Winnebago Navion/View vs. Leisure Travel Van

You are exactly where we were 12 years ago.

We were 49 years old that year, looking for a rig for just the two of us and a means to accommodate a guest on occasion. We needed something small to fit in our garage and also to be "National Park/Monument/Forest Friendly" with all capacities sufficient for boondocking in such places. We wanted all features "practical", not novice features that are inconveniently tiny. We absolutely required a standard dinette booth and a main floor double bed. Bonus features were a dry bath, a decent galley, a big fridge, an easy chair, and storage galore, all in a length of 23'-8", a width of only 93", and an over-all height of just 9'-10" was the perfect fit for us. 12 years later and 12 years older and we are still loving this thing. Our plan is to own it until we are too old and too dangerous to drive it.

CLICK HERE to see many pictures of it, inside and out. If it intrigues you, I advise to check out their website HERE and drive 2.5 hours north to visit the factory.

If the Sprinter chassis is a "No Compromise", two Phoenix models are offered in both the Sprinter and E-Series.

HybridWanabe wrote:
Greetings:

Considering "rightsizing" from a Thor Chateau 31E to a +/- 25' MH on a Sprinter chassis. The Winnebago Navion/View (24V) and Leisure Unity FX are our top contenders. We simply don’t need sleeping space for “10” now that an empty nest is looming in our future. Would be interested in feedback from both viewpoints, specifically on fuel economy, housing the occasional “guest”, maneuverability (specifically within the National Parks System), dry and of course “stealth” camping.

Thanks!

A 25' Class B, or Class B+, or Class C MH probably isn't going to be very much of a "true stealth camping" RV, per se. It seems to me that a camper van or truck camper would come closer to providing that.

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "stealth". We have a 24 foot Class C and have over-nighted - in a church parking lot, in a bakery's parking lot, in trucker gas stations, in a Port of Entry parking lot, along the curb in front of a friend's house, out by the barn at a private farm, in a Cebela's parking lot, in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, out in the field at a private ranch, in a Walmart parking lot, in the parking lot behind a Mom & Pop restaurant, in the parking lot of a medical clinic, in the parking lot outside the gate of a closed public park, etc.

I wouldn't call the above situations "true" stealth camping because it is obvious what our Class C is, and what we were probably doing in it at the time.

For what it's worth, here is one of my (nicely affordable when new) current top choices in a small Class C for "intimate" fully self-contained camping - a Minnie Winnie in the 22R floorplan: https://winnebagoind.com/products/class-c/2019/minnie-winnie/floorplans

RON you should be in sales, very nice outfit ,we have a older LTV freedom serenity II 5cyc diesel , we love our LTV very well made. just turned 42k and problems.

After looking at practically every Sprinter-based moho, including the Leisure Travel models, we just purchased a Winnebago Navion 24V. The floor plan on the 24V works perfect for us as a couple.

Driving the Sprinter feels like driving a tall SUV, the turning radius is much tighter than the Ford's E50s and 450s. We just got ours and have only put a few hundred miles and we have been getting about 12.5 MPG.

When comparing models, make sure you look at tank capacity for fresh water and grey, black water. When boon docking, these are critical.

If stealth camping is part of the plan be sure to evaluate the RV with all slides stowed. When we were shopping, being able to use the RV with slide(s) in was a hard requirement. If we are doing one night transit stops we often don’t deploy the slide.

gemsworld wrote:
After looking at practically every Sprinter-based moho, including the Leisure Travel models, we just purchased a Winnebago Navion 24V. The floor plan on the 24V works perfect for us as a couple.

Driving the Sprinter feels like driving a tall SUV, the turning radius is much tighter than the Ford's E50s and 450s. We just got ours and have only put a few hundred miles and we have been getting about 12.5 MPG.

European ones feel like that, much easier to drive

pnichols wrote:

HybridWanabe wrote:
Greetings:

Considering "rightsizing" from a Thor Chateau 31E to a +/- 25' MH on a Sprinter chassis. The Winnebago Navion/View (24V) and Leisure Unity FX are our top contenders. We simply don’t need sleeping space for “10” now that an empty nest is looming in our future. Would be interested in feedback from both viewpoints, specifically on fuel economy, housing the occasional “guest”, maneuverability (specifically within the National Parks System), dry and of course “stealth” camping.

Thanks!

A 25' Class B, or Class B+, or Class C MH probably isn't going to be very much of a "true stealth camping" RV, per se. It seems to me that a camper van or truck camper would come closer to providing that.

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "stealth". We have a 24 foot Class C and have over-nighted - in a church parking lot, in a bakery's parking lot, in trucker gas stations, in a Port of Entry parking lot, along the curb in front of a friend's house, out by the barn at a private farm, in a Cebela's parking lot, in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, out in the field at a private ranch, in a Walmart parking lot, in the parking lot behind a Mom & Pop restaurant, in the parking lot of a medical clinic, in the parking lot outside the gate of a closed public park, etc.

I wouldn't call the above situations "true" stealth camping because it is obvious what our Class C is, and what we were probably doing in it at the time.

For what it's worth, here is one of my (nicely affordable when new) current top choices in a small Class C for "intimate" fully self-contained camping - a Minnie Winnie in the 22R floorplan: https://winnebagoind.com/products/class-c/2019/minnie-winnie/floorplans

WHAT ENGINE IS IN THAT? Are they available w/ Ford diesels?

mikeceli wrote:

pnichols wrote:

HybridWanabe wrote:
Greetings:

Considering "rightsizing" from a Thor Chateau 31E to a +/- 25' MH on a Sprinter chassis. The Winnebago Navion/View (24V) and Leisure Unity FX are our top contenders. We simply don’t need sleeping space for “10” now that an empty nest is looming in our future. Would be interested in feedback from both viewpoints, specifically on fuel economy, housing the occasional “guest”, maneuverability (specifically within the National Parks System), dry and of course “stealth” camping.

Thanks!

A 25' Class B, or Class B+, or Class C MH probably isn't going to be very much of a "true stealth camping" RV, per se. It seems to me that a camper van or truck camper would come closer to providing that.

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "stealth". We have a 24 foot Class C and have over-nighted - in a church parking lot, in a bakery's parking lot, in trucker gas stations, in a Port of Entry parking lot, along the curb in front of a friend's house, out by the barn at a private farm, in a Cebela's parking lot, in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, out in the field at a private ranch, in a Walmart parking lot, in the parking lot behind a Mom & Pop restaurant, in the parking lot of a medical clinic, in the parking lot outside the gate of a closed public park, etc.

I wouldn't call the above situations "true" stealth camping because it is obvious what our Class C is, and what we were probably doing in it at the time.

For what it's worth, here is one of my (nicely affordable when new) current top choices in a small Class C for "intimate" fully self-contained camping - a Minnie Winnie in the 22R floorplan: https://winnebagoind.com/products/class-c/2019/minnie-winnie/floorplans

WHAT ENGINE IS IN THAT? Are they available w/ Ford diesels?

The Winnebago 22M and 22R Class C rigs are available built on either the Ford E350 or E450 chassis ... both with the V10 engine. If you can tolerate a slide ... note the large black and grey storage tanks on the 22M model as compared to the 22R model. The 22M and 22R have the same size water heater, propane tank, gas tank, and fresh water tank.

I would recommend choosing the E450 chassis over the E350 for either model. They are not available with a diesel engine, only the V10 gas engine.

I think the CCC is greater for the 350 and 450 over the Sprinter chassis, at least the ones I saw.