mweiner

Admittedly, as a group, Class B's are expensive for what you get.... Most of them, like my Roadtrek RS Adventurous are in excess of $125,000 to $150,000 brand new and even though I purchased it five years old, it was still with upgrades and maintenance close to $100,000... although, with upgrades I made, it might as well be a brand new coach. Airstream, Leisure Travel, Pleasure Way , Winnebago and Roadtrek build similar coaches with unique and compact features similarly found on Class A coaches... albeit on a smaller scale...All with beautifully finished interiors you might find on a much more expensive Class A... It takes a lot of ingenuity, planning and design to squeeze all of this into impossibly small spaces.... that's partly what you're paying for....Miniaturization... And everything has to fit perfectly in its place for all of this to work...... Roadtrek has been building Class B's exclusively since 1974...yet, they only recently completed their 30,000 vehicle conversion at the factory in Canada... SO, do you think this is WHY the market for Class B's is so limited compared to the ubiquitous Class C coaches... on the Ford and Check chassis selling for substantially less??? I've seen gasoline Class C coaches for one third the price of a brand new Class B on the Mercedes Benz platform... and they can sleep 4 or more people.... For $150,000 to $200,000 you can even get some larger Class A's... up from there to $ 500,000 or more.... They're certainly nice... but, it's hard for me to justify something that will ultimately be of no value in 20 to 25 years.... just me... sorry. When we decided to purchase an RV... I only wanted to get something that would be scaled for the two of us... but, when I tell people what I paid... they can't understand why we didn't get a lot more coach (size wise) for the money..... Don't know if they'll ever understand that...oh well... ...

Did you purchase a comparably sized Class B with a gasoline or diesel engine and WHY? Most of the gasoline versions have a slightly larger engine to deal with the additional weight that the coach has to carry... while a diesel engine can and usually is a smaller engine with even greater torque than most gasoline engines. Most gasoline engines can be serviced just about anywhere, but, you may need a specialist to work and diagnose a diesel, especially Mercedes Benz... on the other hand, Mercedes Benz diesels are known for their longevity and long service intervals, so, if you have your engine maintenance done before you go, you're going to be good for at least 10,000 miles before your next oil change... And, diesels in general can be smaller.. and get twice the mileage a gasoline engine can get with more pulling power and performance...this is especially important when climbing hills and driving through the mountains... even at low speeds... Not once, anywhere, on our cross country trip did we encounter any situation where the coach had any difficulty climbing hills and mountains.... and we went some pretty steep locations... Resale value is another advantage for diesels.... because they are known for their longevity, people will generally pay more for one when it's time to sell or trade your coach...And, mileage on the engine is NOT taken into effect according to NADA ( National Automobiles Dealer Association) on used vehicles....it's only a consideration on gasoline engines.. What was your reason for going diesel or gasoline???

Wayne, beautiful Class C coach... Yes, we looked at Forrest River when we were shopping. Question, you said that you only have 10 litres which is about one half of a 6 gallon water heater....?? Is that correct? AND, is the Truma Combi heating system quiet??? I noticed that our propane heater is a little noisy with the fan.... It's OKAY, and we kinda get used to it, but, I can see why people like radiant heating systems.... Was there an opportunity to get a tankless system on your coach.... If I had to consider doing this over, I'd probably go for the tankless system. --Mark

Hi Richard, I have a Kenwood DNX 893...it's a sound system and Garmin all built into one device.. integrates cellphone, has Android Auto and Apple Carplay, Sirius XM radio... Nice and compact system.. https://www.google.com/search?q=kenwood+dnx893s&oq=Kenwood+DNX+893&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.12041j0j8&client=tablet-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#idx=0&pie=plaji-i

Richard, I agree completely with what you said below... HOWEVER, you can certainly enjoy the trip in any vehicle of your choice.... And, I really enjoy and appreciate newer vehicles with electronic stability control, disc brakes, automatic transmission, fuel efficiency, etc. Quote, For us it is truly about the journey and not the destination... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For my situation, I would rather have the smaller coach, better MPG... and less repairs and maintenance.... kinda like a smaller house.. Let me ask you this...how many long road trips are you planning on this 44 years old coach? Do you have a generator on this coach??? I hope that the availability of parts while you're on the road will NOT deter you.. I feel more comfortable in a newer vehicle, one that is easier for a tow truck driver to bring to a garage if repairs are needed... While I think on one hand that an old bus like yours is very nostalgic....it scares me.... keep thinking it's a money pit... just my opinion... And, saw a news report tonight that there's a legion of folks who are buying old school buses and transforming them into "condos on wheels"....no kidding... I don't think you're doing this, but, it was an interesting news story! My 2012 Mercedes Benz Roadtrek RS Adventurous has just under 40,000 miles... And, I'm sure I'll have more miles in the future... I'm not planning on putting in mothballs... Never understood why people do this... Listen Richard, GOOD LUCK with you classic! It's better to be lucky than good.... ---MARK

