Shopping for Class B Diesel. Advice for newbies please!

NCWriter, thanks so much for the basic info. Thats the kind of stuff I wanted to know. Your knowledge and wisdom is much appreciated. Thanks to everyone responding. This is an amazing wealth of knowledge. Many questions I have been pondering are answered.
One more question, I had assumed the Mercedes diesel engines are all the same, except for modifications as they get newer. Is that wrong, and if so which is better?

We have a new Winnebago 170 ERA and so far so good. Love the ease of driving, good gas mileage with the Diesel engine, but it does have it's limitations.

Someone once wrote you live Outside the RV not Inside the RV. So true. For my wife and I It seems a little cramped but like the benefits for travel. IMO.

chris.UP wrote:
Yes, we have been inside these models. For us the ease of driving is a big thing. We are not going full time, or like I said, not staying in a RV park or campground long term.

For what it's worth we used ours for 3 - 4 day urban ventures. We parked in a parking lot in downtown San Antonio on the river walk for two days. Spent a weekend in Fort Worth Stockyard area, a few days in Biloxi at the Hard Rock Casino and a beach park not intended for campers. It was nice for stealthing. Didn't spend a single night in a camp ground and only had it parked in the same spot over a day once.

If you urban camp look for a level parking spot. B's generally do not have levelers or stabilizers. You don't want to put out your leveling blocks if you are stealthing in town.

Ours was a 2007 T1N. I agree this is the best engine built. Some of the earlier Sprinter models had rust issues so if you are looking for a pre 2006 be aware of the rust issues.

Yes, we actually own a Leisure Travel Van Free Spirit and have for 12 years. We have 140K miles on it now and have been all over the US and most of Canada in it and love it (see blog link in signature).

Most class Bs do not have insulated plumbing, so they are not suitable for onboard water in the winter time. However, that was never our intended use.

We would make the same choice if we had to do it again.

One final thought... don't worry about being clueless because just about everybody on this forum started from that point.

I think you really learn by doing. When you buy a used one from a friendly owner or maybe a service-oriented dealer, be sure you get a thorough walk-through where you get hands-on time to turn things on and off. Learn as much as you can about how RV batteries & electrical systems work. Also the fresh water and waste water systems. Read the B manufacturer's manual (you can usually download for your model year from the website).

There will be lots of things you want to know about your model, like:
- how much do my tanks hold and how long can I go without dumping? (The gauges are notoriously unreliable.)
-How do I dump - in other words, how to open and close the holding tank valves for dumping. Does it have a macerator and/or a gravity system?
- what systems are powered by only 120 power or the generator? What runs on propane? What runs on 12-volt from the "house" battery or batteries?
-Where's the propane tank and how do I refill it?
- how tall the RV is (before going under a low bridge - more of a problem for bigger RVs, but remember that you have an air conditioner unit on top).
-What needs servicing and how often? When was it last done?

People here often suggest that before making a trip, try camping in your driveway or a nearby campground to figure out what you know or don't know.

You can also attend owners' rally groups and meet people who will be glad to share their knowledge. And there are online forums where you can ask questions.

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I agree about RV Park Reviews, by the way, as a good source of campground info. You can also use the AllStays camping app.

Besides commercial RV parks or national and state park campgrounds, you may want to try camping on public lands - National Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, etc have some beautiful places, many with water and electricity. They have a mandate to include recreational facilities for projects like dams, etc. There typically will be a sanitary dump station for emptying your black and gray water holding tanks.

Another good app for RVing is Gas Buddy for finding the lowest price fuel on the road ahead.

if you find a good used one and it has the 5cyc MB diesel grab it, there one great little engine ours in a LTV freedom serenity gets 20mpg and runs perfect. and has plenty of pep.

We also owned and loved a 2007 Leisure Free Spirit 210B. (Would still be using it but a large Labrador service dog joined the family, and we needed more room for her to sleep somewhere without worrying about stepping on her in the dark.) We traded it in last year and got a much higher than expected trade-in value for it.

All the brands you mentioned made/make quality products. I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them.

One thing to know, if you don't already, when shopping used diesel models is that a T1N generation Sprinter (up until about the year 2006) on a 2500 chassis can easily get between 18 and 25 mpg. After about 50,000 miles, ours started getting 25 most of the time. We had a Freightliner badge on the grill, others had Dodge, others might have had a Mercedes badge. Regardless, they were all Mercedes products marketed in the US.

We put about 10,000 miles on it every year and really saw a lot of the U.S. And Canada, staying one to five nights in each place. The set-up and departure time was very minimal (usually just plugging in/unplugging the power cord if in a campground with electricity). That made it so easy to run around sightseeing, go somewhere to eat, buy groceries, etc. without the need for a second vehicle. And parking was easy just about anywhere except garages with low ceilings. Very easy to fit into campsites.

Another thing to look for IMHO is a three-way fridge. 120 when you are plugged into a campsite, 12 volt while driving, and gas (propane) when you stop for sightseeing or don't have hookups. Doesn't use much gas. We had a propane generator, too, which was handy.

Layout is a personal choice, but I liked the open feeling of our model, with high cabinets all around so I could be sitting in bed at the back and see straight through the windshield in the front. It had the bathroom behind the drivers' seat, and the galley on the passenger side. I've seen some Bs that had low-hanging cabinets that made me a little claustrophobic.

I'd buy another B in a heartbeat.

thanks for your replies and advice. Anyone out there actually have and like a class B Diesel RV, especially Great West, Pleasure Way and Leisure Travel?