Advanced Rv

[thejsofa]

Did any one get a good look at the Advanced RV at B Rally?

Comments pro/con?

[Davydd]

Bob,

You might change your mind if you come north to Minnesota to camp in the summer. 😉

[bobojay5]

EEEK! too rich for us to do the screen from Advanced. I figured $12-1500. at most.

[georgelesley]

Karsty wrote:

bobojay5 wrote:
What did Mike quote you ERA owners for the side screen door?

Davydd, yet huh? You'll have one in a year or 2....:)

It depends on the layout. The 70A has the kitchen counter on the passenger side and wouldn't need a cabinet made to accommodate the fixed screen portion ... although I understand some modifications to the counter and top may have to be made.

In my case I have the 70X. The passenger side rear seat and metal baseplate have to be removed. A small cabinet has to be built and placed where the seat was located so the fix screen portion can be attached.

Karsty, I defer to your experience on cost. I thought the 70X would be cheaper. No so I guess! See you in September if not sooner.

The estimates were around $2500. We are suppose to received quotes shortly.

[Davydd]

The side screen door makes all the difference in a Sprinter in how you use it and enjoy it, IMO. It brings outdoors in even more so than the abundant windows. Also, the back screen will probably reduce your air-conditioning use dramatically. We only used our air-conditioning so far because of excess humidity rather than heat in South Padre Island, TX. A few times in the dry Southwest with temps over 90F we got by without air-conditioning.

[georgelesley]

Bob, the basic price is around 1500-2000, but the 70A model because the counter top is a bit longer (according to the wife a good thing) it will have to be notched for the door support and the cost will be 2000-2500. However we are also having the counter top TV removed and mounted onto a portable base so we can move it where desired. With the TV power and cable hookup on the outside and a hook up available in the galley, we figured why not make it truly portable. They also have to modify the drop down support for the third bed at the end of the counter. A few inches will have to be cut off the side next to the sliding door. We don't see ourselves using it as a bed anyway although it should still work as one. The trade off is well worth it.

Lesley is also making noise that since we will never use the extra cushion for the third bed, the area by the refer where it is stored will make a great slide out pantry...

They are also going to install a roll up screen for the rear doors. With the rear doors open and side door open, we should get great air flow thru the unit. All of this will likely cost 2500-3000.

The ERA 70X requires less modification and costs less. Our screen door will also operate in reverse to the video on their website. Ours will roll out from the counter top side and latch next to the passenger seat. Doing this will make the door entry width within 1/2" of what it is now. Doing it the other way would narrow the opening several inches.

We plan to have ours done before the social in Sept, probably in July.

[Karsty]

bobojay5 wrote:
What did Mike quote you ERA owners for the side screen door?

Davydd, yet huh? You'll have one in a year or 2....:)

It depends on the layout. The 70A has the kitchen counter on the passenger side and wouldn't need a cabinet made to accommodate the fixed screen portion ... although I understand some modifications to the counter and top may have to be made.

In my case I have the 70X. The passenger side rear seat and metal baseplate have to be removed. A small cabinet has to be built and placed where the seat was located so the fix screen portion can be attached.

The estimates were around $2500. We are suppose to received quotes shortly.

[bobojay5]

What did Mike quote you ERA owners for the side screen door?

Davydd, yeah, huh? You'll have one in a year or 2....:)

[Davydd]

Karsty wrote:

I thought the Advanced RV's were very classy and nicely finished. I also like the fact that the gallery counter was narrower than other Sprinter layouts. Gave a little more aisle width which I thought was a nice touch.

The Advanced RV started out with experience learned from a Great West Van Legend. There are a lot of plan and concept similarities. So, I took some measurements of my Legend and the Ocean One. Here is how they stack up.

