mweiner

I thought I'd ask all of you what you do in case you become disabled and out of cell phone range?? Even though I'm a AAA Premiere RV member, you still need to contact them in an emergency if you break down. While I try to always keep my systems running at full capacity, things can and do happen. Recently, I looked into getting Onstar...a friend told me that a few years ago, anyone could get their service if you added some equipment and got their proprietary rearview mirror... well, that's changed and they no longer allow that... only GM cars?? Same thing with Sirius XM Guardian.... Now, Sirius is a satellite provider, I have their subscription radio service...so, I called them and wouldn't you know it, they also offer it as s limited feature on some Chrysler cars...... BUT, I can't get that either... So, I'm wondering if the FMCA Association can exert any pressure here to see if one of these satellite providers would make their service available?? Any thoughts??

I recently joined the FMCA... yes, it stands for the "Family Motor Coach Association".. you can't be everything to everyone....so, I definitely agree, and I'm not being an elitist here....it would be diluting the focus of the Motor Coach Association to open this up for everyone.. There's plenty of different issues covering Class As, Bs and Cs.... Look, I have a teardrop trailer as well and have had one for over 3 years...I don't look down on people with coaches, 5th wheels, tents or anything else..... Those of us who decided, and believe me, it was a "big decision" for me to get a small motor coach... Pretty expensive proposition for sure... but, we made the decision to do that and I'm glad there's a specialty group for this... but, please don't open it up to everyone because there's just not enough time to give everyone the attention they deserve, articles, rallies, etc. Believe me, there's plenty of other groups to associate with....for example, the group of teardrop trailers won't allow others to join their group...they specialize..it makes sense. Does it bother me that they are exclusive, heck no.... The issues concerning teardrop trailers is rather small... And, for the people who think that small trailers as just going a couple of hundred miles...that is simply NOT true. People ask me on every teardrop trailer trip... what do you do for bathroom and shower facilities... that's easy, we just go to campgrounds with these amenities. Even though we have a bathroom on board the Roadtrek..we still use campsite bathrooms, it's less to clean up... even though dumping our tanks is a snap. We don't even have to hook up to a sewer.... just pull out the hose and voilla, done. I towed my trailer more than 600 miles to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. As you are aware with a "toad"... the huge advantage of a small trailer is the ability to establish a base camp, unhook the car and explore. I can definitely say that my car will go places my Roadtrek RS Adventurous will never go... Just too risky and limited ground clearance.. There's a place for everything... but, the focus of the FMCA forum is really for motor coaches.. my Class B is extremely manueveable, but, it's still a small motor home. An extremely comfortable road vehicle and able to be self contained... that's why I purchased it. I'm sure this topic of allowing towables will be going on for some time.. but, that's my two cents on the topic... I would no sooner try and change the minds of the teardrop trailer group than someone should try and change the rules of the FMCA. The FMCA needs to do all they can to get rewards for the people who own a Class A,B or C..... and not get too bogged down by soliciting others. If you dilute the actual members who own the very vehicles the group started with, you might find that the people with just trailers will eventually outnumber the people with the coaches... that would NOT be good.. On another note here.... Finally, I don't know why or how people felt it was the club's responsibility for the Verizon deal...and you cannot blame the club... There's many other cellphone services out there.... What I would like to see the club do is exert some pressure on either OnStar or Sirius Guardian..for emergency services when you are out of cell phone range... Recently, I tried to inquire about getting both of these ", emergency satellite services"... unfortunately, they ONLY offer them on certain vehicles..... what a shame... I'm going to start a new thread on this topic....

