Newbie Jus Checkin in - Soon to Buy Pleasure Way OnTour

[stankrome]

I Just sold my business and retired in May, 2020. Ill be 70 this September. My late wife passed away in 2018. And, the good news is that I am blessed with a new girlfriend (a widow too) and we have been shopping for RVs for months now. I am nearly ready to pop for a NEW Pleasure Way OnTour. Take out a reverse mortgage and spend the big bucks. I cant believe I am even thinking of a new one. Comments?

Also I am looking at the Ford Transit Chassis versus the Mercedes. My son in law who works on RV's and heavy equipment suggests that the Mercedes Sprinter is wonderful when it is running but the repair bills are way too high. Plus he says that the rats and mice are a problem eating the wiring and costing Sprinter owners thousands of dollars to fix. Although he is not a FORD man, he says stay away from the Sprinter. Comments?

[mkguitar]

Hi Stan,


I have a bunch of similar same posts to people shopping, outlining the process I went through


I loved the way the sprinter drove, but the operating costs...!


So I am built on a chev van which can be fixed by anyone anywhere with parts from napa.


other vans makes may have supply lines running cross oceans at a time when planes and ships aren't moving


I have a 2006 Pleasure Way and am thrilled with the quality of the build and the layout of the electrical, water systems etc.
I hope the new ones are as good but I don;t know.


watch sales videos online as the features are pointed out- WATCH how the ( often large) sales person moves around the cabin- easy or doing the limbo?
do they have to "move this thing to get to that thing"? that gets old fast in a van with 2 people and a dog and it's raining


I'd watch out for any kind of magic technology - some don;t work so well
( some of the attempts to get away from a generator and propane I'm not impressed by- high cost and some owners spend more time posting on forums seeking fixes than camping)


recent threads on solar, adding battery packs for A/C or electric stovetop, composting toilets, using the shower ...even using the awning all give an idea of what people hope for in their RV

The B is the most expensive cost per square foot...the advantages are MPG, ease of driving and parking-
mine weighs 9000# loaded and wet

Cheers, Mike

[JohnnyCLE]

Welcome! And congrats on retirement. Work is not all it is cracked up to be, and a self motivated person will find more than enough to stay busy. Many happy and healthy years!

I own a Sprinter and will probably get another one when the time is right. First two points. A wise uncle once told me "never buy a Mercedes because you think it will be cheaper". I think this advice continues to be true. Second, Mercedes has been selling trucks the world around since before many of us were born. You can find a place to get them serviced in Timbuktu.



Here is proof from my formative years of growing up herding goats in the African colonies.

People are attracted to Sprinters for the performance and space the unmodified van body offers. If someone is purchasing a unit built on a cab and frame I am not sure why they would go with a Sprinter. I am sure they have their reasons, but I would not do it. It seems like you get all of the downsides and none of the upsides.

Similarly I don't really trust the Sprinter as a 4x4 off road platform.

We like our Sprinter because we use it as a multi-purpose vehicle. Sometimes seating 7 people and sometimes just my wife and I traveling.

Wow, never heard that one about the rats and mice! That is a new one for me. We park in a wooded lot with many mice around and have not had that issue. Hard to keep them out of the attic, but nothing in the Sprinter so far!

Happy hunting!

[rowiebowie]

Welcome to the forum Stan!

Sorry for the passing of your wife. The Ontour is on the Transit chassis. Both Pleasureways and the Transit are highly regarded so you've made a wise choice. My only negative for the Ontour is the same I have with some Promaster builds and that is they leave the factory sliding windows. We've slept many nights where it has rained and having "awning-style" windows and a Maxxfan vent fan allowed us to leave them open without worry or rain coming in and still have nice ventilation.

EDIT: I just saw a video of the Ontour 2.2 with awning windows.

[IdleUp]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your ventures, I own both the a Midwest B on a Sprinter chassis and a Wonder on Transit chassis, they are both great dependable workhorses however the Transit is a bit more stable thanks to a low slung chassis longer wheelbase and a wider track. I authored a detailed review comparing the two chassis on this same forum here's a link below:

https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...tml#post102379

Enjoy Mike

[bonnecavesman]

Originally Posted by stankrome

I Just sold my business and retired in May, 2020. Ill be 70 this September. My late wife passed away in 2018. And, the good news is that I am blessed with a new girlfriend (a widow too) and we have been shopping for RVs for months now. I am nearly ready to pop for a NEW Pleasure Way OnTour. Take out a reverse mortgage and spend the big bucks. I cant believe I am even thinking of a new one. Comments?

Also I am looking at the Ford Transit Chassis versus the Mercedes. My son in law who works on RV's and heavy equipment suggests that the Mercedes Sprinter is wonderful when it is running but the repair bills are way too high. Plus he says that the rats and mice are a problem eating the wiring and costing Sprinter owners thousands of dollars to fix. Although he is not a FORD man, he says stay away from the Sprinter. Comments?

If this will be your first RV, I would recommend purchasing new rather than possibly inheriting others' problems. If you are an experienced RV-er and have a trusted mechanic who will pre-purchase inspect and honestly evaluate units you MAY want to consider a low mileage used vehicle. Sprinter OE parts costs are expensive. Generally hourly labourites are high end of competitive in our area in Canada. Diesel Particulate Filters require minimal short haul driving in order to achieve DEF-fueled self-regeneration. No familiarity with Ford based RV's.

[Want a B]

I can not recommending borrowing (reverse mortgage) to buy a RV.

[Jon in AZ]

Bioplastic wiring insulation is a common problem on many makes of vehicle over the last decade. I doubt that Mercedes is the only manufacturer experiencing issues. I haven't seen a definitive list of what vehicles have it. Most of the information I've seen is from a couple of years ago when the issue became well-known and a number of class-action lawsuits emerged.

Anybody have more recent information?

[mikeebb]

There are a lot of nearly new RVs with low mileage out there that can be bought for far less than brand new ones. Look into those before thinking about a reverse mortgage.
Very sorry for the loss of your wife.
Mike
Retired, age 69
1999 Rialta HD (paid for)

[Thevon]

Look at the YouTube channel “From She to Me”. They have a newer pleasure way sprinter van and have done a lot of mods to it. They have also interviewed a bunch of other pleasure way owners as well. It’s a wealth of information.

[Darrin]

We have a 2016 Sprinter 3500/Airstream Interstate outside of some Fed. Mandated DEF system it has been quite A nice driving van.
We love ours.

[ChicagoTom]

Stay away from MB. JMO, but the forums I'm on, one issue after another

[Darrin]

MB is not a well run service system. Except for their billing.