What Class B mfg do you like in 2024 ?

[dhuff]

My wife and I are looking at Class B's and got a $160K quote on one when we visited Sportsmobile in Austin, TX last Summer. Liked the company, and the workmanship seemed pretty good after crawling around several they had on the lot being built for other customers.

It's just that $160K seems kinda steep (maybe I'm just out of touch, too). What Class B mfgs do you like in 2024 ? We have a focus on build quality, but not necessarily on it being real "fancy" inside. Wife wants a toilet behind a closable door, tho' not particularly a shower. She's also wants an efficient A/C and is not fond of the idea of carrying around propane. Winnebago is out, as she follows the Travato Facebook group and has seen too many complaints.

[mumkin]

Search the Class B company pages... Pleasureway... Roadtrek... and you will see that this is the MSRP these days. Discounts depend on models and demand. If you look at Advanced RV - another build to order, and you will see that $160K is a super dooper giant discount in comparison. Since Covid Class B prices skyrocketed and while discounts have returned, they are still steep. The best build quality on commercial rigs is the Pleasureway IMHO and the lowest MSRP is $180K

If you want specific things that are not the usual, Sportsmobile is likely your best choice. A good company with a dependable quality control. How long is their waitlist these days? It was up to a couple years for awhile.

The cheaper prices will only be found on the lower product quality units like Winnebago and Thor.

[avanti]

The price of a fully-equipped van before upfitting can approach $70K, so...

[MsNomer]

Used?

…..

[dhuff]

Nice to hear at least one good remark about Sportsmobile, and yes - they are very willing to customize builds. I understand their lead time is on the order of 17-18 mo. right now. Like I said, the build quality I saw was quite decent and they are low-key and friendly.

I also understand that prices can get high with just the basic cargo van (Transit, Promaster, whatever) in the $60-70K range when new...

As for used, my wife has sort of a "I don't wanna buy other peoples' problems" mindset. Tho' if we found something that met our needs and we were very familiar with its condition, that could be an option.

[jrobe]

We have a Sportsmobille and have been very happy with it. I would buy from them again. We choose Sportsmobile because I couldn't find an RV that had the things I wanted and didn't have the things I didn't want. There are so many variables including how you really intend to use it.

The best advice I was ever given was to spend a little money and rent one for a few days especially if you don't have much RV experience. There is no sense spending big money like this without spending a few hundred $ to get a good education. We learned so much in our 2-3 rental. In fact, it completely changed the type of RV we ordered from Sportsmobile. RV Share is a good place to look for local rentals.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by dhuff

As for used, my wife has sort of a "I don't wanna buy other peoples' problems" mindset. Tho' if we found something that met our needs and we were very familiar with its condition, that could be an option.

I am someone who has always owned new... so I understand. But my reason was because they were all special orders, to get more of the options I wanted.

That said, there are good reasons to buy used other than the lower price. There are many reasons for a rig to be sold, and problems with it is probably the least common. It is usually aging out (as I have now done) or a new job where you can't use it as you could before or you have decided you need something bigger... or smaller. The majority of problems seem to be the things that break that first year (fridges, appliances and such). So you can look at it that a used rig has had the most of the bugs worked out. lol

Right now there are lots of lightly used rigs out there because people thought it seemed a good idea during Covid, but now find that they would rather fly to Spain on their holiday.

[JoeM]

I have a 2021 Coachmen Nova 20 RB Li3. Had it for the last 2.5 years. Had good luck so far. Coachmen uses Amish built kitchen grade cabinets as well as all the other amenities in a full RV. Vans by themselves have gotten very expensive. Your looking at ~$55,000 just for the van. Add in all the components, labor and dealer markup. The current Nova is selling for around $140K add a Lithium system and you are looking at $167K

[jjrbus]

I have always told people asking not to buy a new RV, buy a 2 or 3 year old one with 20-30,000k so the bugs are worked out.

Today that would be bad advice. Look what the RV dealers were saying 3 years ago. Today I would change it to a 5 or 6 year old RV. I bought a 20 year old Roadtrek and am very happy with it.

https://www.motor1.com/news/537319/r...ty-complaints/

https://rv.org/

[andrewtschneider]

I own a 2014 Pleasureway Plateau and am very impressed with build quality.
I previously owned a 2001 Roadtrek 210 which was not nearly as well done.
If you have limited experience you might want to rent a few times.
The next time I buy a Class B I would strongly consider a custom build because I now know exactly what I want. But that would have resale implications.
My need for space keeps going down, and a 4X4 Revel type RV appeals to us as we like small tent campsites and not RV parks.
I agree that used makes good sense.
Do lots of research on RV trader.
California is a good market for used 4x4 conversions.
Florida is a good market for snowbird resales.
Enjoy!

[MarCorpsMustang]

We've owned four motorhomes, both Class B and C. I strongly suggest you avoid anything built on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter chassis. The issue is not the quality; but the maintenance. Like everything, a Sprinter needs routine maintenance and is subject to breakdown or other issue. When that happens, you'll be forced to bring it to an "authorized" MB Sprinter repair facility (dealership), whenever (IF ever) they can fit you in. Everything about the engine and drivetrain is proprietary, so don't be fooled by a repair facility that tells you they can fix it. I know of only two non-MB facilities in the country that can perform maintenance/repairs on a Sprinter.
Such is my ten years of experience with our 2014 seldom-used Roadtrek CS Adventurous.

