RUV's

[GORVN4FUN]

I want an RV that's easy to travel with and has modern features to go visit my kids in college and travel. Obviously the Winnebago View and Itasca Navion would be awesome, but are expensive. I've noticed there's a new class of RV's call RUV's (recreational utility vehicles) that are smaller and shorter, but have all the features of other RV's. Looks like the beggining of 2016 will be a lot of new models released. Thor has a Compass and now Winnebago has a new Fuse. I need to see what the MSRP will be on these. Lots are on Mercedes and Ford diesels. Seems to be a split between some having a 5000# tow capacity and others at 2000#'s. I guess the idea is that if you have a smaller narrow RUV like this, you probably won't be towing a TOAD. What are your thoughts on this class motorhome. I really want one!!!

[burlmart]

okay...

[RobertRyan]

mlts22 wrote:
I don't think the Sprinters are unreliable... but from what I've read from years on this forum, when they break, you pay Mercedes prices for parts and labor.

tatest hit on something: When looking at the size of the older class "A"s, that had fully self-contained rigs in 22-24 feet... Even shorter ones are doable. As far as I know, the shortest is the Winnebago VIA. It would be nice to see something based on the E-450 chassis, and in the 22-24 foot range, similar to the old King's Highway class "A"s of yesteryear.

Problem with European sourced Commercial vehicles, getting parts. They are running CabOver Scania Trucks as Roadtrains hauling 200 tonnes of Iron ore in Outback Australia. They love the ride, power, ergonomics, safety,handling, fuel economy BUT getting parts means downtime.

[GORVN4FUN]

Sully2 wrote:
A shorter coach in 2016 is what Im going to be eyeballing for sure. Prefer a V6 engine...5000 lb towing...etc.

I dont care what the MSRP says ( they dont mean anything anyway) but if a dealer wont give me a rig for what I feel is the right number....I'll jump out...advertise what Im wanting and pay cash to the lowest bidder

My feeling exactly.

[rjstractor]

tatest wrote:
First year of motorhome production for Winnebago (1969) the offerings were a 17-footer on Ford's P-350 SRW panel truck chassis, 18, 22 and 24 feet on the Dodge M-300 DRW chassis, and a 27 footer on the heavier (but stlll DOT Class 3) Dodge M-375 chassis. All but the 27-footer would fall into or under the size range Thor is now marketing as RUV, and they targeted a similar recreational (rather live in it full time) market.

My first motorhome was a 22 foot 1972 Winnebago Indian built on I believe an M-400 chassis. It had a 413 V8, with 17" (I think) split rim wheels and 6 big lugs. GVWR was 15,000, with a 10K GAWR. Way overkill for such a small rig, I doubt it weighed 10K empty.

[tatest]

burlmart wrote:
speaking of short old class As, i would dare say they are not a lot bigger than current full-size dually sprinter class Bs. (for sure when looking at GMC As)

First year of motorhome production for Winnebago (1969) the offerings were a 17-footer on Ford's P-350 SRW panel truck chassis, 18, 22 and 24 feet on the Dodge M-300 DRW chassis, and a 27 footer on the heavier (but stlll DOT Class 3) Dodge M-375 chassis. All but the 27-footer would fall into or under the size range Thor is now marketing as RUV, and they targeted a similar recreational (rather live in it full time) market.

In the early 70s the next step up, but still not often much more than 30 -34 feet, was to specialized coaches at two to five times the price, like the Clark Cortez or the early Newells, or motor coach coversions, which were just as sky high in price as they are today.

So the RUV is sort of a step back to a much earlier marketing concept that didn't have a name, since RV had not yet been coined to define an industry.

[tatest]

JT wrote:
"Compass and Fuse are just medium size Cs at 24 feet, on 12,000 pound T-series."
----
The cutaway/cab chassis Ford Transit van has a maximum gvwr of 10360 pounds.

12,000 would be GCWR, substantially less than Sprinter or even the V-8 E-350, whether van, cutaway or bare chassis. Important when buyer's requirement includes towing.

