Carado Banff

[Tami2]

What is $40K more?

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by nowitall

WOW. Almost $40K over the price of my Van One. It's nice, but my budget didn't allow for that kink of expenditure.

Totally mysterious to me too... might get to that price level for a fully loaded Zion. But didn't see it mentioned.

[stoth]

Hi Tami2,

I am thinking about purchasing a Banff, but I'm concerned that you can only power systems with the lithium batteries. I just found out today that although I can plug into shore power, it only charges the batteries. You cannot power things directly from shore power. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Susan

[Tami2]

Hi Susan,

When it’s plugged to shore power the power does go through the lithium batteries. It’s not a bad thing. It’s charging the batteries as it goes through and gives you shore power.

From what I understand (and I’m fairly new at this), most Class B’s (or all?) are set up this way. The set-up allows you to then move on and boondock with charged batteries. It’s different from a camper that just plugs in directly.

[mumkin]

I've had Class B's that work both ways... and to be honest, I can't tell the difference in how the stuff works.

The only difference is that you might hear the hum of the inverter or its fan running as required.

[Tami2]

Originally Posted by mumkin

I've had Class B's that work both ways... and to be honest, I can't tell the difference in how the stuff works.

The only difference is that you might hear the hum of the inverter or its fan running as required.

Ah, yes. This is true. And it took some getting used to.

[Russ R]

I went with the Banff for several reasons. I'm disabled and wanted to be able to park just about anywhere i.e. grocery shopping, laundromat, etc. I am going to have to make a few mod's to hook-up's. Electrical, water are just to low for me to do. I plan on moving those connections to the side of the rear plastic bumper cover where there is enough room to do so. I'm also going to have to figure out a different way to access the gray/black tank dump as the access door opens upward and gets in the way. But for the price, these mod's are worth it.

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by Russ R

I'm also going to have to figure out a different way to access the gray/black tank dump as the access door opens upward and gets in the way.

You can buy electrically operated black & gray tank valves (like these, for example), which would allow you to open & close them without having to reach under the van body. I have no experience with them myself, but I think they would be worth investigating.

And if you installed a macerator pump, you might be able to relocate the waste hose connection to a more accessible location as well.

[mumkin]

It comes with a 'macerating toilet' which has the usual sanicon hose and end unit.

It is at an inconvenient level, but then that is pretty standard in Class B units... especially for those of us whose knees are no longer young.

[jharu]

Originally Posted by Storysrvwego

We tried to wait for a Bannf that was on order at a local dealer before but at least a couple of months have gone by and the one they were supposedly getting never arrived yet. So my wife and I pulled the trigger and went ahead with a new 2018 Travato 59K purchase. We looked at the 2019's but we preferred the 2018 configuration and of course the 2019's were also more money. Some neat things they are doing in the 2019 even without the L option but we are happy campers which I guess we can say, pun intended.

Gene

Congratulations @Storysrvwego!
I am a little surprised that you have to wait for the Banff. In Northern California the dealers are literally "fire selling" them. I saw the Axion at La Mesa - lots of bells and whistles - for $65K on the window. The Banff was $60K.
That means they are not selling.

On the other hand, the Winnebago 59K was hard to find and negotiate. They had very few in stock in Sacramento, and they had to "import" them from San Diego, Tucson, Albuquerque...

[Storysrvwego]

02May18 - I got the feeling that the local dealer was holding off their order because they had inventiey of Activ and Axion that had been sitting since about summer last year.

We were already certain we wanted a Travato and given what we had seen for quality issues in Hymer models, we didnt really have a flame going for one of their units. But we tried to keep that door open to see a Banff without traveling far before we made final decision.

No regrets. The Travato has been super. Rear bath showering is roomy, easy and excellent heated water by the Truma. We sleep on the twin Froli supported beds with absolute comfort. With all of the windows, the interior daylight gives us an uplifting feeling from stem to stern; some of the Class B's have some dark areas.

I think the only thing we have nitpicked about is passing each other when walking between the twin beds is tight. Instead of 30 inch wide mattresses, some of the other brands have slightly narrower cabinets and mattresses. However, we are thankful at night to be sleeping on these 30 inch wide mattresses. The slight walking inconvenience between these with two people is an insignificant issue.

