Deciding on which class B to buy.

[markopolo]

In 2005 we bought a used 2004 Roadtrek that, according to the dealer, hadn't been slept in. We thought we were in a new vehicle on the lot.
Just keep checking dealer inventories.

[g1g]

Rocky asked what good is a B? I think your thoughts mean to ask what advantages does a B have over anything and of course your original post which one? On one of thse forums someone said the big rig owners go and stay someplace while B owners are wonderes. I must agree I am a wonderer, there is a lot to see and I want to see as much as I can. The better MPG really helps as well as the smaller sice for driving in some areas including looking more stealthy.
I haven't had a long trip with mine yet only extended weekends just short of a week. We have found it is nice to boondock for a night or two then stay in a campground where we can dump & refill tanks, as well as use a campground's facilities.
We have also used ours for a backup vehicle when the car was in the shop.
I fully reccomend getting a generator. This gives almost all the conviences of home including AC when boondocking. Of course you have a fridge, toilet, sink, stove/microwave least we forget a bed.
The worst time we had was when there was bad weather and the campground had no indoor facilites. This is the only time we noticed the limited space.
As for which one to get be it new or used I reccomend set your prioites as what you want in it (toilet, genny, fridge etc) and also what you would like included. If a certain floor plan or make is part of your plans consider that too. From that see what kind of price you can get and weigh everythiing out with the price. If you are not sure what ammenites you need ask others how much they use them. Ifound that I have never had use for my shower and I have heard others say the same. As stated I would not even considered a unit without a genny and AC. I do not have an oven and I have heard others say they never use theirs but a microwaave is a keeper.
That's all I will say at this point since I don't really know what you like. Maybe I can put in another 2 ceents worth later.

[Davydd]

Maybe a southerner might disagree with me but we rarely run our air conditioning and in two years of use on our current Great West Van Legend we have run our generator a grand total of 8.8 hours. How? Simple. We follow the weather. We go south in the spring and fall and north in the winter. We haven't traveled much in the winter but if we did we would go south. We go wherever the weather is not extreme. We spend most time outdoors when in a campground and we seek high elevation where the temperatures cool off rapidly at night. Last summer we drove to Alaska. We didn't run air conditioning one single minute. In the summer we usually spend our time in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and have never found a need for air conditioning. The generator is used briefly often in boondocking situations to brew our coffee in the morning. If we have an extended unhookup stay we might top off the batteries running the generator if we are not out driving the van which charges the batteries. We had an extended 6 day stay in Glacier National Park last summer without hookups and ran our generator briefly just twice to charge the batteries and brew the coffee. It's an art. I know people without generators and air conditioning. They are nice to have but I think of them as a backup and I am certainly never going to run a generator and air conditioning at night and try to sleep. You figure it out. If you can't figure out a B lifestyle then maybe it is not the right RV for you.

[markopolo]

Looking back at one of my previous posts, it might seem like I was recommending no generator. That is not the case at all. I'd recommend getting a Class B with a generator. You can get by without one for sure but there will be occasions when you'll be glad to have one.

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Looking back at one of my previous posts, it might seem like I was recommending no generator. That is not the case at all. I'd recommend getting a Class B with a generator. You can get by without one for sure but there will be occasions when you'll be glad to have one.

I agree. A generator is a PITA until you need it, and then all of a sudden it was worth the trouble.

[Ron J. Moore]

Rok,
You always get solid info and advice on this Forum. I'd like to take you to our time, when, due to serious health problems, we don't camp very often. In the last few years, we have used our RT190P for travel, touring and everyday driving. In our case, it fits our needs to a tee, all the comforts of home in your rolling home; we stop, turn on the generator and make a pot of coffee, have sandwiches from the frig - and have a restroom available.....priceless. We now do day trips, somedays I burn out early - I go lay down and watch television or read - that toilet is right there!! We carry drinking water, fill the tank at the door and empty via the macerator system. For exercising the generator, I turn on the air conditioner while we travel, and switch the refrigerator to AC during that time. We've enjoyed our B more than any vehicle I've bought. I don't do any repairs to mine now, but have a Chevy Dealer who takes care of the front, and the quality of Roadtrek has made it that our rolling home has been in for two repairs (really one, this owner couldn't figure out the water system very early on, ha!) In summation, don't settle for less than you really want, you will regret it, onboard generator case in point. Take your time, your going to really enjoy the ownership. Safe travels. Ron