The oil change interval on the Mercedes Benz Sprinter for 2011 is 10,000 miles. In case, you are wondering, this gradually increased in later years to 15,000 and now is at 20,000 miles.. although, I understand that no matter what your annual mileage is, they recommend that your engine oil change should be once per year. Don't know what you folks with the large Cummins 5.9 and 6.7 engines? What is interesting is that all of these engines despite their different displacement have extremely high compression, 18 to 1.. and the small Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3 litre V6 has more than 13 quarts of oil. I'm sure you all know this, but, it's a very good idea to have the fuel filter, oil filter and air filter changed every year along with a transmission fluid change every 20,000 miles. These vehicles are so expensive and are significant "investments"...( not really investments, LOL), that it doesn't pay to skip important service intervals. If you're careful and drive conservatively, you may never have to replace the engine. I've been told that the entire coach is more likely to fall apart before the engine and drivetrain do..

How much can you trust the electronic oil fluid sensors that read out on the instrument cluster? Also, please be aware that the procedure for checking oil on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter is somewhat different than above. You're supposed to let the engine warm up..then check after 5 minutes...on level ground. Plus, there's either a red or yellow dipstick in the engine compartment...red means you check it after it's been warmed up and yellow when the engine is "cold".... Confusing... yes, make sure you read the owners manual carefully.

Hi Brett, Looked at the Roadtrek International Link http://www.roadtrekchapter.org/ BUT, is there a Southern California chapter??? A lot of these places are pretty far away... geographically not good.

Thank you, I'll check it out.

Maybe I'm wrong... I found a lot of miscellaneous entries for Roadtrek...but they're pretty old ...is there a current 2017 group discussion..? Plus, I discovered that many of these are on the gasoline coach, the 190 and 210... with completely different features... Old threads.. Please send me a link to the most current discussion.... Maybe there's no people out there with a late model RS Adventurous?

Are there a lot of Roadtrek owners participating in the FMCA?? Or, is this a distinct minority from the many Class A and B RV owners??

Carl, no problem Yes, I can certainly call Roadtrek when it's a Roadtrek issue. I suspect that you're correct...it's likely a Mercedes Benz transmission in house unit? Just got an appointment tomorrow for the Takata air bag replacement on the driver's side... I'll ask them about the transmission. I appreciate your honest response of not knowing.. but, I was kinda hoping that someone on the FMCA forum does know the answer? Maybe, these coaches are not that ubiquitous here on the FMCA? I noticed that there was a Roadtrek discussion, but, that was several years ago.. maybe these people have moved on?

In 100 plus degrees heat?? I would definitely dump the tanks...you can add water later or soon after, but, what's the point in waiting.. add some water to the black tank by just flushing the toilet or adding packets for sanitizing and fresh smelling ingredients... camping world sells lots of these.. handy.

"This takes nothing away from the excellent drive train in your Sprinter-based RV, but they ARE different." Thanks for your reply.... Of course, they're completely different in scale.... and I imagine that the large 6.7 Cummins Diesel engines turn at a lower RPM.. and also consume more fuel, BUT, recently on a trip back through the local mountains, I noticed that climbing to 5,000 feet the 3 litre Diesel was hardly breathing hard compared to my Subaru Outback Limited CVT with the 2.5 that had to run at nearly twice the RPMs to keep up on the hill climb that I did months earlier pulling a 1,000 pound teardrop trailer. Don't really know what transmission Mercedes Benz uses in the Sprinter EXCEPT that they claim it's "heavy duty".... It is pretty smooth..and it has selectable speeds right on the gear shifter. I don't use that for acceleration.. only to shift down to slow down on grades... For most instances, I just gradually accelerate fast enough and keep the RPMs as low as possible... I'm not sure I'll go another 1,000,000 miles even though some engines might (LOL), we'll see... BUT, it appears that mileage on Diesel vehicles in general is LESS of a factor than your typical gasoline engines... Correct? I would be very pleased if the Mercedes Benz Sprinter had the capability to go 350,000 miles.... If you know anything about who makes the MB transmission, maybe it's an in-house product, let me know... Thanks, ---Mark

Unlike conventional gas engines, diesel engines have been known for going beyond 350,000 to 500,000 miles and sometimes even further... PLUS, when factoring values on NADA, (National Automobile Dealers Association), they tell you that mileage is only to be used for consideration with gas engines only.... SO, how many of you with diesel engines have exceeded 250,000 and what's your experience been with repairs, maintenance, performance, and oil consumption? At what mileage did you consider the diesel engine to be "broken in" and running at top condition? And, what would you consider the top RPM range for cruising? My 3 litre V6 Mercedes Benz Sprinter goes about 2,500 at 60 or 65 MPH....

