Do you use your Class B as a second car and a daily driver?

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

If you actually use your Class B as a "2nd car" and daily driver...then do you have 365 day or full time insurance coverage on your vehicle??

Secondly, are you doing it to "save money" vs. having a second car?? And don't have any reservations for using it in local bumper to bumper traffic????

[rvsprinterguy]

Hi, Yes, I use my Sprinter as a daily driver and keep it fully insured. FWIW, it gets better fuel economy than my Outback.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by rvsprinterguy

Hi, Yes, I use my Sprinter as a daily driver and keep it fully insured. FWIW, it gets better fuel economy than my Outback.

OK... I have a Subaru Outback Limited with the CVT transmission and 2.5 ....you might have the 3.6 H6?? That's a lot more thirsty.....

My Subaru Outback Limited gets about 21 to 23 MPG in the city...
And 28 on the highway..


Who is your insurance company?? Mine is Progressive Insurance...
I have a pretty good rate on the Sprinter...30 to 150 days per year.. still not cheap..$1,200 per year...

My car is with Liberty Mutual and they couldn't be price competitive on the Sprinter..I looked into it.......

Maybe you are in a rural area and your rates are less??

The city MPG on my Sprinter is around 16.... that's definitely less than my Subaru Outback.. again...makes a difference on how you drive....

There's places I can't just park the Sprinter.... how's this working for you???

Let me know...

[rvsprinterguy]

Our insurer is AAA. We're in the SF Bay Area. I don't feel our insurance rates are out of line, so I never even thought of insuring it for only part of the year.

My Outback has the 2.5 turbo and I have sort of a lead foot. 16 mpg is about all I get in it around town. Since the Sprinter goes from zero-to-60 only eventually, I probably drive it more economically.

When I park it, it's often in a good-size lot where I occupy two remote-ish spaces. Occasionally, I have to parallel park it, which tends to amuse bystanders. Fortunately, my driveway is be enough for it, so I don't have to park it on the street.

When I characterize the Sprinter as a daily driver, what I mean is I'm as likely to take it as the Subaru when I go somewhere. I work from home... if I were commuting, I wouldn't use the Sprinter for that.

[goreds2]

My Class B is considered my Second car. I have full coverage all year. $240 for a full year. It is a 1989. I plan on driving it to work on Thursday. Got to keep it exercised.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by rvsprinterguy

Our insurer is AAA. We're in the SF Bay Area. I don't feel our insurance rates are out of line, so I never even thought of insuring it for only part of the year.

My Outback has the 2.5 turbo and I have sort of a lead foot. 16 mpg is about all I get in it around town. Since the Sprinter goes from zero-to-60 only eventually, I probably drive it more economically.

When I park it, it's often in a good-size lot where I occupy two remote-ish spaces. Occasionally, I have to parallel park it, which tends to amuse bystanders. Fortunately, my driveway is be enough for it, so I don't have to park it on the street.

When I characterize the Sprinter as a daily driver, what I mean is I'm as likely to take it as the Subaru when I go somewhere. I work from home... if I were commuting, I wouldn't use the Sprinter for that.

That's a really great rate.....

You must be "outside the city limits"... I know how congested SF is... I really don't like driving there....and parking a Sprinter or anything else in the city is a freaking nightmare..cue George Romero...

I have full coverage ...100,000/$300,000 liability, zero comp and $250 deductible for collision.....got zinged on a BS ticket in Texas..( I wasn't speeding..it was ridiculous)...
Before this.. my insurance was around $900 with the $500 deductible..
Only thing is..had a cracked windshield and guess what...had to pay the $500 for the entire thing... decided to change....

Anyway...as well you know.. there's "red lining" in the state and LA I've discovered gets slammed on insurance rates..... I have friends in Santa Cruz who pay about 25 percent what we pay...

Yeah..the Subaru turbo....ahh... heavy foot..... they can easily burn fuel...
What year is your Subaru? Make sure you have the timing belt, tensioner bearings and water pump thermostat changed at 100,000 miles.. And don't let it overheat...two heads on the car.. I actually LOVE my Subaru... My recollection is that they haven't had the 2.5 turbo after 2010..so watch out for head gaskets...they have multi layered head gaskets replacement parts now.. much better..

My insurance company, Progressive, is written as a recreational use ... not as a commuter... I'm retired...I don't commute to work....I take it out for service and when I need to.... most of the time it just sits in the driveway... they love that.... minimal exposure....
In insurance....it's ALL about exposure.....

We do take the rig on long distance trips...day trips and cross country... we're going across the USA in the fall....and it will be my daily driver while we're out of town... that's usually a 6,000 miles trip....

Yes, we have two other cars....and the Sprinter is usually just here parked...we do take it out for periodic exercise...

