Thinking about buying a B
Hello. I am thinking about buying a class B. I am leaning toward the Roadtrek 190P but the wife is leaning toward the 210P. Does one drive better than the other? We briefly had a 33' class A and i...
Forum Discussion
Pertaining to the question that classbwannab asked about the ERA being cheaper, does that make it inferior?
We've looked at all the Sprinter "name" brand class B's the last 18 months or so except for Interstates and AdvancedRV. Those are too few and far between to see. Anyway, we don't care for Thor made RV's (Interstates), and the AdvancedRV B's are very, very new to the market and specialized meaning $$$$.
The ERA uses the exact same chassis, albeit the long & tall 24' Sprinter van as the other B makers. The equipment is the same in most respects, generator, AC unit, refrigerators, kitchen sinks and range tops. Where you'll see the difference is the cabinetry is not hand made for each individual van as in the smaller makers, but it is CNC cut for the Sprinter interior patterns in quantity, and the cabinetry doors are not solid wood like the Pleasureways, RT's, Great Wests, LTV's etc. are. Now not solid wood does not mean particle board, it means laminated wood. Cheaper, yes, but not $18 to 20K worth of difference to us.
One thing the ERA has also is that all the plastic tanks, shower enclosures etc are all made by Winnebago in their own factory in Forest City, IA, not contracted out as the other makers do, hence excellent availability of parts if needed. And it's a USA based company with no debt whatsoever, so they'll be around after the next business downturn like the one we are coming out of.
As to the handling of the Sprinter in the wind. Yes it affects it, just like any other van, but the small 25' Sprinter based class C we just traded for our new ERA, which was 10" taller than the ERA, never gave us any grief in the winds in the 3 years we owned it.
Hope my long post here helps with your decision making, and all the ERA based info is pertaining to the 2012 on up ERA models.
We've looked at all the Sprinter "name" brand class B's the last 18 months or so except for Interstates and AdvancedRV. Those are too few and far between to see. Anyway, we don't care for Thor made RV's (Interstates), and the AdvancedRV B's are very, very new to the market and specialized meaning $$$$.
The ERA uses the exact same chassis, albeit the long & tall 24' Sprinter van as the other B makers. The equipment is the same in most respects, generator, AC unit, refrigerators, kitchen sinks and range tops. Where you'll see the difference is the cabinetry is not hand made for each individual van as in the smaller makers, but it is CNC cut for the Sprinter interior patterns in quantity, and the cabinetry doors are not solid wood like the Pleasureways, RT's, Great Wests, LTV's etc. are. Now not solid wood does not mean particle board, it means laminated wood. Cheaper, yes, but not $18 to 20K worth of difference to us.
One thing the ERA has also is that all the plastic tanks, shower enclosures etc are all made by Winnebago in their own factory in Forest City, IA, not contracted out as the other makers do, hence excellent availability of parts if needed. And it's a USA based company with no debt whatsoever, so they'll be around after the next business downturn like the one we are coming out of.
As to the handling of the Sprinter in the wind. Yes it affects it, just like any other van, but the small 25' Sprinter based class C we just traded for our new ERA, which was 10" taller than the ERA, never gave us any grief in the winds in the 3 years we owned it.
Hope my long post here helps with your decision making, and all the ERA based info is pertaining to the 2012 on up ERA models.