Bathroom measured at the base:

Legend: 25-1/2"
Ocean One: 25-1/4"

Bathroom measured at counter height (wall curves in):

Legend: 25"
Ocean One: 24-5/8"

Kitchen Counter:

Legend: 15-3/8"
Ocean One: 17-1/4"

Aisle at narrowest point:

Legend: 26-1/2"
Ocean One: 24-7/8"

The Biggest difference is the Legend counter top is narrower throwing the extra space in the aisle. Both Bs pretty much used the same sink and cooktop. I told Mike our counter, though the narrowest probably in the industry is usable and I would rather have the space in the aisle. Mike said the aisle of the Ocean One was the width of the screen door. My point was only one person passes through the door at one time but in the aisle two passed by each other all the time all the way from front to back. My old Pleasure-way Plateau had about a 24" aisle and I noticed how much difference the extra 2+ inches made immediately. Some Bs like the Airstream Interstate narrow down to 19".

Both have tri-fold sofas that operate similarly on side rails keeping the area underneath very open. Advanced RVs sofa is more sharply squared off making the bed a flatter sleeping surface and tighter fit to the side walls.

Fit and finish is superb on the Advanced RV. I would probably prefer the Euro design of the Advanced RV over the traditional design of Great West. Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto, was my inspiration. Google his designs and you'll see why I prefer Advanced RV.

The cabinets are a tad more functional in interior dimension. I didn't explore in detail how well the curved cabinets worked but the pass through at the sliding door was nice as was the pull out pantry for canned goods.

I didn't get into the "under the hood" things electrical and operationally. Those are variables on both Great West and Advanced RV but they both offer similar. My three year old B is getting dated in regard to what everyone seems to be providing now. Things like larger refrigerators and diesel hydronic space heating and hot water came to Great West just one iteration after I bought mine. We all thought it was great with just two house batteries then. 😞

Bottom line is I did a lot of research when I bought my Legend three years ago as did Mike and Marcia Neundorfer. So, the plan meets my ideal requirements. Advanced RV is attempting to improve on all that. I had a lot of desires to resolve when I went from a 2005 Pleasure-way Plateau to our Legend. This one does not give me enough compelling reasons . . . yet. 🙂

[Karsty]

georgelesley wrote:
Agree with all of above. First class units. We are taking our ERA to the factory in July for the side screen door mod and also a roll up screen for the rear and likely a cabinet for and install of, our satellite receiver. Mike came over and took all necessary pic and measurements and his cabinet shop is already doing design work.

Same here ... Mike took all my measurements on my ERA and I will be setting up a date to have a screen door and small cabinet installed in the sliding door opening. I may also talk to him about building a drawer where my microwave is now. It's not working and I won't replace it at it's current location. (Down too low to be practicable.)

I thought the Advanced RV's were very classy and nicely finished. I also like the fact that the gallery counter was narrower than other Sprinter layouts. Gave a little more aisle width which I thought was a nice touch.

I was impressed overall with the quality of the build and the finish.

[georgelesley]

Agree with all of above. First class units. We are taking our ERA to the factory in July for the side screen door mod and also a roll up screen for the rear and likely a cabinet for and install of, our satellite receiver. Mike came over and took all necessary pic and measurements and his cabinet shop is already doing design work.

[qjane]

There were two Advanced RVs at the rally! One had a light maple laminate interior and the other had black laminate with subtle streaks of white or light gray running through it.

My first thought on seeing the black cabinets was, "Oh no, too trendy," but after about a minute inside the unit, I realized the color totally worked with the sleek lines and curves of the cabinets. Much thought has been given to the shape of the cabinets and countertops. The word "modern" comes to mind, as does "casually elegant." A fellow rally goer described the look as "crisp."

Someone at their plant certainly has an eye for design.

Other items that impressed me were the electric fold-out bed (super comfortable) and the amount of storage behind the bed. Another great feature was the passenger side screen door. As of right now, the company can install these doors on existing Sprinters.

Which leads to what I think is the best feature of Advanced RV. Like Sportsmobile, they do custom builds. The owners seem very willing to incorporate whatever features you can imagine.