How many of us have owned our B a lot of years?

[Doneworking]

I noticed in a post on another thread the following comment by booster:

We have had our 07 190P since new, but it is a bit different than yours as it was one of the very first of the new style roof/kitchen/furnace move etc versions. Hopefully, we will have a long time more.

Like Booster, we bought our 2007 Roadtrek 210P new (custom ordered it to our needs). That was in September of 2006.

That got me wondering if any of the rest of us have had our vans, say, ten years or longer?

Personally, we will never buy another B for various reasons but mainly because our RT meets our needs and we will age out before it wears out.

[Boxster1971]

I had my 2013 Airstream Interstate for 10 years and 180,000 miles when I traded it in for a new one. It was running well and would have easily lasted another five years and 100,000 more miles. But I wanted some of the newer technology driver assistance systems like adaptive cruise control.

[Sensfan]

We love our 2012 190 RT Ranger (Poplar clone) on its Chevy 3500 chassis. Bought the CEO's demo in September 2012; believe it to have been the first Ranger sold in Canada. Great handling, IMO due to external cabin and ground effect design. Zero uneven tire wear through three sets of tires (80, 000 miles).

[N147JK]

Had one previous "learning experience" van, but we will never sell our current one. It's low stress, low hassle, low expense, and the perfect layout. Starting over with a new one would be a waste of time and money.

[Roadtreker357]

We bought our Roadtrek 07C210P used, in 2008. Have made modifications, mostly based on things I learned on this forum over the years. 180,000 miles and no plans to replace it.

[GeoB]

We bought our RT 190P new in 2000. 24 years,320,000 miles and still loving it. Our favorite bed and we sleep in it every night on the road. If our house full we give up our bedroom and go to the camper van. Last summer did 7 weeks through the northeast. Of course we put in a lot of $ in maintenance over the years but we rationalize that what we do is better than a cruise. I find as it get older and more worn I am okay using it as a pickup truck if necessary. ��.

[TomF]

I bought my 1997 RT 190P in 2005. I have driven it through most parts of the continental US except the Northwest and Alaska. It has been well worth it to me to maintain and replace systems as needed. I test drove a new RT 190 in 2018, and was very disappointed in the lack of storage and the all electric systems. I am old, and so is my RT, and I think we will go the distance together.

[mik mikgil@icloud.com]

WE bought our 95 RT chevy 210 popular 12 years ago and have traveled all across the US, Alberta, Yukon, British Columbia, Alaska, down the West Coast to San Diego. Enjoyed every bit of it. Only problem was a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere Montanna. Camped in the snow in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Its not a 4 season camper. That trip was 109 days long, sleeping everynight in the RT. The chevy chassis has been flawless so far. YMMV

[Pam G]

I've had my 1999 Roadtrek 190 Popular for 12 years, and it's my 3rd Class B. It had very low miles when I got it - 39,000, and it's around 108,000 now. Currently getting front brakes redone and a couple of other things repaired, but most of the repairs I've had done are mechanical. I haven't done too much with the house. Biggest thing was replacing the generator last year and the house A/C a few years ago. Next will be the fridge as the ignitor quit working, and I have mostly used it on propane. I'm hoping to sell my house next year and live in it for a few years. I've also thought it'd be nice to have a newer one, but then they don't look like they have as much storage space, so I'll stick with mine as long as I can.

[docman5]

We bought our 2009 Four Winds Ventura new in 2010. We have driven it over the western US and to and from Alaska. We do not drive it lots now because of health reasons. My sons have borrowed it for vacations. I have made numerous modification. We still like it.

[Lisa F]

Hi there, sounds like you got a good deal on your rv. I am a newbie and looking to get a 1998 Roadtrek 190-Versatile 3500 with 12-k miles. Looks like they’ve kept up on maintenance, had a manual awning. They are asking 24,500, that seems high from what I’ve been seeing. Any thoughts you can help me with?

[MsNomer]

Our 2014 Promaster DIY has given us 251,000 happy miles from Alaska to Nova Scotia. It must be unhealthy to love an inanimate object as much as I love this van, but is it inanimate if it purrs?

[GeoB]

Hi Lisa. (This is a resend. Not sure what happened). Are you sure about 12k miles? Maybe 120k? Yes, I personally think that’s high $ for a 1998. I just looked this week at a 1997, 190P at $10k with 119k miles. Private sale. Clean interior, aged exterior, smaller 318 engine. That was a good price but I would probably put $5- 6 k into it. Decided not to buy and put the money into ours. Bigger engine and we know the issues.regardless I was told it sold to next one who looked. I think yours depending on engine maybe should be around $15-18k if clean and have records. I think the Covid class B frenzy is waning.
Good luck. Class B’s a great way to go. Let me know if there’s any other questions. GeoB

[InterBlog]

We will cross the 10-year ownership milestone for our 2007 Airstream Interstate in September of this year.

We have begun the great debate - this is the devil we know, but it’s really freakin’ old now. Do we keep it into our senior years, or do we bite the bullet and build a new one from scratch while we still have enough youthful energy (VERY relatively speaking) to do so?

[booster]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

We will cross the 10-year ownership milestone for our 2007 Airstream Interstate in September of this year.

