AdventurerW
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Hello Everybody,
New guy here with a family of 5. Really could use your expertise.
Will be in the market to purchase a 1-2 yr old used RT CS or RS Adventurous (or like vehicle) in 3 years. My kids will be 4, 8, 12 respectively in that time. Is this a set and done deal? No. This is what I desire and have been for several years now, so it has some staying power.
I don't want a B+ or C RV for many reasons. Most important is bc anything larger is not really an everyday vehicle, nor (just as importantly) will my HOA stand for it. They have approved the B (or anything smaller).
Here are my thoughts going in it.
1 - Kids are getting older - want them to experience this with us. 20 years from now, I want to say this with happiness and not regret.
2 - This will be for everyday use: commuting to practice (not everyday, but most), extending weekend trips (for ie, park at the beach, spend all day there in comfort and then go back to RV campground or home...go to soccer tournament, stay in vehicle until the next game later that day as opposed to going back to hotel...use it for week vacations from say Florida to Rocky Mtns and augmenting it with RV resorts/campgrounds or hotels).
3 - Sleeping all five in it will be for only rare occasions. I don't see it as a hotel replacement. 5 is too tight and do not need to experience it to know it. I would bring a pup tent with me if we stayed at a campground so at least 2-3 will be in tent and rest in Sprinter.
4 - Is it expensive? Yes it is. Would I be foregoing retirement and digging into emergency funds to buy it? No. I bring this up b/c i think this is important to not let it come in front of investments, savings, etc.
5 - Life is **** short. The wherewithal to make a quick plan on Friday night and leave on Saturday to go somewhere new with the family is extremely enticing. Sure we could do this with an SUV, yet at a very different convenience/stress level. After all, the Sprinter is for convenience (amongst many other perks), lower stress as compared to being cramped up in car on a long trip, and maximizing the day with those you love.
6 - We are not big campers. So getting this rig will not automatically turn us into campers - and I don't expect to turn into Webelo Papa Joe (I wish I had Webelo skills). The idea of camping is great. We may love it! Yet I only see us doing it for one night and then continuing on our sightseeing ways. The idea of staying at one place for a week is not enticing, so the versatility of getting up and leaving is a wonderful prospect. If we did stay at one place for a week, than it would have to be coupled with a cabin or some kind of RV style resort.
7 - Great expectations lead to great disappointment. After reading many forums, I have read many saying "good luck" buying this with a family of 5 in mind. I get it. That's why my feelings on this vehicle is not for living. To not treat is as a Class A RV. It's primary purpose is to extend the day and explore, using it as a place to lounge in nature, to augment it with cabin's, campgrounds, hotels (if using for a week).
8 - Picking Roadtrek due to their 6 year warranty and b/c they are less expensive than Airstream.
Questions:
What do you RV.Net faithful's think about this concept?
If you were to choose between a RS and CS Adventurous, which one would it be? I am siding towards the CS as I like the enclosed galley.
What else can you say to a newbie like me? Am I being realistic in its usage and intent?
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ctilsie242
Austin
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Joined: 01/17/2017
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It sounds like you want a class "B", but you should consider an "annex" for longer trips, such as a popup trailer. I saw a used 2017 Coachmen Clipper for around $5500 near where I live, so they are not too bad, price-wise.
Another advantage of having a popup is that you have space for the entire family to gather inside and have dinner or whatnot once parked and unpacked, which is harder in a van. Plus, you have plenty of sleeping space, and if the weather turns bad, everyone has access to heating and cooling.
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AdventurerW
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ctilsie242 wrote:It sounds like you want a class "B", but you should consider an "annex" for longer trips, such as a popup trailer. I saw a used 2017 Coachmen Clipper for around $5500 near where I live, so they are not too bad, price-wise.
Another advantage of having a popup is that you have space for the entire family to gather inside and have dinner or whatnot once parked and unpacked, which is harder in a van. Plus, you have plenty of sleeping space, and if the weather turns bad, everyone has access to heating and cooling.
This is a good idea and something that could be priceless as an addition to the Class B on long roadies.
What's funny is I haven't been to a campground since I was a kid. I wonder how they are nowadays and if there are plenty to choose from on the fly.
Thank you CT242!
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AdventurerW
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Someone talk me out of getting one of these in the future! ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
Would rather hear it from experienced Sprinter Class B RV users.
