Do they have any kind of exterior venting for the frig? It is only about 50/70 watts or so, but from when we had the halogen lights instead of led, even 30 watts would warm up the inside of the van. I would think getting the frig heat outside would be a good thing, and maybe more efficient.
Here is attention to detail for you. Advanced RV sent LED lights to Nova Kool to install in their refrigerators instead of the halogen light. As for venting, they may have a method but it definitely is not the high low vents being used for absorption refrigerators. I don't have those details.
__________________ Davydd
2021 Advanced RV 144 custom Sprinter
2015 Advanced RV Extended body Sprinter
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter
2005 Pleasure-way Plateau TS Sprinter
I'm anxious to see some of the "assembly line" photos during the process once it gets going late this summer
Bob, a Sprinter order custom as we are making is at least a 4-5 month process. That would put delivery close to October 1st give or take I think. Maybe the only way I could have gotten started sooner was to pick a van already in the works by Advanced RV. We didn't ask or entertain that option but other customers had gone that route. Their detailed schedule is a 14 week process after receiving a van. That means if all goes well that would be delivery around the first of the year. Our tentative plan is to head for Arizona around February 1.
There are still decisions to be made, research to do, design work to do, and most likely some testing will ensue for what we want. This is not going to be an easy process.
__________________ Davydd
2021 Advanced RV 144 custom Sprinter
2015 Advanced RV Extended body Sprinter
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter
2005 Pleasure-way Plateau TS Sprinter
Not much to report yet, but I have been doing some of my own design work and have figured out if I can achieve what I want I would be able to store inside the B two folding bicycles, two inflatable kayaks, a Yeti 35 cooler, a PizzaQue Pizza Oven and everything I now carry in my Great West Van under and behind the beds. Would I carry all that? Well, it's a dream to dwell on.
__________________ Davydd
2021 Advanced RV 144 custom Sprinter
2015 Advanced RV Extended body Sprinter
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter
2005 Pleasure-way Plateau TS Sprinter
I've had one of those AE inflatable kayaks. They work fine. Actually stiffer than you'd think and very light. My problem with them is that it's a snug fit and most of my boating is in very hot weather. So I don't use the AE much - instead I use my cheap $199 walmart kayak which also works just fine and is light enough for this guy to handle.
I have hard shell sea kayaks as well but there is little chance I could carry them in a B considering I am never going to struggle at my age lifting them off and on a 9 foot high roof anymore even if I could figure a way. That's why the inflatables. The kayaks for the B are strictly recreational, not for touring, for maybe an hour or two at a time to get up close to nature mostly along shorelines. If we need sea kayaks in our travels we would just rent them. Maybe that's what we will do on our next Alaska trip. We have kayaked a lot considering where we live we have more than 40 lakes (rough count) within 10 miles of our house with DNR boat access. Our summer choice of camping is in northern Minnesota where most of the national forest and state campgrounds are located on lakes.
Biking is another issue. We haven't entertained biking in 9 years of B touring though we have bikes. Where we like to go hiking is our recreation of choice. The Advanced RV is normally designed to accommodate 2 full size bikes upright behind the beds if desired. I think our modifications will negate that idea but I wanted to check whether folding bikes would fit and they will. I'm not sure we will ever need a cooler since we are nearly doubling the capacity of our refrigerator. I am entertaining the idea of the pizza oven and maybe a good grill since on our Texas trip this past spring we found campground grills either non-existent or in terrible shape to use. We also carry two CGI director chairs, two zero gravity loungers, two aluminum tables and a large screen tent.
__________________ Davydd
2021 Advanced RV 144 custom Sprinter
2015 Advanced RV Extended body Sprinter
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter
2005 Pleasure-way Plateau TS Sprinter
The Bromptons are very interesting folders, and have been around a long time. The 3 speed internal with a 2 speed derailleur is unique. Spendy, though.
I would suggest you ride one a bit first, though. I don't know how much, or how seriously, you ride, but many U.S. riders find the Bromptons to be very short between the seat and handlebars, compared to other bikes. You may find it fine, or not.
Another issue is one I personally experienced. The 16" wheels (mine were on a Dahon) do not do well on anything other than relatively smooth, paved roads. Even a ride on a decent limestone bike path, which are very common, can be an adventure. Sand of any depth, or gravel, will stop you, in many cases. I hauled the Dahon around to many places, but rarely found good area to ride it, as the parks, and sites we like tend to be more primitive, with mostly gravel roads and limestone paths. I finally gave up on the Dahon, and got a Montague folding, full size mountain bike, which I have been able to ride wherever we go. Takes a bit more space, but it was worth the change.
I'm not all that serious about the bikes considering we haven't taken them yet in 9 years. I just wanted to see if it was possible and it is. The Brompton bikes just fold smaller than any other from what I can find. They start at about $1,300+ so I think one would have to be very serious to consider one. We do play a game at campgrounds in we discuss whether we would use a bike at the campground we are in. 9 times out of 10 the answer would be no. I don't find it terribly exciting tooling around a campground and if there are bike trails they are usually for mountain bike trail riding. The one place that would have made sense for us this year would have been in South Padre Island on the street. They have marked and designated bike lanes.
