Today I ordered an Aktiv 1.0

[wincrasher]

I just looked out the window and saw a pig fly past our house. Wincrasher buying a product from Jim Hammill leads to all kinds of strange happenings...

LOL. Maybe I know something you don't.

 

[AlexJ-ClassB]

Congrats Ron! Hope you're able to get it soon.

 

[gregmchugh]

LOL. Maybe I know something you don't.

I expect you know a lot more about it than I do. I don't follow the Erwin Hymer Group NA news very much any more now that we are selling our Roadtrek and moving to another vehicle. You seem to be suggesting that management changes are coming in Kitchener? Not too surprising if that happens...

 

[Mike-ClassB]

I see they weigh in a little over 4.5 tons. Could you pull it with the Tiffin? If you ran tanks empty? Currently looking at toad options for our bus. A small lightweight B van with some basic systems, not everything, with decent ground clearance would be ideal, but I don't recall seeing that many options out there in the real world.

 

[Davydd]

The Aktiv is a cross sleeper so I think a single person would have no problem with it but a couple would tire of the nuisance.

What's with the European penchant for two upright close together back passenger seats? It seems for a small van the space could be used for better needs.

 

[wincrasher]

All the gas RV's top out at towing 5000 lbs. You'd have to get up in the diesels to get 10,000+ towing capability.

It would be hard on a van to tow it behind an RV. It beats up cars pretty well and you usually end up with issues on body damage, alignments, etc.

 

[gregmchugh]

What's with the European penchant for two upright close together back passenger seats? It seems for a small van the space could be used for better needs.

Seats for the younger family members perhaps...

 

[Davydd]

Seats for the younger family members perhaps...

I gather that. The second bed is an option for the Aktiv. It would make sense the extra seats would be an option as well.

 

[Mike-ClassB]

All the gas RV's top out at towing 5000 lbs. You'd have to get up in the diesels to get 10,000+ towing capability.

It would be hard on a van to tow it behind an RV. It beats up cars pretty well and you usually end up with issues on body damage, alignments, etc.

I wasn't sure about all the class A gassers having the same upper towing limit. Ours has the 5,000# limit. I did see a large diesel a few years back in Salk Center, MN pulling an RS Adventurous as their toad. Was a sight to behold, for sure. I think I posted the pics up on here/the old forum somewhere?


10-4 on the nose damage and potential front end issues. I guess the grass skirts help, but stones can be very creative when it comes to hitting vehicles. We're looking at probably doing the Jeep Wrangler thing, unless there's a better 4X4 option that will tow 4 down without any extra pumps, disconnects, or fuse or battery cable pulling. They weigh in at around 2 tons curb weight, the 4 door being about 300 pounds heavier, I think.

 

[booster]

I expect you know a lot more about it than I do. I don't follow the Erwin Hymer Group NA news very much any more now that we are selling our Roadtrek and moving to another vehicle. You seem to be suggesting that management changes are coming in Kitchener? Not too surprising if that happens...

I must have missed it--what vehicle are you going to?

 

[wincrasher]

The Aktiv is a cross sleeper so I think a single person would have no problem with it but a couple would tire of the nuisance.

What's with the European penchant for two upright close together back passenger seats? It seems for a small van the space could be used for better needs.

I guess the crawl-over could be an issue with some. I guess it depends on how much you need to pee in the night.

This type of floorplan is very popular in Europe, as you can see in the many youtube videos on the various offerings.

I like in the Aktiv, that the seat is very automotive, and should be somewhat comfortable to sit on, unlike the one in the Travato G. Yes, it's fairly upright, but the cushioning is better, the legroom is better, and the overhead cabinet is much higher so not a head-knocker. My plans for it are as a place to sit and eat, not really for lounging. The passenger seat, spun around, will be fine for that.

What I wish it did have was the tray table you find in the Travato K. That would be a very nice item to have for that passenger side captain chair.

 

[cruising7388]

All the gas RV's top out at towing 5000 lbs. You'd have to get up in the diesels to get 10,000+ towing capability.

How does RT manage to spec towing/tongue caps on the RT 190PC at 8200/1000 and the 210PC at 7650/1000?

 

[gregmchugh]

What I wish it did have was the tray table you find in the Travato K. That would be a very nice item to have for that passenger side captain chair.

In our new vehicle we are using Lagun table mounts and teak table tops, you might see if something like that would work...

https://www.marineteak.co.uk/lagun-adjustable-swivelling-cockpit-table-mounting-system-331

https://www.svb24.com/en/roca-foldable-teak-tabletop.html

 

[gregmchugh]

I must have missed it--what vehicle are you going to?

Something a little larger and more rugged than our RT sprinter. We will be fulltiming in it...

GXV Patagonia on the Kenworth K370 chassis - Expedition Portal

 

[booster]

How does RT manage to spec towing/tongue caps on the RT 190PC at 8200/1000 and the 210PC at 7650/1000?

This has been discussed here a couple of times.

Roadtrek has severely overrated the specs to make them look better by manipulation how they calculate and sticker the load capacities.

There are many severely overloaded 190s and 210s out there, as the real load capacity if about 900# on 190s and under 500# for 210s, if you actually weigh the vehicles. We have seen folks that are towing 7000+ with a 210, but it is obvious they will be way over on the gross weight of the van with normal tongue weights. No generator and lithium helps the situation, 4AGMs makes it worse.

 

[cruising7388]

Something a little larger and more rugged than our RT sprinter. We will be fulltiming in it...

GXV Patagonia on the Kenworth K370 chassis - Expedition Portal

I fully understand the tradeoff between form and function but come on, this has got to be the ugliest looking piece of rolling stock on God's green earth.

 

[cruising7388]

This has been discussed here a couple of times.

Roadtrek has severely overrated the specs to make them look better by manipulation how they calculate and sticker the load capacities.

There are many severely overloaded 190s and 210s out there, as the real load capacity if about 900# on 190s and under 500# for 210s, if you actually weigh the vehicles. We have seen folks that are towing 7000+ with a 210, but it is obvious they will be way over on the gross weight of the van with normal tongue weights. No generator and lithium helps the situation, 4AGMs makes it worse.

I know next to nothing about towing dynamics. If what you are towing has all wheels on the ground, what would be a normal tongue weight?

 

[wincrasher]

How does RT manage to spec towing/tongue caps on the RT 190PC at 8200/1000 and the 210PC at 7650/1000?

Because a big Class A like we are discussing is built on a 30,000 GVWR chassis, and the house alone weighs 22-24,000 lbs before you add any payload.

 

[gregmchugh]

I fully understand the tradeoff between form and function but come on, this has got to be the ugliest looking piece of rolling stock on God's green earth.

LOL, Are you calling our baby ugly...

Ours will not have the raised roof like the first one that was built to haul an ATV in the garage and will be painted brown but I don't expect that will change your assessment of it's appearance.

Rather than a garbage truck, ours will likely look more like a UPS truck...

Here is the second one that GXV built on the Kenworth Chassis, this one is a little smaller than ours with no storage area open from the back. Ours is the same length as the first one but without the raised roof line in the rear.

Patagonia on Kenworth 2017 | Global Expedition Vehicles

Ours will have a wood grain laminate interior rather than the multi-color laminate in this one.

Ours is the third build on the Kenworth and is scheduled to be delivered in about a month...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I guess you are not a fan of expedition trucks...

 

[booster]

I know next to nothing about towing dynamics. If what you are towing has all wheels on the ground, what would be a normal tongue weight?

Rule of thumb has always been 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue for non equalization hitches, but I am not certain of the rules for those hitches that will redistribute the weight to other than the hitch.