Considering a Class B

Moved from Class C.

look at LEISURE TRAVEL VANS, there just right, ours a freedom serenity II is great, quality cost more up front but way better ten years from now.don,t only buy a rv with a fiber glass body and ROOF ,most all the rest develope leaks.

the expense, I think, is driven by cramming so much into a small space... imagine that each piece of cabinetry has to be able to fit in thru a door or window opening- then put up.
nothing is square and it's all curvey on the backsides.

the premium builders ( both quality and cost) use better materials- much of my cabinetry is solid maple


some makes and models, such as roadtrek drop the floor a couple of inches, which adds to the cost.


the space is truly tight- if you are tall you can rule out sideways sleeper models unless they are widebodies.

youtube videos from dealers will show the features of various model and you can get a good idea of space by watching the salesguy move around inside the van.

the upside is parking, driving & mpg. ours is a chevy , so easy to work on

We really like our 2006 Pleasure-Way Lexor TD and travel 2 + big dog

we use it for weekenders and did a month long trip from AZ to MI and Ont this summer

one other thing which may or not be valid:

crashes- last weekend a guy rolled an A on the freeway here- it folded up flat, ending up about 4' high.
i think I'd do better in my B.

my local craigslist is where I found my B.
right now there are listings from 80k to 10K depending on what you want

Mike

A long time ago we owned a 1972 Dodge B300 Family Wagon Camper Van conversion. It was easily the most versatile vehicle we have ever owned. We were young family with three kids and had moved up a little from a VW camper conversion. The van camper had a two burner propane stove, an ice box, and a sink with water pump and a water tank, It had a small potty room with a porta-potti. The bed/dinette was convertible by moving cusions etc. There were 12 volt interior lights and no air conditioning or furnace. There was an overhead bed for kids and another telescoping bed in the rear. It had a bubble top which allowed standing up inside. There was very little storage room except for the front overhead bed. You could easily cobble a rig together like that. It got about 16 mpg and was usable as a hauling vehicle and daily get around. Today's Roadtrek van conversions have all of the comforts of home packed into a van. They are custom produced in small numbers and are probably not as quick/easy to assemble as Class C's.
Best to go to a Roadtrek dealer and simulate using the bathroom/shower, dinette and bed, sitting accomodations. You can plan on sitting outside under the awning while camped for "elbow room".
MPG won't be so great because of the all-up weight. Maybe a used Roadtrek or similar van conversion.

The first reason B's are more expensive is that it is harder to work inside a body composed of complex curves, like a van has, than to put furniture into a box with all right angles.

The second reason is quality of workmanship. The less expensive class C's are really slapped together, often using inferior materials. For whatever reason, all of the class B makers use better materials and more careful assembly.

midnightsadie wrote:
look at LEISURE TRAVEL VANS, there just right, ours a freedom serenity II is great, quality cost more up front but way better ten years from now.don,t only buy a rv with a fiber glass body and ROOF ,most all the rest develope leaks.

OP, the Serenity is a Class C, LTV hasn't made a Class B for a few years now.

As one not influenced by "fluff", I prefer "function". Thus, carefully read up on Sporstmobile. Their site shows all the basic van costs, different layouts, DIY options galore and many 2-wheel and 4-wheel options, including Sprinter models.

They explain all options and mechanical systems well. And, prices are stated there as well for each option.

Others may be prettier and flashier...... but can they fight?

;)

Hi - I have a Pleasureway Excel TS and am very happy with my purchase. They are expensive, you are right but the downside is that they are very hard to find second hand. I looked for 2 years before I found mine. As I am getting ready to be retired and will be traveling solo with a dog, it was very important to me that I didn't have to haul, could park anywhere, a little better gas mileage and a quality build. The Pleasureway fit the bill and has served my purposes very well for 2 years. I have had nothing and I mean nothing go wrong with it during those 2 years. As for size, if you are traveling on your own, they are a perfect size. I have a medium size dog and I think we fit in just perfectly. I have traveled with a friend and I think for 2 people it would be less comfortable.

Hope you find what you are looking for,

We really like our 2016 Winnebago ERA class B, subject to small, irritating quality issues. Coachman just announced a Class B on the MB platform (Galleria) also, which looks interesting. As far as cost, it's what the market will bear. You can probably get a new ERA around $80,000-$85,000. The Galleria, I'd guess, is probably going to be around $95,000-$110,000. Anyone with actual Galleria pricing info, feel free to jump in.

They don't have to be so expensive, it is just that the mainstream market in B's today is a luxury market, and that's what the dealers are ordering, since they are not having trouble selling them, even taking large margins. Most of what you see is way above any entry level C or travel trailer in cost of fixtures and trim materials used.

An extended-body 3/4 van today runs about $35,000, somewhat more for the Sprinter. A converter can put $30,000 into the conversion or $100,000 into the conversion. Winnebago's Travato is a medium price conversion on a low-cost van, their ERA is a premium conversion ($80K range) on a much more expensive van.

So for lower cost type B RVs today, functional but not so plush, look a Winnebago's Travato. It gets a bad rep among B reviewers from time to time for being so "plain" or "cheap."

Pleasureway used to sell a lower cost conversion on the E-series van, the pop-up roof Traverse. It was more of a camper van than a full-fledged motorhome. Roadtrek offers a Ranger RT on the Chevy van that is about $20K less than the similar-size Popular 190 or even $10K under the smaller Popular 170; Ranger is less lushly fitted out.

Sportsmobile routinely does conversions at the $30K-50K level, might build for something less if your needs are simple enough. An equivalent of the 1960's camper vans might be done DIY with about $10K worth of fittings and materials, but you are likely to put $20K worth of your own labor into it, if you value it as highly as labor costs in a RV conversion shop.

Look at the Travato (dealers will have them), try to find a Ranger RT (or at least look at the description), then check out Sportsmobile's web page, where you can sort of build what you want and estimate the cost (price).