hobbssb
Santa Barbara
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Joined: 10/29/2011
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We are seriously considering buying a Great West Van when we retire in May, but never have seen a GW in real life. We have seen PW, RT and Leisure vans in person, but we live in California and GW dealers are few and far between! The online reviews of GW are very positive, and we have exchanged emails with GW, but to make that size of investment without seeing the actual van, especially since we are new to the world of RVs, is right up there in certainty with mail order brides!
So, if you are passing through Santa Barbara and have a late model GW van, we would love to see your van. And we would love to trade you dinner in exchange for sharing your time and expertise!
Overnights nearby Santa Barbara:
Carpinteria State Beach (12 mi south of Santa Barbara):
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=599
El Capitan State Beach (about 15 mi north of Santa Barbara)
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=601
Ocean Mesa Campground (on the inland side of Highway 101 from El Capitan)
http://www.oceanmesa.com/
Santa Barbara is 5 1/2 hours south of San Francisco and 2 hours north of Los Angeles on Highway 101. If you like history, we have an old Spanish mission and Presidio. If you like wine, we are next door to the Santa Ynez Valley with great wineries such as Fess Parker. If you like the ocean, we have nice beaches for walking and the ocean for whale watching or kayaking. If you want to gamble, the Chumash Casino is 30 minutes away.
We are having unseasonably warm weather - today is a high of 74, low of 43.
Please let us know if you are in our neighborhood (or if you have tips on "buying from afar")!
Thanks
Ronda (and Bill)
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GWV titan
Abbotsford, BC
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Joined: 09/04/2009
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We own a 2008 GWV Titan wide body.
We've owned it since new and love it.
We'll be in Bakersfield, CA passing through for the night on March 10 if you wanted to drive over to visit us.
Post me back your email address if your interested.
Keith
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JohnG3
Morro Bay, California, USA
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Joined: 07/26/2004
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Don't want to start anything here but the Great West and Roadtrek vans look a lot alike. Are they different model lines of the same company? Like GM/Chevy/Buick/Cadillac?
We have been looking for a Roadtrek and now will add the Great West to the search based on what I've seen on the internet.
John and Elaine. Furry ones, Mia, Buddy, Barney and Miss Chevious (MissC for short).
F-250 SD,Excab, V-10
2004 Titanium 26E31DS with Bug Room.
Know guns, know safety, know peace. No guns, no safety, no peace.
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hobbssb
Santa Barbara
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Joined: 10/29/2011
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Thanks for your offer, Keith, but wouldn't you know it - that's the start of Spring Break and we're heading to Philadelphia for the week.
But your response is appreciated!
Happy trails,
-Ronda
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mumkin
Minot ND USA
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Joined: 07/16/2004
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JohnG3 wrote:Don't want to start anything here but the Great West and Roadtrek vans look a lot alike. Are they different model lines of the same company? Like GM/Chevy/Buick/Cadillac?
We have been looking for a Roadtrek and now will add the Great West to the search based on what I've seen on the internet.
Basically all of the B Class vans are very similar. Just little tweaks to the floorplans and styles. They are built on the same platforms and add the same basic equipment.
Great West is a small factory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They make the Classic on the Ford E350 van, the Titan on the Chevy cutaway - thus actually a Class C, and the Legend on the Sprinter.
Roadtrek uses mainly the Chevy van and Sprinters. (no cutaways and no Fords)
Mumkin
2011 LTV Libero
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Davydd
Minnesota
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Joined: 11/27/2005
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You didn't mention which Great West Van you are most interested in. The Class B Sprinters converted by Roadtrek, Leisure Travel Vans, Pleasure-way and Great West Vans are very close to each other in quality of conversion, features, equipment and materials. The two American converters, Winnebago and Airstream are close as well, but I put them a notch down. The Sprinter van itself is the same across the board. If you test drive one you can almost assume you have test driven all. I don't think any of them do anything special to differentiate them.
I've said this before. GWV, LTV and P-W have similar floor plan layouts with tall cabinets and bathroom behind the driver, and AS, Winnebago and RT have baths and tall cabinets on the passenger side. For many practical reasons I prefer the GWV, LTV and P-W design but everyone has their own reasons.
What differentiates Great West Vans from all the other Bs is the electric tri-sofa as opposed to the electric bi-sofa with ottomans and fill-ins. The GWVan sofa is what sold me the most. If you look around I have posted my reasons.
The other major differentiation, and I have never figured out why the others have dropped the ball on this, is the sliding screen door that fills in the side sliding door. This one thing alone makes our B very livable in that we can keep the sliding door open most all the time when in camp and we have a cat inside. It keeps the bugs out and the B cooler with less need to run the air conditioner. It also makes it easier to go in and out.
We had a 2005 Pleasure-Way Plateau Sprinter that served us well for 5 years and at the time we bought it, it met our criteria and the Leisure Travel Van was a close competitor. After 61,000 miles we identified a few things we wanted to improve on and the 2011 Great West Van Legend answered those desires better than the others. The desires: That screen door, more and flexible storage in the back the tri-fold sofa provided and both driver and passenger seat swiveled around.
The biggest apprehension about the GWVan was its unique sliding bathroom lavatory design. It seemed weird but now having used it we have found it very practical. We have a bathroom large enough in a B to actually take a shower and still have the biggest lavatory counter of all Bs. I sleep on the side where the lavatory slides over my feet. I don't touch it. The hanging curtain hiding it from view provides one more hiding cubby for the cat.
We were in California last year at Joshua Tree NP but probably won't come close this year. As mentioned, I have posted detailed reviews online in the Class B Forum, Sprinter Forum and here. You may have read them. Great West has been making several improvements since we bought ours. One big one is a bigger refrigerator. The other is an option for an extended body Sprinter and a short wheelbase Sprinter. They have been willing to listen to their customers for ideas and being a rather small converter they seem to have the ability to customize some things for buyers.
Davydd
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter B Camper Van
Davydd is the Welsh spelling for David with an English twist using a v instead of an f.
See Our 2011 Great West Van Sprinter Legend and my pork tenderloin sandwiches
Visited states in an RV
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hobbssb
Santa Barbara
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Joined: 10/29/2011
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Thanks for your detailed response, Davydd. Your previous posts were one of the reasons we became interested in the GW in the first place.
We are intrigued with the proposed GW short wheel base, but have reservations re. being "the first on the block" to try it out. That large refrig. is great (we're serious milk drinkers and salad eaters!), but would it be out of proportion with the smaller size, e.g. limiting storage for other items? Everyone's needs are different, and we'll probably never know until we try. . .
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