We have begun the great debate - this is the devil we know, but it’s really freakin’ old now. Do we keep it into our senior years, or do we bite the bullet and build a new one from scratch while we still have enough youthful energy (VERY relatively speaking) to do so?

Yep, very valid option to consider. A build from scratch is a lot of work and time, and requires a good work space and a lot of tools and hopefully machinery. Your location, in itself, makes that build place more difficult as it would also need to be temp/humidityy controlled and flood proof. Could be daunting task even for youngster/oldsters.



I think for me it would depend on how satisfied you are with your current setup. Do you want a bigger dually to haul more stuff? is the layout what you like or could it be made more compatible, etc, type things?


If your setup is OK to continue with it's capabilities, it might be time to look at what a full chassis restoration would cost in time and money to see if that option would be worthwhile for you. The fact that it is Mercedes may take that option off the table due to cost of parts, but might not also.


I have about $6K total into my 1996 Buick Roadmaster for a complete rebuild of all the suspension, engine, trans, rear axle, interior repair, bodywork and paint. All my labor, though. Full resto classic cars can be done for under $50K with custom paint and frame off quality at high end shops the price range can go pretty high if hiring very high quality work, especially for high end paint and bodywork and custom interiors.


Another option would be to have a van partially upfitted to your taste and the finish work done yourself. I think that would be a choice I might make. Getting a van that had the cabinetry, windows, tanks, prewiring, etc in place would really be a headache saver. Final heat/AC, power system, electrical, and other details done by yourself.


It will be interesting to see what you come up with to do.


We are lucky with our similar age van in that the miles are still pretty low and it is a low cost to repair Chevy. I have no doubt it will outlive us at this point.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by Lisa F

Hi there, sounds like you got a good deal on your rv. I am a newbie and looking to get a 1998 Roadtrek 190-Versatile 3500 with 12-k miles. Looks like they’ve kept up on maintenance, had a manual awning. They are asking 24,500, that seems high from what I’ve been seeing. Any thoughts you can help me with?

Lisa - If I am not mistaken, the 1998 190 Versatile is a Dodge - I think that these are excellent RVs, but I always like to mention to anyone considering one that they are susceptible to frame rust so need to be checked carefully before purchasing. Take a look at https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...mper-9697.html

[Pam G]

Originally Posted by Lisa F

Hi there, sounds like you got a good deal on your rv. I am a newbie and looking to get a 1998 Roadtrek 190-Versatile 3500 with 12-k miles. Looks like they’ve kept up on maintenance, had a manual awning. They are asking 24,500, that seems high from what I’ve been seeing. Any thoughts you can help me with?

I'm also wondering if you mean 120,000 miles, not 12,000. There can be issues with a vehicle having sat that much. I think price depends on where you are too. Prices went up during covid when people were avoiding public spaces, but the older B's are getting harder to find. I've never seen one for sale for less than $18,000 unless it needed work, but those were just ones I found online. B's seem to be pretty sparse in Iowa and I traveled out of state to get mine. The one you're looking at should be in really good condition and not needing any repairs for that price.

[Pam G]

Well, I need to correct what I just wrote. I just found a 1999 Roadtrek 190 Popular for sale in Mason City, IA for $16,000, and it looks pretty good. New tires, brakes, shocks and house air conditioner. I had to see one eventually. This one has 124,000 miles.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by booster

…. A build from scratch is a lot of work and time, and requires a good work space and a lot of tools and hopefully machinery. Your location, in itself, makes that build place more difficult as it would also need to be temp/humidity controlled and flood proof. …
…

It will be interesting to see what you come up with to do.

…

It’s almost like you KNOW me, eh? Some anonymous person on a user forum!

HERE is what I have come up with to do - a dedicated Class B garage that resolves the challenges you list above. Because the one thing we know for sure as we rush headlong into old age is that we are committed to this lifestyle, either with our current Airstream Interstate or another vehicle. We only live once, and so we decided to take the plunge and FINALLY, after 10 years of ownership, build the exact property that will best accommodate that lifestyle.

Our build is further along than shown in this pic. We are scheduled to close within 4 weeks (Hurricane Beryl set back the build schedule a bit).

[Doneworking]

Interblog, good for you! When we built our house 25 years ago we built our third car garage with a 9x9 door for our 1996 Roadtrek 190P. That would accommodate it and many others back then. Now, nope. Most new Bs are simply taller than 9 feet.

We put one HVAC outlet in that garage and that is sufficient to keep it in the 60-80 degree range winter and summer. In Oklahoma City it gets down to below zero and up to Way Too Far Over a Hundred occasionally. Since we bought our 2007 RT new and still have it, it provides a wonderful example of what a controlled storage climate accomplishes over eighteen years. Everything is like new in and out. Controlled humidity and temp makes a real difference.

We walk inside from the house to the RT, load it and go with no compromise to hot or cold days. We start the refrig on electric and walk out of our kitchen with the goodies that will traveling with us and put them in the rv frig as we decide and we are good to go. Same thing on clothing, camping stuff, etc. although most of the camping equipment just lives full time in the RT.

You will love what you are building and the fact that it is at your new home.

Paul