Southern Ontario Looking at B's

[diyrob]

We are an active 50-something couple who split our time between FL and Ontario. We have a park model trailer at a nice seasonal place in S. Ontario, but want to travel in Canada and the U.S. as we ride our bicycles on rail trails. We have had, in the past between us, a class A motorhome, a Casita travel trailer and a Ford Van/Sportsmobile. Not sure whether we should go new or used route, but our research says maybe up to 10 years old. The floor plan is important - we like the twin bed layouts of the Travato 59K or the Roadtrek 210's with the power rear sofa. So, we will take this summer to look, research and see what's out there. Then, we will make a purchase in the Fall of 2017. Any words of wisdom are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for having us!

 

[cruising7388]

We are an active 50-something couple who split our time between FL and Ontario. We have a park model trailer at a nice seasonal place in S. Ontario, but want to travel in Canada and the U.S. as we ride our bicycles on rail trails. We have had, in the past between us, a class A motorhome, a Casita travel trailer and a Ford Van/Sportsmobile. Not sure whether we should go new or used route, but our research says maybe up to 10 years old. The floor plan is important - we like the twin bed layouts of the Travato 59K or the Roadtrek 210's with the power rear sofa. So, we will take this summer to look, research and see what's out there. Then, we will make a purchase in the Fall of 2017. Any words of wisdom are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for having us!

The Travato is built on the Dodge Promaster platform and has a nice bath and dedicated 30 inch wide twin beds. The fridge is below counter and consequently limited in capacity. The 210 is built on the Chevy platform with a smaller bath, 30 inch twin beds and a considerably larger fridge . On the 210 there are two versions that address the sleeping area. There is the power sofa version that has seat belts for two persons. The other version is called a "dinette" arrangement that has dedicated twin beds requiring no power sofa. BTW, with respect to twin beds, the 210 and the Travato provides 30 inch wide beds while twin beds on Sprinter vans are 25 inches which is OK for a nap but IMO is a little skimpy for a comfortable night's sleep.

 

[mkguitar]

...bed size was one of our primes

Lexor TD on a chev is 72" w and 72L on pass side, 75" L on drivers side

in many B's you trade bed space for the can

you may want to look at cost of services- for instance I can work on my Chev- as can any mechanic in any town with parts from any auto parts store.
Try pulling up to CDN tire with an MB or Fiat and they may not be able to help you- that leaves finding a dealer- and this is important...many dealers do not have the lift capacity for a motorhome built on a van chassis.

For costing you may do better to look at buying in the US- look into this

for instance a used vehicle private pay sale in AZ is not subject to sales tax- 10% right there

we looked at a lot of vans to narrow down the features we HAD to have and determine those we didn;t care about- watching youtube dealer sales videos helped to show features & also show how easily the people move around inside the van