You're getting more regular use from your rig....every day??
Make sure you drive for at least 30 minutes at 60 MPH to clean out the diesel particulate filter..it regenerates itself ... don't let that get too gummed up.

What year is your Sprinter and what model.???. mine is a 2012 RS Adventurous...
Made a significant number of improvements and upgrades... solar panel, rear proximity sensors, new KONI FSD shocks, anti-sway bar, track bar...made a significant handling difference.... I don't know what you are used to ... but, my cabinets used to shake like an earthquake...all of this is pretty much gone...

AND, the wind factor on the open road is much better...drives beautiful...

How's your service been?? I had some surprise issues...glow plugs had to be replaced ... entire emissions system replaced... thank GOD that was under warranty......
In case you didn't know..... the emissions system is under warranty for 8 years or 80,000 miles

Here's a couple of pics of my RS Adventurous.... my Sprinter has 41,000 miles...got it in May 2017 with 26,000 from the original owners through a dealership... they traded theirs to get a Winnebago Navion....( We almost purchased the Navion.. liked the way this drove much better)....

---Mark

[<<B-Guy>>]

When we get our Sprinter, the intent is to certainly use it as a second car as and when needed so I had never thought about insuring for anything less than full time.

In reality I suppose it wont get used a whole lot though as both of us are retired - and have been for many years!

Probably use it more in the winter if weather is bad - they don't always do the greatest job of ploughing the secondary roads where we live up here near Toronto. I know the ground clearance on the PW/Sprinter won't be the greatest, and maybe with dual wheels it won't be the best in snow, but still likely better than the little VW GTI we are driving around in at the moment after selling our 3/4 ton diesel truck! I miss that truck already!

Perhaps I should see about trading the GTI on some small SUV that we could perhaps tow with the sprinter if we decided to do that - although I would probably prefer not to tow a vehicle unless we find we need to.

Brian.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

When we get our Sprinter, the intent is to certainly use it as a second car as and when needed so I had never thought about insuring for anything less than full time.

In reality I suppose it wont get used a whole lot though as both of us are retired - and have been for many years!

Probably use it more in the winter if weather is bad - they don't always do the greatest job of ploughing the secondary roads where we live up here near Toronto. I know the ground clearance on the PW/Sprinter won't be the greatest, and maybe with dual wheels it won't be the best in snow, but still likely better than the little VW GTI we are driving around in at the moment after selling our 3/4 ton diesel truck! I miss that truck already!

Perhaps I should see about trading the GTI on some small SUV that we could perhaps tow with the sprinter if we decided to do that - although I would probably prefer not to tow a vehicle unless we find we need to.

Brian.

OK.... If you're planning on towing a "boat"... yeah, I get it. A car? Why?? If you need to go somewhere when even camping, just hop in the Sprinter...

As for using your Sprinter exclusively as your second vehicle... I would strongly advise you to let your insurance company know that... Again, we definitely use our Sprinter as our primary vehicle when we travel across country and go to our second residence.. it's our only vehicle there.
We have two other cars here in LA..

I've heard that the roads in Toronto and Montreal are really bad... maybe worse in Montreal?

I wouldn't worry too much about the dual wheels, and frankly on another thread this topic has been talked about a lot. One thing I would strongly suggest is a tire pressure monitoring system (cost is around $300, I have Truck System Technologies, works great) and get valve extensions.

I'm familiar with the floor plan of the vehicle you're getting, nice front area behind the driver and passenger... no 2nd row seats or cabinets.
You probably saw the pictures I posted above, we have the option of four seats up front or two cabinets....when we travel we use the cabinets.

And, you might want to consider changing your shocks BEFORE you take delivery, I have the Koni FSD shocks... seems like a lot of RV manufacturers don't do anything with the base vehicle and it shakes and rattles more than a 60s rock group

Now that I have the Koni's, larger anti-sway bar and track bar, the handling is so much better ... drives like a different vehicle.

I don't know ... maybe you'll save money just having this as second car full time.... We have two other cars and if the insurance company thought I was using the Sprinter as a "second car" just about anytime, they WOULD probably raise our rates.

Plus this saves the miles on our Sprinter for long distance road trips which is exactly why I purchased it.

We have a city car for short commutes, Subaru Outback for mid range trips and the RS for long distance trips. Not to mention parking in LA with the Sprinter except for large suburban areas and huge parking lots is a problem.

When do you get your Sprinter?

Good luck.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

OK.... If you're planning on towing a "boat"... yeah, I get it. A car? Why?? If you need to go somewhere when even camping, just hop in the Sprinter...

As for using your Sprinter exclusively as your second vehicle... I would strongly advise you to let your insurance company know that... Again, we definitely use our Sprinter as our primary vehicle when we travel across country and go to our second residence.. it's our only vehicle there.
We have two other cars here in LA..

