Fiver to Sprinter type

[budbon]

My wife and I have been using our various fivers primarily for boon docking. We have decided to go to a Sprinter type motor home, and start looking over this great country. We are looking at the View/Navion 24G rigs. At 6'3 I would like the queen bed. We are not necessarily locked into these brands but lean very heavily towards this style. We are really looking forward to the freedom to go when we want and stop when we want.

We will probably be looking for a used rig, probably 2 to 2 years old. Are there any special recommendation's? Anything we should watch out for etc.?

We currently have a 2010 Montana 2955RL, with solar panels, inverter and other goodies, but at 70 we are entering a new phase of Rv'ing.

[Ketchman]

We recently purchased a Coachman Prism SE 2014. It has a queen bed, one slide, with a dining area that makes into another bed, as well as a cab over bunk, all on the Sprinter chassis. I looked at both Winnebago and Navion as well, found Coachman to be a better value. There is a large variance between dealers to it pays to shop around. I am 6'6" and have plenty of head room.

[Dakzuki]

fortytwo wrote:
The DEF equipped models have performance equal to, or above the 5 cylinders, and the best fuel economy of Sprinters..

Not sure where you got that nugget but it's incorrect. The DEF equipped Sprinter Cs get about the same fuel economy as the earlier non DEF V6. The 5 cylinder rules by a significant margin in the fuel economy game but cannot compare power wise with the DEF V6.

[fortytwo]

Unless you're carrying lead it's pretty hard to get far above the CCC. Storage space keeps CCC in line. I downsized to one from a Class A with 50 storage compartments/drawers, a couple of which were larger than the entire storage in my View. It's been a major challenge, but we've made it work for two years.

The Sprinter is a relatively narrow van, as is the wheelbase. Rock and Roll crossing curb cuts can't be eliminated; only mitigated by doing it slowly.

Through 08 (Sprinter 07's)they were limited to 3500# tow capacity by the gauge of the extension rails. There may be exceptions, but all I've seen the "house" year has been on a one year older Sprinter. The mod required to raise that would be expensive.

The 5 cylinders were on a shorter wheelbase; I don't know if that has any negatives. The 5 cylinders actually have better performance than the 6 (before DEF was initiated) due to fewer emission controls. The turbo resonators were problematic on them, but all have probably failed and been replaced with a reliable one by now. The DEF equipped models have performance equal to, or above the 5 cylinders, and the best fuel economy of Sprinters.

Sprinters are over-engineered to protect the engine. MB does not make the codes available, and non-MB code readers are not capable of resetting even those they can read. Relatively minor events can initiate the "Limp Home Mode - LHM" which restricts the vehicle to reverse and 2nd gear. Not a big deal for Sprinters used as local utility vehicles. A really big deal if you are in the middle of Hwy 150 - loneliest highway in the world; or the north end of Icefields highway. MB at one time owned Chrysler and Freightliner and SOME of their shops have diagnostic equipment but not all, nor do all MB dealers service Sprinters.

The above notwithstanding, 99.9% of the owners of Sprinter based Class C's are happy with them from a maintenance viewpoint. Most trade due to other reasons - space, tow capability, etc.

For a small, narrow, Class C that really doesn't require a Toad there really isn't any other option than Sprinter based at this time.

[Snowman9000]

W&H,

The sum of the axle ratings is several hundred pounds more than the GVWR. Make of that what you will. I would bet many owners put whatever they want in the vehicles and do just fine. Your mileage may vary.

[_en_Plain_Air_]

We have extensively researched this type of vehicle. Our floorplan preference is the Unity 24tb - and, they are very well built. The worries on the MB are 1) service in more remote parts of the country and 2) cargo carry capacity.
At the Hershey RV show, we recorded CCC capacities, and matched that against what we'd take for a long trip. I think we're in trouble with MB cargo capacities.
For example, if the unit boasts 1100-1200 lbs cargo capacity (an average for what we saw), subtract the weights of a few 'after market' installed items (awning,ac etc)(estimate 200 lbs- that seemed to be the consensus), the people (in our case 300 lbs), some combination of water, grey, black etc - especially if heading out for boondocking (pretend full water tank - 300 pounds). This leaves 3-400 pounds for kitchen gear, food, beer, linens, good toolbox, hoses and outdoor supplies, personal bathroom items, clothing, camp chairs, photography and computer. We might go wild and take golf clubs. Forget solar.
So, it's looking like the MB platform is a little light for fully equipped long trips, might be good for weekends, or week long trips plugged into utilities. I think CCC in the 2000 lb range makes much more sense.
Am I missing something?

