Downsizing Continues

[vkb]

Originally Posted by Chance

Comparing specs, a Travato has 13 or 15 gallons gray capacity, whereas your Axis is ~ 40 gallons. In practical terms it means that if a couple takes showers at 5 gallons each (not sure that’s the right number) the tank would be so full you’d have little space for washing hands, ditcher. That’s why I think most owners don’t use shower in Bs.

Chance... I agree .. in addition to your info...that wet bath in the rear of the Travato 59K is the size of a postage stamp ! It would be interesting to know how little water we use when we shower...with the auto shutoff on the Oxygenics shower head..it makes it easy to get wet..soap..rinse off . More often than not, we hook up so we can empty gray and black water tanks during our stay or before we leave.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by vkb

Chance... I agree .. in addition to your info...that wet bath in the rear of the Travato 59K is the size of a postage stamp ! It would be interesting to know how little water we use when we shower...with the auto shutoff on the Oxygenics shower head..it makes it easy to get wet..soap..rinse off . More often than not, we hook up so we can empty gray and black water tanks during our stay or before we leave.

I like my 29 ft class A for lots of reasons but I don’t think I’d have any problem with a wet bath if I ever downsized to a B. I actually prefer to use campground showers when we stay at nicer places. Only use my RV shower if there aren’t any good options. For occasional use only I could live with a wet bath.

[EVMIII]

I recently downsized from a 37' fver and Chevy 3500HD dually. After our last trip to Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and many stops in between my wife and I both decided we could go smaller. There were many places we just couldn't get in and a couple we stayed in that we didn't fit. After looking at a bunch of C's, I just couldn't find the features we wanted in anything less than 30'. I wanted a king bed that didn't fold up, a shower I could fit in, and auto levelers. We ended up liking the ACE 29.4 (30'6"). I was hoping for something a little smaller but just couldn't find the options we wanted. With a large number of state and national parks with size limits, we can get just about anywhere we want to now. Noteable less room than our Alpine, but enough for us.

[vkb]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

I like my 29 ft class A for lots of reasons but I don’t think I’d have any problem with a wet bath if I ever downsized to a B. I actually prefer to use campground showers when we stay at nicer places. Only use my RV shower if there aren’t any good options. For occasional use only I could live with a wet bath.

Ron likes to go to the showers early in the morning...enjoys the walk and possible visit with neighbors. I would just as soon use my in-house shower..don't have to get dressed to go to take a shower ! Ha !

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by vkb

Ron likes to go to the showers early in the morning...enjoys the walk and possible visit with neighbors. I would just as soon use my in-house shower..don't have to get dressed to go to take a shower ! Ha !

When we went looking I only had a few requirements and my wife the rest. I had to have auto-level, a king size bed, and a shower I was comfortable with. The main reasons for an RV are to have our own bed, bathroom, and kitchen plus making taking the dog easy. Not going to find that in and B and room for separate washer/dryer is tough in a C. The 43' 5er works best!

[vkb]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

When we went looking I only had a few requirements and my wife the rest. I had to have auto-level, a king size bed, and a shower I was comfortable with. The main reasons for an RV are to have our own bed, bathroom, and kitchen plus making taking the dog easy. Not going to find that in and B and room for separate washer/dryer is tough in a C. The 43' 5er works best!

Your comments are perfect...and that is the point of this discussion as a whole... Everyone has priorities...no one is right or wrong...
there are hundreds of different RV units offered in an effort to please the buying public.

happy camping !

[Chance]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

....cut..... The main reasons for an RV are to have our own bed, bathroom, and kitchen plus making taking the dog easy. ......cut....

Exactly how we feel also. The difference is we don’t need a lot of space, or the washer/dryer, leveling jacks, etc.

[Bob Denman]

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1529448692

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1529448692

LOL Those are a thing that people camp in; here is one that was in Nashville when I was at the Nashville, KOA last summer:

[Bob Denman]

I've got to imagine that getting up in the middle of the night to "answer the call" could be a real show-stopper!

Sometimes: "Small" get get to be just a bit "too..."

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1529449797

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

LOL Those are a thing that people camp in; here is one that was in Nashville when I was at the Nashville, KOA last summer:
Attachment 10879

The concept of installing a tent on the roof seems similar to the classic and very popular VW Westfelias, and similar motorhomes from various manufacturers.