We have tested every feature. Except for an unplugged connector in the solar panel wiring, no other issues in the coach or the RAM chassis. And we can hardly call an unplugged connector an issue. I suspect the mating halves were just not pressed firmly together. It has not come apart again.


A few people took issue with the Promaster not having a tilt steering wheel. My wife is 5'-8" and I am 6'-1". We both are very happy with seating, steering, controls & information placement. The mirrors are outstanding. Surprisingly, ditto the stereo, even with Sirius digital music. While a Sprinter is a bit more upscale in finish, we have no complaints with the Promaster.

Gene

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by Storysrvwego

With all of the windows, the interior daylight gives us an uplifting feeling from stem to stern; some of the Class B's have some dark areas.

The 59K does have an expanded open feeling which is a real plus but it does result in a trade off: unlike the 59G, the refrigerator cubic is limited since it has to be installed under counter.

[wincrasher]

With the improvements to the G, I sold my K and ordered a GL.

Bigger compressor fridge with separate freezer and all plumbing in the heated space. Leather seats. Dual pane acrylic awning style windows with integrated shades. Changes in the cabinetry allowing more storage. Improved roof & bike rack and ladder system and solar mounting (with 200 watts standard).

Besides that, on the G you have a bigger bed (I found the twin too narrow, as I'm one to toss and turn). I like you can fold the bed up (with all the bedding on it) and then have a large standing space to get dressed. I like that the bathroom doesn't dominate as much floor space, and because it's all fiberglass, you don't need to fiddle with a shower curtain.

I will miss the convection microwave in the K, and the all gravity drainage system, and of course the wide open interior. You trade that off for more cabinet storage and a dinette with large table.

[silex840]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

With the improvements to the G, I sold my K and ordered a GL.

Bigger compressor fridge with separate freezer and all plumbing in the heated space. Leather seats. Dual pane acrylic awning style windows with integrated shades. Changes in the cabinetry allowing more storage. Improved roof & bike rack and ladder system and solar mounting (with 200 watts standard).

Besides that, on the G you have a bigger bed (I found the twin too narrow, as I'm one to toss and turn). I like you can fold the bed up (with all the bedding on it) and then have a large standing space to get dressed. I like that the bathroom doesn't dominate as much floor space, and because it's all fiberglass, you don't need to fiddle with a shower curtain.

I will miss the convection microwave in the K, and the all gravity drainage system, and of course the wide open interior. You trade that off for more cabinet storage and a dinette with large table.

I hear the L version of the K and G is fairly expensive compared to the non-L. Do you feel the added price is worth it?

[wincrasher]

I don't think the $20k option price is out of line considering what you are getting: more than twice the battery capacity of the eco-trek, and 40% more than the Coachmen system. I'm figuring it will run the overhead AC unit 6-8 hours in hot weather. 48 volt 2nd alternator charging which can completely charge the large battery pack in one hour (because it's 48volts, it is physically smaller, runs cooler and does not stick out below the van unlike others). A 3600 watt Magnum inverter that provides a full 30 amp service. 200 watts of solar with MPPT controller charging at 51 volts. An autostart system that works on SOC, not voltage. A true SOC gauge for the user to know where they stand.

[merakano]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and Carado Banff as well.
We bought Carado Banff on March 2018 and already had 5k mile trip (3weeks) and had some modifications on our Banff. Here, I'd like to share what we have felt, learned and done about the Banff.

First of all, please understand my poor English.

----------------------

Why we choose the Banff?
It is definitely because of the lowest price. Open space and rear located bath was another options.

Where and how long have we traveled so far?
We had 3 weeks traveling west side of USA and canyons in Utah in April 2018. Sometimes it was freezing cold nights and sometimes very hot summer days. We had chances for heater and A/C.

When we got the Banff
We picked it up on March 3rd, 2018

Hows the quality
The visual quality was not so bad. Everything was stable and not rattled on the road. But cheaper one has it's own reasons. The gas heater and A/C is loud (very). The galley looks small and cheap. Driver side chair is not completely swiveled. No back camera supported. No passenger side armrest. But, some of those are changeable.

Am I satisfying?
With some mods, yes I am. I would rather regret if I bought expensive one.