I've heard that the roads in Toronto and Montreal are really bad... maybe worse in Montreal?

I wouldn't worry too much about the dual wheels, and frankly on another thread this topic has been talked about a lot. One thing I would strongly suggest is a tire pressure monitoring system (cost is around $300, I have Truck System Technologies, works great) and get valve extensions.

I'm familiar with the floor plan of the vehicle you're getting, nice front area behind the driver and passenger... no 2nd row seats or cabinets.
You probably saw the pictures I posted above, we have the option of four seats up front or two cabinets....when we travel we use the cabinets.

And, you might want to consider changing your shocks BEFORE you take delivery, I have the Koni FSD shocks... seems like a lot of RV manufacturers don't do anything with the base vehicle and it shakes and rattles more than a 60s rock group

Now that I have the Koni's, larger anti-sway bar and track bar, the handling is so much better ... drives like a different vehicle.

I don't know ... maybe you'll save money just having this as second car full time.... We have two other cars and if the insurance company thought I was using the Sprinter as a "second car" just about anytime, they WOULD probably raise our rates.

Plus this saves the miles on our Sprinter for long distance road trips which is exactly why I purchased it.

We have a city car for short commutes, Subaru Outback for mid range trips and the RS for long distance trips. Not to mention parking in LA with the Sprinter except for large suburban areas and huge parking lots is a problem.

When do you get your Sprinter?

Good luck.

Hi Mark,

Of course we will be letting the insurance company know how we intend to use it.

Usually they ask our expected annual mileage, and it will be very low.

Apart from RV trips, the van is likely only to be used locally if my wife and I have conflicting appointments, or it we need to move something large. We are both retired and have been for a long while. We live close to shops, library, etc. so don't have a great need to drive much. Don't want to own three vehicles either so I just sold one last week in anticipation of getting the van!

I don't anticipate parking issues if we use the van locally - in all probability, when we do use it it will be parked in malls or large car parks so we'll just have to eithe find a spot around the edge of the car park or take up one and a bit spot! Pretty much what we always did with our 3/4 ton crew cab pickup truck.


One of the first things I will be doing is adding TPMS to the van, I am a big believer in them and always have been. I already ave two complete aftermarket TPMS sets of monitor/sensors on hand, so all I need do is to install the metal valve stems if the van does not come so-equipped.

As for towing a car with the van, it is not at all my intent to do so at this time and I hope not to.

However, I keep an open mind about these things, so have thought that if we replace our present car in the near future, it might be worth trying to replace it with one that we "Could" flat tow if our thoughts change after getting used to the van. Im sure once we have owned the van for a few months we wil be able to decide one way or the other.

I don't believe I will be making any significant modifications to the van until we have experienced it for a while so I can determine from our perspective if we see any need. Won't be anyone riding in the back for one thing. As well, I don't like to alter things to a vehicle much while it is still under warranty.

We spent many months looking at all the different "B" vans on the market and the PW Plateau with that usable front lounge giving two living areas seemed far and away the layout that best suited our needs based on many years of RV'ing.

The beautiful interior decor and high quality reputation were also deciding factors.

About the only thing we were not so thrilled about was the smaller bathroom compared to some other models - such as the Plateau TS. Only so much space to work with of course and we decided we could live with the smaller bathroom to get the front lounge. Hopefully we will spend a lot more time in the lounge than in the bathroom - that was how we rationalised our choice!

It is a 2019 and is scheduled for delivery in late September so I hope we can take a few short "shake down" trips locally this Fall to become familiar and get any bugs ironed out, if any, before heading south on another longer trip in the winter as we have done every year for the last 20 years!

Cheers .... Brian.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

Hi Mark,

Of course we will be letting the insurance company know how we intend to use it.

Usually they ask our expected annual mileage, and it will be very low.

Apart from RV trips, the van is likely only to be used locally if my wife and I have conflicting appointments, or it we need to move something large. We are both retired and have been for a long while. We live close to shops, library, etc. so don't have a great need to drive much. Don't want to own three vehicles either so I just sold one last week in anticipation of getting the van!

I don't anticipate parking issues if we use the van locally - in all probability, when we do use it it will be parked in malls or large car parks so we'll just have to eithe find a spot around the edge of the car park or take up one and a bit spot! Pretty much what we always did with our 3/4 ton crew cab pickup truck.


One of the first things I will be doing is adding TPMS to the van, I am a big believer in them and always have been. I already ave two complete aftermarket TPMS sets of monitor/sensors on hand, so all I need do is to install the metal valve stems if the van does not come so-equipped.

As for towing a car with the van, it is not at all my intent to do so at this time and I hope not to.