__________________ Davydd
2021 Advanced RV 144 custom Sprinter
2015 Advanced RV Extended body Sprinter
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter
2005 Pleasure-way Plateau TS Sprinter
I think Davydd has it pretty right. In our diesel pusher Class A we seldom use the generator, except to exercise it. Likewise, we don't seem to go to a lot of places that require long periods of a/c use. And when we do, it's usually on shore power.
Now we are preping to switch to an RT Adventurous E-Trek. Big size change, no doubt. But we're now planning to go to more state/national forest areas, seashore, etc. We're hoping avoiding the need for a generator will work out. At the very least, we can run a lot of fans off that big battery pack. I'd have been happier to get rid of the propane, but RT now won't do that in our rig, so be it.
Well the RT is leaving Kitchener this next few days, so we'll hopefully take delivery in 7-10 days, and start finding out if the E-Trek can live up to its hype. We'll let you all know!
I think Davydd has it pretty right. In our diesel pusher Class A we seldom use the generator, except to exercise it. Likewise, we don't seem to go to a lot of places that require long periods of a/c use. And when we do, it's usually on shore power.
Now we are preping to switch to an RT Adventurous E-Trek. Big size change, no doubt. But we're now planning to go to more state/national forest areas, seashore, etc. We're hoping avoiding the need for a generator will work out. At the very least, we can run a lot of fans off that big battery pack. I'd have been happier to get rid of the propane, but RT now won't do that in our rig, so be it.
Well the RT is leaving Kitchener this next few days, so we'll hopefully take delivery in 7-10 days, and start finding out if the E-Trek can live up to its hype. We'll let you all know!
What are they running off the propane? I thought the whole thing with the etrek was to be all electric (and diesel), with no need for propane.
If it were only my wife and myself i would take the chance and buy a roadtrek ranger without a generator-but we have 2 cats and if a situation arose and a cat died because of a lack of generator-the wife would make my life miserable.
What are they running off the propane? I thought the whole thing with the etrek was to be all electric (and diesel), with no need for propane.
In the CS model: The Alde radiant heating/hot water system is propane fired. They tried the diesel fired Webasto, but aren't using it any more. (They're not forthcoming with "why".) I believe they are using the Webasto in the RS.
I think that's why the CS is not labelled "E-Trek", but rather has a "Green Machine" option.
We have a cat. Our system will supposedly give up to 3 hours of air conditioning for daytime stops which I suspect we would simply skip or not take that much time in such situations as we always have. Backing up that will be autostart of the diesel engine to charge the batteries and system monitoring via an iPhone (I hope). We can maintain comfort in our van now in the campground without running an air conditioner with back door screens and huge screen on the side sliding door along with 5 vented windows. We will have the same with our Advanced RV. All that, diesel generated heat and hot water, compressor frig, induction cooktop and historical practices (14 generator hours in a year of nights and 64,000 miles) makes for no need for propane or a generator.
Advanced RV is using an Espar system for heating. This video describes what they do.
[youtube]
__________________ Davydd
2021 Advanced RV 144 custom Sprinter
2015 Advanced RV Extended body Sprinter
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter
2005 Pleasure-way Plateau TS Sprinter
RT is still using the Webasto in the E-Trek and RS models. The CS is the Alde. No one is telling me why but some of the space requirements I am sure are part of the reason. The Webasto is mounted under the front left corner of the MB chassis. The Alde is mounted INSIDE and takes up space much like a standard propane water heater therefore in the CS there is room for it. In the E-Trek and RS they would be giving up much needed storage space.
One nice thing I liked about the Sportsmobile rig I was looking at was that it had two nice features: First, it would fire up the PowerTech diesel generator if the batteries got below a certain threshold. Second, it would have a heat alarm that would go to a monitoring center (not just send you a text, but have a live person call you.)
I've even seen heat monitors that could be set to automatically throw open a vehicle door so the animal could escape if it got too hot and none of the previous warnings got noticed. Better a lost pet than a barbecued one.
We have a cat. Our system will supposedly give up to 3 hours of air conditioning for daytime stops which I suspect we would simply skip or not take that much time in such situations as we always have. Backing up that will be autostart of the diesel engine to charge the batteries and system monitoring via an iPhone (I hope). We can maintain comfort in our van now in the campground without running an air conditioner with back door screens and huge screen on the side sliding door along with 5 vented windows. We will have the same with our Advanced RV. All that, diesel generated heat and hot water, compressor frig, induction cooktop and historical practices (14 generator hours in a year of nights and 64,000 miles) makes for no need for propane or a generator.
Advanced RV is using an Espar system for heating. This video describes what they do.
Location: Sarnialabad, The Newly Elected People's Republic of Canuckistan
Posts: 3,246
Re: Advancing Alvar
An induction cook top? Interesting choice. I was under the impression that they were fairly power hungry. I guess if you aren't planning on using much A/C the cooktop will be the beneficiary of any unused power.
__________________
It's not a sprint(er) (unless you make it one), it's (hopefully) a marathon.
RV - 2018 Navion 24V + 2016 Wrangler JKU
Re: Advancing Alvar
Linear Mode
