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RE: Drawers or cupboards?
The wardrobe or closet is the biggest waste of space in my RT. I have installed adjustable shelves in the closet and no longer hang clothes, but fold or roll them.
I agree, LJZ. Sure would not want to give up that one drawer in the kitchen area.
Don
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loving retirement
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09/02/08 02:55pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Roadtrek battery drawer
I have had many of the same experiences as "thataway."
My unit is a 2002 Chevy 190P. I have never lubed the battery drawer with a teflon or any other grease for that matter, only WD-40 4 times a year. After 6 years the drawer is still sliding beautifully. Personally I believe it is much easier and cheaper to service the systems in our "B" on a rigid schedule than it is to pay to have them repaired when they fail. I also have two of the old fashion wet lead/acid batteries, not AGM's and they have never boiled over or have they caused any corrosion in my two battery compartments, but I do check them for water every 3 months and clean up the compartments which do get dirty because of the openings. Some of the complaints in this thread could have been avoided by following a simple preventive maintenance schedule.
Don
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loving retirement
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08/26/08 05:35pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Thinking of buying
Just check for water leaks inside around the a/c, and back door, also the rear tail lights have been known to fill with water.
Good luck, hope it works out for you. Many people on here love their 200's.
Rodger, no back door only a side door near the passenger door. Was this not a RT 200 he was looking at?
Don
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loving retirement
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08/24/08 03:11pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Back from Kitchener, and Niagara Falls
Wonder how Leisure Travel Van was able to incorporate a private bath in their Chevy Free Flight like in the RT 210's and Sprinters?
As anyone checked out the Free Flight at a dealer, if so is the private bath limited?
Maybe RoadTrek could built a Semi-Private bath similar to the Pleasue-Way Lexor, as quoted in the Pleasure-Way Brochure.
"The Lexor offers a spacious bathroom with a Thetford flush toilet, a vanity with a second stainless steel sink and storage, a medicine cabinet with mirror, a 110-volt receptacle and a stand up aisle shower or a private dressing area. For a leisurely shower, simply open the two privacy doors, set the removable shower pan in place, pull the shower curtain around you and enjoy the comfort and convenience of your stand up aisle shower. The removable shower pan results in a quick and easy clean up instead of moping up a permanent in-floor shower pan that you walk on all day. For additional storage, the Lexor offers an optional shelving unit that replaces the vanity."
Ron
I checked the Leisure Travel Van web site and they have 16 photos of the Free Flight on a Chevy Express chassis. Only one of those photos shows a view of the bath and the available headroom inside the bath appears to be very limited as it was in the Roadtrek 190 prototype photo DSCN5266. I don't know anything about the bath arrangement in the Pleasure Way Lexor.
Don
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loving retirement
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08/23/08 03:32pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Back from Kitchener, and Niagara Falls
I'll likely order a new 190P if they make the bath permanent.
I'm just guessing here, but I think RT saw sales on their 210 model soar once they had incorporated the private bath. They probably feel that they can increase sales of the 190 if they can successfully incorporate a private bath.
- LJZ
I believe it will be far more difficult for RT to incorporate a successful private bath that will sell in a 190 than it was in the 210's and Sprinters. The main obstruction for RT being the retained structural roof bracing on each side of the Chevy Express van. This bracing is what causes the narrowing of the side walls on the interior of a 190 a foot or two from the roof (and what some of us hit our head on entering and exiting the side door). With this narrowing of the wall the standing area in a private bath will be very limited. It may well be the reason that RT only built a single prototype 190 with a private bath a few years ago. Take a close look at the photos of this 190 prototype with its private bath posted in this thread and notice the very limited headroom in the bath in photo DSCN5266.
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loving retirement
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08/23/08 12:23am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Quiet Furnace?
I haven't tried this but it may be worth a look: http://www.ehow.com/how_2170281_noisy-rv-furnace-quiet.html
What's really needed of course is a multi-speed system with a furnace capable of low/high or variable output. Haven't turned up anything yet. (My home gas boiler automatically throttles from 10K to 150K BTU according to the load, so I know it can be done)
Also, check out:
http://www.rvpartscenter.com/prodselect.asp?SID=11&DID=84&CID=288
Claims to be quiet but no sound specs.
Hope this helps
I do not know about your "B," but in mine I do not have a distance cold air return duct back to the furnace to add soundproofing material. My noisy self contained furnace is about 14" x 14" x 24" with no exterior cold air return ductwork to insulate as the link called for. I believe the answer is with a better designed fan and a variable speed motor.
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loving retirement
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08/11/08 04:39pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Are you coming to the Class B Social Event in Moab?
Just want to bring this topic to the top again so more will see it. We need about another 20 to sign up for the Sunday night Live Western Stage Show and only have about five days. Am I wrong, but didn't we fill up that RV park a lot faster than we are signing up for this show?
