New Roadtrek CS Adventurous (Camping Series)

[markopolo]

Mike Wendland's Roadtrek CS Adventurous teaser video:

[youtube:10tff31d]85iDSm3Zr3Y[/youtube:10tff31d]

Another new model!

SS = Short Sprinter
RS = Regular Sprinter

[markopolo]

Bathroom heater, two-door fridge ................ The teaser video is so fast I could not see much more than that.

From the posting on Facebook I think it will be optionally available as an all electric model. I'm not 100% sure whether that applies to the new Roadtrek CS Adventurous or another new model.

[markopolo]

CS = Camping Series

[gerrym51]

going for the even higher end market.

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Bathroom heater, two-door fridge ................ The teaser video is so fast I could not see much more than that.

From the posting on Facebook I think it will be optionally available as an all electric model. I'm not 100% sure whether that applies to the new Roadtrek CS Adventurous or another new model.

I know I have said this before, but with each new and/or cancelled model I start to believe it more.

It seems that Roadtrek is just creating model after model, and then cancelling them very quickly if they don't sell big immediately. In essence "throwing stuff at the wall to see if anything sticks". With as quickly as they come and go, they don't get a chance to get established, with happy customers to help promote them, and they leave bunches of "orphans" out there to advertise their failures.

As I also have said before, perhaps it is time for Roadtrek to back off to some basic models with options that can make them into lots of configurations (they have all the options already in the various models). Let the dealers (and customers on special order) get what will sell in their market, and order them that way. I would guess it would not take long to see what is being ordered, and sold. Once that info is in hand, they could create better value prebuilt models that would actually be what people want. Great ideas and innovation are only cool if people want them.

We love our Roadtrek, and really want them to survive, but with all the development costs, and quality issues because of all the new models, they may be shooting themselves in the foot.

[gerrym51]

doesthe classic Roadtrek 190p exist any more. based on RT website i would say no.

[Rok]

As a new potential buyer, I feel that the Roadtrek offerings have a lot of variety already. From what I've heard, there are a lot of problems with every new incarnation, so I would be reluctant to buy a "new" model normally. Unfortunately, the new electric models sound like they might be appealing in a lot of respects. The countertops made of recycled paper are not a deal, however--we have that product (it's called "paperstone") on our bathroom countertop and even water stains it. You can't use most cleaners, including Simple Green on it, and it always looks horrible, even right after it's been cleaned.

I'm kind of glad we won't be making our decision REAL soon. We're having enough problems deciding on a unit as is, without new models comming into the fray.

............Rocky

[booster]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

doesthe classic Roadtrek 190p exist any more. based on RT website i would say no.

Looks like it is still there.

http://www.roadtrek.com/models.aspx?...14&Country=USA

There are a few differences over the years, like eliminating the cabinet aft of the kitchen and moving the TV, but mostly the same.

[markopolo]

The 190P is listed. The 190V is not.

Dropping a model is just that........... a discontinued model. Maybe a consolidation of the line when the models begin to overlap or simply based on current demand. I suspect, like the 190 Simplicty, You can still get a 190V if you want one.

Originally Posted by Jim H

The 190 Simplicity has been removed. Having said that, we are still building orders for people and keeping the specs available for dealers who need them. it was a popular choice, but....we have found that the Ranger RT serves the same buyer, and with the huge level of success that it is enjoying, we need to slim down our offerings..............

Roadtrek is showing the ability to quickly bring concepts to the market. They days of a new model every one or two years look to be over. You can pretty much find anything you want in the current RT lineup.

This new Roadtrek CS Adventurous is very different than the RS Adventurous. The RS is very open and the CS looks to offer a lot more interior storage.

I say "well done" Roadtrek

[Mike]

Originally Posted by booster

I know I have said this before, but with each new and/or cancelled model I start to believe it more.

It seems that Roadtrek is just creating model after model, and then cancelling them very quickly if they don't sell big immediately. In essence "throwing stuff at the wall to see if anything sticks". With as quickly as they come and go, they don't get a chance to get established, with happy customers to help promote them, and they leave bunches of "orphans" out there to advertise their failures.

As I also have said before, perhaps it is time for Roadtrek to back off to some basic models with options that can make them into lots of configurations (they have all the options already in the various models). Let the dealers (and customers on special order) get what will sell in their market, and order them that way. I would guess it would not take long to see what is being ordered, and sold. Once that info is in hand, they could create better value prebuilt models that would actually be what people want. Great ideas and innovation are only cool if people want them.

We love our Roadtrek, and really want them to survive, but with all the development costs, and quality issues because of all the new models, they may be shooting themselves in the foot.

I'm with you. I wonder if any of this is a result of the "merger" with the US management firm that was announced a while back? It does begin to look more and more like desperation. I think the idea of morphing into something closer to a Sportsmobile "pick and choose" system of order the basic model and chassis, and then build to suit with your choice of options, might be a good idea at this point. The big 3 did it (build to suit) for decades after they realized that building 3 or 4 models with a "take it or leave it" sales approach wasn't feasible any more, once smaller players were customizing their offerings to suit the desires of the buyer. One size fits all is a great theory (Russian philosophy with the Lada?) if you loaded it up with all the options, but in practice, probably deters more sales than it captures. People often don't want "the works" and would prefer to personalize their RV. Unless we're really missing the point here, and as Marko says they're impressing and selling this stuff to someone? If the market share numbers are to be believed, people somewhere are buying them as they sit.

