RT 170 as a daily driver?

[chast]

Hi all--we have been considering a B van and would like to hear from this group concerning the use of a Roadtrek 170 as a daily driver. We have looked at many and feel that the 17' Roadtrek might fit our need for a vehicle to travel/stay in between our two places. We currently have a car in PA and a car in FL and they sit for six months each while we are in each location. Our little Class C only moves for two weeks a year when we travel between locations. Thinking that the Roadtrek will allow us to get rid of three vehicles and get down to one that will be used regularly. What say you?

[PSW]

OK, I admit it: I miss our Roadtrek!

We had a 190P and then a 210P for many years. Two years ago, we bought a Phoenix Cruiser 2350 Class C which we dearly love and find it best of all for the type of travel we now do most of the time. Where as in the past we toured and camped, now we tend to spend two weeks at a time in one place. We pull a toad or it just wouldn't work for us. We enjoy the extra room and the dry bath.

So, I contemplated buying a 170 for a daily driver. I don't drive that much now that I am retired, probably less than 8-10k a year on my driver. We put about 6-8 on the Phoenix Cruiser. The toad is my wife's daily driver, a Jeep Trailhawk.

Last fall, I started really thinking about finding a 170 for around town and just for the fun of it. After I looked online and at a couple of used ones, I concluded a 190 might work about as well. The only important exterior difference is twenty inches in length. That one foot, eight inches makes a lot of difference in a daily driver I concluded. It would mean parking way out in the lot and it would mean using more than the allocated space for one vehicle in lots of places. So, for me, a 170 just fits the bill more for short trips of 2-3 days to who knows where and around town. I would, of course, be able to use service lots only and that was about the only "give up" I could come up with compared to my current SUV. By the way, we have a nine foot tall garage door and therefore can park a 170 or 190 or 210 inside and thus never need to winterize. Not so the Phoenix Cruiser and that eliminates day trips or short winter trips in it.

Then, I thought (a lot!) about maintaining two rvs. I asked that question on the Class C forum: how many have more than one rig at the same time. The number of responses indicated a lot of folks have two rigs for various purposes. I do virtually all my rv maintenance myself and leave the chassis stuff to a great mechanic ten minutes down the road.

I am sure if I were not now retired I wouldn't even consider such a thing, but it really appeals to me. I don't know how many more years I will be able to handle a larger unit than a B and pull a toad....ten if I am lucky. What I do know is it is a lot more hassle to drive even a small C compared to a B and I suspect driving a 170 compared to our old 210P with the flared sides and length would be very, very similar to a SUV.

As to the added expense compared to a car or other "daily driver".....boys and their toys seems a reasonable explanation. By the way, my wife (years ago) drove a Chevy 20 conversion van for her daily driver. Seems to me that a 170 is simply that on steroids.

Paul

[mkguitar]

GaryKH wrote:


Sounds like you have had some issues with a class B in the past!...

Nope, I use a car as a car, a truck as a truck and my rv as an rv.

A tradesman may carry some weight- how many trademans vans or trucks would you buy 5 years in...or even drive behind!
I know I don;t ever drive behind an older truck ir van

I can work on stuff so cost of ownership is lower for us than for some others.

False economy to beat up an RV hauling 7 or 8 thousands pounds everywhere you go.
It can be done, the question is: "is it smart".



mike

[lfloom]

This might be another option.
Very small van conversion

[clayway]

I had a 170 as a second car for 5 years, my only regret now it that I sold it. I am looking for another to use as a second car again. I think the daily use is actually good for the appliances. I have many more issues with my seldom used Class C than I ever did with my Roadtrek 170

[candlback]

Ever since I retired and bought my Roadtrek 190 in 2002 I have been using it as a daily driver (but less often and we don't commute any more). I drive reasonably and have no problem with brakes or shocks or anything. Small parking lots are difficult and only then is when I wish I had a 170.

[GaryKH]

mkguitar wrote:
You could, but an RV will not do as well over potholes and bumps and etc as a car.

They are big dumb heavy and slow.

to regularly drive in traffic will shorten the life of the vehicle and parts.

consider that a brake job might run you $600 +...on an RV that's every few years- on a daily driver that may be every year.

