Customizing new RVs?

[rvnoob]

Hi folks

So I've been doing tons of online research (but still haven't set foot in a RV since 1970-something). Right now I think we're leaning more toward Class B. It will be cramped, but it's just 2 of us. We just need a bed and a bathroom, most cooking would be done outside and I imagine if we ever took more family along, we'd probably see about renting a small trailer for them to sleep in or make them rough it in tents. We're thinking Class B will be easier to drive and we like the idea of being able to park it in more "normal" places.

Anyway, one problem we're having with all of the classes is none of them are laid out how we want. Do dealers do any kind of upgrades for you when you buy them? Or do you have to do them yourself, and void any kind of warranty you might have had?

For example, we're looking at the floor plan for the Winnebago Era 70X. Also the Airstream that was laid out in a similar way, with the 2 front seats that spin around so you have 4 seats in the front part of the coach, around a little pedestal table. Since it's just the 2 of us, we think we'd have more room if we could rip out that 2nd row of seats, to make room for a little doggie bed behind the driver's seat, and have a kind of walkway where you get in and out of the side door easier without that 2nd seat on the passenger side blocking the path.

I figured I could probably do it myself with my trusty socket wrench, but I don't want to leave a gaping hole in the floorboards. We're looking at new stuff, but would also like to try and find something used that's just a few years old to save a bit.. are these updates that a dealer could do for us? or do we have to find a company that specializes in customizing RVs?

[Florence]

Nobody mentioned Dynamax. Those are very nice:

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2006-Isata-Touring-250SL-112463488

[bsinmich]

I have 2 motorhomes. 1 is a 38' Newmar Mountain Aire and then a 19' Roadtrek Versatile. While the Roadtrek is 1/2 the length it has about 1/20th the amount of storage space. Holding tank and water tank are very small compared to the Class A and need changing and filling frequently. For 2 people the Roadtrek would be a little cramped. After being an RVer since 1969 and having 5 MHs TTs, popups and a HiLo I look at the little one and see how they have to build with limitations due to location capability of appliances, tanks and weights. There is a lot more flexibility in the larger RVs for changes to be made.

[2gypsies1]

Your best answer to your different configurations is to contact a dealer or the manufacturer itself and ask directly about any changes you might need.

Also, don't rule out that you won't need those two extra chairs. You have two dogs, don't you? They like to look outside, too! 🙂

Small RVs sometimes have what they call a 'wet bath'. Indeed, if taking a shower EVERYTHING gets wet, including the toilet, toilet paper, towels, etc. So you'll have to do more preparation in protecting things when you shower. A separate contained shower would be much better.

You mentioned the bed that comes down from the ceiling. This definitely wouldn't work for us as we have different sleeping habits. If one can't sleep or is up with a cold or other medical problem, you'd be disturbing the other person trying to sleep. The same would be true having the sofa turned into a bed. You'd both have to retire at the same time and will be waking at the same time.

Good luck in finding the RV just for you. It's out there!

[allen8106]

New Horizons in Kansas will cutomize as little or as much as you want. I have heard they have quality product and are very good to work with.

[tibbitts]

I'm guessing there are two issue here:

1. Width. The only class C I know of at 7.5ft was built for rentals and not the retail market. 8ft is really not a reasonable width for an RV. 7.5ft is better, and 7ft better yet. Six inches make a huge difference, both positive (interior space) and negative (difficulty in driving.)

2. Dual Rear wheels. They either stick out (like with drw pickups), or encroach on interior space if the inboard wheel is designed to be inboard of the front tire track.

[tatest]

Following your responses, I looks like you want the space and features of at least 200 sq ft of house, which you will not find inside the body of a B, as the largest vans are about 24 foot long and not much more than six wide at the narrow parts of the interior. A and C motorhomes in the 25-28 foot class will give you the living space, a permanent bed, a bathroom of usable size with it's own space (except the shower may be across the hall from the toilet/lavatory), and a tiny but usable kitchen.

But this is not going to be as maneuverable, and particularly parkable, as a B, confined to the footprint of a van. But even among vans, when you get into the city or suburbs, there are differences among vans, since a 17-18 foot van, not much longer than a SUV or minivan, is a lot easier to find a space that fits than is a 24-25 foot van (or a crew cab, long-bed dually pickup).

At 24 - 26 feet, the difference between a long B and an A like the Via/Reyo, is less than a foot of width, and the perception of the people around you that one is just a big van and the other is a big old RV.

No matter how much you move things around inside the 140 sq ft of the largest vans, you are not going to make it feel as roomy as a box almost 50% larger.

[MitchF150]

I started modifying our TT after it's second trip out way back in 2002.. It was still under warranty too!

First thing I did was remove the solid bathroom door and replaced with an according door.

Started adding shelves to the cabinets and closets. Built in a sliding pantry and I've removed the dinette setup and replaced the stereo and still need/want to do other changes to it.. Just need to do it! 🙂

The thing with these RV's is that everything you see inside was added, so it can be removed or modified to some extent. There will be some things you just can't switch around without some major work of course, but anything can be done with enough time and $$ 🙂

Getting a dealer to do that work when you buy from them, is probably not going to happen.. They just want to move rigs.. They aren't usually in the business of customizing them..

Anyway, depending on how handy you are with tools and your imagination, you can do a lot.. Just some examples of what I've done over the years..

Mitch

[rvnoob]

Actually, the Era 70X is exactly what we were looking at, that inspired this post 🙂 We liked that floor plan, but felt like that 2nd row of seats would just be in the way. Nice to know they pop out easily. I was assuming there would be some kind of things bolted into the floor that would make a big hole if we tried to remove them. We have 2 small dogs (cavalier and american eskimo!) rather than kids, so we won't really have a use for extra seats anyway.