However, I keep an open mind about these things, so have thought that if we replace our present car in the near future, it might be worth trying to replace it with one that we "Could" flat tow if our thoughts change after getting used to the van. Im sure once we have owned the van for a few months we wil be able to decide one way or the other.

I don't believe I will be making any significant modifications to the van until we have experienced it for a while so I can determine from our perspective if we see any need. Won't be anyone riding in the back for one thing. As well, I don't like to alter things to a vehicle much while it is still under warranty.

We spent many months looking at all the different "B" vans on the market and the PW Plateau with that usable front lounge giving two living areas seemed far and away the layout that best suited our needs based on many years of RV'ing.

The beautiful interior decor and high quality reputation were also deciding factors.

About the only thing we were not so thrilled about was the smaller bathroom compared to some other models - such as the Plateau TS. Only so much space to work with of course and we decided we could live with the smaller bathroom to get the front lounge. Hopefully we will spend a lot more time in the lounge than in the bathroom - that was how we rationalised our choice!

It is a 2019 and is scheduled for delivery in late September so I hope we can take a few short "shake down" trips locally this Fall to become familiar and get any bugs ironed out, if any, before heading south on another longer trip in the winter as we have done every year for the last 20 years!

Cheers .... Brian.

Good morning Brian,

I've been retired since 2012.... and love it... WOW...lots of people said you're going to hate being retired, my answer is try it...you might just like it...

I'm enjoying myself... people's expectations of "what are you going to do" ....the hell with them.... I'll do whatever I want....

Back to your Plateau FL...it's a lovely rig....I know someone else who has one...
The front living space is marvelous...it really does feel like there's two separate spaces on the coach... and I agree with you...how much time are you really going to be in the bathroom (or want to be)...

Our set up is that we have a "flexible" front area...we can remove the second row of seats which is what we normally do when traveling and put the extra armoire cabinets just behind the front driver and passenger seats... giving us extra cabinet organization....on long distance trips around the USA...this is perfect...

OR...we can take out one or both of the cabinets and have four seats up front.....

Since having the rig for just over a year ago now...I'm familiar with how it rides and handles..the rear seats are available... but, for the most part it's not the place you want to be riding for any long distance..,.it's a little bumpier back there...more vibrations....
The reason for this is the leaf springs suspension ..

I've had a lot of upgrades for this including the KONI FSD shocks, the anti-sway bar from Roadmaster and the proprietary track bar from Super Steer...

Listen, it will NOT have any effect on the warranty of your vehicle if you choose to do some or all of this..... AND...you may be perfectly fine with the way it rides and handles...

Never thought for a minute that my vehicle with 39,000 miles needed new shocks....I was SHOCKED to hear it..... WHAT I learned was coach builders like Roadtrek, Pleasure Way, Leisure Travel, Airstream... they just build out the inside and add the extra gear... tanks, generator, cabinets, appliances, etc...

All of this constant weight in all sorts of places changes the vehicle dynamics of the vehicle. Mercedes Benz sells a lot of these Sprinters for all sorts of applications... they don't know how it will be used and adding all that heavy equipment on the chassis really does make a significant difference...

I had a teardrop trailer before I got the van..hated towing.... and backing up...

My advice is this...if you can avoid towing an extra car... skip it.
OR...if you do.... make sure it's a vehicle that can do what the van won't... like a Jeep Wrangler with 4 wheel drive.. especially if you want to go somewhere off road....

Otherwise, just drive the van everywhere you need to go... simple....

Sounds like you won't be making any really "long distance trips" from what you said....( maybe you will)....

We have a second residence 2,500 miles away....and we normally go there once a year...

We used to fly there all the time, but, with all of the airline BS and costs for a rental car once we get there and stay awhile...it makes more sense to drive....... besides, we normally try and map out destinations along the way to see things we wouldn't normally see.....
Can't see anything from an airplane seat....

"SHAKE DOWN" cruise....yes... I understand... good idea..... don't worry.. you'll probably find something.. that's normal... I've heard it's common on new units...

You'd think or like to that a "brand new rig" would be perfect!!
Don't know why this is so common??

How long is your warranty???

Really thought of buying "new"..... deprecation was a huge deterrent for me... but, I had to do so many things... I would say that I only saved about $50,000 buying the used rig....
I have a little more than $100,000 invested in my RV.....a similarly priced model would have been $150,000 including tax, license and registration...

Those first couple of years on deprecation is a real thing... BUT, if you keep it for a pretty long time and use it...(don't let that sit around unused)....then over time you will definitely get your money's worth.....

I know many people who are always trading in their cars for a newer model , every 3 or 4 years.. they're getting killed on the deprecation... they don't even know how bad it is... same thing with the RV's....no matter what... don't do it.....

The other person I mentioned with the Plateau FL...he's trading it in for a larger size Class C...his DW decided it was too small...