[Rok]

Wow, thanks everyone for all your posts. We're going out tomorrow to look at the RoadTreks again, and to see the Winnebago Era. Someone once posted that they really liked a rig with the toilet behind the driver so they could see out the right side window. The ERA has the toilet behind the driver (I don't think any of the current Roadtreks do, which makes me wonder if there is some sort of a balancing problem when one is built with the toilet behind the driver. I think I've see some older RTreks with the toilet on the driver's side--at least I think I have.) The ERA also has a TV blocking the right rear window, so I don't know if it has better visibility or not.

Someone posted that a 2001 or 2002 Roadtrek 210 with 35K miles for $35K was not a deal, even in immaculate condition and with some add-ons. I recently found a site that offered a BRAND NEW RoadTrek 210 for $89K. For me, unless the 2012 210 has some sort of horrible flaw, that is a much better dea considering it is NEW, and has all the modern conveniences.. (The 2001 RT 210 is what got us interested in Class Bs.)

Some of you have hinted or outright asked why we want one. I don't want to get too political, but I may have to get a little bit that way to explain some of the reasons we would get one. So, here goes, I hope I don't offend anyone.

My wife describes herself as a "gun totin' tree hugger". So she mixes the two political spectrums somewhat, and so do I. We both feel that using up too many resources is a bad thing.

We held our nose both figuratively and literally and went to an RV show. The smell of the paint and varnish and particle board in some of the units was overwhelming. We were amazed at most of the crap that we saw there. The ostentatiousness was also something we didn't like. If I were touring with a rock band, then having a double decker Class A with 3 bathrooms would MAYBE be warranted, but we don't like conspicuous consumption, especially when it involves going into hock to do it. My wife and I even considered getting a set of Dodge logos to replace the Mercedes logos should we get a Sprinter based unit. Anyway, there were no Class Bs at the RV show at all--so I'm guessing that people who buy Class B's aren't the same target market as for other RVs.

Thankfully both the Roadtreks and the Airstreams seem to be a cut above what we saw at the RV show quality wise.

We both hate flying and feel that the TSA goons feeling us up and forcing us to take our shoes off serves no real purpose but a show of the government power over us and we resent it greatly. We also don't like the fact that there is a current epidemic of bedbugs in many hotels and we recently had an experience at a four or five star hotel where the maid wiped out our glass and turned it back upside down rather than replacing it with a new one. I won't go into detail as to how we know this unless someone prompts me, but we actually had it happen to us. Apparently this is COMMON in modern hotels--we only checked because of a 60 Minutes episode, and wow, were our eyes opened. And we don't know what else she wiped with that rag before wiping our glass. There are a number of videos on YouTube about the subject, and numerous articles elsewhere.

We are both kind of independent: we don't like imposing on friends, but do like to travel and see places and see friends in a non-imposing manner. My wife prefers the out of doors. I prefer indoor activities. We go to a number of different types of conferences so we have lots of contacts throughout the country (and the world for that matter). We belong to a social organization that has a network of hosts throughout the country who probably would let us park in their driveway or in front of their house.

Plantar warts are another issue. They are real expensive to get rid of when you get them both in terms of time and money. Gym showers are notorious for keeping the plantar wart population growing.

My wife likes wholesome food and in many cities she finds it difficult to get her organic, free-range, GMO free, shade grown, free trade, local, etc. food.

Call us paranoid if you will, but there are a lot of concerns we have that are taken care of by having our own little home that we take with us.

A Class B seems to fit the bill for us.

We would probably use every amenity available in a Class B including: the bed, the shower, the toilet (can anyone say "For Customers Only" or "NO Pubic Restrooms"?), the refrigerator, the stove & microwave, the TV and the generator. Oh, yeah, we would probably drive around in it, too. And yes, we would tend to be travelers rather than staying at one place for any length of time. The purpose of getting a Class B would be to travel places and see stuff.

The stealth and versatility of a Class B seems perfect for us, too. We could go to bed when we want and get up when we want.

