REK1
San Jose
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Joined: 09/21/2006
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We just got back from a 3 week trip to the UK, France and Spain. No we weren't able to take our RT/RS although we really wished we could have. I was amazed at how many small type B's and B+'s we saw on the road especially this early in the season. They looked like they would fit in well over here in the US. Maybe next time we will rent a camping vehicle over there. I was also surprised to see how many Sprinter copy cat vehicles they have over there. No less than 10 different manufacturers had the same shaped (narrow, high and boxy) vans. They all looked exactly liked Sprinter based vans until I looked really close and could see subtle differences. I wonder why the B manufacturers over here haven't tried to import one of the Sprinter's competitors for van conversions. Ford and GM both have them there.
Even though gas is at $4 and diesel at $4.50 in California it is still relatively a bargain. We paid $10 a gallon for diesel in the UK and about $8 a gallon for gas in France and Spain.
Ron - Roadtrek RS Adventurous
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SidKaye
Mt Dora Florida, Montreal QC for the Summer
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Joined: 09/03/2003
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Europe did not copy the Sprinter type RV's, they created them. We saw that type of Diesel powered RV more than 30 years ago in Europe. Small RV's have been the standard in NZ and Australia as well for many years.
Sidney
2003 Dodge Ram 3500 SLT,48RE, 4:10,Cummins HO Diesel,Quad Cab,LWB,SRW,PacBrake,Prodigy, X-Monitor Gauges,Line-X,Bedsaver
2002 Excel,Ltd,30RGW,Hughes Autoformer,Honda Eu1000i, Hughes Direcway HN7000S, Satmex5,
http://www.kayepics.com
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Guess we should have patented "small"  Give us a couple of years and we'll see those prices also.
2004 F-150 HD 3,050 lb. payload
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
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david_42
Oregon
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Joined: 04/08/2005
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Small, tall cargo vans of that type are called "Sprinter-class" in Europe. Ford has a nice one, but no plans to bring it over here. Massively stupid, but I'm not being paid millions to run a company into the ground, so maybe I'm wrong.
The only reason Chrysler still sells the Sprinter is because sales of their last full-sized Ram van died and they have no replacement.
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juliev
Minnesota
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Joined: 07/29/2004
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We've looked into renting a Sprinter sized RV in Europe and it's relatively cheap. Last time I checked it was only about $20 USD more than renting a plain old car. When you consider what hotels cost there, it looks like a great way to tour Europe. My spouse spent his college years in Europe and knows people all over so it'll definitely be the way for us to go visiting when we finally retire.
Julie
_____________________________________________________________________
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~ Lao Tzu
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Chirpnchicks
Summerfield, NC
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Joined: 01/15/2006
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juliev wrote:We've looked into renting a Sprinter sized RV in Europe and it's relatively cheap
I agree. But don't forget the add-ons. Son and I are planning a trip to Bergen, Norway to tour the fjords for a week.
Jay
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gmctoyman
Lake Livingston, Texas
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Joined: 03/23/2005
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We lived in Europe for 12 years, traveled extensively in a Fiat van, came back here and did it the "American" way with the big ugly DP, and hated it. Man - I'm glad they didn't copy those things !
Dave W. AKA "Toyman"
KE5GOH - On 146.52
RV's ? What RV's ???
Apache Pop-up
Classic GMC Motorhome
07 Leisure Travel Sprinter
Do Boats Count ?
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texasbaskets
Frisco, TX
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Joined: 10/06/2003
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Watch one stage of the Tour de France and you will see RV's just like you describe and more than you can count. It's interesting to see the differences (and similarities). 
Michael, Kay and Hans (our Mini-Schnauzer co-pilot)
'05 Coachmen SportsCoach SE 372DS a.k.a. "Mana's Cabana"
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wsfurrie
Arizona
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Joined: 09/14/2007
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Yes, Europe has been using those kind of vehicles for years, for 2 reasons. Fuel mileage for one, and the narrow size gets around in the narrow streets of the old towns. We have had cheap fuel so we went for big engines with tons of power and we have wide roads by comparison.
Wayne, the old curmudgeon
Wayne, the old curmudgeon
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jdavidlewis
england
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Joined: 11/15/2007
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hi from england
most of the rv,s you call B class are made by fiat,peugot and ford.
it is actually more expensive to buy a B class than most C class average price 68.000 dollars for a 19 footer but they are getting more popular as they get about 30 mpg(diesil).the mercedes sprinter is even more expensive 75 to 80.000 dollars
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