They should have been on the same page when they got the Class B...

My DW sometimes wishes we had more room, but we decided together that this would be fine for us...I agree it's small..but nothing handles or gets the fuel economy of the B's....

Here's another thing.... when we were just about to purchase the Winnebago Navion...the sales guy says... the roof is guaranteed against leaks for 10 years.... but, then says ... that excludes the "SEAMS".... WOW... do you think I'm an idiot...the seams are the roof...

You'll probably never have any leaking on your rig....in the 20 years I had my old Honda with a sunroof.. not once did the roof leak... when they cut panels into vehicles with a metal roof..and have gaskets for seals it's very unusual for them to fail....

The Class C's are a whole different animal... they just get a cutaway chassis and bulld their own box on top of that..... definitely NOT a metal roof....

I think you are going to love the Pleasure Way.... enjoy....

The Sprinter diesel is a wonderful vehicle...has plenty of power...a marvel of engineering.. quiet and gets 18 MPG highway reliably....I've even gotten 20 MPG at 60 MPH....

Cheers,

---MARK

[Ron J. Moore]

This is my second B, the first a new '05 RT190P that we run all over the country and loved every minute. We have since bought '15 210 new, knowing that it would be used as a daily driver due to medical considerations. My wife and I can go shopping, when I tire, I can go lay down, have a drink or snack - and she can continue shopping. To us, the B is an ideal vehicle for seniors, it has all the amenities of a small apartment, especial that toilet. We still camp, but closer to home, and you couldn't pry it from our hands. I have Progressive, full-time coverage and no complaints for what I have in return. Ron

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Ron J. Moore

This is my second B, the first a new '05 RT190P that we run all over the country and loved every minute. We have since bought '15 210 new, knowing that it would be used as a daily driver due to medical considerations. My wife and I can go shopping, when I tire, I can go lay down, have a drink or snack - and she can continue shopping. To us, the B is an ideal vehicle for seniors, it has all the amenities of a small apartment, especial that toilet. We still camp, but closer to home, and you couldn't pry it from our hands. I have Progressive, full-time coverage and no complaints for what I have in return. Ron

Oh my... well glad that is working fine for you...

On Progressive Insurance... what geographic area do you live in...not a big city??
And what is the cost difference between part time and full time???

If it's not too much...I'd consider selling my car and saving money for that every year....I pay about $1250 per year on each of the vehicles....$2500 for the cars and $1200 for the RV part time....it gets EXPENSIVE...

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Ron J. Moore

This is my second B, the first a new '05 RT190P that we run all over the country and loved every minute. We have since bought '15 210 new, knowing that it would be used as a daily driver due to medical considerations. My wife and I can go shopping, when I tire, I can go lay down, have a drink or snack - and she can continue shopping. To us, the B is an ideal vehicle for seniors, it has all the amenities of a small apartment, especial that toilet. We still camp, but closer to home, and you couldn't pry it from our hands. I have Progressive, full-time coverage and no complaints for what I have in return. Ron

+1 on using my B-van as man-cave while wife shops. I use mine as second vehicle all year long. Use RV antifreeze to manually flush toilet in winter.

I live in a Maryland suburb between Wash DC and Baltimore. I have Progressive on the van - annual premium is $719 with full coverage, but a $1000 deductible on Collision coverage. I learned a long time ago if you can handle a higher deductible it saves a lot of money over the long run.

[bwolfsohn]

how does partial coverage work ?? do you keep a log ? let them know when you're using it ??? just wondering while i search for my perfect B.

are you covered if a tree falls on it while you're home and "not insured" ??

[goreds2]

Originally Posted by Ron J. Moore

This is my second B, the first a new '05 RT190P that we run all over the country and loved every minute. We have since bought '15 210 new, knowing that it would be used as a daily driver due to medical considerations. My wife and I can go shopping, when I tire, I can go lay down, have a drink or snack - and she can continue shopping. To us, the B is an ideal vehicle for seniors, it has all the amenities of a small apartment, especial that toilet. We still camp, but closer to home, and you couldn't pry it from our hands. I have Progressive, full-time coverage and no complaints for what I have in return. Ron

The Fiance' and I are going to start doing this. We are 55. I love the idea !

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Good morning Brian,

I've been retired since 2012.... and love it... WOW...lots of people said you're going to hate being retired, my answer is try it...you might just like it...

I'm enjoying myself... people's expectations of "what are you going to do" ....the hell with them.... I'll do whatever I want....

Back to your Plateau FL...it's a lovely rig....I know someone else who has one...
The front living space is marvelous...it really does feel like there's two separate spaces on the coach... and I agree with you...how much time are you really going to be in the bathroom (or want to be)...

