The Dereaded "D" Word

[MsNomer]

"They are narrow...but so are the Travatos...main difference is the gas vs. diesel engine..."

Not so. Travato is significantly wider than the Sprinter. In a PM, "rock and roll" is still classic music.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Cannuck

When we compared New to used, we thought the price of used was insane. We were looking at 10 year old units selling for 50% the price of new. And surprisingly they were flying off the lots so I don’t think the buyers were getting much off asking.

I figured it came down to the fact that a lot of people set a price cap around 50K and bought what they could get for that much money - even if it was a complete rip off.

Being from Canada, the options are slim. Many US units can’t be imported to Canada, and further, with the high US dollar, the price of used looked that much worse.

In the end, we decided buying new was worth it. And getting some new features like lithium batteries, DC only fridge, tall high fuel economy chassis was icing on the cake.

In the car market, 4 years is typically the 50% point, and thus I’ve found buying 4 year old cars has generally worked well for me - usually off lease cars. RVs as a wake up call that just didn’t sit with me. There is no way in my opinion that a 10 year old RV should be worth anything close to 50% the value of new - more like 30-40% makes much more sense. Remember that the vehicle it’s sitting on at 10 years is far into its life.

Good luck, and if you plan to keep it for a while I’d seriously look at buying new. Used just doesn’t seem to be worth it.

Which model did you get?? Good luck.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

"They are narrow...but so are the Travatos...main difference is the gas vs. diesel engine..."

Not so. Travato is significantly wider than the Sprinter. In a PM, "rock and roll" is still classic music.

Here's the specifications on your vehicle... it's 80.7 inches without the mirrors......

https://www.thecarconnection.com/spe...6-wb-tradesman


The Sprinter is 6 feet and 8 inches wide.... that's 80 inches..... c'mon.....who are we kidding here....

https://www.roadtrek.com/models/rs-adventurous/

I don't know about you... that's NOT a significant difference........ sorry....

If you were say 96 inches wide... that would be different and I would have agreed ......, Not less than 1 inch......

As for stability..my rig with the new suspension...is a lot better than the original factory specs.....

[MsNomer]

OK, must be your steep taper that gives me that extra width inside. I've upfitted one of each.

I stand by my observation that Sprinter's instability is not an issue with PM. No enhancements needed and no allowances for flex in the body needed when upfitting.

[Doneworking]

These things can be deceiving in appearance. I looked up the specs on my RT 210P and here are the exterior dimensions:

Length 21 feet, 11 inches (add 11 more inches for the Continental spare)

Height 8 feet 6 inches

Width 7 feet 4 inches ( 88 inches )

Wheelbase 156 inches

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Doneworking

These things can be deceiving in appearance. I looked up the specs on my RT 210P and here are the exterior dimensions:

Length 21 feet, 11 inches (add 11 more inches for the Continental spare)

Height 8 feet 6 inches

Width 7 feet 4 inches ( 88 inches )

Wheelbase 156 inches

That's correct...it's the fiberglass body ....it has a 30 inch aisle vs. the 28 inch aisle in the RS....

88 inches is definitely significant compared to 80 inches..... I completely agree.....

I really like the more narrow profile..... especially with the dual wheels.... and even though it's 22 feet , 9 inches long...it has a 170 inch wheelbase......

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

OK, must be your steep taper that gives me that extra width inside. I've upfitted one of each.

I stand by my observation that Sprinter's instability is not an issue with PM. No enhancements needed and no allowances for flex in the body needed when upfitting.

We're talking apples and oranges here.... sorry.... don't know how you can compare the stability with the difference in weight .....

The wheebase of the Sprinter is 25 percent more and the weight capacity is substantially higher....

RS Adventurous...

Gross vehicle weight rating
11,030 lbs.
Gross combined weight rating
15,250 lbs.

Occupant & cargo carrying capacity
3,000 lbs.

Compare this to what you are carrying..... huge difference .....

web link.......

https://www.thecarconnection.com/spe...6-wb-tradesman

Except from above website...

2014 Dodge Promaster ......

Weight Information
Curb Weight - Front (lbs)3013
Gross Axle Wt Rating - Front (lbs)4630
Gross Combined Wt Rating (lbs)11500
Curb Weight - Rear (lbs)1717
Gross Axle Wt Rating - Rear (lbs)5291
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. 8550

WHAT'S your occupancy and cargo capacity weight??