SO, maybe the "recommendation" to switch to "batteries" is more of a legal CYOA thing, then a real safety concern?? I know that propane is highly dangerous or can be... BUT, my rig is 6 years old in excellent condition..has only 27,000 miles and was well cared for...I'm the second owner, having only acquired it since MAY 3rd this year. We were so excited to find a used vehicle in this condition. The vehicle has a "three way" Dometic fridge, but, you do have to manually switch it from electric to battery or propane, it unfortunately does not switch automatically. Just to be certain I understand your point above, when refuelling, I don't have anything burning on the stove, but, I don't go and turn off the refrigerator either...is this a problem? I just want to be clear on this point, because, it's important NOT to put yourself at risk with something as important as this... You wrote- "Remember, all propane systems have a high flow cutoff, so even if you cut a line, it will not create a huge propane leak." I DON'T work on my own vehicles, cars or RVs, no exceptions..... I would rather have them professionally worked on.. my decision.. BUT, I want to make sure that I don't make decisions that put myself and others at risk. SO, when you said that "even if you cut a line, it would NOT create a huge propane leak", please explain that to me. Here's a picture of my RS Adventurous... Finally, when I take out my rig to really hot climates, over 100 degrees , should I expect that the fridge will not be able to chill food to 35 degrees? Is this too much to expect?

Good morning and welcome to the forum. We noticed that there's several things that affect temperature in our unit.. first, what's the outside ambient temperature? If it's over 100 degrees, you may have difficulty keeping it cold in the fridge or frozen in the freezer. Second, is the sun shining directly on you exterior panels for the intake and exhaust of unit? We made a sun shield for ours to cut down on heat. I understand that these RV units are NOT the same as regular refrigerator/freezer units you find at home.. another thing is it usually takes about 24 hours for the unit to cool down when it's empty and then you should only put "cold Items" in there..not hot or room temperature.. I would only expect these units to keep food cool at 50 degrees below the outside air temperature, so, if it's 105 degrees outside, the most you could expect is the fridge to keep things at 55 degrees? Maybe I'm wrong? I sure would like to see it perform as "normal" as a regular home refrigerator and keep things at 35 degrees for cold food and below for the freezer. I, too, was thinking that my fridge possibly needed replacement or repairs? But, someone told me to reduce my expectations? Any thoughts you could share would be very welcome. One final question....do you actually SWITCH OFF your propane when you travel? My owners manual recommends that we do this... also they say to switch to the battery mode when we're on the road... seems like the propane works pretty well, but, they claim it's a safety issue? Thoughts??

Bill, No, I didn't use the FMCA for any advice on the tires or batteries.. I purchased Michelin Defenders, had the Continental tires originally. I put on the recommended size for the vehicle, they ride very smoothly. Also put on a tire pressure monitoring system since there's dual wheels on the rear with valve extensions. Batteries were six years old.. had one occasion where I couldn't start, got it jumped and drove straight to Mercedes Benz for a complete replacement of all three batteries, might as well start with new tires and batteries at the same time. Other things I've done to make it more user friendly was changed out the radio/navigation/cameras fore and aft. Installed satellite radio and plan to install rear proximity sensors and solar panels. I just recently joined the FMCA the beginning of July. We'll see about towing.. probably won't happen.. although the vehicle is rated for 5,000 pounds.. one website says 7,000 pounds?? In any event, I'm not likely to do that, doesn't matter. When we purchased the vehicle, it had four bucket seats. The people who owned it had fortuitously purchased the optional armororie cabinets for the coach that can be installed directly behind the driver and passenger seats. Since there's only two of us, we decided not to put the seats back in and use the cabinets for extra storage and organization. Works very well. The Mercedes Benz Diesel is extremely quiet..I remember Diesel engines from the 70s.. sounded very loud and annoying. Is your Cummins 5.9 pretty quiet? Allison transmission? How many speeds? The Mercedes Benz has a five speed heavy duty automatic and can be shifted up or down on demand. The folks who sold me the tires said that I'll be lucky to use up the tread before 5 years.. So, 12,000 miles per year is pretty normal for you? That's a lot of short or long haul trips? Since we took delivery on May 3rd, we now have about 1,500 miles on the coach.. this fall we're taking it on a cross country trek across the USA, some 7,000 miles... Any little hickups are better before we leave Southern California.... ---Mark