Our set up is that we have a "flexible" front area...we can remove the second row of seats which is what we normally do when traveling and put the extra armoire cabinets just behind the front driver and passenger seats... giving us extra cabinet organization....on long distance trips around the USA...this is perfect...

OR...we can take out one or both of the cabinets and have four seats up front.....

Since having the rig for just over a year ago now...I'm familiar with how it rides and handles..the rear seats are available... but, for the most part it's not the place you want to be riding for any long distance..,.it's a little bumpier back there...more vibrations....
The reason for this is the leaf springs suspension ..

I've had a lot of upgrades for this including the KONI FSD shocks, the anti-sway bar from Roadmaster and the proprietary track bar from Super Steer...

Listen, it will NOT have any effect on the warranty of your vehicle if you choose to do some or all of this..... AND...you may be perfectly fine with the way it rides and handles...

Never thought for a minute that my vehicle with 39,000 miles needed new shocks....I was SHOCKED to hear it..... WHAT I learned was coach builders like Roadtrek, Pleasure Way, Leisure Travel, Airstream... they just build out the inside and add the extra gear... tanks, generator, cabinets, appliances, etc...

All of this constant weight in all sorts of places changes the vehicle dynamics of the vehicle. Mercedes Benz sells a lot of these Sprinters for all sorts of applications... they don't know how it will be used and adding all that heavy equipment on the chassis really does make a significant difference...

I had a teardrop trailer before I got the van..hated towing.... and backing up...

My advice is this...if you can avoid towing an extra car... skip it.
OR...if you do.... make sure it's a vehicle that can do what the van won't... like a Jeep Wrangler with 4 wheel drive.. especially if you want to go somewhere off road....

Otherwise, just drive the van everywhere you need to go... simple....

Sounds like you won't be making any really "long distance trips" from what you said....( maybe you will)....

We have a second residence 2,500 miles away....and we normally go there once a year...

We used to fly there all the time, but, with all of the airline BS and costs for a rental car once we get there and stay awhile...it makes more sense to drive....... besides, we normally try and map out destinations along the way to see things we wouldn't normally see.....
Can't see anything from an airplane seat....

"SHAKE DOWN" cruise....yes... I understand... good idea..... don't worry.. you'll probably find something.. that's normal... I've heard it's common on new units...

You'd think or like to that a "brand new rig" would be perfect!!
Don't know why this is so common??

How long is your warranty???

Really thought of buying "new"..... deprecation was a huge deterrent for me... but, I had to do so many things... I would say that I only saved about $50,000 buying the used rig....
I have a little more than $100,000 invested in my RV.....a similarly priced model would have been $150,000 including tax, license and registration...

Those first couple of years on deprecation is a real thing... BUT, if you keep it for a pretty long time and use it...(don't let that sit around unused)....then over time you will definitely get your money's worth.....

I know many people who are always trading in their cars for a newer model , every 3 or 4 years.. they're getting killed on the deprecation... they don't even know how bad it is... same thing with the RV's....no matter what... don't do it.....

The other person I mentioned with the Plateau FL...he's trading it in for a larger size Class C...his DW decided it was too small...

They should have been on the same page when they got the Class B...

My DW sometimes wishes we had more room, but we decided together that this would be fine for us...I agree it's small..but nothing handles or gets the fuel economy of the B's....

Here's another thing.... when we were just about to purchase the Winnebago Navion...the sales guy says... the roof is guaranteed against leaks for 10 years.... but, then says ... that excludes the "SEAMS".... WOW... do you think I'm an idiot...the seams are the roof...

You'll probably never have any leaking on your rig....in the 20 years I had my old Honda with a sunroof.. not once did the roof leak... when they cut panels into vehicles with a metal roof..and have gaskets for seals it's very unusual for them to fail....

The Class C's are a whole different animal... they just get a cutaway chassis and bulld their own box on top of that..... definitely NOT a metal roof....

I think you are going to love the Pleasure Way.... enjoy....

The Sprinter diesel is a wonderful vehicle...has plenty of power...a marvel of engineering.. quiet and gets 18 MPG highway reliably....I've even gotten 20 MPG at 60 MPH....

Cheers,

---MARK

20 years retired for me Mark and still enjoying it immensely - took early retirement at 56 with a nice "Golden handshake" and pretty decent pension.

Even so I was a bit concerned $$ might become a problem doen the road - but not yet and at this stage I don't suppose it will - thankfully!

I do believe we will still do some long trips with the van. Every winter in the last 20 we have taken our trailers to Florida, Arizona, or California. The last few years I was finding hauling that big trailer a little more stressfull, especially trying to shoe horn into more convoluted back in sites on twisty state park road. One of the main reasons to switch now to the van was to extend our RV'ing years so we fully intend keeping these trips up as long as we enjoy them. As well I do believe we will use the van in the summer much more that we did with our trailer since I can keep it in our driveway rather than in storage a half hour away.

