Advanced RV

[markopolo]

I like the lighting also

Link:
http://www.advanced-rv.com/ocean-one-sneak-peak/





Kitchen sink looks small in the photo but maybe it is bigger....



Bathroom sink area looks a little tight but again hard to tell:



99% sure that is an Outback inverter on the right:



I'm glad to see progress.

[Ron J. Moore]

Marko,
Thanks for posting the photos, it looks like a neat machine. I would like to see it up close, and will go to the Tamp Show, it is but 50 miles for me while in FL. It has a real clean & sleek look, and the interior set up should be interesting. And da boddem line....nah, I am not looking to buy, happy with this '05 RT190 - it's paid for, ha!! Safe travels to all, Ron.http:

[markopolo]

Advanced RV - lithium batteries video

[youtube:20v2t4mo]hG_qrHbG5iw[/youtube:20v2t4mo]

[Mike]

I think the cost of "going green" in the RV world is just as price prohibitive as it is in any other discipline.
By that I mean the all electric options are extremely pricey to produce, where you can almost buy 2 or 3 conventional RV sized gas/propane generators for the price of an average lithium battery bank.
Based on the pricing we've seen from those manufacturers who've been bold enough to publish them.
I believe the Roadtrek E-Trek price was $17,000 for 3 lithium ion batteries? Last time I priced Onan generators, they were around $4,000 - $5,000 each.

[Davydd]

Did you catch the comment about the generator options in the video of either propane or diesel?

[markopolo]

Interesting comments on the Advanced RV website:

http://www.advanced-rv.com/mikes-blog-a ... challenge/

Diesel generator:

Originally Posted by advanced_rv

.........Yesterday, we received components for a diesel generator that we think will have plenty of capacity and we are pretty sure will fit under the Sprinter. We will know for sure in a day or two. The generator operates at a low RPM and is water cooled. ..........

and a comment about using the engine for power generation:

Originally Posted by advanced_rv

.........There is room to add another generator to the engine auxiliary’s and we have discussed this with Mercedes, but they won’t approve this approach or anything that requires the engine to run at idle for long periods--possibly due to pollution standards or something to do with engine reliability. ..........

Tech note: I received the following response from Sprinter Engineering Support to my inquiry re: extended idling on current model Sprinter vans:

Per your request, with the SCR technology of our engines, we do not recommend idling a Sprinter for longer periods than 2.5 - 3 hours.

Even with the high idle engaged, you should not exceed the aforementioned times to avoid clogging the DPF or damage to the EGR valve.

Fyi, the fuel consumption is .4 - . 5gal. per hour of idling.

[Mike]

Any way you slice it, these new fangled class B RVs are way too rich for my blood.
There has to be a market for them. People some where must be able to afford them, or they wouldn't be building (or considering) them.
Odd that just a year or so ago, Roadtrek was trying to improve/increase sales by scaling back some of the equipment and options on their vans, and now they're right back in the thick of things, competing with the other class B cos trying to win the "most expensive class B van ever built" award.
Head scratcher?

[wabbit]

Originally Posted by Mike

Any way you slice it, these new fangled class B RVs are way too rich for my blood.
There has to be a market for them. People some where must be able to afford them, or they wouldn't be building (or considering) them.
Odd that just a year or so ago, Roadtrek was trying to improve/increase sales by scaling back some of the equipment and options on their vans, and now they're right back in the thick of things, competing with the other class B cos trying to win the "most expensive class B van ever built" award.
Head scratcher?

Differentiate your products from the competition by adding both higher end and lower end products. I presume that's what they're doing anyhow. There is probably a market niche for both, in addition to the middle where they have more competition that is more difficult to differentiate.

[Davydd]

I think once you get up to a certain price point near $100,000 give or take for a new fully outfitted Class B offered by the major converters you can either afford it or not afford it. So once you reach that plateau of a decision trying to shave costs is kind of a penny wise, pound foolish situation. Roadtrek tried it and shaved what? $10,000 or so just to leave you feeling like you got something stripped down? It just doesn't make a lot of marketing sense to me. That market is for those buying used, DIY or custom designing, re. Sportsmobile.