Richard, enjoy your bus.....I see this is what you purchased? http://www.bargainbusnews.com/Buses/5470-1974GMC4108A/#imgiframediv

Carl, is this your car???? http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1972/Bentley/Corniche/2-Door-Coupe-HJM-P-Ward/Values

Carl, OKAY... I'm not going to tell you to scrap it.... BUT, I will tell you that I'm not interested in a museum collection of old cars. It's interesting that people love to was on about how few miles they have on their vehicles like they were bonds maturing... I don't purchase vehicles for this purpose..I purchase vehicles to drive and enjoy... My last trip was a 12,000 miles journey across the upper part of the USA to the east coast, down to Florida and across the lower 48.... 3 months..had a blast.. I collect houses, not cars or RV's... I have an income stream from two rental properties ...and like it... Probably won't get more but, anything is possible... I could have easily acquired another rental property if I had not purchased the coach... BUT, wanted to have the fun of owning and using the RV.....it's fun and interesting, but, not a good investment... I'm sure that Jay Leno can afford anything he wants... maybe you are also... good for you if that's the case... I'm just pick and choosy about the things I do... can't do everything... I suppose that your 1972 Bentley has reached the status of a VERY collectible car..and I certainly know they have significant value.... but, I doubt that you have an income stream from it.... Maybe I'm wrong..if you rent it out to movie studios?? Do you?? The risk of maintaining, insuring and protecting a car like yours means the cost per mile for driving it is astronomical.....

Brett, understood.... however, believe me when I say that my mechanic is so honest and meticulous....he will actually tell me when it's time to consider switching cars... He will do a superior job and if it's not done right by his shop..he will do it over at his expense... let me give you an example....he recommended replacement shocks for my 2009 Toyota Prius...he said that we should use KYB shocks.over the Toyota factory shocks......and said you'll save money and be very pleased.. Well, the ride was much stiffer than we were used to...he said drive it for a while...we couldn't stand it...I got back in touch with him.... you know what...he replaced the shocks with the original Toyota Prius shocks.. and I paid the difference for the parts...NO LABOR charge...he did it as a gesture for me.... Tell me, do you know anyone else who would do that??? Like I said, we have an excellent business relationship..he does not want me to be unhappy...

Richard, Tell me...you have an odometer in your coach with an extra digit like new cars showing your mileage is 043,600??? The reason I ask is that many older vehicles from the 60s and 70s didn't have this extra digit....so, for example my 1978 VW only had the five digit odometer reading up to 99,999 miles....you know what I mean?? I'm not saying it's "impossible", but, given the fact that your bus is 44 years old and the mileage your saying is 43,000 miles..that means that it was driven less than 1,000 miles per year or 2.7 miles per day?? Do you really think that sounds reasonable?? Maybe, it was in storage for a very long time??? Vehicles not driven in storage have all kinds of problems ... Didn't this concern you?? I would have been very concerned about the provenance of the vehicle and its service history... Just me.. Now, if you say that it doesn't have the full six digits on the odometer...I would suspect that it had gone around several times during its 44 years history... that would sound much more reasonable to me.. Sounds like you work on your own vehicle, engine and otherwise... good for you.. Everything is easy when you know what to do...I'm know my limitations.... --Mark

Really Brett....??? I DO NOT replace with used, salvage or Chinese knockoff parts for my cars, motorhome or anything else....and would NEVER recommend that to anyone.... I have on occasion instructed my mechanic to use remanufactured OEM parts for the vehicle from a reliable source.... nothing wrong with remanufactured... Don't know what you do?? BUT, it really makes a difference.... I wouldn't purchase a salvage title vehicle either.... not worth the risk.. As far as I'm concerned...if you cannot afford to maintain your vehicle as it should be... you shouldn't have it.... And, I NEVER work on my vehicles... always have them professionally serviced... vehicles today are "rolling computers".... VERY complicated.. IF you don't know what you're doing, you can screw up a lot of stuff very quickly. Seems to work better that way...for me... I know it's usually done correctly and have a mechanic that's been working on our vehicles for over 20 years.. long term professional relationship....he is not interested in ripping us off... extremely honest and fair with his prices....you can't get better than that...

