Choosing a Used Gas Class B Camper Van for Road Trips

[DanbGT]

I am my wife of 55 years are retired and looking at purchasing a class B rv. Camper van. We have done road trips for our entire marriage. Stating with a trip to Tombstone, AZ from Texas on our honeymoon in 1970. Traveled with our children in our minivan. Done a little camping. For the past 20 years we have traveled all 49 states that have roads to them, traveled almost all of Canada, traveled all 254 counties in Texas and just completed a 4,065 mile trip around the perimeter of Texas. All on two different Honda Goldwing Trikes. Close to 200,000 miles. Now, at 75 years old, the motorcycle is beginning to be just too tiring. We are debating doing roadtrips to cover the national parks that we have not already been through. Our bebate is whether this will be done in a vehicle with hotel/motel stays? Or, a camper van. We have some experience with motorhomes because my mom and dad were dedicated rv’ers. They had B’s, C’s and A’s over the years and we did some short trips with them. My hesitation in buying a class B, or any other one for that matter, is I know that my parents had a lot of trouble with some of their units. But my dad was the consummate DIY’er and could fix anything. So now. If you have stuck with me this far, what I need to know is, what is the best class B camper van to buy? Most affordable and most trouble free. The internet claims they are all the best. And they are all the worst. No straight answers from anyone.
Sorry for the very long first post!

 

[Roadfossil]

I am my wife of 55 years are retired and looking at purchasing a class B rv. Camper van. We have done road trips for our entire marriage. Stating with a trip to Tombstone, AZ from Texas on our honeymoon in 1970. Traveled with our children in our minivan. Done a little camping. For the past 20 years we have traveled all 49 states that have roads to them, traveled almost all of Canada, traveled all 254 counties in Texas and just completed a 4,065 mile trip around the perimeter of Texas. All on two different Honda Goldwing Trikes. Close to 200,000 miles. Now, at 75 years old, the motorcycle is beginning to be just too tiring. We are debating doing roadtrips to cover the national parks that we have not already been through. Our bebate is whether this will be done in a vehicle with hotel/motel stays? Or, a camper van. We have some experience with motorhomes because my mom and dad were dedicated rv’ers. They had B’s, C’s and A’s over the years and we did some short trips with them. My hesitation in buying a class B, or any other one for that matter, is I know that my parents had a lot of trouble with some of their units. But my dad was the consummate DIY’er and could fix anything. So now. If you have stuck with me this far, what I need to know is, what is the best class B camper van to buy? Most affordable and most trouble free. The internet claims they are all the best. And they are all the worst. No straight answers from anyone.
Sorry for the very long first post!

Need to narrow it down some. Budget? New? Used? Height of any planned storage? Your approx. height? Campgrounds vs boondocking or both? Etc...

 

[DanbGT]

Budget is pretty open. But I am frugal. Would prefer two or three years old. Something that someone else has worked the kinks out of. We are not big people. I’m 5’7”. She is 5’1”. The smaller the better. May use it as a second vehicle. I can park it at my house if it is not too motorhomish looking. Of the things I have looked at, one with a rear bath, twin bed setup looks to be preferable. Maybe some very lite boondocking. But mostly roadtrips with park, campground stops. Gas. No diesel.

 

[GroupB]

To answer the question in regards to most affordable and most trouble free - a used unit that has proven to be reliable and maintenance performed.

Personal choice when it comes to layout and type of equipment.

My guiding principle is that simpler is better. If an electronic control panel that operates all the coach systems fails, nothing works. If the furnace thermostat fails, everything else still works.

 

[Roadfossil]

Budget is pretty open. But I am frugal. Would prefer two or three years old. Something that someone else has worked the kinks out of. We are not big people. I’m 5’7”. She is 5’1”. The smaller the better. May use it as a second vehicle. I can park it at my house if it is not too motorhomish looking. Of the things I have looked at, one with a rear bath, twin bed setup looks to be preferable. Maybe some very lite boondocking. But mostly roadtrips with park, campground stops. Gas. No diesel.

I also like the Travato 59K. (a good guess?) Maybe some minimal solar for a couple days off grid. Also a spare tire. I like the roomy, bright interior of those, but don't know how I feel about the engine and drive train. My Chevy Roadtrek 190 may not be the roomiest inside, but it has a strong 6.0 V-8 and dependable transmission. The reason I don't have a Travato 59K is that my garage door height max's out a hair over 9 ft.