[Mike]

I think I agree with you on a "trying to please everyone" approach, if that's what you meant. Just doesn't strike me as a good marketing strategy. I understand why they would try it, but I'm not so sure it makes sense. Better to do one thing well, than many things mediocre. I'm not so sure about there being a niche for many class B vans in the $100,000 plus category. I'm thinking if you can afford to shell out that kind of money on an RV, you can probably afford to fill it at any price, and probably don't care about the fuel economy all that much. As such you might opt for a larger more spacious class C or A. A class B van might be purchased as more of a "towed" like the one I saw being pulled behind that bus in 2011. At least you could get to the destination area in luxury and comfort, and then do the economy thing with a towed for exploration/touring day trips. That's probably how I'd be thinking, if it were me with the bucks to spend. Might even consider full timing, if that were the case.

[Davydd]

A Class B has always been the most expensive RV so nothing really changed. You are just dealing with relative inflation. I drove 10,500 miles in two months time to Alaska and back last summer. I saw all kinds of RVs doing the same but I can tell you right now there is no way I would have wanted to do that in any other kind of RV including so called small Class Cs. I watched how they had to painfully maneuver and get around towns like Banff. So it does not come down to price for me. It comes down to touring style plain and simple. I absolutely do not want to tow anything anywhere and I like pulling in and parking at places like a Starbucks or other restaurants and places that have parking only for average size cars and trucks. I don't care to be relegated to the RV parking areas in parks and in fact there were places where you could not take a larger RV period such as the Petrified Tree in Yellowstone NP. There are hiking trail heads you could not access with a larger RV. Heck, I wanted to cross the Going To The Sun highway in Glacier NP on that trip and I did. They don't let you with wide body small Cs and most truck campers with a 10 ft. height restriction to get by the overhang ledges. I drove some highways in Kentucky only 15'=6" wide in the Daniel Boone NF. I didn't see a single wide body RV on that 20 mile stretch. Most of the national forest campgrounds in Minnesota and Wisconsin have a 22-24 ft. limit near where I live. Many you couldn't even park an Airstream Bambi trailer pulled by a Jeep in them. With just the two of us the B is ideal. 36,000 miles these past two years would have been a nightmare comparatively to me just these past two years in any other type of RV considering what we did.

We make choices. We are all different. That was my choice.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Davydd

A Class B has always been the most expensive RV so nothing really changed. You are just dealing with relative inflation. I drove 10,500 miles in two months time to Alaska and back last summer. I saw all kinds of RVs doing the same but I can tell you right now there is no way I would have wanted to do that in any other kind of RV including so called small Class Cs. I watched how they had to painfully maneuver and get around towns like Banff. So it does not come down to price for me. It comes down to touring style plain and simple. I absolutely do not want to tow anything anywhere and I like pulling in and parking at places like a Starbucks or other restaurants and places that have parking only for average size cars and trucks. I don't care to be relegated to the RV parking areas in parks and in fact there were places where you could not take a larger RV period such as the Petrified Tree in Yellowstone NP. There are hiking trail heads you could not access with a larger RV. Heck, I wanted to cross the Going To The Sun highway in Glacier NP on that trip and I did. They don't let you with wide body small Cs and most truck campers with a 10 ft. height restriction to get by the overhang ledges. I drove some highways in Kentucky only 15'=6" wide in the Daniel Boone NF. I didn't see a single wide body RV on that 20 mile stretch. Most of the national forest campgrounds in Minnesota and Wisconsin have a 22-24 ft. limit near where I live. Many you couldn't even park an Airstream Bambi trailer pulled by a Jeep in them. With just the two of us the B is ideal. 36,000 miles these past two years would have been a nightmare comparatively to me just these past two years in any other type of RV considering what we did.

