New Era 70X interior design

[Davydd]

It is mostly eye candy and wide angle photography to make a B seem more spacious than it is and does seem to work especially with first time buyers who have no real concept of how they will use a B.

I'm on my third B and have slowly gotten to what I know will work for being out on the road a long time, anywhere. The first two had multi people capability up to seating 5. In analyzing that use it was nice to have but extremely rare in use and probably well under 1% of all miles driven. Having that layout of 4 captain chairs and lousy kitchen galley would be a wearing down hardship, IMO.

[wincrasher]

It does amuse me these folks that will by a B to travel in and eat out all meals and stay in hotels. Yet there must be enough of them for the manufacturers to justify offering models like this.

If I were going to travel that way, I'd just buy a really nice sedan like an S-Class or an LS460. It would actually be much cheaper, as well as faster.

[mumkin]

At least Roadtrek offers the option to replace those two superfluous seats with extra cabinetry. For those of us who are single or couples with no kids, there should be a choice.

[avanti]

Yeah, but if you have young kids, a bathroom, microwave and fridge must be quite a luxury.

[wincrasher]

Well I'm of the mind that families just need to get a C. It would be alot more comfortable for them, and if they choose a smaller one, just as easy to drive.

The whole idea of boondocking or stealthing in a van with 4 people is just silly. You are going to end up in a campground anyways for the hookups as the tanks in all B's are just too small for 4 people, as is the space for all the junk they need to carry.

You can still stay small there are many models of C in the 21-24' range.

[BobB]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Well I'm of the mind that families just need to get a C. It would be alot more comfortable for them, and if they choose a smaller one, just as easy to drive.

The whole idea of boondocking or stealthing in a van with 4 people is just silly. You are going to end up in a campground anyways for the hookups as the tanks in all B's are just too small for 4 people, as is the space for all the junk they need to carry.

You can still stay small there are many models of C in the 21-24' range.

Well stated. A number of nice small Cs out there, at a good price point.

I've always thought of Bs as cocktails for 8 (out under the awning), dinner for 4 (in the dinette), sleeps 2.

[GeorgeB]

Originally Posted by avanti

Yeah, but if you have young kids, a bathroom, microwave and fridge must be quite a luxury.

Remember the RT N6 Active, a station wagon family touring car with a fridge.
I wonder if they sold some of these?

Speaking of family, Merry Christmas to all!

[riplips]

Lets not forget that many many people buy these things as tailgate vehicles for NCAA football. They never sleep in them. They use the bathroom, the awning and the generator, and drive their friends and clients to the game.

We do 1 or 2 Penn State games a year in out travato, but it is our home for the weekend, and we either fish or mountain bike in the surrounding forest on sunday.

Any home game in State college brings HUNDREDS upon hundreds of Sprinter baed bs, that have never seen an overnight guest. The "x" or interstate is the most popular platform for this.

Totally different application, yet valid. I can only imagine any big time football school has the same type of fans willing to drop 100k to make their tailgates better...

[wincrasher]

They're not true fans unless they get them painted the school's colors.

Where I live, that would be bright orange with purple trim! Beautiful.

[Davydd]

I live nowhere near my university and wouldn't tailgate anyway.

Also, I don't own any Minnesota Viking paraphernalia so won't be painting my B purple.

[riplips]

Be true to your school...

[peteco]

Originally Posted by riplips

Be true to your school...

I don't put logos of any type on my vehicles because there are enough crazy haters out there that will damage your vehicle if they don't like your "school". Seen it many times.

[B Eventually]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Well I'm of the mind that families just need to get a C. It would be alot more comfortable for them, and if they choose a smaller one, just as easy to drive.

The whole idea of boondocking or stealthing in a van with 4 people is just silly. You are going to end up in a campground anyways for the hookups as the tanks in all B's are just too small for 4 people, as is the space for all the junk they need to carry.

You can still stay small there are many models of C in the 21-24' range.

You all are really starting to wear me down with this advice. It's getting more and more difficult to rationalize 'for us it will be different.'