The brakes are asked to stop 7000 pounds at every intersection, the drivetrain asked to get all that weight moving again.

the chassis, shocks and steering gear will wear mush faster.

and you'll be more exposed to accidents, without full airbags and crumple zones ( RV's are not subject to safety regs for passenger cars)

On most vehicles the air conditioning is belt driven from the motor- if the motor is not turning quickly ( like stopped at a light), then the ac doesn;t work as well- so in a city driving environment you may have negligible AC.

every pothole and bump will strain the cabinetry- it'll creak and loosen.

there really is a difference between "highway miles" and "city miles".

it is poor economy to use a specialized vehicle for regular use.

possible you could tow one vehicle with the van to your destination and therefore get rid of one of the 3 vehicles?

Mike

Sounds like you have had some issues with a class B in the past! These are no different than a lot of the tradesman vans that you see all over city & town. Plus, i would bet that a plumbers van would weigh a lot more. They seem to do fine without a lot of these 'issues'. I've driven vans both for work & for pleasure for years & i don't think the upkeep is any different than on cars. Course there are always exceptions.

[reppans]

I've owned a 170 Popular for 8 years and while it's not a dedicated daily driver, I use it just as much as my other two rides (a Mini and a Motorcycle) - each see ~7k per year. I'm near a major city where crowded 18' parking spots are the norm, so the 170's smallest RV footprint is vital to me. I also love how the Chevy-based vehicles are about as discreet as you can get in full stand-up motorhome.

Some things to consider if you intend to use it as a daily driver:

- Mileage and handling - it is, after all, a 4 ton, top-heavy vehicle
- Height - as mentioned above
- Potential road restrictions - height, weight, RVs, etc (although mine has passenger plates and flies under the radar for the restricted parkways around here)
- Sideways sleeping - at 5'8" it's fine for me, but can be a problem for taller folks
- Winter salt - lots of exposed metal RV fixings underneath
- Summer heat parking - primarily with stored food and water
- Back in parking - a must with a long wheelbase, back camera is great
- Can be shorter if you store the spare tire under the backseat/bed

I love mine and would replace it with the same.

[mkguitar]

You could, but an RV will not do as well over potholes and bumps and etc as a car.

They are big dumb heavy and slow.

to regularly drive in traffic will shorten the life of the vehicle and parts.

consider that a brake job might run you $600 +...on an RV that's every few years- on a daily driver that may be every year.

The brakes are asked to stop 7000 pounds at every intersection, the drivetrain asked to get all that weight moving again.

the chassis, shocks and steering gear will wear mush faster.

and you'll be more exposed to accidents, without full airbags and crumple zones ( RV's are not subject to safety regs for passenger cars)

On most vehicles the air conditioning is belt driven from the motor- if the motor is not turning quickly ( like stopped at a light), then the ac doesn;t work as well- so in a city driving environment you may have negligible AC.

every pothole and bump will strain the cabinetry- it'll creak and loosen.

there really is a difference between "highway miles" and "city miles".

it is poor economy to use a specialized vehicle for regular use.

possible you could tow one vehicle with the van to your destination and therefore get rid of one of the 3 vehicles?

Mike

[mumkin]

This is exactly what I did and there are quite a few of us doing this. I decided that with a 170, I could get rid of my other car that just sat for about 7 months of the year. So, I traded my small C and my Toyota Sienna in on a brand new 170.

I get about 12 mpg in town and 17/18 on the highway at the speed limit. The Chevy is a comfortable drive. It fits in a standard parking spot, but of course, you are height restricted. I tend to still park far from the doors to save the sides from the usual dings.

One bit of warning, it is very difficult to get insurance if you do not have a car. The company that had insured me for years... for about $1200 a year for the car and RV suddenly jumped the premium to about $2400 for one RV. It took about two weeks of phone calls and I found that companies like Safeco or Progressive or AAA etc will NOT even insure a driver with only an RV. I finally went to FMCA figuring that they had experience with this. The second catch was that there are a number of options for full-timers... but I wasn't eligible for those because I, like you, have two homes. And having a stick house makes you ineligible. The only option they could offer me was National General and raising it to the highest liability rate is about $1100. (but another person on Roadtrek Owners page on Facebook said that they refused her) Another person said that she got insurance with Farmer's Insurance. So don't expect to save much money on insurance.

Another option which will give you more living space is to consider the new Roadtrek Zion SRT which is about a foot longer than the 170 on the Promaster chassis. But if you are thinking used, the 170 or even the 190 might work for you.