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HawkTX's avatar
HawkTX
Explorer
Jan 22, 2018

Question for Winnebago Class B Owners

I currently have a Class C Winnebago View, which I love, but I sometimes see these Winnebago Era Class B's going down the road and think "so nice and compact", but then I remember reading about the generators being under the vehicle instead of on the side and when it needs oil or a circuit trips you have to crawl up under with limited space and it is a pain in the BUTT! How true is this? Besides giving up some storage, I think this would be the only thing keeping me from buying one down the road. I currently have a diesel generator on my Winnebago View and it has worked flawless and it is very easy to get to for oil changes or to add oil. I also noticed the only option is LP on these units. I don't boondock much, but from time to time on long trips I will use a Flying J or LOVES truckstop overnight and that generator comes in handy to run the AC or microwave. For some perspective, I have 15,000 miles I have put on this last year and used the generator for about 55 hours of those 15,000 miles.
Class B

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  • MDKMDK's avatar
    MDKMDK
    Explorer
    Jan 23, 2018
    Tiger4x4RV wrote:
    I think that the underhood generators used in some B's (Winnebago, Roadtrek, etc.) are really second alternators. They do not have to be exercised and having one frees up space for storage. Advertising touts them as quiet, so they can supposedly be used at any time without violating the no-generator hours at camps.


    The down side of the under hood alternator/generators is the MB Sprinter diesel idling issue. Some say it's an engine killer, and others say it's not. There are many threads on it with real world experience and some have contacted MB for guidance on the do's and don'ts of idling their 3.0 V6 diesel engines for extended periods. If the engine generator is of sufficiently high output, some say the run times can be tolerated. It's a complex issue, and I'm not (yet) an MB Sprinter chassis owner, so am only commenting from memory after reading extensive discussions of it on other forums.
    One of the better class B forums was (oddly enough)

    www.classbforum.com

    Much good info about many different class B makes/models and much about van conversions in general, and specifically.
  • Tiger4x4RV's avatar
    Tiger4x4RV
    Nomad
    Jan 23, 2018
    Will they run an air conditioner?


    Not sure. I do not have a B. Take a look at the owner's manual for the model you are considering or e-mail the factory. I would not trust a salesperson to answer this question.
  • HawkTX's avatar
    HawkTX
    Explorer
    Jan 22, 2018
    Tiger4x4RV wrote:
    I think that the underhood generators used in some B's (Winnebago, Roadtrek, etc.) are really second alternators. They do not have to be exercised and having one frees up space for storage. Advertising touts them as quiet, so they can supposedly be used at any time without violating the no-generator hours at camps.


    Will they run an air conditioner?
  • Tiger4x4RV's avatar
    Tiger4x4RV
    Nomad
    Jan 22, 2018
    I think that the underhood generators used in some B's (Winnebago, Roadtrek, etc.) are really second alternators. They do not have to be exercised and having one frees up space for storage. Advertising touts them as quiet, so they can supposedly be used at any time without violating the no-generator hours at camps.
  • MDKMDK's avatar
    MDKMDK
    Explorer
    Jan 22, 2018
    You can lift some of them using steel ramps and/or bottle jacks, to give you more clearance underneath. Some have good clearance and some don't.
    I did a class B van for almost a decade, and they can be serviced at most dealerships without seeking specialized facilities for larger motorhomes, they are nimble, good on fuel, usually get you around HOA parking restrictions, and fit under the overhang in many drive-thrus, although the taller Sprinters probably don't. Mine was a converted Chev Express 3500, and it did. It fit in places larger motorhomes could not.
    Our main issue with it, that we learned to tolerate was that it was "small, and compact". Space, storage, are scarce. Very few of them have a dry bath.
    If you can get over the loss of the storage and elbow room, and using a wet bath, you might like it. I would try one first, if you can, before committing to one.

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