How do I buy a Roadtrek?

[holstein13]

I'm interested in getting a new Roadtrek Etrek and would like to know the best way to purchase one.

Here's the situation: I am a full-time RVer traveling the country in a Newmar King Aire diesel pusher. I have a wife and two kids traveling with me. I would like to tow the Etrek behind my MH. (I realize I'll need a disconnect for the drive shaft)

I have not visited any Roadtrek dealers yet and haven't even seen the van so things could change once I've seen it. But before I even see a dealer, I wanted to know if there is preferred way to purchase this vehicle.

With Newmar, the best way to purchase a coach is to work with the manufacturer directly to custom order everything you want, then they send out the RFQ to several dealers who come back and give you their best quote.

Is there something similar for Roadtrek? Are there dealers out there known for better service or pricing? I'm currently visiting the Pacific Northwest but can purchase the vehicle anywhere that makes sense.

[obgraham]

To my knowledge RT does not do factory direct sales. Though these are spendy rigs, they're nowhere near your KingAire. I bought mine through the RT dealer in Spokane as a factory order. Took 12 weeks to build and deliver. Negotiated price was about what everyone else reports, no better no worse. I've never been back for service.

Do you really want to tow an 11,000 pound Mercedes Sprinter-based vehicle?

(Where in PNW are you -- you can check out mine!)

[gregmchugh]

The process is similar to what you would do for a Newmar except not much option for any mods. Contact several dealers who are known to give good prices and see how low they will go. The dealer I used is known for good service and good prices, American RV in Grand Rapids MI, Robert Wensell was the salesman and he knows the product. There are several other good dealers but many not so good.

If you have a King Aire and are looking for that level of quality in a Class B then Advanced RV near Cleveland will make one customized for you but about a 1 year process and more $ than a Roadtrek. You should at a minimum consider Advanced RV before buying any other brand to know that level of quality as a benchmark.

[holstein13]

Originally Posted by obgraham

To my knowledge RT does not do factory direct sales. Though these are spendy rigs, they're nowhere near your KingAire. I bought mine through the RT dealer in Spokane as a factory order. Took 12 weeks to build and deliver. Negotiated price was about what everyone else reports, no better no worse. I've never been back for service.

Do you really want to tow an 11,000 pound Mercedes Sprinter-based vehicle?

(Where in PNW are you -- you can check out mine!)

I'm currently in the Olympic Peninsula heading to Seattle this weekend then to the Cascades before going to Vancouver next week. I'll be heading through Spokane on my way to Glacier in two weeks. I'd love to see your RoadTrek. I'm currently towing a 6,500 pound truck behind my coach. I don't think 11,000 will be much worse.

[booster]

I would agree on that the Advanced RV may be a better fit for you. They easily cover all the capabilities of an etrek, and the systems will likely be more similar to what the Newmar has than the proprietary Roadtrek stuff which can be very cryptic to use. It also gives almost no status information. The customer service from ARV would also be much better, as I assume Newmar is.

If you needed to get something fairly quickly, you likely could work out a deal to use one of the used units they have, until yours was finished.

[holstein13]

Originally Posted by booster

I would agree on that the Advanced RV may be a better fit for you. They easily cover all the capabilities of an etrek, and the systems will likely be more similar to what the Newmar has than the proprietary Roadtrek stuff which can be very cryptic to use. It also gives almost no status information. The customer service from ARV would also be much better, as I assume Newmar is.

If you needed to get something fairly quickly, you likely could work out a deal to use one of the used units they have, until yours was finished.

Thanks, I just spent about an hour looking at the custom work from Advanced RV in their gallery. They sure have a lot of innovative ideas and beautiful finishes.

But for my usage, the stock E-trek with some options would really be perfect for us. We have two kids and the e-trek has the option to sleep them up front. Not one of the Advanced RV models had that although one had a bunk bed.

I realize we could design anything we want with Advanced RV, but why bother? The models are perfect from Roadtrek as they are and this will be our secondary RV, not our primary.

We mostly want it to visit the smaller state and national parks and campgrounds. I see us parking the mother ship in a nice big campground and taking the E-trek to the smaller campgrounds overnight or for two nights at at time.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by holstein13

Thanks, I just spent about an hour looking at the custom work from Advanced RV in their gallery. They sure have a lot of innovative ideas and beautiful finishes.

But for my usage, the stock E-trek with some options would really be perfect for us. We have two kids and the e-trek has the option to sleep them up front. Not one of the Advanced RV models had that although one had a bunk bed.

I realize we could design anything we want with Advanced RV, but why bother? The models are perfect from Roadtrek as they are and this will be our secondary RV, not our primary.

We mostly want it to visit the smaller state and national parks and campgrounds. I see us parking the mother ship in a nice big campground and taking the E-trek to the smaller campgrounds overnight or for two nights at at time.

Very good, looks like you have a good understanding of the options. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of all the possibilities for a custom van...

[obgraham]

Holstein13: I just sent you a Private Message.

Graham

[obgraham]

Here's a thread from a guy that set up his Sprinter 3500 to be towed:

Flat Towing the Sprinter Van - iRV2 Forums