I will certainly keep in mind your suspension mods and be after you for more info if I am not happy with the way the van handles.

We did indeed have rain leaks on all of the trailers that we owned, I am hoping that will be much less of an issue with the van.

I was very much torn between Roadtrek and Pleasureway. In the case of RT, I really liked their 6 yr all-inclusive warranty. PW does give five - but not on the appliances. Another advantage was RT's proximity to our home - about an hour away.

I big deciding factor though was that my wife just did not take to any of the RT interiors and was very taken by the decor in the PW. She was not where near as enthused to move to a van as I was and so to some extent it was a concession to make her happier! I really did like the Front lounge layout too that I dont believ RT offer at this time.

As for new versus used, I absolutely know that this is not a sensible move, economically, especially at my age!

But in all my years of RV'ing - must be around 50!! I have never owned a new RV and have always done all my own repairs sometimes it seems spending half our holiday trips fixing things! So I just decided for once to treat myself!

Our kids will do well eough out of us anyway - and one may even decide to keep the van!

So I'm fine with that - but I do take your point from the stand point of simple economics, the main reason I have always bought used all my life --- until now!

Brian.

[hepcat]

This is my second b-van and my “third car” and pickup/utility van. I own apartment buildings, one 300 miles from my home (long story.) I’m also retired from employment, but I have a couple of apartment buildings as inflation-resistant retirement income generators. They don’t work that way but it sounds good.

Anyway, I use the b-van when I go to my buildings, and because it’s a rear dinette I can haul plywood or other building materials down the “alley” in the middle if necessary. I also use it to go shopping with my wife and take the dogs as it has the propane furnace and/or generator and AC when the weather is extreme. I took it to Holland Michigan last week and towed my new Seaward 19 Fox cat-rigged sailboat home with. I stayed overnight on the road. My b-van is really a jack-of-all-trades. It’s been to San Diego and south Texas. It’s likely to go to New Hampshire sometime this fall.

I drive it year-round, and just winterize it for winter use. If it’s winter, and I want to use it to travel, I have a porta-potty instead of the toilet, and I use a dish pan and carry bottled water instead of the tank.

I think the license on it is $65/year and insurance is about $250/year.

The B-van I had before was an Airstream B-190 with the 460 and a rear toilet/tub/shower and without a generator. It just didn’t work as well for my purposes as this Coachmen does.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

20 years retired for me Mark and still enjoying it immensely - took early retirement at 56 with a nice "Golden handshake" and pretty decent pension.

Even so I was a bit concerned $$ might become a problem doen the road - but not yet and at this stage I don't suppose it will - thankfully!

I do believe we will still do some long trips with the van. Every winter in the last 20 we have taken our trailers to Florida, Arizona, or California. The last few years I was finding hauling that big trailer a little more stressfull, especially trying to shoe horn into more convoluted back in sites on twisty state park road. One of the main reasons to switch now to the van was to extend our RV'ing years so we fully intend keeping these trips up as long as we enjoy them. As well I do believe we will use the van in the summer much more that we did with our trailer since I can keep it in our driveway rather than in storage a half hour away.

I will certainly keep in mind your suspension mods and be after you for more info if I am not happy with the way the van handles.

We did indeed have rain leaks on all of the trailers that we owned, I am hoping that will be much less of an issue with the van.

I was very much torn between Roadtrek and Pleasureway. In the case of RT, I really liked their 6 yr all-inclusive warranty. PW does give five - but not on the appliances. Another advantage was RT's proximity to our home - about an hour away.

I big deciding factor though was that my wife just did not take to any of the RT interiors and was very taken by the decor in the PW. She was not where near as enthused to move to a van as I was and so to some extent it was a concession to make her happier! I really did like the Front lounge layout too that I dont believ RT offer at this time.

As for new versus used, I absolutely know that this is not a sensible move, economically, especially at my age!

But in all my years of RV'ing - must be around 50!! I have never owned a new RV and have always done all my own repairs sometimes it seems spending half our holiday trips fixing things! So I just decided for once to treat myself!

Our kids will do well eough out of us anyway - and one may even decide to keep the van!

So I'm fine with that - but I do take your point from the stand point of simple economics, the main reason I have always bought used all my life --- until now!

Brian.

Hi Brian,

Actually..a little clarification.. my job ended around 2011.... I tried looking for another job.. but.. it was the height of the recession and when I realized that this wasn't a possibility..I decided to take early retirement.... glad I did.....I'm 66 and have a friend who is dying in the hospital from cancer.... here's my advice to people... there's no point in being the richest person in Forest Lawn cemetery...

I was very lucky to have had a long career at the same place with good benefits...I understand...