We make choices. We are all different. That was my choice.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a class B has always been the most expensive RV? Do you mean value for the money? As in some are grossly over priced for what you're getting? I would agree with that now, and in most cases, it's probably true.
On price alone, I'm sure there are some RV manufacturers of much larger RV's built on bus chassis that might want to know what you mean also. There are makes and models that are priced closer to $1M, if I'm not mistaken? Some with with a lot more luxury, comfort, and conveniences than most class B RVs.

[markopolo]

I looked at a photo of a $2.5 million coach this morning - a tray slides out to park your car on then the tray retracts up under the coach

We pay more $$$ for less accommodation for a Class B. Some RV'ers would not even consider a Class B because of the relatively cramped quarters for the cost.

With just the Sprinter base and lithium batteries, Advanced RV could be at $50,000+ already - without any conversion features!

[Mike]

Probably true, on the price comment. The market will ultimately decide when the class B market is over priced. As long as there are enough people with money that keep buying them, that's what they're worth.

Those motor mansions are pretty nice, but they are verrrrry large. But also very luxurious for the money. We took a look inside a couple at the local RV shop near our old place earlier this year, and they are like palaces inside.
As for ease of maneuvering the big brutes, yes, there are many places they obviously can't go that a smaller RV can, but the "towed" most of them seem to add these days, would resolve that issue. If I owned a class A motor coach, I'm sure I could park it in the welcome center parking lot at GNP, and drive my SUV towed across the GTTS roadway with less difficulty than some of the longer class B vans they use as shuttles. When you're out there driving along and see an SUV, or car, or pickup truck on those same roads you've traversed in your van, how do you know they aren't just taking a look around in their towed, with their "motor mansion" parked somewhere nearby? They're seeing and doing the same things we've done with our class B RV, just in a different way, that's all. Class C and A drivers just park somewhere convenient, and do the restaurants and coffee places in their toweds, I'm sure. Or, prepare their own coffee and croissants in the comfort of their gourmet equipped, on board kitchens in their motorized palaces. Who needs Starbucks or Chez Paris???

[Davydd]

Most expensive on a cost per sf generally for a B. If you don't want or understand the advantages of a B then you can get much larger Winnebago Views cheaper for instance. If you don't want to stop at a Starbucks which are often in tight parking small strip centers, so be it. I do and I also have a nice built-in coffee pot to brew in the B. At Going to the Sun Road I wasn't planning to and didn't go back across to get back to anything left behind and then have to go way around to continue heading through.

[Mike]

Ah, per square foot. OK, that makes sense now. That's probably true in many cases. Some class B van chassis are used as the base chassis for the smaller class C models, and they are remarkably similar. Using your example of the Winnebago View, the 2011 View at 24'6" is only about 21" longer than the 2011 GWV Legend at 22'9" according to the RV Buyers Guide specs. And the View's base price is only about $1500 less. So there is a bit more room, for a bit less money, on the same chassis. Not much difference really. The handling would probably be about the same, although the View is heavier.

[markopolo]

This is the week of the debut

We should get to see some photos and news. I had planned to attend and was booked into a nearby park but a shoulder problem has me sitting on the sidelines.

If you get a photo or a link post it or send it to me. This is a BIG week for Advanced RV !

[markopolo]

Hopefully I get some show photos but I know the Advanced-RV team is going to be busy this week in Tampa.

I do have a photo though

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Hopefully I get some show photos but I know the Advanced-RV team is going to be busy this week in Tampa.

I do have a photo though

wow-poor Photoshop, anyone!

[markopolo]

I just see the RV I had to reduce the size of the photo so much..............

3.6 kW Onan (not 2.8 kW) in the Advanced-RV Ocean One from the specs page. The 3.6 is 2db quieter than the 2.8 according to Onan. I don't think I've come across a Class B with the larger Onan.
My B+ and C both had the 4kW Onan which is the sibling of the 3.6kW (lpg) Onan.

Here's another: