Older class B

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by tsrichards

Because of our budget my husband and I are going to have to purchase a class B that is more than 10 years .Does anyone have any suggestions about which brands are better than others ? We will be living in it full-time and traveling quite a bit .

I've had a '94 Airstream B-190 on a Ford e-350 chassis and I currently have a Coachmen 19RD on an e-250 chassis with the 351W and E40D transmission. I bought the Airstream because it was an Airstream. Long story... I had it about a year before I sold it for a variety of reasons. I bought what I thought I wanted... not what I needed.

Once I had that out of the way and a better idea of what I needed for how I was going to use the van, I soon realized that condition and maintenance with the features you want is a lot more important than brand, make or model. I happened to find my '95 Coachmen three years ago with 26k original miles on it. It needed work, but was still an extraordinarily good buy. I have nearly 65k miles on it now, and I'm still happy with it as I can be. There's not another coach out there that fits me better.

Had it been another brand on another brand of chassis with the same layout, I'd still have bought it. When you're shopping used, and old used, price, location, condition, layout and maintenance records are significantly more important than make, model, or brand of chassis.

Happy shopping!

[Austinrt]

Sorry--I just now noticed this question. We had it painted at Central Texas Collision, which is just south of Austin. The cost was $3928, but that included a sorely needed new windshield, so I don't recall how much the paint job alone was. We were very pleased with every aspect of the work and our interactions with the people, and it was worth the cost because it went from being decidedly ugly to, in our opinion, quite attractive. It draws lots of compliments.

[karlb]

I see a lot of Dodge recommendations here. I'd rather go for FORD or Chevy chassis if I were getting an old one.
Had an 1997 dodge road trek. Besides sloppy steering, I noticed Dodge doesn't make or stock many parts for rigs that old. Couldn't get a wiper relay for instance and had to search junk yards and even that was hard to find.

[goreds2]

This was just posted for sale yesterday (1997 - 15 miles per gallon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOfvkxW_rh8

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by tsrichards

Because of our budget my husband and I are going to have to purchase a class B that is more than 10 years .Does anyone have any suggestions about which brands are better than others ? We will be living in it full-time and traveling quite a bit .

Don't get me wrong..... I love my Roadtrek RS Adventurous.....the diesel engine is wonderfully responsive....and it gets great fuel efficiency.......

BUT........if you are on a tight budget...... skip the diesel.......

Aside from that... condition is EVERYTHING .... and make sure that your suspension is absolutely perfect....

Finally... get the biggest Class B you can find...the old Roadtrek 210 comes to mind....it's a little wider body than mine..has a 30 inch aisle compared to my 28 inch aisle... don't think this is insignificant.... inches count on a Class B......

I call my RV..."a rolling submarine"....it's very close quarters..
I cannot imagine living inside this vehicle ..... but, if you spend a lot of time outside and use the vehicle for sleeping and eating mostly.... I don't know maybe it can work for you??

The one great thing about the Class B's.... you're so mobile...you can drive to nicer weather wherever that is......

The newer the vehicle the better....if I had a choice between a later model with more miles or a much older vehicle with fewer miles...I'd take the newer version almost immediately EVERY time... Ask for maintenance records..if you can get those your ahead of the game.

Your vehicle is your home... EVERY time you need service.. your house is stuck in the garage.....

Good luck....

[goreds2]

Here is one in WV. It is a 2001 for $12,500. The kicker is that is has just over 200,000 miles on it. If I did not have mine, I would go look at it. Hight miles do not scare me. I have a 2001 Nissan Frontier with over 375,000 miles on it that i bought new.

The older Class B looks immaculate though.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...ODY-5003651376

[Bruceper]

Originally Posted by karlb

Besides sloppy steering, I noticed Dodge doesn't make or stock many parts for rigs that old. Couldn't get a wiper relay for instance and had to search junk yards and even that was hard to find.

Correct, Dodge doesn't make parts for vehicles that old. The aftermarket does and they are cheap and plentiful. Wiper relay you can buy online brand new for $48.05 at Rock Auto.

Nothing bugs me more than when people say parts are not available for older Dodge, Ford and Chevy vans.

Sloppy steering could be a lot of things such as alignment or the steering box. If unable to diagnose steering issues yourself then go to an alignment shop.

[Camoman]

@ BBQ ---They are MECHANICALLY the same, there are the same type of differences as between a class b and a class c and a class A.... .... There are VARIANCES.

My 1987 allegro on a MINIVAN chassis that is 21' long OVERALL and w only 4 tires and no bunk over the drivers compartment, but that is a cutaway(like a BIG ford full-size van w a v10 that is a 32' class C w a dually rearend and a queen bunk over the drivers compartment) is a LOT closer to a class b than it is to a typical class C.
Of course, when all this crap was invented they were all just called "campers". Now we have "coaches", class A, class B, etc etc, but there is every reason to add a category when it helps simplify what is being discussed.
Google a 1987 allegro on a minivan chassis and compare it's dimensions to a full-size van class c and then to a class b sprinter and you will see that it is WAY closer to a class b sprinter than to a fullsize class c, and in many ways an improvement on both.
Regardless, calling it a B+ is a perfectly logical description, but I would not call a cutaway that is 32' feet long on a sprinter but without an overhead bunk, a class b+.
Only one that is without a bunk and similar in length to a class b.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Camoman

The chassis on a class B and on a B+ are gonna be exactly the same.
In fact, the chassis on a class C is the same as a class B except that they spec a heavier front and rear suspension and rear end for the added weight.
They all start out as vans.
There are different "weights" of vans though, from a "250" to a "350, 450, 550, and 650" in the case of Ford's for instance.
But a b or a B+ are gonna typically be between a 250 and a 350.
My class B is a 250(3/4 ton) and my b+ is a custom from a LESS THAN 3/4 ton Chevy Astro minivan w a custom rear air suspension on a Chevy single wheel rear end.

I would agree with BBQ that this is not the way I see it. The chassis of a cutaway is not the same as a full body van, not even with the body on frame units, and especially on the unibody vans. The frames from behind the cab in cutaways if nearly always setup to facilitate the easy addition of some kind of useful body, of which there about a million types, where the full body vans have a frame behind the cab that is designed to support the body and whatever you put in it, so much more specialized. On a unibody van, the only part that is remotely still a unibody is the cab area, with everything behind that pretty much the same as the body on frame vans. The Chevy cutaways still have a different wheelbase than either of the full body style wheelbases, IIRC.

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by Camoman

@ BBQ ---They are MECHANICALLY the same, there are the same type of differences as between a class b and a class c and a class A.... .... There are VARIANCES.

My 1987 allegro on a MINIVAN chassis that is 21' long OVERALL and w only 4 tires and no bunk over the drivers compartment, but that is a cutaway(like a BIG ford full-size van w a v10 that is a 32' class C w a dually rearend and a queen bunk over the drivers compartment) is a LOT closer to a class b than it is to a typical class C.
Of course, when all this crap was invented they were all just called "campers". Now we have "coaches", class A, class B, etc etc, but there is every reason to add a category when it helps simplify what is being discussed.
Google a 1987 allegro on a minivan chassis and compare it's dimensions to a full-size van class c and then to a class b sprinter and you will see that it is WAY closer to a class b sprinter than to a fullsize class c, and in many ways an improvement on both.
Regardless, calling it a B+ is a perfectly logical description, but I would not call a cutaway that is 32' feet long on a sprinter but without an overhead bunk, a class b+.
Only one that is without a bunk and similar in length to a class b.

I can understand your confusion, but you have some misconceptions. The classification system, A, B, and C has solely to do with how the chassis are sold from the factory, not what's built upon them. Whether or not there's an overhead bunk, or even cab overhang is irrelevant. Length is irrelevant. The only thing considered is how the chassis is shipped from the factory.

A "Class A" coach is built on a stripped bare chassis with no cab or coach work done by the chassis manufacturer. A "Class B" is shipped as a completed cargo van into which an interior is installed by an upfitter. A "Class C" motorhome is built on a "cutaway" van chassis with a complete cab, but a bare chassis behind it, again with the coach built by an upfitter. What's built on these chassis is irrelevant to the classification. A "Class B+" motorhome is really a "Class C" cutaway chassis that upfitters have tried to make a small enough coach on to fit into the B-van marketing schtick.

[Davidk]

We also love our 1997 RT 170P
we bought it 2 years ago, in fantastic shape, we drove it to Florida
from Nova Scotia and back. Over 298000 Km on it and still going great
It was very clean and sound. We looked for around 6 months or so
until we found this one

There are still good late model rv's out there ......
This one works for us and our 3 huge dogs ( Chihuahua's )

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Davidk

We also love our 1997 RT 170P
we bought it 2 years ago, in fantastic shape, we drove it to Florida
from Nova Scotia and back. Over 298000 Km on it and still going great
It was very clean and sound. We looked for around 6 months or so
until we found this one

There are still good late model rv's out there ......
This one works for us and our 3 huge dogs ( Chihuahua's )

That's only 185,000 miles..... pretty low for a 1997.....

I don't know why so many people get excited about what they think is "high mileage"...., This is NOT HIGH MILEAGE......

[Bob Salmi]

I bought a 94 Roadtrek. I have to ask you, what did you end up with for a generator?

[Austinrt]

The original Onan worked when we bought the RV--and then after a while it didn't. We ended up buying a new Onan. We rarely need a generator, but when we do it is essential. There are two problems with the new one: it was ridiculously expensive, and it is slightly too high to allow a proper vertical fit under the bed. I was not comfortable with having the metal top over the generator in direct contact with its housing, so I bought a cheap router at Harbor Freight and managed to raise the height of the cavity enough to accommodate the generator. That worked out pretty well, apart from the fact that the router was a piece of junk. But the project did get me hooked on woodworking, so I ended up replacing the lousy router with a decent one. All things considered, I came out ahead with the generator because without the need to replace it I never would have known that I am interested in woodworking.

[Nic7320]

Originally Posted by Bob Salmi

I bought a 94 Roadtrek. I have to ask you, what did you end up with for a generator?

I find I really don't need one. I bought one, but have yet to use it. I put 200 watts of flexible solar panels on the roof and it keeps up with my day to day demands -- except A/C.

Since I have a 17' Roadtrek 170P, I don't have much storage area for a generator, so I added a Hoffman 24 x 20 x 8 NEMA-4 box to the spare tire rack and put a small 1 KW gen-set in it with a spare gas can.

So the plan is, when air conditioning is needed, I'll get out the generator and supplement it with a grid-tie inverter running on the house battery to handle the extra start up current. The air-conditioning unit requires about 700 watts average. The start up power is something around 3000 watts, but just briefly when the motor starts up. It should work.

[Joe]

Even though the original equipped Onan 2800 only had 80 hours on it when we got the camper. It needed a carburetor. Among others things for some time. I finely had so much money tied up in the generator. I felt I was stuck to keep repairing it. I should have either bought a new Onan which is the only one that will fit inside storage area. Or another brand a put on carrier off back of camper. Onan is a very expensive brand. But it is conveanent with inside camper start and taped into vehicles gas tank.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Bob Salmi

I bought a 94 Roadtrek. I have to ask you, what did you end up with for a generator?

Having it serviced on September 18... suspected problem is a voltage regulator....it starts but won't stay running..oil level is perfect....and there's no voltage output for the house...

Yes, we use it and if it's on the vehicle it's getting fixed...I don't neglect broken parts....

Yeah, we don't use it all the time..and I do exercise it regularly... but, when we need it we need it.....

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Joe

Even though the original equipped Onan 2800 only had 80 hours on it when we got the camper. It needed a carburetor. Among others things for some time. I finely had so much money tied up in the generator. I felt I was stuck to keep repairing it. I should have either bought a new Onan which is the only one that will fit inside storage area. Or another brand a put on carrier off back of camper. Onan is a very expensive brand. But it is conveanent with inside camper start and taped into vehicles gas tank.

My generator just stopped running after I turned it one day..at first it seemed like a bad switch... but my RV shop pointed out that there's no voltage to the system.....

My Onan is a propane generator...and only has 30 hours on the system....I'm sure it's something minor... I'll find out SEPTEMBER 18.....

[GallenH]

As an owner of a 97 PW I was surprised to see so many old-rig posters! Got the impression everyone here was 10 years or newer. I think a lot of one's needs depends on the use. In the 3 years I've owned it, we've only traveled 15k miles. We have kids in MN and in Europe. Those, for us are not trips in the RV. We also want to see other places in the world. So our travel is split between all of those avenues. I think that if we were taking the RV out for a month or two, I'd see our needs as different. We don't have a generator; but would probably invest in one and can see why many with extended trips would want one. We have relatives that have an A. They tend to go places for a month or so. It gives them a more comfortable base. I like the agility of a B. Smaller, more remote camping. This forum is specific to Bs but I like the diversity of interests of all who post. I've learned a lot. Thanks!

[Davidk]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

That's only 185,000 miles..... pretty low for a 1997.....

I don't know why so many people get excited about what they think is "high mileage"...., This is NOT HIGH MILEAGE......

I am not excited about the miles/km on the RT I am excited about the whole van, age ,shape ride and how it fits my family.

A lot of the RV's that I looked at to but were in worse shape, had a lot less miles on them. So yes I was a little concerned when we bought it with those miles/km on it. So that is why I say the miles /km on this RV.
And growing up if you had a gas car, truck that had over 100,000 miles on it most times it was in rough shape

So i'm not excited I am/was concerned

David