Richard, how many miles are on your 1974 bus? And, may I ask, what's the difference between rebuilt and replace of parts??? Still accomplishes the same thing... don't see your point? Not sure I have enough years or energy to go 3 million miles 😁😁😁... let alone 500,000 miles.. probably will take 20 years or more just going half million miles....😁 ---MARK

Hmm, don't build them like they used to?? Cars and trucks have greatly improved over the years...why? Robots... They're more precise and don't get hung over, take vacation days or get sick... although they do require maintenance and someone to operate them... usually highly skilled computer tech people... Also, cars and trucks...all vehicles seem to last longer than past days and are SAFER...way safer.... SO, not sure I agree that we should go back to the "good old days".... Of course I'm hopeful that the coach hardware and mechanical systems last for 15 years or more... they certainly could..... but, NOT 500,000 miles... I think old cars and RVs are nostalgic...but, I would not want to own anything older than 20 years old...parts, service and safety suffer.... I completely agree with what Richard said below.... the number of mechanics trained to work on Detroit Diesel 2-stroke engines is getting fewer and fewer as days go on. Given the lack of good apprenticeship programs in most shops nowadays, the days are numbered for anyone driving an older coach like mine.

I imagine anything is possible...we could die suddenly too.. I'm not going to worry about all this and just live my life.. can't control everything... I glad to be retired and enjoy the leisure time with my RV whenever I can. The main reason I probably won't go full time is that it's a bad financial move, in my opinion.

One more thing... someone told me that the coach appliances and other things would probably fail BEFORE the engine quits... Time will tell....

So, eight cents per mile diesel... four cents per mile gasoline...the reason I asked you to clarify is that the way you originally wrote this it looked like the diesel was .08 per mile.... which is less than .4 per mile...( See decimal point)... "with that being said on light duty vehicles like your size at work we plan on .08 per mile for Diesel and .4 for Gas" OK, the whole reason I got the diesel engine was the performance and the anticipated longevity! As you know, the torque and power of the diesel engine is much better for heavier vehicles.. with the dual wheels and weight of the RS Adventurous...it can handle weight up to 15,000 pounds fully loaded.... I'll probably never be at full capacity....and don't think it's necessary to tow an extra car... although it could.... As for long distances...I met someone in Michigan with a Sprinter van , not an RV, from Canada who actually had almost 500,000 miles on his vehicle...he said he did all the maintenance on schedule and no significant problems.... Falls under the category of "your mileage will vary" on road experiences...and repairs , I suppose.

Thank you very much for sharing this.... very appreciated. Interesting that your predicted costs on the diesel is lower than the gas... "with that being said on light duty vehicles like your size at work we plan on .08 per mile for Diesel and .4 for Gas" Tell me, that's NOT a typo... .08 per mile for the diesel... correct? My Sprinter is a 2011 MB , 3 litre V6..it's still pretty new and less than 40,000 miles, even with my cross country trip.. biggest thing that happened was the entire emissions system, NOX sensor and catalytic converter all recently were replaced..it had blown a back pressure sensor on the turbo on the last leg of our trip... My biggest frustration with this so far is the DEF system.. there's no dash board gauge for this, just some warning light that is supposed to tell you your low on DEF fluid...add some and it is supposed to reset... when the light went on, it put the thing into limited starts and I had to take it back to Mercedes... otherwise, I love it and the performance... $1,500 per year in maintenance costs sounds great... I'm not planning on driving 15-20,000 miles per year every year...too much.. this first year is probably an annomoly for me... We'll see.. As for further down the road... I do get the transmission service regularly... And oil and filter changes.. 100,000 miles or more is a ways away.. Don't know if I'll have the RV after five years.. again, depends on how much we use it. One thing is for sure, we would NEVER go full time in this rig...too small for that. Not sure about full time at all.... everyone's different, I understand. I'm not saying it's bad, just not what I want..., but, for traveling and sight seeing, this van is perfect for us. Three months was a long time, but, we have another residence in Michigan and stayed there for a month during this past trip..and with friends and family the rest of the way to break up the time... SO, not three months total on the road in the vehicle.. Finally, one more thing...it's NOT easy at all on the road to get SERVICE for the Sprinters... when the check engine light came on the last time we were in the Mohave desert... just about 175 miles outside of Flagstaff headed back to LA...We had just left Flagstaff where they replaced the exhaust back pressure sensor.... something was apparently still wrong and they didn't see it ... there's no Mercedes Benz dealership close by..we called the agency and they said if it was driving OK, we would probably be able to make it home..and take it to our local dealership. We were able to do that.. but, I still keep the AAA card handy and have the 200 mile tow feature.... you never know.... I'm VERY easy on my cars and vehicles... learned a long time ago that it REALLY makes a difference on how you drive and maintain them..it pays to be meticulous . Most of my cars have easily gone way past 125-150,000 miles.. with no major failures...I expect the van with the diesel engine to go to 200,000 easily...

