Travato vs. used Leisure Travel?

Next year there will be Class B's on the new Ford Transit Van. It will have RWD and choice of Eco-Boost gas, or a Diesel engine. It will be more expensive than the Promaster, but many more feature choices.
I think low price may keep the Travato around, but other manufactures may choose to only build on the Sprinter, or Transit chassis. Time will tell.

FWD is cheaper upfront, but more expensive to repair.

I'm actively researching these Class B's for a possible purchase in 3-4 years when I retire. Use would to be actively travel the US with myself and a large dog.

My idea is leaning towards purchasing a used premium motorhome like a Pleasureway Plateau. I've seen used ones for 70-80K 3-4 years old with low mileage. The Travato like very attractive at mid 60s new, but I personally would go for quality over price. Both if I could get a 4 year old Travato for $40K, I may change my mind.

I like the Travato. It has some nice features, such as the fold down bed and a nice bath. I own a 2006 Leisure Travel Free Spirit. I think the forward thinking in the Travato is good for us all, in the long run. The real issue is new v. Old. Generally, it will cost you less to maintain a used vehicle than it does to buy a new one. We have spent plenty on our van, but it is still far less than a new Travoto. As for Sprinter service, we have had good luck with Freightliner authorized service centers and even local mechanics with the right software package. You just have to ask them. I avoid dealer service, and we have Fords and MB's. I have found you cannot count on dealer service. I like a place where the owner gets his hands dirty on occasion. Last point, you have shake down problems with most new RVs. They are just complicated. So even buying new is not trouble free.

As has been stated, the bad part of FWD is that the front wheels are doing ALL the work, and there is only a limited amount of traction available. If you are using the front wheels to steer, you lose some braking, if you are braking, you lose some steering. The total has to stay the same. Where you can run into trouble is if you wind up in a case where you need braking and steering, like using engine braking on a slippery steep downhill, or trying to keep yourself moving up a slippery hill where you have to turn too. You can lose considerably more steering than you would with a RWD or 4 wheel drive. All and all, I like FWD cars for winter. In a truck, not so much. Put a trailer on a FWD and you can spin the front tires very easily, heck I even could do it with an Escort. That never happens with a trailer on a rear drive.

"The upside: FWD cars can actually be pretty tenacious in the snow because the weight of the engine/transaxle is sitting right on top of the drive wheels. FWD is vastly better in the snow than a rear-wheel-drive car. With a good set of all-season or snow tires, you will probably be able to make it to work unless the snow is really deep — in which case it’s the absence of ground clearance more than anything else that will cause you to get stuck. FWD is also more economical — both to buy “up front” and to operate over the life of the vehicle. You’re not paying extra when you buy the car — and you’re not paying every time you gas up to lug around equipment you only use a handful of times every year."

"The downside: FWD cars are weight-biased toward the front, which is a built-in design limitation as far as handling/performance is concerned. Also, the wheels that propel the car must also steer the car, which isn’t optimal for high-speed driving/cornering. This is why most race cars and also high-performance cars are rear-wheel-drive. FWD is fundamentally an economy-oriented drivetrain layout designed to cut down on vehicle weight, simplify assembly and reduce manufacturing costs."

"The bottom line: FWD is a good choice for the average driver who uses his vehicle to get from “a” to “b” and would like to have decent traction on those few days each winter when there’s some snow on the roads."

"- See more at: http://blog.motorists.org/winter-driving-rwd-fwd-awd-4wd/#sthash.3R6CgOCS.dpuf"

You buy what you like. FWD is a dumb design and made for unskilled drivers and it's less expensive to build. I have driven many sporty cars, race cars and driven about every kind of vehicle on the road, even 18 wheelers.
You let me know how great FWD is when you get caught in an ice storm in the mountains. With 8000 lbs being controlled by the 2 front wheels, that if you lose traction will send you over a 1500 ft drop. I want to be able to steer, and use the engine to help brake. Don't tell me because it's a B you can just pull over an wait for things to clear off, some roads don't have shoulders and sometimes it's raining on one side of a mountain and icing on the other and you won't know till you start to slide.
I've owned exactly 2 FWD cars, and will never own another. I certainly won't own a heavy FWD, try pointing one uphill with limited traction. Ever wonder why most race cars and trucks are RWD, there is a reason.
Enjoy your van, but don't ask me to buy into, IMHO, a lousy design, I can go places in a open diff old pickup that no FWD can dream of.

I don't really understand what you are talking about. FWD is alot safer in the rain and in snowy or slushy conditions than RWD. All new cars/vans/trucks have 4 wheel disc brakes, antilock and traction control.

If you drove my Promaster, I doubt you could really tell any difference in the handling characteristics other than at the absolute limits, which you shouldn't be driving at anyways in an RV. If you overdrive it, it has a tendancy to "plow", which is a lot safer than having the rear end slide out in a corner and most RWD trucks will do (my Silverado does this).

Oh, and as a side benefit, with the engine and drive train weight up front, and the upfit for the RV stuff largely over the rear wheels, the front/back weight distribution is ALOT more even and better for handling.

RWD is for sporty cars these days. I have a few, and for that kind of driving it's great. The rest is just fine with FWD.

I hope it's a great truck. But, I will never, ever own another FWD vehicle, no matter how good the rest is. I want 4 tires on the ground to contribute to the control of the vehicle, not just 2 with the other 2 having brakes and the rest of the time are trailer tires. Break traction with the 2 front tires for any reason, hydro planing, snow, ice, (black ice is the worst) and you can do little,to control the vehicle, Law of physics, you will go in a straight line and in a 8000 lb vehicle, I don't care what kind of skid control is built in, things will go to a very high pucker factor with little you can do as a driver.
Now that I've stated my biggest objection to the Promaster van, enjoy it and I hope it's as good as everyone thinks it will be.
BTW,, my Sprinter brakes have never squeaked.

That is a great value considering it's about the same as a well-equipped Suburban.

Always can make a better deal with snow on the ground, not so much in the summer months.

Yeah, we paid mid 60s in January after some hard haggling.