Travato or Roadtrek

[CT51]

Planning to buy either a Travato 59K, or a Roadtrek 170 Versatile. I will use it with my wife to do some traveling out west to see all the stuff, national parks etc, that we have never seen. (we are retired). I have owned several RV's, but my wife has never been as enthusiastic as me. Plan is to stay in hotels, and have the van just for the toilet, fridge, and a place to take a quick nap while driving. I will still use the RV by myself, to go camping with the dog from time to time. I do that in state parks near our home in the Atlanta area.

The bath arrangement in the Travato is obviously more roomy, and doesn't require anything special to use. Also twin beds are convenient and comfy. Roadtrek is two feet shorter, and has somewhere to sit for a passenger other than the front passenger seat. Also, the Roadtrek looks more like a conversion van than an
RV. If anyone owns either one, what have you liked best about it, and what are the shortcomings?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences with these RVs

CT51

[CT51]

Thanks for the comments so far. I'm in total agreement with not liking hotels, but after 39 years of marriage, and 20 years of RVing with me being the most enthused, that's just what it is. Also, this is for some particular trips that involve a great deal of driving, so while we may sleep in it some, the driving ease is the priority for me. Still leaning towards the Travato 59K for the openness, and the twin beds. Looked at the Zion, but didn't like the bathroom in the front, or the bath arrangement. Might look at it again though. Plan to order something in the next 30 days, have all winter to get it right, and then head out late spring.

CT51

[Tanya6520]

I don't understand staying in a hotel room where "who knows what went on in there" or "who slept in that bed". I suspect, when your wife gets into that van, she is not going to want to pack up and move into a hotel room. The best advice we got when we were looking, is to purchase the largest B we could afford. We purchased a 21' Sprinter Van and have never been sorry. Ours is a Roadtrek and I doubt we would ever look any where else.

[gerrym51]

look into the roadtrek Zion SRT the short zion promaster with the 170 bed

[1775]

CT51 wrote:
Planning to buy either a Travato 59K, or a Roadtrek 170 Versatile. I will use it with my wife to do some traveling out west to see all the stuff, national parks etc, that we have never seen. (we are retired). I have owned several RV's, but my wife has never been as enthusiastic as me. Plan is to stay in hotels, and have the van just for the toilet, fridge, and a place to take a quick nap while driving. I will still use the RV by myself, to go camping with the dog from time to time. I do that in state parks near our home in the Atlanta area.

The bath arrangement in the Travato is obviously more roomy, and doesn't require anything special to use. Also twin beds are convenient and comfy. Roadtrek is two feet shorter, and has somewhere to sit for a passenger other than the front passenger seat. Also, the Roadtrek looks more like a conversion van than an
RV. If anyone owns either one, what have you liked best about it, and what are the shortcomings?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences with these RVs

CT51

You are comparing the smallest Roadtrek - the 170 to the Travato. The Roadtrek Zion is built on the same Dodge Promaster chassis as the Travato. The Roadtrek 190 has the two feet that is missing from the 190. If you want it longer then there is the 210. It is more fair to compare a more similarly sized Roadtrek to the Travato. The Travatos have their advantages and disadvantages and so do the Roadtreks. I am not saying to buy a Roadtrek - just compare closely equal RVs. My personal opinion of the Travato when I saw a G in person was that it was much too cramped inside compared to my 190. When I first went inside a 170 I came back out in a minute because of how close it was inside. Don't go by videos and photos. All of the companies that film the Bs have a talent for making small look spacious. Go to an RV show and see them all in the same place to compare - or go to a dealer with a Travato and then go to a Roadtrek dealer and make a much better decision. You might also want to look at some small Cs (sometimes called B+s) as you will get more room inside.

If you are planning on staying in hotels you are spending a lot of money for a bathroom and fridge to use to stop along the road. The idea with any Class B - or any RV is that you never need to go into a hotel again.

[NoVa_RT]

Planning to buy either a Travato 59K, or a Roadtrek 170 Versatile.

I'm not sure why the OP is limiting his choice to just those 2 models, but if he's going to use his RV primarily to travel in style while staying in hotels, the RT 170 should be easier & more economical to drive & park. If his only camping is on his solo trips without his wife, perhaps the 170 is large enough, although I found the 190 a better fit personally. In any event, I'd look at them all, or as many as possible, either in person or online, before deciding.