As mentioned earlier, our initial plan would be to be out one to two days at a stretch and after figuring out how to use stuff, we probably would travel for longer periods.

Anyway, nothing anyone has mentioned here would deter us from trying one out. I don't know if we could live in those close quarters together without getting on each other's nerves, but I don't think there is a way to test that out.

I guess that's it for now.

Thanks again to everyone who has posted. It is real good information and it helps us ask the right questions.

Oh, there's one thing I"ve been meaning to ask some of you experienced B'ers: Are there states where you should watch out for certain stuff, or just not travel in at all? I know that some areas are known for speed traps, etc., so I imagine that there are areas of the country where the authorities tend to bother you more. Just wondering if there is some way to find stuff like this out before experiencing it oneself.

............Rocky

[booster]

Originally Posted by Rok

Someone posted that a 2001 or 2002 Roadtrek 210 with 35K miles for $35K was not a deal, even in immaculate condition and with some add-ons. I recently found a site that offered a BRAND NEW RoadTrek 210 for $89K. For me, unless the 2012 210 has some sort of horrible flaw, that is a much better dea considering it is NEW, and has all the modern conveniences.. (The 2001 RT 210 is what got us interested in Class Bs.)
............Rocky

That was probably me.

From your original post " What prompted this was a year or so back we saw a Roadtrek 210 1992 with 35K on it for $35,000"

If it its a 2002, it is a much better deal. Are you sure it is not a Roadtrek 200?

[teachergal]

Rok,
Welcome to the forum and the world of Bs!

I tried to post last night but it never showed up here?!?!

I have spent many miles considering how to turn the Mercedes embalm on my PleasureWay Plateau into a peace sign! I love that's it's a high quality, well engineered vehicle, but I hate that it's showy! I wish it was my RV in a old VW Bus clothing! Yes, I'm a bit "hippy" and I do love my RV for a lot of the reasons you mentioned - having good clean food to eat (often stuff I've prepared at home and frozen!) and my own bed and space where ever I go!

I'm so jealous that you live in Seattle! That's my favorite place! I spent 3 weeks there a few summers ago - North Cascades, Mt. Rainier, The Olympics, the San Juan Islands, LOVED it all! When I was up there I rented a 19' "compact" class C from Cruise America in Everett - it was a great precursor to my van. About the same size - living and driving, but harder to maneuver than my van. If you want to try a close approximation I'd go rent one for a few days.

My van is 24' long and I can get in wherever I want to. I can park it in a standard parking spot - provided I can back in and get the overhang over the sidewalk or grass area. You do have to be careful not to block the whole sidewalk. I prefer to park in an open lot where I can just take up 2 spots to accommodate the length. I have found only a handful of places that I can't take it.

The generator is noisy - but if you aren't trying to sleep it's no big deal really. I've only tried to sleep with it on once. I was on my way to Maine,via PA and I was staying at a Wal-Mart and it was 100* and there were noisy trucks and stuff keeping me up. The generator would be perfect white noise if the sound didn't change as the demand for power changed from the AC compressor. It also vibrates the bed, there are hotels that charge money for that kinda thing!

I do mostly dry camping - I love State and National Park campgrounds! I can go 4-6 days between dumps. It's just me though, but I do shower in the RV. The shower is one of my favorite things - when I get back from a long hike I can just shower right there in the parking lot and change into comfy clothes!

Oh and I LOVE that the bathroom is on the driver side - I have excellent visibility!

I've had my van since April '12 and I've put nearly 10,000 miles on it! I love it! I go out for weekend trips around here (VA - near DC) and since I'm a teacher I take a long trip in the summer! This summer owning the van was the difference between a "crappy but Ok" summer and a "truly crappy" summer. I was a week into my trip to ME when I got an email that a friend had passed away. I was able to abandon the trip and drive home to be here with my friends. I was then able to take another 2 weeks and go to the Adirondacks, which hadn't been planned. If I'd been at the mercy of flights, reservations, and other restraints I never would have been able to get home in a hurry or get another 2 weeks to try again.

Good luck in your search! Let us know what you end up with!
(This time I'm copying this post into word in case the forum eats it again!)

[Rok]

Thanks for the reply Booster.