[booster]

Yep, Mike, I have been pushing the "ala carte" model for a long time here. Many folks have taken issue with it, thinking they would be too expensive to build that way, which I totally disagree with, if you do it right. If you did build to suit, dealers could order stock units that fit their customers, customers could order exactly what they want, and Roadtrek could gather plenty of information on what people really want. Then they could make some semi-standard models. Sometimes I think Roadtrek believes they are in the consumer electronics business, where models have to change every 6 months.

[markopolo]

Roadtrek's ability to produce these new models demonstrates that à la Carte models could be a reality. Will dealers embrace that though? I think the financing that dealer's operate on (a.k.a floorplans) is tied to the asset value of the inventory. That million dollar plus "float" is probably critical for the operation of the dealership. Less financing = less inventory = less to attract buyers = less sales = close dealership.

Roadtrek seems to be increasingly flexible - even quoting E-Trek type component retrofits for older models now. You can probably order anything you want from them now.

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Roadtrek's ability to produce these new models demonstrates that à la Carte models could be a reality. Will dealers embrace that though? I think the financing that dealer's operate on (a.k.a floorplans) is tied to the asset value of the inventory. That million dollar plus "float" is probably critical for the operation of the dealership. Less financing = less inventory = less to attract buyers = less sales = close dealership.

Roadtrek seems to be increasingly flexible - even quoting E-Trek type component retrofits for older models now. You can probably order anything you want from them now.

I think you are right that they sure seem to be drifting that way. I was particularly surprised to see that they were making the solar available as a factory retrofit on older Sprinters. It makes sense, as long as they have production capacity, as it would be relatively high margin work for them.

There is also a lot of chatter about making e-trek options available for other chassis, so they are on the right track.

The floor plan program is an interesting topic. IIRC, getting financing for their floor plan was a major deal in keeping Roadtrek from going under a few years ago, before the buyout. I don't know how the plans work now, but in the 60's, when my Dad worked at a Chrysler dealer, the dealer chose (most/all?) what to order for his stock, and it still qualified for their floor plan with Chrysler. Roadtrek's might be different. I would think the floor plan would have to stay in place, but the dealers could order what they want, based on their customer base and location. The ala carte might actually help Roadtrek and the dealers by reducing money tied up in inventory, especially if they could get the lead time down to a few weeks. I can't count how many times I have seen someone on the boards saying they would have bought a Sportsmobile if the lead times weren't so long.

[markopolo]

Another Roadtrek CS Adventurous video from Mike Wendland

[youtube:2sw4e50w]FgcuCELxzEE[/youtube:2sw4e50w]

7 cu ft fridge / freezer
Heated Floor
Heated Sofa
Flip Down TV
Full Stainless Steel Back-splash

I think he said it will be at the Tampa RV Show.

http://www.frvta.org/rv-shows/florida-rv-supershow/



Florida State Fairgrounds
4800 US Highway 301 North
Tampa, FL 33610

January 16 to 20, 2013

[markopolo]

I like the fridge I mentioned all of the feature below to my DW...........

7 cu ft fridge / freezer
Heated Floor
Heated Sofa
Flip Down TV
Full Stainless Steel Back-splash

First comment was "wow" and the second was "How much are they going to be now?"

[Rok]

Something they found out with the Leafs (Nissan's electric cars) is that if you are going to a battery system, heating up the whole thing takes a lot of electricity and if you do some creature comforts like heated seats and steering wheel it allows the car to feel warmer without turning on the heat as high. I wonder if this is the same dynamic.

...........Rocky

[markopolo]

I don't think they'll heat using batteries.

[mlts22]

The one thing I liked about the CS is that the electrical system essentially sits on a large UPS. The advantage of this is that if you are getting 90 volts from the campground electrical wire, it won't trash your A/C compressor. With five methods of getting power into the electrical system on the CS (LP gas generator, engine alternator, solar panel, EFOY fuel cell, and shore power), if one has a basic surge supressor on the incoming line to clamp spikes, that is essentially all that is needed for a trip, compared to being concerned about having an EMS in place or at least a power meter which shuts things down if the incoming AC drops under a certain voltage.

Of course, the bigger fridge isn't too bad either.

[markopolo]

The 2004 Roadtrek 190 Popular I previously owned had a Tripp Lite inverter that gave you functions of a "UPS". That was from the factory, not modified or added by me. That feature has been around for a long time now in Roadtreks. Over and under voltage protection, surge protection on the AC line that passed through the inverter etc.

I'm glad you mentioned it because I don't think many owners or prospective purchasers are aware of it. The difference with newer models is the greater capacity of the inverter (watts). The 2004 model was 600 watts. RT models like the E-Trek have greater battery capacity as well.

I don't think many people would opt to have both the eFoy and a lp gas generator. Those two together might add $10,000 to the base price.

[markopolo]

Roadtrek CS Adventurous at the Tampa show







Very clean exterior. No visible indication of the usual items that tell you it is an RV. No fridge vents, no water heater door...........

Where is the fuel fill on these Sprinters?