AGM batteries are toast. I suppose is you buy at a decent price, you can accommodate that sort of thing and maybe you should expect it??

I don't think the cold is that big a factor. AGM batteries, like all lead acid batteries, can stand very cold temperatures if fully charged. And AGM's like all lead acid batteries can be damaged if left in a discharged state for too long. I think this is what kills batteries. People leave them for months at a time with the various detectors and electronics discharging them to a harmful degree. The only safe thing to do when buying used is to reduce what you're willing to pay by $600 or so. Most people can't get more than about 5 years out of their batteries anyway, so it's something you just have to plan for.

[MsNomer]

Gerry, this is a self-build in Oklahoma. The gas Webasto Airtop ST is widely available from US Webasto dealers. I just went down the list and chose the best price--a bit less than $1,000. MrNomer installed it.

[RoadRunner]

If you're in the market for a class b I came across a chapter in classbwarned.com that talks a little about the different class b and b+ options. They even have a spreadsheet that lists the manufacturers and some specs. I wish they would include base pricing, but it's a good reference.

Wow - what a story about their experience with Roadtrek. I hope the company has improved their build quality.

Part Twenty Three – Let’s Go Shopping! – Class B Warned

[indoorsy]

quick update...

I'm going to look at some campers the week after next with my son but having learned so much from you all, I'm leaning toward not moving forward with a Class B at this time. I think the maintenance and all involved will be too much for me. I liked the way the diesel drove better but I don't have the time to chase down issues and problems should I be one of the unlucky ones to have problems. I was thoroughly bewildered after reading the recent thread on the Bluetec engines and how to best maintain it - different oils depending on the season, some of which may potentially violate a warranty. Really just too much for me.

While my son and I are out, we will look at travel trailers as well. I had originally thought the hitching and unhitching would be so difficult but honestly compared to what I am learning is involved in maintaining a MH maybe that is the easier route.

I just wanted to thank you all as I think from reading so much on here, I learned that I'd be in over my head with a purchase so you saved me from an expensive mistake.

I now have to figure out if a TT would also be a mistake or if that is something I can handle. Hopefully one day I will be able to get on the road.

My sincere gratitude to you all.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by indoorsy

I was thoroughly bewildered after reading the recent thread on the Bluetec engines and how to best maintain it - different oils depending on the season, some of which may potentially violate a warranty.

The reason you were bewildered on this topic is because the person you were reading was spewing utter nonsense. Those claims come from a single, thoroughly polemical source that almost nobody in the Sprinter community considers credible. Bluetec engines have their problems (as do all modern engines), and as I have said before, I would mildly prefer a gasser if all else were equal, but seasonal oil changes and the need to use motorcycle oil (!) are not among them. Sprinters are very fine vehicles and most are relatively trouble-free.

Sorry to hear that you have concluded that van life isn't for you. You may well be making the right decision given your circumstances and interests. But I hope that the above-cited tripe was not the determining factor.

[Phoebe3]

There are places that rent trailers and you might try that first. There are benefits and issues with everything. The benefits to a trailer are that you can unhitch and use your vehicle to sightsee or as a daily driver. I think they have a lot more usable room for their length than a Class B so sleeping 4-6 is common, and they are MUCH less expensive so if you find it's not for you, you won't lose as much in depreciation. There are also a lot of used trailers for sale so entry into the market is easier.

The downside to a trailer is not hitching and unhitching (although it's MUCH easier if you have someone to spot you from behind when you are trying to line up), it's the longer parking space, turn radius, backing up, and handling in crosswinds (tip: slow down). Lots of people deal with these things and I'm sure you can, too.

You will have the same components so the learning curve there will be similar regarding heating, electrical, plumbing, etc. Unless you decide to pull a tent trailer or decide to forego many of the conveniences. Lots of people use a Coleman grill for cooking and utilize the bathroom facilities at the campground.

You have done some pretty in-depth research and I'm confident you will make the right decision for you and your family.

[jrobe]

Indoorsy is the perfect example of someone who should spend a few dollars renting a few different kinds of RVs for short trips. This stuff is too expensive to make flip flop decisions based on internet reading and a few showroom visits. It is too easy to make costly mistakes. I learned a wealth of information at one time renting a trailer and a Class C and it didn't even cost me very much.

[indoorsy]

hi Avanti, There were other factors too.... I appreciate your thoughts on the matter and all the advise over the course of my odyssey.

Phoebe, Thank you for your insight. Buying used is definitely something I'd like to do... As I got further into my research on the Class B MH's, the warranty seemed like a safety net I'd like to have - being up in the price category wasn't where I originally intended to be and if it were an easier thing with less steep a learning curve than it would feel more comfortable, but that's not the case.

JRobe, I'm here... you can address your comments directly to me rather than refer to me in the third person. Thank you for the suggestion of renting. It is a good one and something I intend on pursuing. It has been suggested multitudes of times earlier on the thread and without the rude undertone. The flip flopping was as a result of all I learned on here. I don't live in a state with a lot of RV resources, and it is the middle of winter so getting out in a rental isn't currently possible. I'm using the time to read and visit showrooms and while doing so I learned a lot and shared a lot to those helpful people on here so they could point out what I still don't know (blessedly, in a giving and kind fashion). It's a process and I'm doing fine.