Actually, now that you mention it, I think it might have been a 200. I really don't remember the year, but it was around 2000 or so. I looked up comparables online when we were looking at it, and some of THEM might have been 210's. It really was well kept and it had low mileage, but even with all that, it sounded like he was a bit too proud of it price wise, and he gave the air of "take it or leave it" rather than "make me an offer". In other circumstances, we might have made an offer anyway, but we didn't really need it at the moment, and it was at the end of a year and we probably wouldn't use it much until spring, and it was still a year or two until we retired, so we didn't pursue it. We did look at it closely, though and it is what started us thinking on buying a Class B.

I really liked the rig. It seemed to be quality made, and everything fit well--the layout and all. I like the layout of the 210's also because the wide body makes them seem more roomy, but that same width might make them a bit too cumbersome to drive. As said before, my wife recently drove an Airstream Interstate on a 3500 chassis (the one with "duallies"--I think that's what they are called--with two sets of two tires in the rear, anyway). She really loved driving that one--and she hates driving our 2003 VW Eurovan "because it is so big". As you might imagine, that is a huge selling point for me. If we go on long trips and I can get her to do half the driving, that is a BIG bonus.

I think parking the 210's on a street would be a lot more difficult than one of the Sprinter models. I don't know why--it just looks that way.

There is a main thoroughfare running near us in Seattle called Aurora Ave. N. There are a lot of seedy hotels and you can see hookers and drug dealers along that street. There is a guy with a large C unit who parks on the street and offers the street people a cup of coffee or a warm place to chill out. For some reason, the police don't like him.

Anyway, because of the size of his rig and our municipal laws, he has to move his rig every day and park it on a private lot somewhere. I didn't even know such laws existed until I talked with him. We have a small armada of Class Cs that semi-homeless people live in that the city wishes would just go away. There was a street near us that used to be lined with them until the city erected "No parking 2 a.m. to 5 a.m." signs on that street.

I just don't want to end up getting in the middle of some sort of conflict like that when I'm out vacationing. I guess the police tend to figure out whether you are a squatter or a traveler, but I often look like a bum, and I wouldn't want to learn what it feels like to be hit with a baton......if you know what I mean.

Maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion, but the dude helping the hookers has had a lot of run-ins with the authorities and one involving a swat team. Someone is even doing a documentary about what he's doing.

Anyway, my fear, which may be unfounded, is that the 210's might be a little too wide to be stealth--while the Sprinter models might be a little narrower. (I should point out that I'm saying all this without even knowing what the width is on the two models.)

Well, I just did some research, and found out that the Sprinter models are about 10% narrower than the 210's. (6' 8" vs. 7' 4") So, I guess my intuition is right. The sprinters are a damn site taller, however. In fact, as far as RoadTreks are concerned, the Sprinter based models are narrower than any of their other models.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble.

Thanks again for your comments.

..............Rocky

[booster]

Teachergal--maybe you need to change the emblems to Dodge or Freightliner to "improve" your image! Most folks go the other way because the want the Mercedes image, but I am more on your side. I think Freightliner would be my choice, maybe with a big truck air horn to make more real. Hippy, love van in a modern chassis--wonderful!

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by booster

That was probably me.

From your original post " What prompted this was a year or so back we saw a Roadtrek 210 1992 with 35K on it for $35,000"

If it its a 2002, it is a much better deal. Are you sure it is not a Roadtrek 200?

Roadtrek has used the 210 designation twice. in the 90's a 210 was just a bigger van. it was discontinued. then in 2005 the current 210 was created which is the one we know today. the 95 or 2001 Rocky was looking at was NOT like the current 2005 on model.

[Rok]

Thanks for the info, Teachergal.

PleasureWay Plateau, eh..........let me look that one up.

That is nice. I like the layout. We'll have to check that one out, too. Hopefully one of the dealers we are going to tomorrow will have one.

I see that they have gone the way of the 3500 chassis like many others seem to be going.

I think we may have too many choices.

How does your unit drive in the wind? I think with one person it would be better. With one person, there is less stuff to haul around.

My wife used to live & work in the DC & Virginia area and longed for the Northwest--so she moved out here. She frequently thanks herself for making that decision.