 

[Oneilkeys]

We are on our 6th RV since 1977 - First built in a 3/4 ton van, Class B, Class C, two small Class A (Axis/Vegas). We have RV’d in all 50 states (the USAF shipped my van to and from Hawaii) and all Canadian provinces except for three. We have traveled from Florida to Alaska along the AlCan highway twice and visited most National Parks, National Forests and BLM lands. For the past 6 years we have owned a Travato 59K and it has been perfect. We have taken several multi month trips out west but most have been up and down the east coast and eastern Canada. While we missed the separate bedroom in the Axis on long trips, the small size of the Travato has more than made up for reduced space. We have parked down town in many cities and towns where we could not have gone with the Axis or even the Class C. It has gotten us into many campgrounds where we would not have fit in the Axis. For our current RV style, it has been the perfect compromise. If I were going back to Alaska for 3-4 months again, I would want an Axis or some similar. Otherwise the Travato is perfect.

 

[Thevon]

I'd go with a 2005-2010 Chevy 190 roadtrek. There are good used models out there, they are built on an express 3500 chassis, the RV systems aren't complicated and easily replaced if needed, any Mechanic can work on the van, you can just about park it anywhere and unless someone knows what they are looking at, it's not easily identified as an RV.

 

[TomofBend]

I am my wife of 55 years are retired and looking at purchasing a class B rv. Camper van. We have done road trips for our entire marriage. Stating with a trip to Tombstone, AZ from Texas on our honeymoon in 1970. Traveled with our children in our minivan. Done a little camping. For the past 20 years we have traveled all 49 states that have roads to them, traveled almost all of Canada, traveled all 254 counties in Texas and just completed a 4,065 mile trip around the perimeter of Texas. All on two different Honda Goldwing Trikes. Close to 200,000 miles. Now, at 75 years old, the motorcycle is beginning to be just too tiring. We are debating doing roadtrips to cover the national parks that we have not already been through. Our bebate is whether this will be done in a vehicle with hotel/motel stays? Or, a camper van. We have some experience with motorhomes because my mom and dad were dedicated rv’ers. They had B’s, C’s and A’s over the years and we did some short trips with them. My hesitation in buying a class B, or any other one for that matter, is I know that my parents had a lot of trouble with some of their units. But my dad was the consummate DIY’er and could fix anything. So now. If you have stuck with me this far, what I need to know is, what is the best class B camper van to buy? Most affordable and most trouble free. The internet claims they are all the best. And they are all the worst. No straight answers from anyone.
Sorry for the very long first post!

My wife and I just retired and bought our first official RV, It’s a class B Roadtrek CS Adventurous NB 3500 diesel. I built my own overland vehicle prior to this with a rooftop tent. We have camped for decades, so lots of experience. The Roadtrek was used (2016) with low miles so we got a good deal. I did a lot of work on it to make it more comfortable for us, including rebuilding the entire electrical for the RV putting in all Victron components and 460 AH Li battery and new solar. We have taken trips all over the PNW, up through Canada and trips through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho a couple of times. Absolutely love the rig. Easy to drive, still small enough that parking in City is doable, and the heating system worked incredibly well in -14F weather in Canada.

 

[habsfan59-ClassB]

Lots of good comments above. In the end of the day, it boils down to what you want to do with it...! We consider ourselves more "travelers" than "campers". So our Roadtrek Ranger RT (chevy 2014) has been perfect for us. I am a DIY and I have no fear to tackle repair (Sometimes my lack of fear causes me trouble...!LOL). Approaching 160000Kms (100000 Miles) it has been very robust and reliable.

 

[hyc]

I brought my first Road Trek in 2015- A 2010, 170 Versatile, had it until 2022 switched to my current 2015, 210 Popular with low millage. I am 5'-8", wife is 5'-0", we liked Road Trek 170 (small and easy to park) but decided to go with the 210 for the North/South sleep arrangement and larger wet bath (we use the shower all the time). I am also in the "keep it simple" camp and stayed away from all the touch screen monitors and Road Treck's ECo-Trek with the underfloor heating system. I have never owned a RV until the 170, and took some time to feel comfortable with everything. I am also a DIY'er for the "House" side of the RV and leave the Chevy side to the professional. Service for the Class B tends to be more difficult due to lack of space, I will recommend before your purchase have a RV inspector to inspect the rig and a mechanic to inspect the vehicle side. May be a pre-COVID era used model will be a good choice. One thing to note: Erwin Hymer (owner of Road Trek in 2016) went bankrupt in 2019 due to "financial irregularities", all the older Road Trek specific parts were sold to couple of the companies, some of replacement parts may be difficult to obtain and they are expensive.

