Itasca Navion IQ 24G review: Class C vs. small trailer
We currently own an 18' Eclipse Milan 18CKG TT, which has served us well, but we are interested in trying all the different types of RV's that are out there for an eventual upgrade.
Last weekend we rented a 2009 Itasca Navion IQ 24G, which is a diesel sprinter chassis with a rear slideout and queen bed. We headed down to Pismo Beach, which we do every November. We specifically wanted to try something that gets good fuel mileage because that's one of our requirements for the next RV. Right now we get 14.5 average towing our trailer with our VW Touareg TDI and we were hoping for about the same with the Itasca. We were not disappointed. On the way down (downwind), we averaged almost 17MPG (hand calculated)! The way back into the wind was not quite as good at 14.5, but the average being 15.75 was excellent and above our expectations.
Of course the tradeoff for good fuel mileage is less power. Going up the grade out of SLO was quite a bit slower than we are used to in the Touareg, which has way more HP and torque. Still the power was acceptable and never caused a problem.
The thing we were not prepared for in the Class C was the noise. Everything rattles, shakes, and generally makes a racket. I didn't feel like even listening to the radio because of it. We have 2 dogs and they were quite agitated when we were on poor pavement.
On the good side, I wouldn't hesitate to pull into just about any parking lot with the Navion. At only 25'6", it is over 12' shorter than our TV + TT combination. The sense of freedom this gave us on the road was awesome.
Some of the accommodations were a bit lacking compared to the TT. The queen bed is great, but underway it's mostly useless with the slide in because the mattress folds over asymmetrically. The dinette in this version only seats 2 people -- both on the same side which is inconvenient. The kitchen is too small and those glass covers over the sink and stove would be the first thing I would get rid of if I owned one. We missed our double sink. The tanks are smaller than we are used to. There are lots of cabinets, but no place to put larger items. The reduced floor space was definitely a problem with 2 dogs. It's only 6" narrower than our TT, but that 6" makes a big difference! I'm not a fan of onboard generators because of the noise and vibration. All that glass and the big skylight results in poor insulation, so it got hot and cold much faster than we are used to. Leveling is more difficult because there is no pitch control as there is with a TT front jack.
So the bottom line for us is that the Itasca was an awesome vehicle to drive around, being much less stressful on the road, but I don't think we can go smaller on the accommodation side. That means that truck campers are probably out also.
This was a great experiment and we had a lot of fun. I can definitely see the advantages of having a small class C. It was a bit expensive, but well worth the expense to find out what we like and don't like. I always recommend renting before buying. The place we rented from in San Jose also rents 5th wheels (with truck) out, so that is probably the next thing we will try.
Last weekend we rented a 2009 Itasca Navion IQ 24G, which is a diesel sprinter chassis with a rear slideout and queen bed. We headed down to Pismo Beach, which we do every November. We specifically wanted to try something that gets good fuel mileage because that's one of our requirements for the next RV. Right now we get 14.5 average towing our trailer with our VW Touareg TDI and we were hoping for about the same with the Itasca. We were not disappointed. On the way down (downwind), we averaged almost 17MPG (hand calculated)! The way back into the wind was not quite as good at 14.5, but the average being 15.75 was excellent and above our expectations.
Of course the tradeoff for good fuel mileage is less power. Going up the grade out of SLO was quite a bit slower than we are used to in the Touareg, which has way more HP and torque. Still the power was acceptable and never caused a problem.
The thing we were not prepared for in the Class C was the noise. Everything rattles, shakes, and generally makes a racket. I didn't feel like even listening to the radio because of it. We have 2 dogs and they were quite agitated when we were on poor pavement.
On the good side, I wouldn't hesitate to pull into just about any parking lot with the Navion. At only 25'6", it is over 12' shorter than our TV + TT combination. The sense of freedom this gave us on the road was awesome.
Some of the accommodations were a bit lacking compared to the TT. The queen bed is great, but underway it's mostly useless with the slide in because the mattress folds over asymmetrically. The dinette in this version only seats 2 people -- both on the same side which is inconvenient. The kitchen is too small and those glass covers over the sink and stove would be the first thing I would get rid of if I owned one. We missed our double sink. The tanks are smaller than we are used to. There are lots of cabinets, but no place to put larger items. The reduced floor space was definitely a problem with 2 dogs. It's only 6" narrower than our TT, but that 6" makes a big difference! I'm not a fan of onboard generators because of the noise and vibration. All that glass and the big skylight results in poor insulation, so it got hot and cold much faster than we are used to. Leveling is more difficult because there is no pitch control as there is with a TT front jack.
So the bottom line for us is that the Itasca was an awesome vehicle to drive around, being much less stressful on the road, but I don't think we can go smaller on the accommodation side. That means that truck campers are probably out also.
This was a great experiment and we had a lot of fun. I can definitely see the advantages of having a small class C. It was a bit expensive, but well worth the expense to find out what we like and don't like. I always recommend renting before buying. The place we rented from in San Jose also rents 5th wheels (with truck) out, so that is probably the next thing we will try.