Thanks for your comments.

.............Rocky

[Rok]

Hi everyone,

I'm back again after a few excursions to look at, test, and test drive some Class B's.

At first it was a bit daunting. The more we learned, the more ignorant we felt, but my wife and I are both quick learners, and we are now honing in on which rigs we are interested in.

Our first two trips before making a post here were (1) to a Roadtrek & Pleasureway dealer, where we looked at a Roadtrek Adventureous and a Pleasureway "basic?". The Roadtrek had a very high MSRP, and the Pleasureway basic was....well....too basic. We went away thinking Roadtrek too expensive, PWay too low bonus.

Our next excursion was to the Airstream dealer where we tried out the Airstream Interstate. This was our first test drive. Our impression: Driving a Sprinter is wonderful. Airstreams live up to their name, but the price reflects that.

Then I made the original post for this thread and got a lot of good advice from a lot of you.

Our next trip was to see a Winnebago Era. The dealer had them on sale for $85K. Wow, compared to the others this was a bargain. They seemed a little less quality than the RTrek and the Airstream, but for the price difference, the Era was definitely a contender. We drove the Era and found it to be a dream to drive--just like the Airstream--except that the rear view monitor for the Airstream was located on the rear view mirror, and we considered that a bonus.

Then we saw a RTrek 170-- ouch said Goldie Locks, this bed is WAY too small. Then a used RTrek Adventurous at 85K that was WELL used and smelled like wet dogs. Then another NEW RTrek Adventurous that was just as expensive as before, but after seeing the ERA and comparing the price didn't look very attractive. While at that lot, my wife noticed an old (1991) Airstream B-190 on a Ford Econoline chassis. How much? $20K. Hey! Cmparatively, that's cheap, but it was old and tired. We drove away and my wife told me she REALLY liked the old cruster, and we really should consider it. By the time we got home, she wanted to go back and test drive it. We checked out the price and even with low mileage, it was not worth $20K. Nonetheless, we went back the next day in the daylight and test drove the beast. The engine had about 22K (!) on it, but the camping part looked like it had been beat. It WAS classy, certainly classy for its day, but its day was long past, and unless we wanted a project van, it wasn't for us. We didn't, and it wasn't. They even offered it for about $15K and they would fix a bunch of stuff, but we still didn't need a project in our lives.

Our last venture out was to the RTrek & P.Way dealership again. Teachergal had said she loved her Plateau, so we wanted to check that model out, and my wife wanted to look at the RTrek 210 and Agile. We saw them all as well as another Adventurous. The adventurous seemed a little large, too expensive and cluttered. The 210 was similar, but we wouldn't mind it. (We saw a new one in TX for $89K.) Both the Agile and the Pleasure Way Plateau smiled at us. We liked the P.Way Plateau's open floor plan, and the bathroom was the best of all the rigs we've seen. The Agile was very nice considering the limited length, but there are a few places we know off the top of our heads that you could take the Agile, but not any of the other class B's we've looked at. The agile is small, and high priced.

So our list of possibilities has come down to: The P.Way Plateau or the R.Trek SS Agile, with the Winnie Era a distant third mostly based on its low price (and spaceousness, and storage).

So we are honing in on a rig, so our next question is "How do we figure out how to dicker with the salesmen.

Can any one offer us any advise on this topic?

................Rocky Willson

[Rok]

Can anyone tell us what the best way to dicker with these folks is. Is there a way to find out what others have paid for their rigs? I would think that when they are registered that the sales price would be recorded--and I wonder if that is public information. Does anyone know?

Teachergal: You recently bought your Plateau--would you be willing to tell us the price you paid?

After seeing the $128K MSRP for the Roadtrek Adventurous, and the $140K MSRP for the Airstream, the $85K for the 2013 Winnie Era seemed like a breath of fresh air. We wonder: Can we do even better than that. How much more should we pay for the better names. $5k? $10K?, More?

Any advice on this topic would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

..............Rocky

[markopolo]

I'll comment on discounts off MSRP. A few (or more) years ago this topic came up often on the forums. I remember 18% off MSRP being noted as the best you could do (with some luck). In my mind, I set 15% off as a do-able goal after reading all of those posts. People were popping up on forums once a week with new rigs it seemed back then. A discount of 20% or more was readily obtainable on other RV classes but 18% off a Class B is the maximum % I recall being mentioned.