This is a new version of the same idea, except it starts out with a van many times larger than the original VWs. Being that it’s a high roof van, another difference is that headroom isn’t limited by the roof being down. Unlike the pictures you and Bob posted, access to loft bed is from inside the van, and probably best left for the young and agile. Fortunately that’s not the primary bed.

Notice something missing from roof?

[Bob Denman]

Are you talking about an AC unit?

[The Gritz Carlton]

It's interesting that Thor, and other companies, choose to make that decision for us. To take advantage of a situation and just cut features and benefits to make more money is throat-cutting. They use this as an excuse to increased the bottom line. One reason we chose the model we did was the fact that EVERYTHING was included!! Now, they will offer many items as options and charge 50% more for them. It's a profit driven proposal and has nothing to do with costs. There are enough choices of RV's today without attacking the higher end models. People will pay the price for quality...leave the choice with the buyer.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Are you talking about an AC unit?

Indeed.


Their A/C specs are very interesting to me, so I want to look into it. I’m guessing it’s similar to the units Sportsmobile uses on van campers with pop tops. SMB essentially uses a mini-split with condensing unit under floor. The one on this Hymer is rated at 22,000 BTU/hr (if I recall correctly). Sounds good if it works well.

[Bob Denman]

We also bought ours based upon the same considerations... :

...And now they're starting to change the package!

(Although ours is certainly NOT a high-end unit... )

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Chance

Indeed.


Their A/C specs are very interesting to me, so I want to look into it. I’m guessing it’s similar to the units Sportsmobile uses on van campers with pop tops. SMB essentially uses a mini-split with condensing unit under floor. The one on this Hymer is rated at 22,000 BTU/hr (if I recall correctly). Sounds good if it works well.

I think that RoadTrek also has an available "hidden" AC unit... (at extra cost: of course!)

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

I think that RoadTrek also has an available "hidden" AC unit... (at extra cost: of course!)

The only “odd” RoadTrek A/C I’ve seen are on older models, where they install essentially a window unit on back of fiberglass roof used on Chevy vans. I don’t recall them using pop tops in the past, although they may now since Hymer is building the “Loft” version of Aktiv. That’s not to say they haven’t and I don’t know about them.

[Bob Denman]

My future Daughter-in-Law's folks have an older RoadTrek, and you described it perfectly!
It needs some R&R to become camp-worthy: I'm putting "Sonny-Boy" on the project!

[Druff]

Originally Posted by EVMIII

I recently downsized from a 37' fver and Chevy 3500HD dually. After our last trip to Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and many stops in between my wife and I both decided we could go smaller. There were many places we just couldn't get in and a couple we stayed in that we didn't fit. After looking at a bunch of C's, I just couldn't find the features we wanted in anything less than 30'. I wanted a king bed that didn't fold up, a shower I could fit in, and auto levelers. We ended up liking the ACE 29.4 (30'6"). I was hoping for something a little smaller but just couldn't find the options we wanted. With a large number of state and national parks with size limits, we can get just about anywhere we want to now. Noteable less room than our Alpine, but enough for us.

In 2016 we downsized from a Cougar 35' 5er with 3 slides to a 31' class C(2016 Chateau 31W). For two years we loved the smaller size. While in Mobile AL and the Florida Panhandle this winter we were caught in a couple of ice storms and bad weather that pretty much kept us in the MH for several days at a time it got really small, really fast. A few weeks later while in St Augustine FL, we came across a 06 Monaco 40' DP with quad slides for a ridiculously good price at CW and traded out for it.

I also like the fact that I am no where near the weight limit, as I was over weight all the time with the class C.

[Chance]

Wrapping up changes through 2018, latest data:

Class As down 6%

Class Cs no gain

Class Bs up 28.3%

Combined motorized sales in 2018 were down 2.7%, with larger units appearing to take a slightly greater hit.


https://www.rvbusiness.com/blog/ssi-...t-in-2018.html

https://www.rvbusiness.com/blog/ssi-...3-in-2018.html





Data after first 4 months of 2018 for comparison:

Originally Posted by Chance

Motorhome downsizing trend seems to be accelerating. Through first four months of 2018, sales by motorized RV type were:


Class As down 4.2%

Class Cs up 6.3%

Class Bs up 30.5%

....cut......