Travatos Arriving at Dealers Now

bobojay · 12-16-2013, 02:02 AM

Well the Travatos are finally going out to dealers now. It will be interesting to see all the feelings and opinions of the first owners and lookers.
I did notice in the first pics from one at an actual dealer, that there seemed to be some minor changes to some of the exterior fittings from the ones first shown 3 or so months ago

mlts22 · 12-16-2013, 05:13 PM

I noticed the same thing, especially the model shown on the YouTube video from Colonial Itasca.

stanw909 · 12-17-2013, 03:34 AM

The more I see the more I like.I had a bit of an epiphany regards the Travato..The bed gives this rig a lot of versatility.Two Small kids could sleep under the bed with a pad and a sleeping bag.A lot of extra stuff(fresh water,food,clothing etc...) can be stored under the bed.I can hardly wait to see one in person.

markopolo · 12-17-2013, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlts22

..........................the YouTube video from Colonial Itasca.

[youtube:iwueitta]4CxwJVtZqAI[/youtube:iwueitta]

Davydd · 12-17-2013, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stanw909

The more I see the more I like.I had a bit of an epiphany regards the Travato..The bed gives this rig a lot of versatility.Two Small kids could sleep under the bed with a pad and a sleeping bag.A lot of extra stuff(fresh water,food,clothing etc...) can be stored under the bed.I can hardly wait to see one in person.

Which is it under the drop down bed? A place to sleep or a place to store stuff?

There is already a bed for kids in front.

What's confusing about this unit is there is very little storage inside other than that floor where the bed drops down. I'm to take it that space becomes a hodgepodge of boxes and I would guess unless one is attempting to travel with bikes that the bed would remain made up because who would want to step amongst the hodgepodge to go back and lower the bed every night and gain nothing for putting it up but the ability to rummage through your storage like in an attic?

There are some considerations for multi-use of the B for other reasons than travel. It may be the only B you can use to go pick up anything at a furniture store. But the idea of bikes inside conflicts with other storage and then they have to be removed from the B overnight. That begs being put on a hitch receiver in the first place.

stanw909 · 12-17-2013, 08:14 PM

"Which is it under the drop down bed? A place to sleep or a place to store stuff? " Exactly.Which is it? The point is; the consumer may make it what they wish.No current mass produced Class B sold in America is as versatile.None!Only custom builders like Sportsmobile can make a similar vehicle and for a much more hefty price tag.The drive train is what bothers me.I will definitely wait and see.I would also wait for the diesel version as it should have better MPG and a longer warranty (5 years).

Davydd · 12-17-2013, 08:56 PM

I think you misunderstand me. If you haul a couple of kids along how are you going to use the Travato for kids sleeping there under the bed and store what you need to take along if that space under the bed has to be utilized to store things. Kind of moot in a way to have even made that suggestion since there is a second kid bed available with the second seat. We've hauled grandkids on thousand mile long trips in our much bigger Sprinter. We resorted to carrying a tent along with sleeping bags and of course extra clothes in duffel bags and TOYS. Do you realize how much you have to haul to keep a 4 year old happy? The bathroom became a storage room. That Travato has so little storage and small tanks that I would never attempt what we did with a Travato. Short distance weekend trips to go from home to a campground? Fine. It is better than an SUV for sure.

mlts22 · 12-17-2013, 09:45 PM

You do have a point about the under the bed storage. Unless there is some type of cargo net, I don't see anything that prevents stuff slid under the bed from flying forward come even a moderate stop. Of course, that can be addressed a number of ways, but is definitely an issue. If I were going on longer trips, and vehicle storage were not such a premium for me (at best I have a parking space in a driveway), I'd definitely go for a longer rig. I am going to see about addressing the storage issue by a hitch mounted cargo carrier, but at 350 pounds tops, that carrier won't be carrying much, especially if it is one that swings out of the way, so a cargo carrier isn't going to completely mitigate the lack of storage.

As for the drivetrain, normally I'm leery of a "version 1.0" offering, but I think there should be no surprises with this. The drivetrain with the gremlins will be the diesel engine and its AMT, and that is still being thrashed out.

I do think this won't be Winnebago's final offering. With all the market players jumping in, I can see better floorplans in a year or two that have more storage, especially for 1000+ mile trips with kids.

Davydd · 12-17-2013, 10:27 PM

For extended touring for a couple the Travato is going to have two major debits no matter how clever the designs. The first of course is its overall size which puts it closer to the 144" wheelbase RT Agile and P-W Ascent limitations compared to the 170" wheelbase Sprinters. The 2-3" extra width gives it a little more design flexibility over the 144" wheelbase Sprinters. Secondly, that lower floor, because of no need for a drive train with front wheel drive, limits tank capacities.