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loving retirement
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07/31/08 04:10pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: roadtrek generator
Hi,
Your inquiry about installing a 5000 btu unit calls for a reply. We had a home converted van camper (short wheelbase Ford chassis) and had a 5000 btu unit installed in the back of the tall camper top. Our unit had significantly smaller interior volume than a RT 190, and the a/c was totally inadequate in weather over 80 deg F. I would suggest nothing smaller than 7500-8000 btu in a camper of this size.
Roadtrek is currently installing 12,000btu heat pumps in the RT 190's. I do not believe it would be a good idea to go below 10,000 btu.
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loving retirement
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07/28/08 05:16pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Are you coming to the Class B Social Event in Moab?
Julie, just placed my reservation for the BBQ dinner show.
The reservation count as of Thursday July 24th at 3:00PM PST was only 15!!!
Come on folks, lets get that count up above 40 so be can have our own show on Sunday.
Don
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loving retirement
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07/24/08 04:06pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Purchasing a Conversion for full time living
Jan,
Here's a C-minus I live in for 7-8 months of the year with my cat: http://www.newarts.com/images/RV.jpg
I use the scooter for local travel. I've often considered living in a B but think I couldn't adjust to the lack of storage space. I carry a lot of stuff. Books, tools, papers, clothes, dirty clothes, laptop, printer, etc.
I typically park at a relative's place, a public campground, rest stop, business parking lot, etc.
Don't worry too much about gas costs. Say you put on 10,000 miles per year & fuel costs $4/gal. At 10mpg, that's $4,000 while at 15 mpg, it costs about $2,700. A savings of $1300, or about $110/mo. I think of that extra cost as what I pay for the extra storage & space I have.
The biggest downside of my bigger than B camper is not being able to park overnight in as many places a I could in a truly stealthy B.
I am truly intrigued by your floor plan, was it custom built for you or was it a standard model?
Would it be possible to give more detail and possibly some interior pictures.
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loving retirement
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07/21/08 09:41pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: DIY Rear slide out on a B
Has anyone investigated the possibility of removing the rear doors on a van and creating an extension. I have a reg size 1 ton chev. I want more room. If I add say 3 feet to the rear of the unit I could have more inside room. If the area was only used for a portion of the bed, only my feet would be there and only when I slept. If the addition was light weight, it might not impact the handling much. I am thinking that the weight could be kept to a minimum but I gain 3 more feet of interior space in the main part of the van. If not this idea, has anyone considered something similar to a slideout for the rear?
Hoosiermark, your approach sounds like a light weight version of the Winnebago Navion IQ 24DL with the expanding Queen bed rear slide. I know, Winnebago's slide is power driven and likely weighs a 1,000 lbs, but I have wondered why no B manufacturer has not gone to a light weight manual driven side or rear slide for a larger bed at the rear.
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loving retirement
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07/15/08 02:43pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Opinions on this inverter
In my experience motors and microwaves prefer pure sine wave.
So far so good, but now you have got me concerned that we could be damaging our microwave on our MSW inverter. The palm of my hand can detect motor distress, but how would I detect microwave distress?
I have been operating my MW on a 1,800 MSW inverter for over two years with no ill effect, other than it takes a little longer to cook than when on regular AC or the generator.
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loving retirement
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07/14/08 09:24pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Sprinter Technical Drawings
What a great site "kemessinger," will be a great help for a lot of Sprinter owners.
Now, does any know where I can find similar information for a 2002 Chevy 3500 Express?
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loving retirement
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07/07/08 05:22pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: The Ultimate "Is this a B?"
I want to know how this thing takes a corner? With all those wheels this RV may have some nasty tire wear on turns.
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loving retirement
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07/07/08 05:17pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Info Digital Stream DTX9950 & Magnavox TB100MW9 Converters
I have both the Zenith DTT and the Magnavox TB100. Am currently using the Magnavox on the house bedroom TV and I like it better than the Zenith. The Zenith does not have "pass through", has a hard to read remote, and is dumber than a doornail - cannot turn on my Panasonic TV. The Magnavox has "pass through", has a much easier to read remote, and doesn't even try to turn the TV on or off. Will have to use the Zenith in the RV. Since neither converter remote controls the TV, I can use the bedroom TV remote and watch the analog channels for another 8 months.
I have two of the RCA DTA 800B units which came with a remote. I do not believe that the converter has analog "pass through" but they do have a very large easy to read remote which is not "dumber than a doornail." The remotes turned both TV's on & off straight out of the box without my even programming them.
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loving retirement
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06/27/08 06:37pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: 2008 Sprinter Mileage Report
17.1; 16.7; 18.8; 18.7; 17.4; 14.3; 16.8; 15.6; 17.9 for an average of 17.03.
That's only 3 mpg better than my old Chevy 5.7L. Not sure that's such a good deal with diesel being nearly $1 more per gallon.
If I were in the market for a diesel, I suspect I'd be looking for a B with the I5 engine.
If these figures are going to be the typical MPG of the new V6's, I do not believe that you could ever recover the Sprinter premium paid at the time of purchase and I am not even including the extra you pay for each gallon of diesel.