Are any of those 21'-24' Cs narrower bodies like the View and have seat belts for five? Or are they all 8½' wide boxes?

[black88mx6]

This is just a BS. A family of 4 can easily boondock in a 170x for 3-4 days. Overnight stealth works just fine also. Tired of hearing this mantra from the over 50 crowd again and again. We do it all the time and know other that do too.

There are differences and in traveling style for those that want to be on the road for weeks at a time. This may require additional considerations that we have yet to experience. Our max time out has been three weeks so far and easily some of our best family time. We do not use campground with hookups or hotels.

The major issue for families here is time and cost of entry; otherwise you would see a lot more in our age group. An xl sprinter easily works for us and is a very useful 2nd vehicle. Easy to drive and goes just about anywhere. Try getting a class b or pop-up spot at ft wilderness Disney world in that class c.

I love the new interior look of the updated x. I don't like the price increase as this takes more families out of the picture.

[black88mx6]

We have a local school license plate bracket on our van also. We are talking primary school. No problem with vandals. Great for travel soccer and club games

[BobB]

Originally Posted by black88mx6

This is just a BS. A family of 4 can easily boondock in a 170x for 3-4 days. Overnight stealth works just fine also. Tired of hearing this mantra from the over 50 crowd again and again. We do it all the time and know other that do too.

Thank you for speaking up!

I am one of the over 50s and when I camp, I always walk the campground to see what people are doing, traveling in, bringing with them, etc. Probably missed them, but I have yet to see a small family in a Class B. Yes to Class C's (and larger), trailers (usually large), the occasional cargo van (which is just loaded with tents, supplies, etc.), lots of families in tents, but no to Bs. Every Class B I have run into is almost always a couple, sometimes a single, with/without pets. Have seen one Class B with young couple and small infant.

Probably our worlds don't cross that often. We are retired, no kids, and tend to avoid weekend camping. Now I admit that the world we travel in is small, so I need to get out more

So really great to hear there are families out there buying and using Class Bs. Makes a lot of sense they would be useful for school events, soccer games, etc. Would be interested on your take on Class B floorplans, energy systems, storage, pricing, etc. from your viewpoint.

Wonder if RVIA (or any particular manufacturer) has published info on demographics for Class B buyers?

[B Eventually]

Originally Posted by BobB

Wonder if RVIA (or any particular manufacturer) has published info on demographics for Class B buyers?

I believe Wincrasher's Hershey blog post mentioned asking Winnebago about this. Winnebago seemed to think most of their buyers were in the older rather than younger demographics.

[black88mx6]

Most RV buyers are older / retired anyhow; this group has more time to use these expensive toys. B's are a small segment to begin with, and will be smaller for families. I would like to stand up and say that they are not for the exclusive use of couples.

We boondock almost everywhrere. You will not see us in a campground unless it's a National park or forest. We don't need more space, we travel light and the b gets us to where we need to go.

I have used class c's before and would not prefer it over the b. Will respond later to discuss setup, floor plans and how we use our 170x. We paid low 80's for ours new.

[mumkin]

The reality is that most young couples with young kids can't afford a Class B. Feeding and clothing kids these days is expensive. LOL I suspect that a significant market for the RT 170 like mine is the more affluent who use it as a second car to run the kids to sporting events... with bathroom and fridge... and seating for 7.

[Davydd]

For a while Lake Region RVs in Minnesota on Facebook was publishing photos of people with their new Class Bs and small Class Cs when they picked them up. Almost to a T they all looked over 50, empty nester or retired. I think that pretty much holds true with all the forums online and especially on Facebook where you see actual people in photo after photo. Of course there are exceptions but what would you imagine that percentage would be? I'd guess less than 10%. There is a Vandwellers group that seems younger but they also have a preponderance of just regular vans, much older used conversions and DIYs, and not so much new conversion Class Bs. There is also a Have Sprinter, Will Travel Facebook group of seemingly younger people and they too are mostly stock Sprinters and DIY.