Thor Forums

[Chance]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

It's not that I like huge motorhomes but more along the lines of I don't like retro versions of the garbage that couldn't get out of the way of it's own shadow. Some of those smaller units you like to refer to were death traps hitting the roads way over loaded before loading them for travel. The smaller class c versions on the Toyota truck chassis were so far under engineered that Toyota had to quit supplying them and would not assume responsibility for any chassis related warranty work. That massive mistake was made by a number of manufacturers and they were offered under about 10 or 12 different brand names. The DW's uncle owned one of those POS items and on a 1 percent grade it was singing "I think I can, I think I Can". Going across the desert to visit us in El Paso he couldn't get above 45 MPH because of the 2 MPH head winds. Hence, my statement about crap. I lived it, I experienced it and I'll name it what it was, crap. Now, some of the custom builders are doing some neat stuff that I do not consider crap. But for that you will pay a lot more than I paid for my current rig for something 1/4 the size and 1/8 the comfort.

Maybe the question should be why doesn't someone start going back to the days of the Conversion Vans. That appears to be what you are asking for. 20 feet long, Ford E series chassis, no slides. But then again, they already make that in the B and B+ units so it is already there.

It’s funny you mention the Toyota “death traps” because we rode in one of the smaller ones quite often traveling to football games when in our 20s. I drove it many times and they were indeed underpowered. If I recall correctly it had a 2-liter (or maybe 2.2L) 4-cylinder with 4-speed manual. Much under 100 HP. The house was tiny — much smaller than my present 20-foot extended Econoline.

When I first saw the Winnebago Vista I was on RVTrader looking at Thor 19G on E-350. Wife says that if we have to end up with wet bath anyway, she’d rather have a van. The Vista would be a great size and floorplan for us, but I’m not touching anything that old or odd. Not to mention there isn’t a VW dealer in every small town like there is Ford.

Using present technologies, a longer version of 19G is very possible. The 20-ft is just a little too short for a separate shower, and a wet bath is a deal breaker for many buyers. Instead of 138” wheelbase, they should bump it up to the 158” WB which is very close to ProMaster vans (159”) and provide a real bath (albeit small) like the Vista has. A total length of +/- 22 ft is still easy to park.

In case you don’t recall, pictures are of a 19G.