Bill, yeah, doesn't make sense to me either...and yet, there are so many reasons why people regret the decisions they make I hope for her case she can get past all of this and find some enjoyment from the purchase she made. ---Mark

Joeallied- Listen, don't pay any attention to what others think of your choices..... I just watched a YouTube video of your vehicle...it's very nice. Why exactly don't you like it? Don't let others define you.... pointless. Fuel economy, drivability??? Has to be something? Maybe you thought that you would like an RV and decided that it's not for you?? I wouldn't be embarrassed by the unit.... there's many people out there with more or less exotic RVs, that's just how it is. YES, you will DEFINITELY be taking a huge financial loss if you sell it ... Keep it for a few years...use it... ---Mark

Bill, I'm going to get on my computer and try and add some of the stuff to my profile... will probably be easier than from my tablet which is what I'm using right now to respond to your last post.... tablets are great, portable devices, but, for heavier lifting, the computer always does it better. I have Edge on my Windows 10 machine. I'll try that. SO, your Bounder is a Diesel... good job..! What year is your rig? Have you had good service from it and has the cost to maintain it been any higher or lower than what you would have expected with gasoline engines? This is my first DIESEL...so far, I really like it. It's a 3 litre V6 turbo diesel engine and it seems powerful enough to go up hills even easier than my cars. It's doesn't have a huge amount of horsepower, but, it has a lot of torque... something I have come to appreciate. Hmm, "mobile condo" ....I've been telling people that this new unit is my mobile "time share"....they laugh...it's all about how you use it.. I used to tow and still have a teardrop trailer...I'm trying to sell it.... only 3 1/2 years old... really nice...I'm not real big on towing.. which is WHY we have the small RV now. It is small enough to take anywhere, like a big SUV... that's why I like it. There's an advantage to having the trailer....home base and the mobility of the car, but, towing is a pain.. WOW... 8 to 9 MPG.. good thing you have the 30 MPG toad. With that kind of fuel economy...how many miles do you actually put on your coach each year? The last car I had that got the kind of mileage you're talking about was my 1957 Chevy Bel Air.... when I was in high school! You must have one of those huge Cummins Diesel engines, like a 6.9? I'll bet you don't need DEF... ? What vehicle are you towing? My two other current vehicles cannot be towed with unless I were to put them on a dolly and I see no point in doing this. Might as well just drive the RS Adventurous anywhere I need to go... sometimes it's a little hard to park, takes two spaces.. or I just park in the hinterlands.. The 38 footer... that's a different story. ---Mark