Looking back at all this and seeing how many people are struggling today... I don't think I could do this if I were starting all over again....


Regarding the handling of your van.... here's the people I consulted with ...call and talk to Dave.. they will work with your local RV shop who can service your rig and send the parts to them directly... they work with a lot of shops and many places know Super Steer.....
They have been in business since 1961 and go to all the RV shows....

The KONI FSD shocks are designed for RV'S...the Roadmaster anti sway bar is substantially larger than the stock Mercedes Benz Sprinter and the propietary "track bar" was designed at Super Steer for these particular applications....

Super Steer

458 Redwood Hwy, Grants Pass, OR 97527
(541) 955-0769

https://g.co/kgs/pSocJV

You're right...no front lounge at Roadtrek as far as I know... And, it's all about compromise with the DW...you made the right decision...

Listen..5 years warranty is pretty good... let me tell you what I learned in the first year...
By the end of the 5th or 6th year you're looking at replacement of tires, brakes, batteries and propane sensor alarm..( they time out and give false alarms).

All of this happened to me within the first three months or so of ownership...

Plus, my sewer line cracked...glow plugs failure and a few other things...

I elected to add the ZAMP solar panels system and controller ( really good idea and works wonderfully) and upgraded my backup camera, radio and navigation system.. plus added rear proximity sensors so whenever I get close to an object backing up...the system goes off like a fire alarm....

The suspension upgrade came a year later..and I couldn't be more pleased....
Last year in September I took the rig on an 11,000 miles journey across the USA and back ...we encountered high winds and some stability issues.. along with the rattling around of the coach on uneven pavement etc.....

All of this has disappeared with the suspension upgrade....did I really want to spend an extra $3,100...NO.... but with the changes and marked improvement I'm glad I did..

Some people on the forum told me that "I was wasting the money" and should have spent money on an "air suspension"...you can always do more.... my advice is do what makes sense in your budget....I was NOT going to spend somewhere around $10,000 for an air suspension...

My suspension upgrade was expensive enough....

At your age... sure... why NOT get a brand new rig...you can't take it with you....
Good for you...if I were 76 I might have done the same thing....

This is my first and probably last RV...the decision to go used was just to save some money... but, having purchased the rig for around $79,000 plus tax license registration and some first year financing... the vehicle cost me a total of $90,000......

With all the improvements, minor repairs, maintenance...I have about $105,000 invested... out the door....

Now. I looked at the 2017 Roadtrek RS Adventurous... they wanted $155,000 for that and it didn't have the solar panels on the rear proximity sensors...

The main difference between my 2012 and the 2017 was really five years....

My 2012 is built on the Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500 chassis from 2011 and the 2017 was built on the 2016 model year.....

Of course the used one had 26,000 miles and the new one 2,600 miles....

Here's the exact vehicle I purchased in May 2017...see link below.....

https://www.conejowholesaleauto.com/...beffb59e9eb708

Also included are some pictures I took....

I couldn't see passing this used vehicle up... even with all the little things that I had to do to get it in the shape I wanted.....

I've been told and did some statistical analysis and found that after five years...the deprecation on these vehicles slows down considerably.... It still depreciates though...
I figured that if I had continued with the finance company and interest...I would have paid an additional $57,000 for the vehicle..... didn't want to do this.....

Paying myself back the amount I initially financed....at least it takes some sting of the the equation....and having the vehicle serviced professionally is expensive ...RV shop and Mercedes Benz.....

Because I'm not super mechanically inclined .... I NEVER work on my vehicles.... I want it done professionally and correct the first time..... just me.....

One other thing about living in Southern California...we don't have any rust... vehicles typically last 20 years or more as long as you want to keep them serviced and repaired....

Best of luck with your Pleasure Way.... let me know how it goes especially the Mercedes Benz....this is my first diesel engine...runs extremely well...


---Mark

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by bwolfsohn

how does partial coverage work ?? do you keep a log ? let them know when you're using it ??? just wondering while i search for my perfect B.

are you covered if a tree falls on it while you're home and "not insured" ??

OF course it's covered 100 percent all the time.....and NO.. I don't have to keep any log or call them when I take it out...

Part time means it's NOT one of your primary vehicles....

We have two other cars...one for myself and my wife... that's it..

And the insurance company knows we use the van for recreational purposes...and occasionally take it for service etc.......

They have three levels....less than 30 days per year....
30 to 150 days per year and full time......we have the 30 to 150 days per year plan....and we can use it anytime....but they know it's not our daily driver....

THERE'S NO TIME WHEN IT'S NOT INSURED...it doesn't work that way....

[ponti33602]

Our Agile is our only 4-wheel vehicle. I also have a small motorcycle. I wouldn't say it is our daily driver as we typically walk to and from work each day but it does usually see a little action on the weekend.