I have zero practical experience with Sprinter B RV's. Have studied them in forums, articles, Roadtrek websites, and videos. Have seen them at RV dealers. Have called Roadtrek a few times.
It doesn't mean anything until I hear experiences from real owners.
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jakegw2
Boston
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Well here are some of my brief thoughts:
I have 3 kids and a class B (a PW Travato). Once you have had a class B for trips (even just for an afternoon) it would be hard to tolerate anything else. The extra room, the fridge, the potty, the furnace (if you need to wait somewhere cold) all combine to make travel and parking far more pleasant with kids. We use ours all the time and absolutely love it. Of course it is too small, so we have been looking at larger ones like the Roadtrek models you mentioned. Like you, we have our financial ducks in a row and can purchase one of these without irreparably harming our ability to retire, pay for college, etc.
My whole family (kids & all) went to the Hershey PA RV show the year before last and spent the better part of two days climbing in, out, and all over all of the class B models where were on display (which was pretty much all of them - Hershey is the biggest show in the country). It took very little time for us to cross the Roadtrek Sprinter models off of our shopping list. I wrote a post describing our impressions which you can see here (Thoughts from the RV show)
The issues we identified that bothered us may not bother you. One ongoing concern I have however is how well the more complicated class b vans will hold up under even moderate winter usage in the northeast. The road salt can be tough on exposed parts, and there are a lot of exposed parts under these vans.
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jakegw2
Boston
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Oops, make that a TRAVERSE - I wish it were a Travato!
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Biaggio
Naples, Florida
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Check out a Winnebago ERA X that will seat belt 7 and sleep 2. Pack a tent for the kids ..........
Or tow a pop up for them.
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davepcpowernet
Battle Ground, WA
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Joined: 06/04/2006
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We have a Adventurous CS. With the second passenger seat and the rear couch we can seat 6 and sleep 3 with the front bed option. Though we only travel with the two of us. Pulling any sort of trailer is somewhat inconvenient if you want to stop someplace in town or even in some crowded rest stops. Once in a while we have been places where tourist traffic was rather horrendous and with a trailer or even with a wider RV than the sprinter would be problematic. We do really like the Roadtrek and in two years have traveled over 30K miles. Seating more than that really cuts down on interior utility - storage especially and as well placement and size of the fridge and microwave.
Dave
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AdventurerW
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jakegw2 wrote:Well here are some of my brief thoughts:
I have 3 kids and a class B (a PW Travato). Once you have had a class B for trips (even just for an afternoon) it would be hard to tolerate anything else. The extra room, the fridge, the potty, the furnace (if you need to wait somewhere cold) all combine to make travel and parking far more pleasant with kids. We use ours all the time and absolutely love it. Of course it is too small, so we have been looking at larger ones like the Roadtrek models you mentioned. Like you, we have our financial ducks in a row and can purchase one of these without irreparably harming our ability to retire, pay for college, etc.
My whole family (kids & all) went to the Hershey PA RV show the year before last and spent the better part of two days climbing in, out, and all over all of the class B models where were on display (which was pretty much all of them - Hershey is the biggest show in the country). It took very little time for us to cross the Roadtrek Sprinter models off of our shopping list. I wrote a post describing our impressions which you can see here ( Thoughts from the RV show)
The issues we identified that bothered us may not bother you. One ongoing concern I have however is how well the more complicated class b vans will hold up under even moderate winter usage in the northeast. The road salt can be tough on exposed parts, and there are a lot of exposed parts under these vans.
Hi Jake - thank you for the wealth. I'm all in on the MB Sprinter chassis. With 3 boys, it'll always be cramped inside. Purchasing it to live in it for extended periods of time with 5 inside is a bad idea.
The quality of the chassis first and foremost is important to me. The PW, RT, WB Sprinter models are all intriguing to me (forget Airstream - too expensive).
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AdventurerW
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Biaggio wrote:Check out a Winnebago ERA X that will seat belt 7 and sleep 2. Pack a tent for the kids ..........
Or tow a pop up for them.
Hi Biaggio - just took a look at several online and it is sweetness. Better interior inside than the Roadtrek RS. Only thing that concerns me is the WB comes across as an RV moreso than than the RT with the ports on the side of the RV.
I'm taking the family to an RV show here in Jacksonville this weekend so hopefully i get a chance to see one of these EraX beauties.
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