Help Me Decide on a RV

[Davydd]

The Great West Van photo I posted was with the sofa all the way back in the normal position. But even if put in a forward position two people can still sit on the sofa in a campground situation. They just can't ride there because the seatbelts won't reach and you cannot make up the bed without removing any stored item that projects more than 12" high. Why would one want to push the sofa forward? I would think mainly to haul a couple of bikes inside and once at a campground bikes would be easy to store outside and lock up. Everything else including our two inflatable kayaks and screen tent stay where they are with bed made up or sofa all the way back. Those three items alone not counting everything else we haul under our sofa would be impossible to store underneath an electric sofa in any other B. I checked that carefully. The point about having a sofa moved forward is that it is an option that no one else has.

The Great West Van Sprinter Legend also has an option of a fixed king size bed with massive storage as the previous post photo shows and an option for a twin bed arrangement.

Now here's the kicker. The new Great West Legend EX will have a 16" clear full height cargo space behind the sofa without moving the sofa forward and still legally useable underway. Right now I don't think anyone else has that kind of capability. I understand one will be at the Minneapolis RV Show next week. Hope to know more then. I'm going Thursday on geezer day when it is half priced for us.

[Davydd]

Here are more photos with the sofa forward. The two gray bags are inflatable kayaks. The tan bag is a 14 ft. screen tent. with the seat all the way forward you have 30 inches of storage depth by full width and height. That's a bonus for non-camping everyday hauling use. The depth can be any depth you desire up to the 30 inches as you don't have to move the sofa all the way forward.




Sofa all the way back over the stored items from the previous photos.


Sofa in the normal position.


Sofa in the bed position. Note no ottomans and infill cushions needed.


We actually hauled our son and two grandsons to Washington DC and back last summer.

[Davydd]

One more thing. This sofa is not exclusive to Sprinters. Great West Vans puts their electric tri-sofas in their Chevy and Ford Bs.

[Quanyin]

We have also been looking for a Class B and have settled on the Sprinter because of the diesel engine and moderate size. In comparing differnet units (we've looked at Road Trek Adventurous, Pleasureway Plateau, Winnebago Era, and Airstream Interstate), one difference is the presence of a macerator. I don't know whether to mark that as a plus or a minus. A couple of salespeople have told me that the macerator provides more flexibility in that one can use a garden hose to empty the blackwater tank. But aren't there special fittings that one uses at dump stations? Why would one want to use a garden hose or have a piece of additional electrical equipment when gravity would be likely to do the job?

I am finding this board to be very informative and thank all who contribute.

Paul

[markopolo]

Macerator plus or minus

plus:
you can dump waste "up hill", over longer distances, easy to tie into waste system at home

minus:
extra cost, extra piece of equipment to fail

I used and liked the macerator I installed on my Chevy based Roadtrek 190P. I did not need it on my B+ and Class C RV's. Their dump system was higher off the ground.

One thing that is nice about traditional gravity system is the ability to leave the gray tank valve open when connected to a campsite waste hookup if you are taking longer showers and don't want the gray tank to fill up.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Quanyin

We have also been looking for a Class B and have settled on the Sprinter because of the diesel engine and moderate size. In comparing differnet units (we've looked at Road Trek Adventurous, Pleasureway Plateau, Winnebago Era, and Airstream Interstate), one difference is the presence of a macerator. I don't know whether to mark that as a plus or a minus. A couple of salespeople have told me that the macerator provides more flexibility in that one can use a garden hose to empty the blackwater tank. But aren't there special fittings that one uses at dump stations? Why would one want to use a garden hose or have a piece of additional electrical equipment when gravity would be likely to do the job?

I am finding this board to be very informative and thank all who contribute.

Paul

The enigma of the macerator. Love them or hate them, some work flawlessly and some are nothing
but problems. I don't have one, and have no desire to add one, based on the negative stories I've read
about them, but there are probably just as many success stories, that no one bothers to mention anywhere, because they're functioning as designed. It's not noteworthy to those people who are simply satisfied users.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Davydd

One more thing. This sofa is not exclusive to Sprinters. Great West Vans puts their electric tri-sofas in their Chevy and Ford Bs.

I think I would enjoy the convenience of the track loaded power sliding sofa.
It looks like a good use of space and technology.

[Davydd]

I have had the gravity 3" slinky hose on two Sprinter Bs now and have never encountered a problem dumping in 6 years of travel. It is simple to dump with gravity with less chance of failure because you don't have to depend on electricity and motors. At campgrounds with direct sewer connections it is easy to connect and leave open. Campgrounds require a closed connection when you do that and that is just an inexpensive plastic coupling for slinky or macerator hose. I will say, though, that campsites with direct sewer connections are mostly designed for bigger RVs and the connections many times can be out of reach or not in an optiimum where a longer hose and macerator could reach. When that happens we usually can still backup and dump but would not normally park in that location to sleep so would just dump once usually when leaving the same as if at a dump station.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by markopolo

One thing that is nice about traditional gravity system is the ability to leave the gray tank valve open when connected to a campsite waste hookup if you are taking longer showers and don't want the gray tank to fill up.

That's a big plus. You also need a city water hookup to bypass your water tanks to take full advantage of that luxury which always comes with any site that has a direct waste connection.

Interestingly, sites with no water or sewer connect usually have decent shower houses. Private campground sites with mostly full E/S/W hookups usually chintz on decent shower houses.

[Quanyin]

Thank you for the responses. I am a little unclear about some details, but I understand the main point; the macerator is certainly not essential. The Pleasureway that we are interested in does not have one, but I believe all of the other units on our list do.
There is a steep learning curve in all of this!
Paul