[bsinmich]

I have a 190V that I bought from my 6'3" neighbor. The crossways bed is only 5'11" and after he tried it one night he put it up for sale. Being 5'9" I fit.

[tbirdman]

Seems like a small van would be a lot less expensive than a conversion van if you plan to stay in hotels. With the money you save you could stay in some very nice hotel. Install a small fridge if you want one, but plenty of places for restrooms.

[eric1514]

We bought the B because I needed my wife to share the driving. We take long trips and she wouldn't drive the C we had. She has probably logged as many miles behind the wheel as I have. It is very easy to drive and very maneuverable. It has typical RV rattles and noises. Very quiet on smooth freeways, less so on pot holed city streets. Some is Promaster, some is Winnebago.

The tank arrangements on the "k" are better than on the "g". The Truma HW and heat system now comes on both the "g" and the "k". I've heard no complaints.

We like the layout of the "g" mainly because there is more than one place to be in the van. If someone goes to bed, the other can stay up at the dinette or the front seats. And I like sleeping next to my wife.

Eric

[mlts22]

From what I've read, the only thing that makes noise on the 59K is the chain on the rear doors, which is solved by putting a piece of flexible hose/tubing on it (in a pinch, hit Wally World, buy an el cheap bike chain lock, toss the chain, use the tubing around the rear door chain, problem solved.)

[CT51]

Eric 1514,

I'm leaning towards the Travato. The simple holding tank arrangement of the 59K appeals to me. Black tank is directly under the toilet, and gravity drains like most RV's. Also, sleeping arrangement is much more convenient (for me and the dog). I think the fridge is a compressor type, meaning it only works on 120 or 12 volt. That is why all 59K's you see have the solar panel. Also, I'm not familiar with the new heat and hot water system, but it sounds like a positive. How does yours drive? Wind noise, rattles etc? I've had class A's and class C's, and the rattles, squeaks, creaks, etc are a problem for me. Hoping a simple van with no slides or added body structure will not generate so many offensive noises.

Thanks,

CT51

[eric1514]

The Travato is huge inside compared to the 170; a lot taller and wider, but there is no place for a passenger to sit in the "k". In the "g" yes, but not the "k". The extra length is a non-issue. I've parked downtown in cities or in regular spots at Costco or Home Depot.

[mkguitar]

get out and kick some tires- many youtube videos from dealers do a great job of showing layout, features and you can see how easy ( or not) moving around the van is.

the RT versatile is a 4 seat w/ sideways sleeper- how tall are you?

the RT popular series is a 3 seater & sleeps fore and aft..so better for taller people.
the 2nd row seats may not be near as comfy as the front seat...some remove them and add a cabinet or just for more room by the door

these models may a be a little "claustro" as the cabinetry makes it feel close

( I know nothing about the travato)


the 170 is shorter than the 190- the 190 has extra room and is same width height pretty much- the 190 may have a stronger chassis and larger motor option, depending on year.

RT has older brochures and manuals on the website- nice if you are shopping used


we travel 2+dog in a 2006 Pleasure-Way Lexor TD built on a Chev 3500 chassis. I prefer a GM chassis- i know how they work

it is a gem. 2 swivel seats up front, 2 benches in the back make to a queen...or leave out the bolsters and 2 singles. we find we leave the bed made up as a bed all the time.

models with an enclosed toilet chew up alot of space...we only use or toilet for liquids, no solids- not even paper. reduces the chemistry experiment.
using it offers privacy just by opening the doors to 90º ( which on the PW latch)..it's just the 2 of us.
These latching doors can also offer rear privacy is stopping for a quick nap- no need to close off the cabin, just open the door and click it into the latch.

we don;t use the shower...many models come with outdoors shower option- we use that for us, dog, muddy boots, cleaning fish.
anywhere we are that is remote and doesn't have showers...is remote enough we can shower outside.

also a 2 sink is nicer than a single sink w/liner which some RT's have


every B is a pile of compromises, see what matches your needs best.

a "van" makes a little more stealthy when traveling and may pass muster if you are visiting someone who lives in a HOA.
whenever I call for reservations I describe it as "campervan" not "motorhome".