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Old 01-16-2019, 08:47 AM   #1
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High mile recent vs low mile old

We've decided on a Class B to use more like a travel van than a long-term home away from home. It's the largest DW feels comfortable with, at least at this point, and there is a need to keep it plain vanilla looking due to certain town restrictions on RVs in the driveway when we visit family (you actually have to call the police and tell them you'll be parking one for a day or two to load up for a trip). She doesn't even want an awning, or antennas on the roof. An A/C unit up there is about it.

There aren't a lot of choices in used units, but I've come across a few that might be viable for us. For similar money, I've seen a 10 year old Midwest (Sprinter) with only 22k miles, and an Airstream Interstate (also Sprinter) with 60-80k miles but only about 6 years old.

I'm already a bit nervous about maintenance and repair, being it's the MB or previous generations with MB badging, but I don't consider 60-80k miles excessive for a diesel engine. I've also seen statements to the effect that a quality vehicle with higher mileage and/or older vintage is likely to be better in the long run than a cheaper brand with fewer miles.

I'm also not clear on how someone can rack up 60-80k in 5 or 6 years.

I can't find much useful info in a search, so maybe some input from the braintrust would help. Any opinions? Is the Airstream really that much better (chassis notwithstanding) given its higher initial cost? I don't want the first step to be a misstep - that won't help with our (ok, my) longer term plans.
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Old 01-16-2019, 09:36 AM   #2
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I'm also not clear on how someone can rack up 60-80k in 5 or 6 years.
It's quite simple...they used the MH it was intended to be used...as a travel vehicle to explore the country.

At the other end of the scale there are some who buy them to sit in manicured RV parks like queens where they have to meet a certain criteria like age and appearance or they are poo poo...much like your family's neighborhood. Road grime and bugs on a motorhome? Perish the thought.

Personally I would rather buy a motorhome (a vehicle) that's been taken care of and exercised regularly than one that just sat most of its life and dusted more than driven.
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Old 01-16-2019, 09:50 AM   #3
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60-80,000 miles which is it thats quite a range
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Old 01-16-2019, 09:59 AM   #4
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60-80,000 miles which is it thats quite a range
60,000-80,000 miles.
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Old 01-16-2019, 10:08 AM   #5
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I'm also not clear on how someone can rack up 60-80k in 5 or 6 years.

We bought our 2017 Sprinter in Feb 2018. Right now, we will be returning from a Christmas road trip and need to get our 20K mile Schedule A when we get back. Wife has also planned a trip up the Blue Ridge parkway in late summer with maybe a quick run to Maine.



Sprinters are fun to drive and comfortable to camp in with longer stays. We just spent 3 weeks at the beach in Morro Bay, CA.
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Old 01-16-2019, 11:04 AM   #6
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It's quite simple...they used the MH it was intended to be used...as a travel vehicle to explore the country.

At the other end of the scale there are some who buy them to sit in manicured RV parks like queens where they have to meet a certain criteria like age and appearance or they are poo poo...much like your family's neighborhood. Road grime and bugs on a motorhome? Perish the thought.

Personally I would rather buy a motorhome (a vehicle) that's been taken care of and exercised regularly than one that just sat most of its life and dusted more than driven.
X2. Class/Type B vans are best at touring, less functional as home base due to size. Which floor plan do you prefer, and does everything still work, should be your questions, assuming you plan on doing some touring? If you want to just go to one place and stay for a while, it can be done, but something larger might work better.

B van conversions do tend to hold their value better than the other classes, except maybe the extreme top end stuff. You might sell it for close to what you pay, after a couple of years of use.
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Old 01-16-2019, 11:25 AM   #7
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X2. Class/Type B vans are best at touring, less functional as home base due to size. Which floor plan to you prefer, and does everything still work, should be your questions, assuming you plan on doing some touring? If you want to just go to one place and stay for a while, it can be done, but something larger might work better.

B van conversions do tend to hold their value better than the other classes, except maybe the extreme top end stuff. You might sell it for close to what you pay, after a couple of years of use.
Yes, the intention is to drive many thousands of miles, but stay with friends or relatives at the other end typically, with the odd overnight in a Cracker Barrel or RV park or National Park or whatever as the need arises. Very small galley and very small head. And must not look like an RV to whatever degree is possible, which is why I mentioned no awning. We wouldn't need one on this unit anyway, as it's really not intended for boondocking and hanging out. I'm going to work up to that, but DW will need some convincing. In due time . . .

Internal arrangement would be (ideally) swivel driver/passenger seats plus one more in the next row, plus jack-knife sofa in the back for when we need to take family members somewhere, though it would likely just be left as a bed otherwise. No slides - neither want nor need the complexity and loss of internal space when closed like the Winnebago Era with the Murphy bed. The 70B would be ideal with seating for 6, though the 70X would be ok too with seating for 7.

The Airstream Interstate GT Tommy Bahama is also a good layout and is similar to the 70B, and there are others with similar floor plans and seating capacity.

But I'm mostly looking for input into older vs younger, high-end (Airstream) vs middle of the road (Winnebago and most others), and how high miles might impact value. Obviously, a 10 year old unit, even with low miles, may require hose/belt replacement and possibly tire replacement if they're original before going anywhere. But high miles may necessitate engine work like timing belt/chain, or valve adjustment, or who knows what. This pertains to the Sprinter mainly, as I just don't see any Transit vans with similar specs out there.
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Old 01-16-2019, 03:13 PM   #8
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If the low-mileage 10 year old unit is pre-BlueTec I'd consider it before the newer one. The 5 cylinder was very reliable and runs on substandard diesel without issues.

