Community Forums

OlYeller · 03-30-2018, 12:20 PM

I'd like to hear anyone who has owned or driven these new entrants to US. Is the 5 cylinder Diesel a good engine? I have heard that CCW is reduced from larger chassis RVs but that is not a huge worry for me. More concerned with driveability and reliability. Also wonder what MPG people are getting. Thanks!

outpost22 · 03-31-2018, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OlYeller

I'd like to hear anyone who has owned or driven these new entrants to US. Is the 5 cylinder Diesel a good engine? I have heard that CCW is reduced from larger chassis RVs but that is not a huge worry for me. More concerned with driveability and reliability. Also wonder what MPG people are getting. Thanks!

I can only give you minimal feedback. There is a local dealer who just took one in with 3000 miles on it. I sat in it (Thor) and leg room was good on both sides. The engine was very quiet at idle, but I declined to drive it as I didn't care for the Thor. I did however talk to the guy who transported it from Southern Cal to Oregon. He said it drove well, wasn't a dragster, but thought it was quite respectable in its performance.
This engine (from reading) is third generation over the last ten years in Europe. My concern is all the emission system added for the US market and how they will affect reliability/driveability and maintenance.
I do prefer an inline engine. It looks like it had some room around it to actually work on it if need be, unlike the Merc V6.

OlYeller · 03-31-2018, 11:01 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I suspect I won't get a lot of feedback as these are new here. I hadn't considered a diesel for my next RV before but this one intrigues me. I have had good luck with every Ford truck and RV I have owned so there is a level of trust there already. I too am concerned about the add on emissions stuff and how they effect the reliability and maintenance as the engine ages. I am not looking to take the RV to the local dragstrip even though I have some crazy car genes that have affected my judgement in the past LOL. I too probably wouldn't consider a Thor product but we have had good service from our previous Winnebago Aspect so I will probably consider the Winnie Fuse. I won't be making this decision for awhile so I have plenty of time to research.

kellylipp · 05-16-2018, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OlYeller

Thanks for the feedback. I suspect I won't get a lot of feedback as these are new here. I hadn't considered a diesel for my next RV before but this one intrigues me. I have had good luck with every Ford truck and RV I have owned so there is a level of trust there already. I too am concerned about the add on emissions stuff and how they effect the reliability and maintenance as the engine ages. I am not looking to take the RV to the local dragstrip even though I have some crazy car genes that have affected my judgement in the past LOL. I too probably wouldn't consider a Thor product but we have had good service from our previous Winnebago Aspect so I will probably consider the Winnie Fuse. I won't be making this decision for awhile so I have plenty of time to research.

Just put 1000 miles on our new LTV Wonder. Had over 16K miles on Sprinter based rig previously. Ford Transit out performs the MBZ in all facets. Looks like this can be a winner.

Sure hope so: next stop is Alaska!

OlYeller · 05-17-2018, 10:44 AM

Good to hear. I am on the Facebook Fuse group and learning a lot about Transit based RVs. Although there are lots of questions and comments about minor build quality issues, I haven't read much about the actual chassis and how it performs and holds up other than an occasional good report. I'm thinking that I will look a lot more into this chassis and manufacturers that build on it.

Congrats on going to Alaska. That is on my bucket list. For now, I'll live vicariously through you.

User1011 · 06-03-2018, 09:07 PM

We own the 2018 LTV Wonder FTB and love it. We find the Ford Transit better than the MBZ Sprinter. Ford Transit wheelbase is 178 inches...Sprinter is 170 inches; thus find the ride better. Handles well, getting 19-20 mpg. Service easier to obtain as Ford dealers everywhere.

OlYeller · 06-04-2018, 10:57 AM

Thanks! Good points.

oldsman41 · 02-11-2019, 02:20 PM

The transit is new to the states but have been used in Europe for about ten years very dependable and they dont mind b20 bio diesel. That in itself will be a good thing. Out west states and Minnesota and a few others dont have anything but b20 and Benz doesnt want to warrant their motors on using it. That being said i have a friend who expedites with a Benz and after warranty was up he uses anything he can buy in the state he hauls in, he carries extra fuel filter and changes the oil more often but the thing has 250 thousand on the odometer and hasn’t blown up yet. Now that being said he plans on going with the transit diesel when this one blows up because the engines are way cheaper for the transit. Guys in Europe say they get about 4-500 thousand before the transit motor is shot.

paddykern · 02-12-2019, 07:44 AM

Mike Wendland of https://rvlifestyle.com/ just took delivery of a LTV Wonder for a month trial.
They plan to have a YouTube walk through this Thursday (Probably more on the LTV than the Ford part).
His first impression was it was hard to get to the back of the camper from the from the front seats. The Sprinter MB was much better in that respect.
He has only driven it 1,200 miles in very bad weather so not sure of the rest of the details of differences.
So far (20,000 miles) I'm very happy with the MB Sprinter.

Harrysait · 02-14-2019, 09:30 AM

Mike Wedland took delivery as in borrowed for about 30 days!
We all would like that arrangement before buying!

kellylipp · 02-15-2019, 08:37 AM

Amen to drive it for free!

We have 14K miles on our Wonder FTB. Love it! Did 87 days on our AK trip. We owned a Unity MB before the Wonder. Yes, getting to the cab and out is a bit different but one has to get used to doing it in either cab.

We like to roominess of the Wonder vs the MB model. I love the Ford. Better acceleration and better handling and better fuel economy.

Bottom line: do not rule out a transit based Class B/C...

KanzKran · 02-15-2019, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellylipp

We like to roominess of the Wonder vs the MB model. I love the Ford. Better acceleration and better handling and better fuel economy.

Bottom line: do not rule out a transit based Class B/C...

I'm still waffling between the Coachmen Galleria 24Q and the Coachmen Crossfit 22C. The 22C lacks the second row seating, which we really want so we can leave the jack-knife couch open, and have the extra seating for family every so often.

But nobody makes a Transit based van with quad seating and a couch in the back, probably because only the cut-away is available with the longer wheelbase. The longest van has a 144" wheelbase and 22 ft LOA (178" WB for the longest cut-away), where the 24 ft Sprinter has the longer 170" wheelbase and a much higher GCWR.

I'd buy a Ford-based van in a New York minute if it had specs similar to the MB, and a gasoline engine (or the MB with a gasoline engine), or the 5-cylinder diesel for that matter, but there isn't one. And DW doesn't want the wide body B+, at least not yet.

So for now I'm still waffling between the two types and learning a lot from those who have either, especially the Ford since there aren't as many around.

flyRdrive · 02-17-2019, 12:35 PM

Watch out for the Ford GCWR ... The Benz rating is much higher ... I was impressed at a recent show with a new offering from Coachmen until I noticed the GCWR (really was thinking of buying) ... confirmed same with factory rep, who was there, that it won't tow much of anything ... Don't understand why, but it's in the specs.

theoldwizard · 02-17-2019, 03:46 PM

The Ford Transit 5 cylinder diesel has been used in the "rest of the world" for many years. It is solid, but I hear there is a new engine "in the works" (the British economy could delay it).

Comments about GCWR are correct. I don't know why.