I would be interested in seeing if winnebago or anyone else for that matter starts doing 4x4 versions. We wouldn't be going off roading or anything, but it would be nice to have if we ever go out in the winter time or if it's rainy and muddy at a camp site.

I am still really interested in the thor vegas 25 foot version too. We'll have to check them both out and see what we like more. I like different parts of both.. the Era could blend in easier and has nice features, but I think the vegas would check off more boxes for us.. seems to have a roomier bathroom and the rear "living room" seems like a fun idea, as long as it's not a pain to turn it into a bedroom.

Still plenty of time for reasearch over the winter as we don't plan to buy really until at least the springtime.

[buta4]

cjscotty wrote:
If you want an option of having second row chairs or having NO CHAIRS, You should get the Era 70X then. You don't have to worry about the second row seats if you purchase the Era 70X they are made to easily pop out. I love that. In fact, you can order a cabinet that goes in place of the one behind driver. I have seen many dealers offering both as an incentive, one dealer had it sitting in a box behind the seat. The second row chair behind the passenger also pops out. We are looking at this model and very close to purchasing ourselves. Love that you can take the second row chairs out for more options when you want. We also have 2 smaller dogs and like that we could take the chair out behind driver or add the cabinet for when we go on longer trips. We most likely will always leave the one behind passenger, they are very comfortable seats. We sat in several more expensive similar floor plans, Road Trek and Airstream, and the Era seats were the most comfortable. Enough room to even make up some kind of bed on the floor for extra guests if they didn't fall asleep reclined in those comfy chairs.

PS: Now if it were 4x4 like mentioned above, it would be even more perfect. Love that. I wonder if we did purchase if we could have it made into a 4x4 down the road. Not sure when Winnebago is going to do that. They don't have any immediate plans, at least that's what they told us.

In early 2015 the Factory 4X4 Sprinter will be introduced to the USA. They're already in use in Europe.

[cjscotty]

If you want an option of having second row chairs or having NO CHAIRS, You should get the Era 70X then. You don't have to worry about the second row seats if you purchase the Era 70X they are made to easily pop out. I love that. In fact, you can order a cabinet that goes in place of the one behind driver. I have seen many dealers offering both as an incentive, one dealer had it sitting in a box behind the seat. The second row chair behind the passenger also pops out. We are looking at this model and very close to purchasing ourselves. Love that you can take the second row chairs out for more options when you want. We also have 2 smaller dogs and like that we could take the chair out behind driver or add the cabinet for when we go on longer trips. We most likely will always leave the one behind passenger, they are very comfortable seats. We sat in several more expensive similar floor plans, Road Trek and Airstream, and the Era seats were the most comfortable. Enough room to even make up some kind of bed on the floor for extra guests if they didn't fall asleep reclined in those comfy chairs.

PS: Now if it were 4x4 like mentioned above, it would be even more perfect. Love that. I wonder if we did purchase if we could have it made into a 4x4 down the road. Not sure when Winnebago is going to do that. They don't have any immediate plans, at least that's what they told us.

[rvnoob]

We didn't want to get anything we'd need to tow, we both drive small SUVs and don't really need a big truck for anything else... it would be a waste to buy one just to tow a camper 2-3 times a year. So we thought it would be better to have a small motorhome to go camping in and for me to use for my side biz for some of the more expensive conventions (hotels nearby charge $100 a night normally, and $400 a night during the convention... buncha crooks).

We definitely need a permanent bathroom though. I was looking at roadtreks at first and they seemed kinda weird, like there's a little toilet in a closet and you gotta be standing in the hallway to use it? that's not gonna work for us 🙂 I like the layouts on some that I've seen that have the 4 captain's chairs up front. we just felt like that 2nd row of them would never be used and not having them would free up lots of usable space. I wouldn't mind having a little fold down desk behind the driver's seat, so I can spin around and get some work done. There's an Airstream that has that, but the pics I've seen the desk looks super tiny. Another thing that bugs me is having a sink in the B bathrooms, they look so tiny yet they seem to all take up valuable shower elbow room.. why not just leave em out and let people watch their hands in the kitchen sink?

We'll look at the smaller A's and C's too, not ruling them out. I do really like the Thor Axis and Vegas that I just found last night, the 25 foot version with the living room / bedroom in the back seemed pretty cool. And I like the floor plan for the winnebago brave 31 foot too. Those seem to be one of the only new RVs we could afford that would let us can watch TV comfortably, instead of all the others that hide the tv off in the corner somewhere. We want our TV right in front of the sofa 🙂

I like the sound of a 4x4 motorhome too 🙂 Just what I need to survive the zombie apocalypse. I did see some of them before but it looked like they were all expensive custom jobs.

[valhalla360]

Another option to consider for your use would be a pickup camper. Assuming you don't go crazy big, they are about the same size and most have a bathroom and a full size bed.

Still capable of pulling a small trailer and you have a truck for other uses when not camping.

[buta4]

Reminder - the 4x4 Sprinters are due in USA soon, slightly lifted. Already in use in Europe.

[NoVa_RT]

rvnoob wrote:
Since it's just the 2 of us, we think we'd have more room if we could rip out that 2nd row of seats, to make room for a little doggie bed behind the driver's seat, and have a kind of walkway where you get in and out of the side door easier without that 2nd seat on the passenger side blocking the path.

The Roadtrek 190 Popular model has a couple configurations, and the one with the "permanent bathroom" trades off a second row of captains chairs for a larger (although still small by some standards) bathroom. I have it and like it.