But, as others have said it's all about the floorplan/layout. We have modified our 210 so it works for us, however I'm going to build our next class B to suit us even more.

BTW, we bought our 2006 Roadtrek in 2016 with 32K miles, it now has 76K miles. It's easy to rack up the miles in these class B's!
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Old 01-16-2019, 03:51 PM   #9
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But I'm mostly looking for input into older vs younger, high-end (Airstream) vs middle of the road (Winnebago and most others), and how high miles might impact value. Obviously, a 10 year old unit, even with low miles, may require hose/belt replacement and possibly tire replacement if they're original before going anywhere. But high miles may necessitate engine work like timing belt/chain, or valve adjustment, or who knows what. This pertains to the Sprinter mainly, as I just don't see any Transit vans with similar specs out there.
I think your comments are saying you already have the answers to your question. An older unit, out of warranty, is always a gamble. Even if you get a specialist to look it over thoroughly, things get missed, and sometimes they're expensive. If the budget is too tight for belts/hoses/tires, it's going to be that way no matter which one you buy. The money you save by buying older (skip the depreciation?) can be used to take care of the slightly more expensive repairs you've mentioned. Your risk/reward is probably about the same with either of the units you've described.
btw, I own a Winnebago, and it's a very nice coach. You won't find much difference between an ERA and an Interstate quality-wise, if the year and floor plans are also equal. The Sprinter chassis are (almost) all made in the same factory, if the chassis mechanicals are your main concern.
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Old 01-16-2019, 04:23 PM   #10
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btw, I own a Winnebago, and it's a very nice coach. You won't find much difference between an ERA and an Interstate quality-wise, if the year and floor plans are also equal. The Sprinter chassis are (almost) all made in the same factory, if the chassis mechanicals are your main concern.
I almost didn’t comment on quality levels, as I’m just going by the MSRP, which is substantially higher on the Airstreams, which seems typical even of their trailers.

As a first coach, I’m inclined to spend a little less and work my way up, even if it’s not the most efficient way to do it, but I just can’t see spending six figures on what’s basically a van. But I also don’t want to buy a ‘bargain’ that has one foot in the grave and then spend the difference bringing it back from the edge, as you cautioned.
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Old 01-16-2019, 04:40 PM   #11
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Not in all situations is low mileage bad- last spring I came across a 2000 Forest River with 28,000 miles and really didn't give it a second look till few weeks later I came across it again, the thing that I really liked was it had Hyd jacks which most Class C MH don't have, anyhow I called to get more info since it was 500 miles away, well it was used almost every other week but the group they camped with went between 3 different camp grounds which where all with in 100 miles from home so mileage was low but the unit was super clean and well taken care of except for the older tires which was negotiated in the price so it pays to get all the info on the unit



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Old 01-17-2019, 03:30 PM   #12
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10 years ago there were fewer Class B manufacturers. You should consider expanding your search to include Pleasure Way, Leisure Travel Vans, Roadtrek and Great West. Great West is out of business, but the other 3 are widely available. Maybe also consider Sportsmobile.
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Old 01-17-2019, 03:58 PM   #13
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10 years ago there were fewer Class B manufacturers. You should consider expanding your search to include Pleasure Way, Leisure Travel Vans, Roadtrek and Great West. Great West is out of business, but the other 3 are widely available. Maybe also consider Sportsmobile.
Thanks for the suggestions. My list so far includes:

Coachmen 24FL, 24T/24ST, and 24Q/24SQ (5, 6, and 7 seat in order)

Airstream Interstate EXT Lounge (7 seat)

Winnebago ERA 170B, ERA 170X (6 and 7 seat in order) [The 170M Murphy bed unit is too tight inside with the slide closed]

Roadtrek RS Adventurous (6 or 7 seat)

All have a jack knife couch in the rear, which I can leave made up as a bed until I need the extra seating for family members, including car seats for small ones.

I'll look into those other brands and add them to the list. So far, it looks like I may have to spend a little more to get lower mileage and more recent vintage. Used ones sure are expensive, even with high miles.
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Old 01-17-2019, 04:40 PM   #14
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Thanks for the suggestions. My list so far includes:

Coachmen 24FL, 24T/24ST, and 24Q/24SQ (5, 6, and 7 seat in order)

Airstream Interstate EXT Lounge (7 seat)

Winnebago ERA 170B, ERA 170X (6 and 7 seat in order) [The 170M Murphy bed unit is too tight inside with the slide closed]

Roadtrek RS Adventurous (6 or 7 seat)

All have a jack knife couch in the rear, which I can leave made up as a bed until I need the extra seating for family members, including car seats for small ones.

I'll look into those other brands and add them to the list. So far, it looks like I may have to spend a little more to get lower mileage and more recent vintage. Used ones sure are expensive, even with high miles.
I notice your seating comments, and I'm wondering how much humanity, in pounds, are you planning on hauling around with you? Also, you'll need to make sure the various seating positions are seatbelted, to be legal. My 2002 Roadtrek C190P had seating for at least 6, belted. However, the weight of that many humans would have exceeded the GVWR of the chassis, making it dangerous to do.
Just thought I'd mention it, in case the cargo/OCCC capacity of your options will figure into your decision making process.
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