[Dakzuki]

Snowman9000 wrote:
For boondocking, one thing to investigate is the LP valve on the View/Navion. From what I've read, it's located inboard somewhere, and uses an electric valve which sucks a lot of amps. Also check the water and LP capacities.

From 20011 on the LP tank is inboard of the chassis rails and uses an electric solenoid valve to turn off/on. It draws some current (undesirable) but it's nothing crippling. The RV can be boondocked just fine with it.

[Snowman9000]

For boondocking, one thing to investigate is the LP valve on the View/Navion. From what I've read, it's located inboard somewhere, and uses an electric valve which sucks a lot of amps. Also check the water and LP capacities.

[Dakzuki]

Here is a group that is dedicated to (mostly) the View and Navion RV. They also have a listing of View/Navions for sale. It is the single best repository for information about the View/Navion around.

[My_Roadtrek]

Moved to Class C from CVC.

[budbon]

tatest wrote:
Winnebago is using the Sprinter to make A's (Via/Reyo), B's (Era), and C's (View/Navion). The c's most like a B+ would be View Profile and Navion IQ, though Winnebago has not used that marketing term (from Gulfstream originally) to describe a C without overhead bed.

There are actually quite a few Navions and Views out there, been making them for something like 8 years, but the IQ and Profile are more recent and rarer. If the idea is to get a Sprinter under you, I suggest you look at them all, new if you must in order to find them, to decide how much space you want for travel. The true B, the Era, is slimmer and gets around better. The A, C and B+ styles are roomier, the A probably roomiest, and all about the same size outside, 24-25 long and just under eight foot wide.

Sprinter B's and B+/Cs are available from other manufacturers, again going back 8-9 years, Gulfstream about the oldest. Earliest models had the overhead bed, it is only recently that U.S. manufacturers have moved to what in Europe is called the "profile" motorhome style on a Sprinter.

Good info, thanks.

[bobojay5]

Winnebago actually came out with the Profile/IQ/24G style coach in the 2008 model year. (we had a 2009).
The first 3 model years didn't have the side slide on the drivers side. We loved ours, but did recently go down a size to the ERA class B. The only thing we really miss about the IQ we had is the larger bathroom.
Nice units. Lots of used ones around if you look.
Our ERA class B actually has more interior storage than the IQ class C did believe it or not.
There is no such thing as a B+. It's just a marketing term used by some manufacturers, usually to designate a no over the cab bed model

[tatest]

Winnebago is using the Sprinter to make A's (Via/Reyo), B's (Era), and C's (View/Navion). The c's most like a B+ would be View Profile and Navion IQ, though Winnebago has not used that marketing term (from Gulfstream originally) to describe a C without overhead bed.

There are actually quite a few Navions and Views out there, been making them for something like 8 years, but the IQ and Profile are more recent and rarer. If the idea is to get a Sprinter under you, I suggest you look at them all, new if you must in order to find them, to decide how much space you want for travel. The true B, the Era, is slimmer and gets around better. The A, C and B+ styles are roomier, the A probably roomiest, and all about the same size outside, 24-25 long and just under eight foot wide.

Sprinter B's and B+/Cs are available from other manufacturers, again going back 8-9 years, Gulfstream about the oldest. Earliest models had the overhead bed, it is only recently that U.S. manufacturers have moved to what in Europe is called the "profile" motorhome style on a Sprinter.

[midnightsadie]

thats the one we have but couple yrs older , great motorhome.

[mockturtle]

I would take a look at this one: Leisure Travel Serenity