 

[Deano-ClassB]

I don't have the experience of so many of the other posters here, but. Did a lot of research before buying a RT 210 popular. Reliable Chevy power train. Easy to drive and park anywhere. Twin beds, one I widened. The aisle shower is the only thing we didn't care for, usable, but after all, it is a class B.

 

[topwop]

My wife and I had never owned an RV before we retired and decided to look into getting a Class B. After searching a short time we decided on a 2006 Roadtrek 210 Popular on a Chevy 3500 Express chassis. Luckily for us it only had 18K miles on it because the original owners didn't drive very far to camp. Since then we've put on about 60k miles, have been in all the lower 48 states, and visited 55 National Parks. We left in March to complete our tour of the lower 48 NPs and now we'll put it up for sale, do to our age and health, not because we don't still love it. I can tell you it's been one of the best investments we have ever made. As others have said Chevies can be worked on by almost anyone in the country so maintenance is easy to come by. Hope you find what you're looking for and let us know what you decide.

 

[Sensfan-ClassB]

To answer the question in regards to most affordable and most trouble free - a used unit that has proven to be reliable and maintenance performed.

Personal choice when it comes to layout and type of equipment.

My guiding principle is that simpler is better. If an electronic control panel that operates all the coach systems fails, nothing works. If the furnace thermostat fails, everything else still works.

“ … My guiding principle is that simpler is better. If an electronic control panel that operates all the coach systems fails, nothing works. If the furnace thermostat fails, everything else still works."

“GR's paragraph quote above may the best opinion you guys will ever receive. Personal preferences often complicate decisions, eg.newer vs older. Newer may or may not be the wiser choice. Many new vehicle functions are simply non-essential add-ons that do not add to actual camper enjoyment They do however add to the cost and introduce risk of breaking.

Our Chevy Express 3500 Roadtrek has worked like a dream with zero real time problems over ten years. Here are just three reasons why we love it ...
1) Based on our’s and another’s knowledge based driving experience with the vehicle, we believe that our 190-Ranger drives better than other model RT190s Chevy Express 3500s due to its unique Ranger box roof angles. Our 2011 Chevy Express 3500 chassis actually was/is a prototype of the RT Chevy Express 2500 “Ranger", which began selling state-side in 2012 and in Canada in 2013. The Ranger box design included different roof angles that stabilize downward air pressure, which IMHO has a direct positvive effect on overall handling stability.

2) The bed area opens into two north-facing twin beds that allow night-time bathroom visits that do not disturb the sleeping person; and

3) We average three days on a single charge of our two 220 amp hour six volt AGM batteries. We have no solar.

 

[renegade-ClassB]

My wife and I just retired and bought our first official RV, It’s a class B Roadtrek CS Adventurous NB 3500 diesel. I built my own overland vehicle prior to this with a rooftop tent. We have camped for decades, so lots of experience. The Roadtrek was used (2016) with low miles so we got a good deal. I did a lot of work on it to make it more comfortable for us, including rebuilding the entire electrical for the RV putting in all Victron components and 460 AH Li battery and new solar. We have taken trips all over the PNW, up through Canada and trips through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho a couple of times. Absolutely love the rig. Easy to drive, still small enough that parking in City is doable, and the heating system worked incredibly well in -14F weather in Canada.

Add another "thumbs up" vote for the Roadtrek CSxl Adventurous. It was our first RV. Bought new from dealership (Warp Core package) in 2018/2017 chassis and have about 60K Odometer miles. Most notable upgrades have been the replacement of the original Dometic overhead AC to RecPro Houghton, replacement of the original H Ecotreks about three to four years ago to the then current Ecotrek model (L-something, I forgot which one), and replacement of the stand-alone 2nd row seat pedestal. I have had experience driving Class A semis so a Class B campervan is a breeze. My wife drives it about half the time, as long as its stretches of open road out here on the High Plains. Ours is really no longer than a full size 1 ton 4-door pickup, with an 8 foot bed and a beefy brush guard. Love the headboard design for our CPAPs, which we leave assembled and in place when driving. Love the floorplan. It works for the two of us (we are "big" folks) and we sleep twin bed configuration. The CS's are "orphans" so you have to be creative and/or research to find folks who will work on the "proprietary" systems.