The wild card is the Ford Transit. I don't know if it will compete well enough for the high end market against the Sprinter as it seems more aligned with the T1N older Sprinter in size. I suspect it will aim more toward the ProMaster but will probably settle in between the ProMaster and Sprinter in capability and price points. For people who like and liked the old T1N Sprinter body it could be popular.

stanw909 · 12-17-2013, 11:58 PM

Ok. Let me try to make point of little tykes sleeping under the bed moot. Lets say you are a younger couple and you want to stay up late,watch a movie,have some grownup time or up early and have a coffee together but you can 't because the kids are there. Another option would be under the bed for little ones. Am I going to have to spell it all out. Think outside the box peoples. This van is quite obviously targeting younger more active buyers. Not retired full timers ,but I bet I could make it work with my wife fulltime.

bobojay · 12-18-2013, 03:34 AM

A comment some made above about the warranty on the gasser. It's the same on the gas and the diesel, 5yrs/100k miles on the drivetrain.
None of the gasser drivetrain is new. Pentastar has been here since late 2010, 6 spd auto before that.

bobojay · 12-22-2013, 05:31 PM

I figured out why Winnebago on the Travato is not using a Ultraleather seat cover and leaving the factory cloth as is. 2 reasons, 1 being the seat mounted seat belts, and the other is the seat mounted outboard air bags.
Change the configuration of either of those and you're dealing with the Feds and having to go through all sorts of testing and certifications. Big $$$.
Be curious to see how GWV and the others building on the Travato do this.....

mlts22 · 12-24-2013, 07:00 PM

I think the same issue is with the 2014 Sprinter seats as well, but they are an option, not standard. If I buy a Sprinter and have SMB upfit it, the seats wouldn't be changed due to the airbags present.

Davydd · 12-24-2013, 10:16 PM

I've never seen side impact air bags listed as an option by any Sprinter B converter. I don't recall ever seeing a Sprinter from Great West, P-W, R-T, LTV, AS, etc. that didn't offer the Ultra-leather option. I suspect they could offer the side impact air bags and still re-cover the seats. What they need is an approved side tear seam. SMB probably wouldn't go that far because in the past few have probably requested it. The other converters probably haven't offered that option possibly because of the limitations and might follow SMB's lead if you wanted it. My Great West Van was not only re-covered with Ultra-leather but it was re-upholstered as well.

bobojay · 12-25-2013, 03:12 AM

Obviously mlts22 is going to order the side air bag option if he orders one for SMB to upfit for him. He's only a couple miles from their Austin plant. Be an easy weekly trip to check things out for him.

I noticed something today while looking over the ProMaster owners manual. If you order the swivel seats, those are the ones that have the seat belts mounted on the seat instead of the B pillar. There's several seating options you can order with them. That explains the discrepancy I was seeing on some of the early Travato and PM class C videos (Winnebago) I have been seeing that were using very early production models

mlts22 · 12-25-2013, 07:03 AM

I think the ProMaster at SMB's factory should be upfitted sometime next month. It will be interesting to see what they can and can't do with it. If anyone is interested, I can pop in every so often to see how it goes.

bobojay · 12-25-2013, 07:06 AM

I'd be interested just to see how the process goes on a new vehicle. First one so to speak

pattonsr · 12-25-2013, 03:14 PM

The Airstream Interstate was the first to offer the extra airbags. Advanced RV will offer them in 2014.

stanw909 · 12-31-2013, 01:05 AM

I looked at the rig in person today and am very impressed. I layed on the bed and think it is doable with my wife. I like a hard bed but many will want a pad. When it folds up,bedding will fold up also. Bath is very spacious. The pics and vids don 't do it justice. I was able to look the whole rig over with no salesman interference. The passenger front needs a step for my wife to get in her chair (5'2"). Nice cabinets. Big fridge. The propane tank valves and fill stick out without the usual safety cage around it . That is strange. I forgot to look for the house battery to see if another could be added. Solar power is really the only thing it lacks. First rate rig.

accrete · 01-24-2014, 09:42 PM

Something to keep in mind on any/all of these RV beds... it is an easy mod to add a lightweight (our queen kit weighted about 8 lbs) Froli-Sleep System under any of these mattress pads. Any shape and/or size (V berth, L, whatever). The Froli will do two things 1) add much needed air circulation under the mattress (no mold/etc) and 2) give you arguably a 5 Star hotel bed in your RV. Both our full time rig and our adventure van have Froli's and i can not say enough good things about them!! There is no modification to the mattress, you simply lay the froli down under (it will add ~2" in height) and you are done.

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