[teachergal]

Rok,
So happy to hear that the Pleateu is on the short list!

One advantage for me of the PW over the Era is that the PW doesn't have the 2nd row of capitain's chairs which takes up a lot of space! In exchange the PW gets at large bathroom, a spacious wardrobe, and a large fridge as well as a large counter and kitchen storage.

Also the PW has a dually so it can carry more weight and the fridge is bigger!

I was a big fan of the Agile as well but now that I have the larger sprinter I wouldn't give up those 5 inches for anything!

I got mine "used" from a private seller. It was quite a deal though as it was a 2011 and she'd only owned it 6 months and it only had 2,000 miles on it! I paid under 90K - but it was a right place at the right time deal!

Good luck in your search!

[Rok]

I don't know how to separate your comments on this forum, so I'll respond to them one by one:

The Plateau is on the short list largely due to your comments here. (1) You said you love it. Unfortunately the first Pleasure Way we were introduced to was some basic rig that we wouldn't wish on anyone. It was cheap, but cheap in both ways. This turned us off to PW until I read your comment that you loved yours. I felt I had to check it out after reading your comments. I don't know if you've been in one of those "low end" PWs, but the difference between that and the Plateau is like the difference in cars between a Yugo and a ...well...a Mercedes. I can't believe both rigs are produced by the same company.

The new PW has a large fridge w/separate freezer, a large bathroom, the only shower where I would feel comfortable showering "in van" standing up. The bed is nice. Bad things are no carpet in the hall (which might actually be a good thing for spills, etc.) and the driver's compartment is cramped--the only cramped Sprinter driver's seat I've found.

The ERA we looked at didn't have the 2nd row captain's chairs. It had a little sofa instead that folds out into a short bed that my wife could sleep on if we were driving each other nuts in the back bed. An extra bed is a nice feature. Neither the Plateau nor the Agile has this option.

The difference between the Agile and the Plateau is more like 5 feet rather than 5 inches, isn't it. (19.5 ft vs. 23.75 ft) The ERA comes in at a whopping 24' 1" which is why they can provide all that extra storage those tricky Winnie ppl. My wife is really concerned about the length of the rig because she wants to do a lot of camping in remote areas. (Not something I really care for.) She has found a number of areas that will allow the Agile but not the others because of length. (A couple of places in Yosemite and Sequoia Natl. Parks, and another in Glacier Natl. Park are examples.) Me: I'd rather have the extra space--especially with the two of us in there.

It sounds like you got a good deal. We haven't started dickering on the units yet, but we can get the ERA new for $85K on special, and I don't expect that we can get the Plateau for that--but we don't know.
I think that the Plateau has a lot higher quality. The Agile seems to be overpriced considering that you get a 2500 chasis and it is the same MSRP as the big R.Treks--and there just isn't as much there.

We are now trying to figure what we want before proceeding and it will take some hard decisions.

Thanks for your comments.

.............Rocky

Originally Posted by teachergal

Rok,
So happy to hear that the Pleateu is on the short list!

One advantage for me of the PW over the Era is that the PW doesn't have the 2nd row of capitain's chairs which takes up a lot of space! In exchange the PW gets at large bathroom, a spacious wardrobe, and a large fridge as well as a large counter and kitchen storage.

Also the PW has a dually so it can carry more weight and the fridge is bigger!

I was a big fan of the Agile as well but now that I have the larger sprinter I wouldn't give up those 5 inches for anything!

I got mine "used" from a private seller. It was quite a deal though as it was a 2011 and she'd only owned it 6 months and it only had 2,000 miles on it! I paid under 90K - but it was a right place at the right time deal!

Good luck in your search!

[Davydd]

The Pleasure-way Plateau RB with a fixed rear bed solves the issue of a cramped cab up front as they have moved the bathroom back away from the driver. This is not a bad plan for two people. The length is 22'-9". There are three lengths sold in America.

Generally Pleasure-way interior fit and finish is a notch above Roadtrek, IMO.