Actually...my 2012 is at 2,700 pounds...that includes people, gear, liquids, water etc...
You start adding those up and you find out what you can and cannot take....

Fortunately....I don't have to worry much about this... only so much space on a Class B...and the dual wheels and tires gives me a lot of extra weight capacity....

NO, I didn't really want to address this at only 39,000 miles... but, the people who advised me said that neither Mercedes Benz nor Roadtrek anticipated all the extra constant weight from tanks, generator, cabinets, appliances etc..

I had my vehicle weighed...it's 9,400 pounds with two occupants in the front... which is fine...gives me more than 1,500 pounds for food, clothes and gear.... not a problem at all...

Do you know what your weight capacity is and have you weighed your vehicle???

It's worth doing....

[David Pouliot]

Live Life. If you want it you need to pay for it . When and if you go to sell it will you follow your math and give it away ?
I spend $$$ on upkeep of my coach . As will you if you would like it perform when you need it . These cost come back to you in what you sell it for or the memories that are priceless

Originally Posted by Oliver2017

No not death, debt or divorce. Depreciation! Currently, it seems hard to find a used Class B near me that the previous owner and in most cases a dealer is willing to sell the camper taking into account the true depreciation value.

Do I come up with my own math formula or is there a website that is used as the absolute go to source like NADA that sellers respect when considering my offer?

If I buy new with cash and plan to keep for 20 years, does the "D" word even matter in this circumstance? I read other suggesting to never buy new to avoid the initial "D" hit, but if slightly used is not abundant and the market is keeping the used prices high what is a fence rider to do??? Is buying a new clearance van out of season the way for me to go?

[MsNomer]

"Do you know what your weight capacity is and have you weighed your vehicle???"

Loaded with everything for a substantial trip, including food, water and us, we hit 6,900 pounds, so our added 2,243 pounds (over bare van) is just over half the capacity of the vehicle, which is just shy of two tons. I have not weighed it empty because we never travel with it empty. It is always stocked.

I don't know how weight got into this discussion, but I could add a cow in there and still be within weight range. I could fit her in, but she'd make a mess.

[Doneworking]

We are off topic alright. Given that we are, I am going to add this: I borrow the techniques of the trailer folks. Weight should also be distributed side to side and front to back. That is important for handling as well as the chassis integrity. Put a thirty gallon water tank on one side and you just added over 250 pounds in one rather small spot.

My Roadtrek has two water tanks, one for winter use which is inside the coach and not as subject to freezing. It is, by way of example, engineered and designed so that one tank is aft on the starboard side, one forward on the port side. Good engineering for weight distribution.

Trailer folks really watch all this because of sway, swag and other bad things.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Doneworking

We are off topic alright. Given that we are, I am going to add this: I borrow the techniques of the trailer folks. Weight should also be distributed side to side and front to back. That is important for handling as well as the chassis integrity. Put a thirty gallon water tank on one side and you just added over 250 pounds in one rather small spot.

My Roadtrek has two water tanks, one for winter use which is inside the coach and not as subject to freezing. It is, by way of example, engineered and designed so that one tank is aft on the starboard side, one forward on the port side. Good engineering for weight distribution.

Trailer folks really watch all this because of sway, swag and other bad things.

The Chevy Roadtreks having two tanks helps balance, as does having the two batteries on the passenger side, but it seems like all the Chevies are heavy on the left rear. GM seems to know this as it appears they have altered things so that left rear wheel sits a bit higher than the right on them, making the left rear wheelwell a bit low. Pretty much everyone with airbags has found they need 20+ psi more in the left than right to get the wheelwells level. When I removed the overload leafs in our Chevy 190, I cut the one on the left off and put just a 6" section back in as a spacer. The leaf is a bit under 1" thick so like a 1" lift block. I took the right side overload leaf out all the way. Setup like this, the air pressure side to side is essentially identical when level.


I think GM did the uneven wheel height to transfer some of the left rear weight off to the right rear and left front as the read axle rating is exactly the max rating of two of the stock tires. If you have 200# extra on the left rear, you could be within axle rating, but over on tire rating, and not know it.

[Knit]

Originally Posted by gigi

I just read some stats on RV sales.... overall sales are up 314% and class B type vehicles are the majority of sales... good news for B owners!

According to RVIA data, class B’s are a small fraction of the market. https://www.rvia.org/news-insights/r...nts-march-2018
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