Custom 2017 Hymer Aktiv on order - Page 11

wincrasher · 01-14-2017, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

I strongly agree. Finding a van with "good bones" but without all the high-markup add-ons is by far the most cost-effective approach to getting a truly great rig, at least if you don't have the time and skill to start from scratch. The margins of many of these high-tech add ons can be pretty stunning.

One of the reasons I was so sad to see GWV's demise is that, at least for us, ours has proven to be a really excellent starting point for this "make it yours" approach.

I think Coachmen may be filling that void that GWV has lef, with the Galleria. Their vans are well made, and fairly bare bones. Easily upgradeable, you could end up with a really nice rig with a little work.

avanti · 01-14-2017, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I think Coachmen may be filling that void that GWV has lef, with the Galleria. Their vans are well made, and fairly bare bones. Easily upgradeable, you could end up with a really nice rig with a little work.

If only we could get them to put their bathrooms on the correct side.

ClassB4Me · 01-14-2017, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

We camp over 100 nights per year and we easily brew 8 cups of coffee per day.

When you think about it, it is cheaper to cover 49 states numerous times and all Canadian provinces in a Class B than flying, staying in hotels, eating restaurant food all the time, renting cars, etc. Because we typically take trips longer than a month, one of our major goals was to make living in a Class B as comfortable as possible so it didn't become so tedious. Inside comfortable seating was that one major goal.

Do most people who own Class B RVs use the on-board bathroom regularly? They look better suited for just-in-case use as opposed to regular use. How does one make this work for extended travel?

avanti · 01-14-2017, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

Do most people who own Class B RVs use the on-board bathroom regularly? They look better suited for just-in-case use as opposed to regular use. How does one make this work for extended travel?

This is one of our "special" topics. Opinions are all over the place. At one extreme, there are black tanks that have never seen anything "black". This is totally beyond my comprehension. Why one would go to all the trouble and expense to have a personal bathroom and not use it is a totally alien thought for us. In 11 years of B-vanning, I have showered in our van literally every single morning, and neither of us has ever used a campground toilet. I can't imagine why we ever would. I do admit that we have an unusually nice bathroom in our rig. As long as we can find a dump station a couple of times a week, we are sitting pretty. This is a trivial requirement.

But, as I said, there are plenty of people at the other extreme.

wincrasher · 01-14-2017, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

If only we could get them to put their bathrooms on the correct side.

At least it's big enough to stand up in. There are VERY few in Sprinters that are even usable as a shower.

tgregg · 01-14-2017, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

If only we could get them to put their bathrooms on the correct side.

It is on the correct side. So is the galley.

avanti · 01-14-2017, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgregg

It is on the correct side. So is the galley.

Another of our "special" topics.

wincrasher · 01-14-2017, 03:10 AM

Basically, they are cloning the Roadtrek floor plans.

Davydd · 01-14-2017, 02:42 PM

I was in the Navy. I know what a Navy shower is.

If I find a nice clean shower room in a campground I will take advantage of it. You'll never get a high pressure steady hot stream you can stand under for 5 minutes if you like in a Class B.

On the other hand, if you stay at BLM dispersed camping sites with zero facilities you have no choice but to use your Class B and we have done that numerous times and it has been easily doable. The Pleasure-way Plateau, Great West Van Legend and the Advanced RV we've owned all had usable bathrooms with complete privacy without disturbing your partner that didn't turn your whole Class B into a large bathroom.

avanti · 01-14-2017, 03:17 PM

I just concluded that the reason I enjoy using the autonomous, self-contained features of our van so much is that it lets me pretend I'm in a spaceship.

gerrym51 · 01-14-2017, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

I was in the Navy. I know what a Navy shower is.

If I find a nice clean shower room in a campground I will take advantage of it. You'll never get a high pressure steady hot stream you can stand under for 5 minutes if you like in a Class B.

On the other hand, if you stay at BLM dispersed camping sites with zero facilities you have no choice but to use your Class B and we have done that numerous times and it has been easily doable. The Pleasure-way Plateau, Great West Van Legend and the Advanced RV we've owned all had usable bathrooms with complete privacy without disturbing your partner that didn't turn your whole Class B into a large bathroom.

under the right cricumstances you can do that in my zion-although i have never done it.

because it has dual dump feature and a Girard instant hot water feature IF your hooked up to water in a campground you can have continuous hot water feature

Davydd · 01-14-2017, 03:52 PM

Gerry, We have the continuous hot water as well but we rarely stay in campground sites with water and/or sewer. That's KOA type. We've done the full hookup and enjoyed a "normal" shower in our Class B when we have camped like that.

peteco · 01-14-2017, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

I just concluded that the reason I enjoy using the autonomous, self-contained features of our van so much is that it lets me pretend I'm in a spaceship.

I joke with my wife that living in the van for an extended period is training for us to take a spaceship trip to Mars. Since it is going to take NASA a while to get there (I used to work for NASA), there is another outfit claiming they can get to Mars a lot sooner. Over 200,000 have signed up.

Mars One

She wants no part of that trip but said I could go if I really want.

Oh, one little detail. The Mars-One is a one way trip. That makes it much more doable technology-wise. I wonder how many of the 200,000 were signed up by someone else who was ready to ship them out permanently. Perhaps several of us Class-B husbands have been signed up by our wives. Better check the list.

Davydd · 01-14-2017, 07:38 PM

We've made some great advances in our lifetime. Ralph Kramden was only going to send Alice to the Moon, and then we did it.

Mikayla · 02-05-2017, 08:59 AM

I followed the link you posted in your FB group over here and I am so glad I did! I am learning so much!
I am terribly sorry this didn't work out for you, I LOVE the RV you created! That one is perfect for me too, but after reading about your experience and what others had to say I probably wouldn't even try to have one custom built by this company.
It's too bad really, your ideas were amazing, I wouldn't be surprised to see a model resembling this one sometime.

mumkin · 02-06-2017, 03:14 AM

Roadtrek doesn't really do special orders with major changes. They agreed to hers because they were in the process of making this unit at the time, and it has already shown up in some shows. It is called the Activ 2.0.

If one wants to design to one's wishes, it is best to go to a company that specializes in just that. I would go to Sportsmobile.

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