[sparkyfourhire]

Originally Posted by MarCorpsMustang

We've owned four motorhomes, both Class B and C. I strongly suggest you avoid anything built on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter chassis. The issue is not the quality; but the maintenance. Like everything, a Sprinter needs routine maintenance and is subject to breakdown or other issue. When that happens, you'll be forced to bring it to an "authorized" MB Sprinter repair facility (dealership), whenever (IF ever) they can fit you in. Everything about the engine and drivetrain is proprietary, so don't be fooled by a repair facility that tells you they can fix it. I know of only two non-MB facilities in the country that can perform maintenance/repairs on a Sprinter.
Such is my ten years of experience with our 2014 seldom-used Roadtrek CS Adventurous.

Sorry, but this is straight BS. I have owned a 2017 Sprinter as a work van and have had several non-MB facilities work on it. Just this past Monday I had the AC condenser replaced by my local shop, and they even got the part and finished the job the same day. People like to hate on Sprinters simply because they are diesels, and therefore operate on some sort of mystery voodoo. Just understand what you are buying, and how to take care of it.

As for an RV company I am looking at for 2024, I have my eyes on the Coachmen Galleria 24A. I like that Coachmen insulates there builds, and offer a ton of options (not just a couple of interior color schemes). Bathrooms have doors, and while they are a "wet" bath, you don't have to use the shower if you don't want to. Build quality is decent for a mass-produced product, but nowhere near custom builds like Sportsmobile or Advanced RV. A fully loaded Galleria can run MSRP up in the $230k, but that is for a pretty nicely set up rig. I think more basic option layouts do run in the $165k range.

As far as finding a mass-produced RV without propane, I think that might be difficult for the heating system. You might need to do some research to see how builders are fueling their heaters, whether it be propane (most popular), diesel (if you want to argue about Sprinters some more), or gasoline, which is not a popular option just for technical reasons.

I will also put my vote in for renting before you buy. We have rented five times now, and dialed into EXACTLY what we want (well, at least about 90% there). More importantly, you get to experience build quality and equipment functionality up close and personal. Just be prepared for things to go wrong on your trips, because rental units get abused pretty hard, and stuff is almost always broken.

[Punkinhead]

If you like the layout and lack of black tank, Embassy RV is exceptional quality in the same ballpark price wise as the mass produced vans. Other than interior choices it's pretty much a "take it of leave it " van since they don't really customize but the quality is near the top of the heap.

[MarCorpsMustang]

Originally Posted by sparkyfourhire

Sorry, but this is straight BS. I have owned a 2017 Sprinter as a work van and have had several non-MB facilities work on it. Just this past Monday I had the AC condenser replaced by my local shop, and they even got the part and finished the job the same day. People like to hate on Sprinters simply because they are diesels, and therefore operate on some sort of mystery voodoo. Just understand what you are buying, and how to take care of it.

I'm glad to learn that your experience has been better than mine. I neither like nor dislike diesel, but I have learned to dislike MB. We've been out in the boonies on more than one occasion in which we had engine problems and had to drive all the way back to Virginia before we could get a facility that could work on it. I have no reason nor any incentive to preach "bullshit" to this OP or anyone else. I'm merely sharing my experience and providing a recommendation based on that experience. And I know I'm not alone in that experience.

[Flying Pig]

We own a Sportsmobile that we have been quite pleased with. It's a 2015 Transit 2WD with Eco-Boost V6, and Penthouse pop-top, and RB-50 floorplan. I agree with others that you should look at how you want to use it. We wanted to do mostly campgrounds and some boondocking. We also wanted to park it in our garage to avoid storage and HOA issues. It came with a port-a-potty that we have never used. We never wanted to have to deal with a blackwater tank. We go into bear country quite often, so we don't do any cooking inside, (other than making coffee). We like cooking outdoors. We haven't used it as much as many people do. We only have 29K miles on it. In fact, we are looking to sell it soon, since we are not using as much as we used to. So, if you're looking for a low mileage lightly used Sportsmobile, you can reply to me.

[andrewtschneider]

We are frequently in Las Vegas for business.
I found an interesting place that rents RVs by the airport.
https://www.blacksford.com/las-vegas-rv-rentals
I wanted to rent a Revel 4x4 to see how I felt about it, and avoid the drive out west from Buffalo.
What's nice is that from Las Vegas you can drive to several different national parks.
This business sells their RV's after they are used one year.
They have other size RVs as well.

As to Sprinters, I do worry about service. I love the fuel economy with my Pleasure Way 4 cylinder turbo diesel, but it is probably too small for mountains.
We started looking at the Thor Sanctuary on a Ford Transit because of repairability issues. For now we plan to keep our 2014 because it is almost paid off, and it is good enough for our northeast US adventures.

[Jhv2]

I will second the previous recommendation to consider a coachmen. We looked at Midwest Automotive Designs, Gretch, and American Coach which had higher detail in the finishing, — Travatos, and Roadtreks which were worse — but nothing below $200k, beats the cabinetry in the Coachmen, especially if you go for the unpainted. You can get them for a good deal less than $160k at least in the southeast. Whatever you do, stay away from any Thor product, even Airstream.

[Kpad]

I am potentially interested in a Sportsmobile somewhere near Palisade?