Incidentally, I also have a Chevy 5.7L and I consistently get 16MPG on the road (which is 95% of the mileage put on my 2002C 190P).
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loving retirement
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06/25/08 10:03pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: 1996 roadtrek 170
Greetings. I am new to the site and have a couple of questions regrading my 1996 Roadtrek 170. Having custom made a hitch-mount to carry two dirt bikes, I notice the rear of the vehicle sitting low when bikes are loaded. Am considering air-bags in rear rather than an extra leaf-spring. Have been told the extra leaf-spring would make the vehicle ride high in the back when unloaded, while the air-bags can be adjusted and would not be a problem. (A mechanic mentioned air-shocks as an alternative.) My other question is regarding the tendancy of the vehicle to run hot. I have only noticed this problem on long mountain uphills. I have to keep the van in "drive" and just gun it uphill to get airflow accross the radiator, otherwise it overheats. It always runs cool under normal driving conditions, however, I am unsure if the radiator is the original and may just be showing signs of age. I have considered an additional electric fan and possibly a different or new radiator. Does anyone have thoughts re my questions? Thanx James
James, after checking your Roadtrek 1996 Dodge 2500 Standard Van specs I believe you may well be overloaded even before you add the weight of the hitch and those two dirt bikes. 1996 was the first year that RT made a 170 and they built it on the 2500 chassis with only a 6,800 pound GVWR, not the 3500 Maxivan that they used for the 190's which had a 8,510 pound GVWR that year. In 1999 the GVWR of the 170's was raised to 7,000 lbs, in 2000 it was raised again to 7,700 lbs and with the introduction of the Chevy chassis and using the 2500 Regular Van for the 170's in 2003 it was increased again to 8,600 lbs. My advise is have your RT weighed at once with your normal full load. In 1996 the RT 170 only had a little over a 1,000 lb CCC, not counting any options.
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loving retirement
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06/25/08 08:02pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Re: Replacement House Battery
Rodger and VernM gave some good battery advice.
Myself, I added a second house battery in the small outside storage compartment on the passenger side of my RT 190P. The battery I installed was a EverStart Maxx 29 , it was the largest size with the greatest reserve capacity (about 200RC) that would fix inside the compartment. The Maxx 29 is made by Johnson Controls, available at Walmart and other shops for about $70. It has been working great for 2-1/2 years and I am sorry that I can not fit a battery that large inside the tray on the Roadtrek battery slide drawer behind the right rear tire.
What year is your RT190? I have a '96 RT210P . It has one battery box and it's located under the floor via the back door. I've thought about putting a 2nd battery box in the outside storage compartment behind the side doors on the passenger side. Does it matter if the 2 batteries are placed that far apart?
I might add, the cable run from the current battery and the converter is only about 3 feet. The cable run for a battery added to the side storage compartment would probably closer to 6 feet.
Atlee, my RT 190 is a 2002 Chevy.
I have had no problem in 2-1/2 years with my two batteries that far apart. This small side storage compartment is the same one that Roadtrek uses when they add a second house battery to any RT 190. I connected the two batteries in parallel with 4/0 (0000 AWG) welding cable runs in the right rear fender well. I also added a second short run of 4/0 welding cable (about two feet in length) from the new battery to a 1,800 watt inverter inside the RT right above that battery compartment. It is unfortunate that RT does not make the rear battery slide compartment in RT 190's a little larger. The rear battery slide drawer will take a Group 24 (10-1/4" long) or a Group 27 (12" long) battery, but the Maxx 29 (at over 13 inches long) will not fit.
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loving retirement
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06/25/08 07:17pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Re: Replacement House Battery
Rodger and VernM gave some good battery advice.
Myself, I added a second house battery in the small outside storage compartment on the passenger side of my RT 190P. The battery I installed was a EverStart Maxx 29 , it was the largest size with the greatest reserve capacity (about 200RC) that would fix inside the compartment. The Maxx 29 is made by Johnson Controls, available at Walmart and other shops for about $70. It has been working great for 2-1/2 years and I am sorry that I can not fit a battery that large inside the tray on the Roadtrek battery slide drawer behind the right rear tire.
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loving retirement
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06/25/08 12:08am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Roadtrek RS 08 problem
We have a 2007 210 P with the Heatpump. The 2000 P we had did a very good job of cooling it to the point my wife had to turn it off at times or put a blanket over her. The heatpump doesn't cool as much and doesn't heat enough in the cold weather. RT knew that so they put in there satellite heater like in there older models.
I have the 12,000btu "CoolCat" heatpump and NO satellite heater. unless you talking about the propane furnace which Roadtrek has included in all RV's since I guess day one. What Satellite heater are we talking about since most, if not all of us do not use the heatpump when boondocking (I do not want to fire up the generator, to heat my RV). Please remember, a heat pump will only heat the RV when the outside temperature is above 40 degrees F. Also, I find my 12,000btu heatpump does a great job cooling my 190P.
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loving retirement
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06/18/08 09:53pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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