The pros;
- We can park almost anywhere. It looks big enough to park at the RV parking area and also small enough to park at the standard parking area. Even we had a chance to park at the Best Western Inn at Page Utah one late Saturday night.
- The second alternator produced enough electricity. Since we usually stayed RV parks and moved a lot, I felt like I was free from electricity. We never warred about the refrigerator while away for long day tracking or shopping. About the A/C, I don't know how long it can be run.

Cons and my modifications;

- Removal of the ugly Carado and Banff decals
The first mod I did. Now we have our own designed new decals.

- Replace 2 inch matrices for uncomfortable cushions.
The included 8 pieces of cushion were too soft for us, and making king size bed at night was a hard job. We removed all the cushions and bought two 2" IKEA matrices. Those are just fit as a sofa cushion when it folded a bit. Converting to bed/sofa was just easy (30sec is enough). We highly satisfied about this (I don't need permanent bed anymore)

- Installed the sewer hose carrier and elongated black sewer outlet.
The Banff's sewer system is weird and stupid. It has separated two sewer outlets. The galley gray tank is located just under the sink(inside) and uses gravity system. The black tank is actually shower gray and toilet black combined form and located under the rear floor(outside). The black sewer pushes out with macerating pump through the 1" hose, but the final outlet is 3" usual RV type. I had to elongate the sewer outlet cause it is very hard to connect to the black sewer adapt to the outlet (it is located at the deep useless small black box). Now I am considering to make one outlet.
I installed sewer hose carrier just front of the hitch bar.

- Kitchen counter top exchange
We removed built in gas stove and changed to wider counter top. We rotate the sink and make it closer to the body. These mods made a big looking difference and better kitchen usage. We can use portable stove/cooktop.

- Installed electric heater and added gas stove cover.
The built in Suburban gas heater is very loud and I smelled kind of petroleum odor. I removed all putty between outside heater vent cover and car metal plate then treated with heat silicon to eliminate the smell. We used Dr Infrared electric Heater every night and it worked like a charm and quite. The problem was its carrying day and night. After returned from our trip, I installed Dr Infrared Heater inside the empty driver side storage space. I moved the usb adapter and 110v outlet to inside. I didn't operate it in real world yet (I worry about the air circulation).
When it's cold outside, some cold air came in through the gas stove panel and we added the heater cover with Velcros and it actually worked. The Banff has not factory insulated at all. I added insulation as I could but freezing cold night we had to turn both electric and gas heater together.

- Medicine box install
There was a cheap plastic mirror in the bathroom. We removed that stupid mirror and installed real medicine box.

- installed drawer under the bed storage
We have large unblocked storage under the passenger side bed. We installed two drawers (one for big food storage and the other for bottled water).

- Installed slide door vinyl rain cover and mosquito screen
When it's rain, water drops from the awning cover and comes in. We needed to cover it and no choice other than the vinyl so far. It looks not pretty but works. I am still looking for the better method. For the screen, we used magnetics for easy access.

- using magnetics for larger shower area
We pushed shower curtain to the wall with magnetic and now enough space for shower. Hot water was enough hot and the water flow was excellent.

Others
- Microwave and refrigerator
Works well. When we stopped rest area for lunch, we used microwave a lot and never worried about the battery voltage drop. The refrigerator is running through only 12v (I could see 110v plug while taking off the original counter top) and worked just fine. It ran without any issue for 3weeks traveling and ice cream was never melted.
- A/C
The Dometic A/C is even louder than the gas heater. We cannot talk each other while the A/C was running. We seldom used it.

[merakano]

Here are some more pics

[silex840]

^ quite the share! Thanks for contributing!

[mumkin]

Great job making your rig closer to what you need.

Just to make you feel a little better (maybe), but even the most expensive Hymer/Roadtrek models come without the passenger armrest (all Promasters starting this year), all have that noisy AC, and most have the noisy Suburban furnace. To get the quieter versions of either is hugely expensive.

Something else you might consider is adding insulation... especially in the sliding door and the rear doors. Also blocking off the cab which has a major effect on inside temperature.

[Phoebe3]

Originally Posted by merakano

- Medicine box install
There was a cheap plastic mirror in the bathroom. We removed that stupid mirror and installed real medicine box.

Wow! What a great write-up! Thanks for sharing!

Where did you get your medicine box? That looks like something we might like to add to our van.