New member looking for a recommendation

[Philippe]

Hello everybody,

I am based in Californie and have been RV-ing for close to 30 years, usually taking a trip every 3 of years in a rented 25ft+ motorhome.

We are looking into acquiring a class b but are new to this RV category. Here are some of our criterias:

* Length less than 21ft
* A bed system that does not force us to make it every day (power lift, murphy, permanent)
* Bed width at least 60in
* A shower

Any suggestions?
Looking forward to learning from everybody!

[Urlauber]

My suggestion would be to spend some quality time watching Youtube reviews/walkthroughs. There are quite a few 18 and 19ft campers these days and best would be to get familiar with the floor plans, and then go to a dealer and actually check them out in person.

We spent about 3 years of researching, and it resulted in now having a great time when out & about in our little van. Incidentally, we bought a camper which had been used for 5000 miles and was almost new, thanks to someone who apparently did not spent quite as much time before the purchase.

[GeorgeRa]

Our example of decision process. There is a lot of trade offs in the selection process varied from person to person. In our case openness was one of key objectives. In 1977 we experienced the first, very open Westfalia layout and still consider it to be our best option: lots of windows (no shower cabin) and spatial layout during daytime. These goals in 20’ van contradict no bedtime preparation in lieu of which I designed our rock and roll sofa bed to be deployed in seconds. See the nighttime vs daytime layouts.

[Philippe]

Thank you George and Urlauber.
We will follow your advice.

[Hatteras Jim]

Avoid Diesel Sprinters

[Sensfan]

Originally Posted by Hatteras Jim

Avoid Diesel Sprinters

Before we bought our Class B in 2012 I asked my brother-in-law, who owns a commercial truck repair garage, if we should buy diesel or gas. When I told him that we would be doing a lot of remote area travel, he recommended that we go with a gas motor, indicating that there will be limited Mercedes diesel repair garages in unpopulated areas.

[N147JK]

Permanent beds and showers are real space hogs. They eat up huge amounts of interior space and block windows. We're glad our van has neither. BTW, it takes us all of 3 minutes to make up our bed for the night. The rest of the time the interior is open, bright, and spacious.

[Hatteras Jim]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Before we bought our Class B in 2012 I asked my brother-in-law, who owns a commercial truck repair garage, if we should buy diesel or gas. When I told him that we would be doing a lot of remote area travel, he recommended that we go with a gas motor, indicating that there will be limited Mercedes diesel repair garages in unpopulated areas.

Your brother in law gave you great advice. My 2013 Sprinter has been nothing but problems with the scrubbing system since new. Too many times in remote areas we got the dreaded "10 starts left". Try finding a sprinter service dealer in the U.P. of Michigan. Just got it back from the garage last week after replacing the DEF heater and pump. Prior to that it was for NOX sensors, mostly. 55k miles and still having problems.

Only bright side is that I have never paid for a repair to the SCR system. Even now, it is covered up to 151k miles and the year 2025. With this last repair, Ma Benz has officially spent more in repairs than I paid for the vehicle.