Carado Banff

[nowitall]

Sorry, I must have seen an advert for a loaded model somewhere...

[merakano]

Originally Posted by Phoebe3

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.

We bought ours from IKEA (Canada / USA) . But I don't recommend this one because it made noisy on the road due to the metallic material. We had to cover the edge with anti-slip mat while our trip.

[merakano]

Originally Posted by mumkin

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.

I totally agree. I could feel cold air infiltration through the upper and lower most part of gaps between rear doors. What should I do to block it and insulate doors?
Thank you for nice comment, mumkin.

[mumkin]

I am not at all handy... and plan to have a local company add insulation to mine. If you join the Roadtrek and Hymer owners group on Facebook, some of the members there have added insulation to their promasters. The door panels come off quite easily, they say... but not sure about what material they are using.

I was impressed at myself that I recognized that you got that little medicine cabinet at IKEA. It has that look.

[merakano]

Originally Posted by mumkin

I am not at all handy... and plan to have a local company add insulation to mine. If you join the Roadtrek and Hymer owners group on Facebook, some of the members there have added insulation to their promasters. The door panels come off quite easily, they say... but not sure about what material they are using.

I was impressed at myself that I recognized that you got that little medicine cabinet at IKEA. It has that look.

I will join the Facebook owner's group!
Thank you for the info, mumkin.

[BBQ]

.

This lack of insulation seems a problem (shortcomings) common to all RV upfitters.
The Travato owners group have lots of DIY insulations projects too.
Most of them use rockwool.

[wincrasher]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

This lack of insulation seems a problem (shortcomings) common to all RV upfitters.
The Travato owners group have lots of DIY insulations projects too.
Most of them use rockwool.

What most are doing is adding it to the rear door and side sliding door. I'll be using denim on mine.

WGO upgraded the sidewall insulation for 2019, as they were changing the windows sizes and interior panel moldings.

Funny that Hymer decided to eliminate insulation as a cost-cutting measure to knock the price down - particularly units sold in Canada (cold country). The way it's done in a production van, it can't really save that much labor by eliminating it, and the material, being fiberglass, is very inexpensive. The opposite is true to the end user though - very time consuming and costly to add later.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

This lack of insulation seems a problem (shortcomings) common to all RV upfitters.
The Travato owners group have lots of DIY insulations projects too.
Most of them use rockwool.

Not all, maybe most. Advanced RVs are fully insulated.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Not all, maybe most. Advanced RVs are fully insulated.

You got it right there.
I should have used the word "most".

[kite_rider]

Merakano, great write up on some clever mods. You didn't mention the nice wood mat in your shower pan (or maybe I missed it), but was that stock or did you get it later?

I ask because I have the same shower pan and would love to get a nice wood mat that fits like the one in your pictures.

Also have the same loud A/C unit on my rig, I'm considering removing it and replacing it with a max fan or similar. We don't use much A/C in the Pacific Northwest and I wouldn't be able to sleep with that thing humming away anyway.. Am only keeping it so far since I think it will be handy to cool the van down while driving on hot summer days. I like that it works off of the RAM's alternator and installed inverter.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by BBQ

You got it right there.
I should have used the word "most".

I have been on the Sprinter forum since 2013 and noticed that practically all DIY folks start with insulation. My first stage of the conversion was plumbing, wiring and insulation. Doing insulation afterwards is very time consuming and rather painful. I was one of the first folks using Thinsulate in my Sprinter, Hein bought the left-over half of the $1K roll. Getting Thinsulate in 2013 wasn’t easy, found one in a marine store.

[merakano]

Originally Posted by kite_rider

Merakano, great write up on some clever mods. You didn't mention the nice wood mat in your shower pan (or maybe I missed it), but was that stock or did you get it later?

I ask because I have the same shower pan and would love to get a nice wood mat that fits like the one in your pictures.

Also have the same loud A/C unit on my rig, I'm considering removing it and replacing it with a max fan or similar. We don't use much A/C in the Pacific Northwest and I wouldn't be able to sleep with that thing humming away anyway.. Am only keeping it so far since I think it will be handy to cool the van down while driving on hot summer days. I like that it works off of the RAM's alternator and installed inverter.

Hi Kite_rider, I got the mat from local HomeDepot and it's like this one. It's not actually real wood but looks good and works well. The installation was super easy. 2 pieces of them perfectly fit in the pan. I added another layer of black plastic panels to match the height with the bed area. I worried about the over-flow of shower water to the bed area but this things never happened yet. I bet you like it or you can return it

About the A/C, it was almost 100f (38c) when we were in south California. The chassis's A/C was enough while driving but absolutely we needed roof A/C when we parked and stopped the engine. The A/C was just terrible. Too loud and the performance was not enough good, but much better than without it.

Sorry about my bed English again.

[mumkin]

They have finally built a quiet AC that can be installed by Advanced RV. As I recall, it is about $3000. For that money, I can live with a bit of noise.

Once you get over 100 degrees... sitting in a tin box... you probably wouldn't want an AC unit large enough on the roof. This has been a complaint about Class B's since... forever.

[ClssBLife]

Great write up Merakano, Thanks!

[RoundSparrow]

Originally Posted by jharu

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.

Can someone give a run down of differences between Banff & Axion? Is the length the main difference? Any significant changes on a Banff 2017 vs 2018?

[Storysrvwego]

Thanks jharu - My wife and I have many trips under our belt now with our WB Travato 59K. It has performed flawlessly on the road and when camped. While the 2019's offer leather seats up front now, my wife and I are completely comfortable in the cloth seats, even if we drive all day long. Same goes for the steering wheel which on the RAM, only telescopes, not tilt. I know some have complained about the steering wheel but in our case, it is never in our minds while driving nor is the instrumentation view blocked. We are both built differently so my point is, I think in actual driving most everyone of average height and arm reach will be fine. The steering wheels non-adjustable angle for shorter height and/or arm length folks would be a real problem.

On our last trip, we had ultra strong head winds and side gusts. The Promaster/Travato handled this with better grace than the taller (higher chassis) Mercedes we drove once.

We managed a trip mpg average on that 450 mile outbound leg with about 30% of it into the wind at 15.3 mpg overall. Coming home on the same path with minimal to no wind, we averaged 17.88 mpg. Highway speed ranged from 60 to 70 mph overall. Some at 55 in the Portland, Oregon surrounding area. Some short, jaunts at CRAWLING speed within Portland and then back at home, a few stoplights are all included in these mileage averages. Not bad!

[jharu]

Thanks @storysrvwego
The information on driving comfort and headwinds is much appreciated

[jharu]

In a word, the Axion was built for 1 person.
The Banff for 2.
The Axion will be on a shorter chassis, so it will be easier to park.

I think in northern CA, they are all sold out on the Axions
They were discounting them heavily - and I saw a brand new one at La Mesa for about $60K

I took a hard look at them both, and decided to go with a WGO 59K

[GigaGeek]

Yes, the 2019 59G is a big improvement and I would now consider it alongside the K. A simple upgrade like the new galley window seems to make a significant difference in the feel of the interior - no more dead corner in the kitchen! While more constrained than the K, the new G has a cozy feel without seeming claustrophobic. The additional cargo space and larger refrigerator over the K could make it better for some buyers. The decision between the two floorplans will probably come down to sleeping configuration, coupled with the number and size of the desired sleepsters.

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.

[csaeger]

Thanks for sharing. A very helpfull post. The drawers are a terrific idea as is your kitchen re-do.