Thanks Bill, we're the 2nd owners, picked this up from a dealership who took this coach in as a trade from a couple who wanted to "upgrade" their size unit to a Winnebago Navion. I looked, test drove and considered a brand new Navion, BUT, the difference in price $79,000 for the Roadtrek and $119,000 for a brand new Navion made it seem like the Roadtrek was a better value. The Roadtrek only had 26,000 miles and the Navion comes to our location with 2,000 to 2,200 miles ..SO, for the difference of 24,000 miles and the slight wear on the coach... The price was VERY significant. The people who owned this before us must have plugged in a lot because there was LESS than 10 hours on the generator. They lived here in Southern California and took the vehicle mainly to tour local wineries and other short hops. They actually purchased it new in late 2011....so, they used it for about 5 1/2 years. I knew by the date code on the tires that were just 6 years old... original to the vehicle.. and so were the batteries. I guess this is pretty standard in the RV industry, they get a vehicle from the previous year and it takes about 9 months to a year to do the conversion.... My wife and I even went down to the local Roadtrek dealership and looked at the 2017 Roadtrek models.. just to see what changes they made...it was a 2016 Mercedes Benz Sprinter with the 2017 conversion.... And 2,000 miles on the clock.. a few different features some I liked and some I didn't. However, the price difference was shocking. AND, the depreciation in the first three to four years is really steep... I know that the price and value of this will continue to go down, but, more slowly on a used model especially after five years.. I kinda figured that if we kept it for five years and sold it, the difference between what we paid and the money we got back would be the equivalent of what it would have cost to rent one of these.... And , these Roadtrek units are really hard to find as rentals.... I looked....and what I discovered was they are insanely expensive to rent...SO, I decided just to buy one ...We have a small teardrop trailer and enjoy going out camping...the Roadtrek just makes camping more comfortable.... roughing it smoothly. Now that we're in our 60s, we figured that if we ever wanted to do this, it was "now or never".....you can't buy back years! Might as well do this now while we still have the energy to do it. Yeah, size of rigs.... I'm envious of your 38 feet .. but, I wanted a little more mobility and a road vehicle we could travel in ... Our rig is averaging 18 to 19 MPG.. which is pretty standard for the size... Is your Bounder gas or Diesel? I talked with many people and went back and forth on this... finally decided to go with Diesel.... better performance and fuel efficiency..hope that all works out. ---Mark

Besides the difference in price, service intervals and fuel economy, the diesel engines have MUCH BETTER performance over the gasoline engines. That's a real big reason to choose the Diesel....you made a great choice.

Do you really think it's necessary to add DEF every 100 miles or was that just a figure of speech?? I have a 2012 Roadtrek RS Adventurous with the same engine as yours... dealership told me it would easily go 4,000 miles before I needed to add DEF... have gone 1,500 miles since I took delivery with no issues on the DEF. I do carry some on board if the occasion does arise. Your rig is beautiful, congratulations. What Roadtrek model did you have before this? I agree with you that this is technically a Class C...some people call it a B plus.. depends on who you're talking to.. I drove one of these... Even test drove the Winnebago Fuse on the Ford Transit chassis.. for me, I liked the svelte look and feel of the RS Adventurous.. strictly personal preference... You've got to feel totally comfortable in what you are driving...the Navion would have probably been my first choice, but, after I drove the RS Adventurous and had an opportunity to purchase it for a very decent price, I decided that it was a better value for my situation.

Here's a couple of pictures of my rig... Was in really nice condition when we looked at it.... Some people thought it was new... It has some imperfections, but, it drives like a brand new vehicle.

Yes, even though I have AAA Premiere RV ... I'd rather not call unless it's an emergency. I've taken that strategy with my cars and now might as well with the small RV... Bill, what size rig do you have?

Sorry Carl, just noticed your name on the bottom of your last post... Bill, thank you....I'm taking a cross country trip in September...some 7,000 plus miles..I didn't want to take the risk with tires 6 years old.. they dated back to April 2011.... Just me being cautious. We just purchased this 2012 RS Adventurous from a local dealership.. original owners traded in for a Winnebago Navion.. With only 26,000 miles on the 2012 RS Adventurous, we felt like we got a fantastic deal.... sidestepping the depreciation on a brand new model. We saved $70,000 over the price of a new vehicle.

Manholt- 6 AGM batteries + 2 engine batteries? What size is your rig? I've got a 23 foot 2012 RS Adventurous..on the 2011 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500.