What’s New at Advanced RV for 2017?

[BBQ]

What’s New at Advanced RV for 2017?

A bit late in the year,
maybe it should be what is new for 2018?

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/wha...d-rv-for-2017/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNmX11blPRg

[Saldar]

I wonder what the FitRV travato-oid is doing up on the lift? You can see it on the left in the intro.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by Saldar

I wonder what the FitRV travato-oid is doing up on the lift? You can see it on the left in the intro.

It was getting a self-leveling parking system.

[Manx]

Also installing VB air suspension:

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/a-s...ion-in-our-rv/

[Davydd]

In the closing you see a red MB Metris in the shop. It is unconverted but will soon be.

I just came from Advanced RV. There will be several new announcements soon.

TheFitRV got the VB Air Suspension and the levelers. That is a hint of a new division of customizing other brand RVs.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by Davydd

That is a hint of a new division of customizing other brand RVs.

Quigley now provides a 4WD conversion for the Transit that shifts in and out of 4WD on the fly. I think it would be an excellent candidate for ARV to upfit as an alternative to the Sprinter.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by Davydd

In the closing you see a red MB Metris in the shop. It is unconverted but will soon be.

I just came from Advanced RV. There will be several new announcements soon.

TheFitRV got the VB Air Suspension and the levelers. That is a hint of a new division of customizing other brand RVs.

They have to accept other manufacturers.
They have no choice.
They can't swim against the current forever.
There are only so many customers who would accept a MB Sprinter.

The Ford Transit will make a formidable platform.
Their EcoBoost engines outperform every competitor in every category of measurements. This engine/chassis combination is just too good to ignore. I bet when more upfitters take up the Transit, RT's ancient 210 will have to bite the dust.

[Porsche911]

Originally Posted by Davydd

In the closing you see a red MB Metris in the shop. It is unconverted but will soon be.

I just came from Advanced RV. There will be several new announcements soon.

TheFitRV got the VB Air Suspension and the levelers. That is a hint of a new division of customizing other brand RVs.

I just watched the fit RV video, seems a nice leveling system but at what cost, a hefty $ amount no doubt so as mentioned in the video depends how anal one has to be to warrant the $ expense

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by Davydd

In the closing you see a red MB Metris in the shop. It is unconverted but will soon be.

I just came from Advanced RV. There will be several new announcements soon.

Advanced RV appears to be a very competent team with a broad base of skills. Glad to see they are expanding their offerings.

Question: People tend to say that it is unreasonable to expect new RV to not require many fixes and a shakedown period.

Was that your experience with your RV? Are you experience a lot of niggling problems with your Sprinter?

[Davydd]

They are one of the few certified VB Air Suspension installers and probably wish to parlay that with what they did with the FitRV. I saw a Pleasure-way Serenity getting a VB Air Suspension installation last year in their shop. They have some other specialty shops they probably wish to parlay too. Their cabinet shop has renovated a couple of Winnebago ERAs in the past.

As far as I can tell they have no interest in the Promaster. The Ford Transit was never under discussion from anyone there. Their interest is in the MB Metris ala a Westfalia like poptop and interior options but not customization like their Sprinters to keep the cost competitive for the active family and millennials. I think this is driven solely by Mike Neundorfer's active interest in this area as a biker and camper but realizing a younger generation is not ready or can afford a dedicated van RV.

They will still build customer requested custom Sprinters employing the best systems and equipment. There is no compromise on quality and as you saw in the video and development efforts go into the next model on the line and not model year. They have no interest in competing with the dealer oriented companies that seem to cater to the dealer's needs first and the customer second and watch each other for parity offerings.

Most customers are interested in their no compromise and get what you want approach and pay cash and not finance. No customer is looking for the deal or comparing companies. They do have a fairly new Warp Core Roadtrek one customer got fed up with and traded in. They take care of their customers by buying their RVs back or mistakes like the Warp Core trade in. With that they have an active rental company and offer previously owned ARVs. The previously owned undergo renovations and updates wherever possible.

So don't wish for Advanced RV to sell you cheap offerings. You at least have one company that doesn't desire to compromise and you can get satisfaction. Obviously it is not for most but that's OK by me.

[Boxster1971]

Davydd - thanks for keeping us updated on Advanced RV. I looked at ARV before I bought my Airstream Interstate in 2012. But they were just getting started and I didn't want to wait for a build. I'm doing about 20,000 miles a year now on the Interstate and I figure it will be time to replace it in a few years. I'd like to get a next generation Sprinter built by ARV. I really like their focus on all weather operation and the electric design with diesel powered heat sources.

- - Mike
2012 Sprinter 3500 Extended converted B-Van by Airstream

[Davydd]

They installed the Volta 48v system in one Sprinter so far. It is performing well but it is costly. It answers the question of having air conditioner full time in the south (90+ temps) and remain off shore power and get you through a night in the campground. The Volta will run the air conditioner and other electrical needs and charge the batteries at the same time. If you don't need that capability it might not be practical. BTW, they say nominally 48 volts but it is a 57 volt system.

The Nations alternator couldn't keep up with amp hour deterioration (input not equalling input). The Delco alternator does a good job in my estimation but and on my recent trip (just got back today) I consistently recharged my batteries in an overnight stay in under 30 minutes of driving with the Delco alternator. I watched TV, brewed Keurig coffee, and ran the Maxxfan through the night and not worry about electrical consumption.

All the vans under production still have the existing battery and Delco alternator system that I can see. They are R&Ding other battery systems. One other was on the test bench.

You can get anything you want at Advanced RV including genuine cowhide seats.

[mumkin]

BTW Davydd... Pleasureway Serenity? The Serenity is LTV. Or was it a Pleasureway something else?

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by mumkin

BTW Davydd... Pleasureway Serenity? The Serenity is LTV. Or was it a Pleasureway something else?

LTV Serenity. I got the companies mixed up.