Richard, Yes, some of the extra money I spent was to bring the coach up to my standards... I replace tires and batteries every six years... plus the on board propane sensor.. these were capital items and will not have to be revisited for a while.. Two oil changes and routine maintenance this year.. with the trip across the USA. Fortunately, the emissions system, recently replaced under warranty were all covered by Mercedes Benz. I imagine that the repairs and maintenance for your 44 year old bus would be quite different... understood.

Thanks for the responses... I don't know what to make of various replies as compared to my Class B... Overall, to all of you... Do you do your own maintenance or take it to a professional?? In my first year.. I had extraordinary expenses, new tires, batteries, repairs, and vehicle maintenance..all in all about $7,500... And, this was all professionally done... Do you do the work yourself or have it done? I wouldn't expect that every year and have no storage fees.. Question, what's wrong with Progressive??

doesn't Brett, OK... average is a relative term... depending on age.. Maybe people can give an estimate excluding license fees for years 2-5, 6-10, 11-16. My car doesn't require a lot of expensive repairs every year, sometimes it's quite significant.. that's why you budget ... so, the "estimate" is a tool.

On average, how much would you say your maintenance costs run on keeping your motorhome, aside from trips and related expenses? This would include routine maintenance, insurance and license fees....

Absolutely correct.. I'm fine with the small house.. less maintenance and fuel costs. The whole reason I purchased the Mercedes Benz was the diesel engine and drivetrain.... Someone suggested that I might be "lucky" to get 85,000 miles...😁........ I met people who have gone 800,000 kilometers... that's about 500,000 miles... 😁😁😁 My coach is perfect for us... two people, no pets. Enjoy your rig...

Forgot to mention the small refrigerator on the left side bottom of the cabinet, it is a little smaller than we like, but, again, it's a class B. The picture I posted was the day we decided to purchase the rig at the dealership ... The people who traded it in we're original owners and wanted a Winnebago Navion.. I thought that we were going to purchase a Navion as well, but, I really liked the Roadtrek Adventuous more.. better handling, more agile and stable ..the double rear wheels on the back of the couch are not inset like the Navion, and come right to the edge of the chassis like my car. The dual rear wheels were an absolute must for me.. Also drove a Winnebago Fuze...on the Ford Transit chassis , 5 cylinder diesel, not as smooth, horrible road dynamics. Felt like I was on a swaying boat.

Thanks Richard, YES, there's a powerful vent in the bathroom.. and the RS Adventuous is beautifully finished on the inside. Here's an inside picture of our rig. It's small but deluxe, the rear seats double as our living room during the day and they fold down electrically and transform into a king size bed for the night.. airline style bathroom, kitchen sink, microwave convection oven and overhead cabinets with closet space, all natural cherry wood. I absolutely love the way it drives, 18-20 MPG on the road, diesel engine, pretty quiet, quick and powerful. It has 190 HP and 325 foot pounds of torque. We don't need a tow car as we drive this everywhere we need to go. . And parks just about anywhere. I added solar panels, satellite navigation, front and rear cameras, backup proximity sensors, tire pressure monitor, and more.. makes it easier and more comfortable for me. The RS Adventuous has an ample towing capacity, as well as power to carry up to seven passengers if you don't install the optional armories behind the front driver and passenger..we have the extra seats in the garage.. figured that we could make better use of the cabinet space with just the two of us.. but, you can load up to 3,000 pounds of passengers and gear... SO, we'll never have a weight problem, just a space problem.. We just take less stuff.. all the extra gear is really not necessary even on a long trip. We found it unnecessary.. if we really needed it, we picked it up a long the way. I am impressed by your " big rig"... I'm sure it's very nice inside? Please provide a picture.. if you can. I've seen some very nice customized rigs . ----MARK

OK....on our Roadtrek, we have 30 gallon fresh water tank....so, while I don't know , it seems unlikely that I would have to use up 12 gallons, more than 1/3 of the total tank to have hot water to start heating up again. Regardless, I'm not going to look into making an upgrade to the "motor aid" feature at this time.