The Winnebago Era Plan version 70A is another fixed bed option. That front seat behind the driver's seat gives one of the best interior lounging area in a B upfront. It is also a two person RV but that front seat gives the option to take along a third person at times. Winnebago gives you the best bang for the buck without question, IMO, especially when you consider all Sprinters are pretty much equal. There are a few safety options that come with the chassis you need to pay attention to and ask to see the original sticker that comes with the Sprinter before conversion.

I think I mentioned before, I would look at Advanced RV and Great West Vans. They are more innovative in features and have great floor plans. With both of them you have to have a little patience and probably should work directly with them to get what you want. They are both very small, high quality converters with a great deal of flexibility.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Rok

Can anyone tell us what the best way to dicker with these folks is. Is there a way to find out what others have paid for their rigs? I would think that when they are registered that the sales price would be recorded--and I wonder if that is public information. Does anyone know?

Teachergal: You recently bought your Plateau--would you be willing to tell us the price you paid?

After seeing the $128K MSRP for the Roadtrek Adventurous, and the $140K MSRP for the Airstream, the $85K for the 2013 Winnie Era seemed like a breath of fresh air. We wonder: Can we do even better than that. How much more should we pay for the better names. $5k? $10K?, More?

Any advice on this topic would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

..............Rocky

Earlier in this thread you casually mentioned avoiding politics. Having read that, it occurred to me that you might actually want to wait a month or two to start looking in earnest with your hard earned cash in hand, and see which way your economy is going to go, should your government not be able to reach an agreement and allow the automatic sequestration to happen. From all accounts, the changes that will occur to taxation and government spending, may trigger a recession. If no solution is reached in the next few days/weeks, and it does throw you into another recession, there might be some deals to be had, both in the used class B market (check the http://www.rvtrader.com and http://www.rvt.com websites for used vans once in a while, and see http://www.nadaguides.com/RVs for some pricing guidelines), as well as dealerships may be more flexible in their pricing, should sales begin to slow appreciably (or abruptly) in Q1 2013.
I also read your "non-political" post on "reasons for going with a class B RV", and I had to chuckle and agree with a lot of the reasons you spoke of, because some of them were the same ones we had when we jumped in 4 years ago. I can't help you pick a van, but you sound like you're doing your homework, so I would wish you good luck, and when you find "the one", you'll know it . Listen to your wife, she sounds like she might be wiling to buy gently used, if the price were right.
Not everyone retires with the same levels of income, and your choice of how you spend it should consider that. We bought what we thought was a good 2002 Roadtrek van at what we thought was a decent price in 2008. We've put over 120,000 miles on it in 4 years, and have no regrets. Don't let yourself over indulge if you can't afford it, and just want to be able to say your van is "brand new". A new set of bedding for a 3 year old or more class B, isn't as expensive as buying a new van that is out of your price range just to get fresh bedding. The older Roadtrek you mentioned at the start of this thread was probably overpriced but not ridiculously when you consider what the dealers are asking for the newer models. And some of the older vans do have better fits and finishes, according to some owners, and in some cases the quality was just better. These class B vans, well maintained, do seem to hold their value longer than other types of vehicles. They are regularly in demand, as more of us retire and create a larger market, and have been for many years, and for many great points that have been raised in this thread (and others before it, sadly you aren't the first person to ask the "which one is best for me" question ).
If you've narrowed it down to a couple of maybes, just try to find one you like that's for sale, at what sounds like a decent price, and start the purchase process. See what kind of a deal you can get, but as I said, it might be worth waiting a week or so, to see how Washington deals with the economic abyss we've been hearing about since the election, and before.
Good luck.
Addendum: Service costs and availability were mentioned in passing earlier in this thread by someone, I believe. It was a good point, and has to be a consideration, since you may pay a lot more for MB (Sprinter) based vehicle repairs, versus other base van platforms (GM/Chrysler/VW/Ford) which might be more readily available in North America. However, the MB vans may be more reliable, and require less regularly scheduled maintanence as a result, so the difference in costs may be negligible over time. It may be a question worth asking, is there a Mercedes Benz dealer near you that will work on your RV's Sprinter chassis, or will you have to have automotive repairs done by an RV dealer? I like the fact that I can get my local GM dealer to do the chassis work on my Roadtrek.