[Sully2]

GORVN4FUN wrote:
I am selling because at age 55, I realize I want an RV that's easy to travel with and has modern features to go visit my kids in college and travel. Obviously the Winnebago View and Itasca Navion would be awesome, but are expensive. I've noticed there's a new class of RV's call RUV's (recreational utility vehicles) that are smaller and shorter, but have all the features of other RV's. Looks like the beggining of 2016 will be a lot of new models released. Thor has a Compass and now Winnebago has a new Fuse. I need to see what the MSRP will be on these. Lots are on Mercedes and Ford diesels. Seems to be a split between some having a 5000# tow capacity and others at 2000#'s. I guess the idea is that if you have a smaller narrow RUV like this, you probably won't be towing a TOAD. What are your thoughts on this class motorhome. I really want one!!!

A shorter coach in 2016 is what Im going to be eyeballing for sure. Prefer a V6 engine...5000 lb towing...etc.

I dont care what the MSRP says ( they dont mean anything anyway) but if a dealer wont give me a rig for what I feel is the right number....I'll jump out...advertise what Im wanting and pay cash to the lowest bidder

[rjstractor]

The discussion of these "RUVs" is interesting on here because some such as the Compass are class C and the ones like the Vegas are class A.

[JT]

"Compass and Fuse are just medium size Cs at 24 feet, on 12,000 pound T-series."
----
The cutaway/cab chassis Ford Transit van has a maximum gvwr of 10360 pounds.

[burlmart]

speaking of short old class As, i would dare say they are not a lot bigger than current full-size dually sprinter class Bs. (for sure when looking at GMC As)

[tatest]

I wasn't aware of how many different motorhomes Thor was marketing as RUV, their first were the Axis line, small and not so small A models built on E-350 or E-450 bare chassis, 12,000 and 14,500 pounds respectively; lightest F-53 is now 16,000 pounds rating, I think.

Compass and Fuse are just medium size Cs at 24 feet, on 12,000 pound T-series. That's not particularly small, as 10 years ago manufacturers were offering C's as short as 19 feet on the10,500 GVWR version of the E-350 and even smaller C's on VW's T4 platform.

I don't think you'll be seeing Winnebago calling the Fuse a RUV, as the term is a Thor marketing term. Winnebago never adopted "B+" which was initially a Gulfstream marketing term.

I think you will be seeing these pulling toads, and not pulling toads, just as you see with older C's this size. It is not so much a matter of size, as I know a couple of people who use Winnebago Rialtas (22 feet, just under 7 wide) as their only vehicle. They are no bigger than a long-bed dually pickup or a farm stake truck.

Pulling a toad is more about not wanting to break camp to go somewhere. I pull a toad when that is an issue for me, but don't when road tripping. My C is just fine for getting around most of the places I go, even at 30 feet by 8 1/2 wide; but I don't try to get around in densely populated cities or even suburbs where parking is at a premium. In those places, 24-26 feet and 7 wide could still be a problem, not moving around, rather parking.

[carringb]

mlts22 wrote:
I don't think the Sprinters are unreliable... but from what I've read from years on this forum, when they break, you pay Mercedes prices for parts and labor.

Most importantly, they are very sensitive to deferred maintenance (just like many German autos), and the maintenance schedule is more involved than you find on domestic rigs. They do seem to have a limited transmission life and the brakes on commercial rigs don't last long.

[mlts22]

I don't think the Sprinters are unreliable... but from what I've read from years on this forum, when they break, you pay Mercedes prices for parts and labor.

tatest hit on something: When looking at the size of the older class "A"s, that had fully self-contained rigs in 22-24 feet... Even shorter ones are doable. As far as I know, the shortest is the Winnebago VIA. It would be nice to see something based on the E-450 chassis, and in the 22-24 foot range, similar to the old King's Highway class "A"s of yesteryear.

[jjrbus]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
I would avoid the Mercedes based class C with the diesel engines. We had a bunch of them at my work, and around 110,000 miles, 4 of them failed transmissions, and had to be replaced at $4,400 each.

I don't think you would want to tow with the Mercedes vans because of lack of power and a poor transmission design.

Some have new designs based on the F-550 pickup, you can get those in 4 WD, or some van based RV's can be shorter.

You might want to look at Lazy Daze brand class C. They are well balanced, shorter RV that is compact enough to park in most parking lots. Lazy Daze never did build slide outs. But this also keeps them lightweight too. .

There is a lot of variety out there, you should be able to find something!

Fred.

I've got a friend that is a MB mechanic,he cannot say enough about how much he loves them!! Claims he is going to retire a wealthy person just on the parts commissions alone!!