Community Forums

Wayneey · 01-21-2018, 07:31 PM

Being curious, I was interested to see if there was any measurable weight advantage by using a Truma water heater versus a 6 gallon Atwood or Suburban.

Looking up the empty weights of each unit I came up with a 34 lb to 46 lb weight advantage of a Truma versus an Atwood or Suburban. The .35 gallon figure was listed on the Truma website and I'm interpreting that to be the amount of water it uses for re-circulation.

I was wondering if anyone else has looked at this and can do a sanity check on my figures ... thanks!!

Wayne

Winterbagoal · 01-21-2018, 08:18 PM

As far as your figures go, I think they're accurate in terms of the difference in the weight of the water present in each type of heater, with the Truma AquaGo Comfort Plus having the 50 lb weight advantage over a typical 6 gallon tanked model. If your research on the dry weights is correct, then the weight advantage is measurable.
Based on the expectation that what you've discovered was probably true, I decided to use the 6 gallons at 8.3lbs per gallon number, to reduce the overall weight of our new Navion 24V. We ordered it with the optional tankless heater.

If you're looking for other ways to reduce your weight, I asked WGO CS, and the engineering guys said the cab over bunk adds about 120 lbs over a View/Navion without. Also added the lighter aluminum wheels, and stayed with the propane generator which is supposed to be lighter than the diesel. We looked at the 24G as an option, but the bedroom slide might have added extra weight, as slides seem to do, so we went with the 24V.

Old-Biscuit · 01-21-2018, 08:23 PM

Are the DRY weighs THAT close to GVWR that one needs to 'pinch' a few pounds here/there

Guess that means no water in fresh water tank while traveling either

Winterbagoal · 01-21-2018, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Are the DRY weighs THAT close to GVWR that one needs to 'pinch' a few pounds here/there

Guess that means no water in fresh water tank while traveling either

Arguably, the main downside to the class C houses built on the MB Sprinter chassis is the OCCC. Some upfitters have found ways to reduce the overall weight, often using lighter weight furniture components, and using aluminum structural components wherever possible, but they still use up a lot of the cargo capacity of the base chassis.
So, every little bit of weight that can be shed by running drier, or choosing factory options that reduce the weight of typical standard equipment, helps.

No, we will not be running with dry tanks, because we've tried to choose some options that will create enough excess CCC to run with them full.

Wayneey · 01-21-2018, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

If you're looking for other ways to reduce your weight, I asked WGO CS, and the engineering guys said the cab over bunk adds about 120 lbs over a View/Navion without. Also added the lighter aluminum wheels, and stayed with the propane generator which is supposed to be lighter than the diesel. We looked at the 24G as an option, but the bedroom slide might have added extra weight, as slides seem to do, so we went with the 24V.

Originally I was going to go without the cab over bed to save the weight but after more consideration having the extra sleeping position won out. I also chose the aluminum wheels (which Winnebago told me were on all six wheels), Truma water heater, and stayed with the propane generator.

The one option I could not determine weigh comparisons on was the acrylic windows versus the standard glass. I stayed with the standard glass as I thought the acrylic windows might tend to scratch over time.

Substituting the Norcold compressor refrigerator for the absorption equivalent looks to be a wash, within +/- 10 lbs.

BTW, I chose the 24J corner bed floor plan, hope to have an order placed by the end of this coming week.

Wayne

Winterbagoal · 01-21-2018, 10:32 PM

We went with the acrylic Euro style (double pane) windows, but I have no idea what the weight difference might be between them and the standard glass ones. Some suggest the double pane windows will eventually leak and discolor due to vibration, but I have never seen any in that condition. We were concerned about late fall, cold weather camping, and decided the insulation factor was worth the added weight, if any. They probably weigh more than glass single pane. We also added the Froli bed system, and again I have no idea how heavy a bunch of little interlocked Ninja throwing stars will be, but they look to be made of plastic, so I hope not much.
If need be, we'll run light on water to reduce travel weight, but I'd rather not, if possible. We'll see, I guess, when it gets here. Still waiting for it. Supposed to be problems getting Sprinter chassis to Winnebago from MB Germany, or some such nonsense. No idea if that's the actual reason for the backlog building them. I prefer to think that they have become so popular, after comparing them to the rest of the class C options, that everyone wants one now.

Wayneey · 01-22-2018, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

Still waiting for it. Supposed to be problems getting Sprinter chassis to Winnebago from MB Germany, or some such nonsense. No idea if that's the actual reason for the backlog building them. I prefer to think that they have become so popular, after comparing them to the rest of the class C options, that everyone wants one now.

A friend factory ordered a 2018 Navion 24J at the end of November and was given "a date" of 2/2/18. It wasn't clear if that was the date the coach comes off the assembly line, ship date to the dealer, or arrival at the dealer. Either way, that's fairly quick, more so if Winnebago had a factory shutdown over the holidays.

Wayne

Winterbagoal · 01-22-2018, 10:31 AM

We ordered ours (from Canada) back near end of October, and were told maybe March. Apparently there's a difference in the US/Canadian chassis for those wishing to order a new unit. Again, our dealer told us they were having problems getting the "Canadian chassis" from Germany to Forest City, IA. We were surprised it takes so long to process an order, but it takes as long as it takes, I guess. I'm now wondering if we'll get a 2018 Navion on a 2018 MB Sprinter cab cutaway chassis, instead of the usual 2018 Navion on the prior year chassis?

Mike.

Winterbagoal · 01-23-2018, 07:04 PM

Two things learned in last 24 hours.
Number one, I changed my opinion on generators, and have opted for the diesel over propane. Based on comparative fuel cost, consumption rates, availability of either fuel, and some other factors, including ease (but not cost) of service. Costs more, but I think it will work better for us long term.
Number two, got the build date and delivery date of our unit. First week in March build begins and mid-March will be our new coach's arrival, give or take.

Wayneey · 01-24-2018, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

Number two, got the build date and delivery date of our unit. First week in March build begins and mid-March will be our new coach's arrival, give or take.

That's great news Mike! The actual build cycle should be about a week; if you ordered the full body paint it would be about another week. I wonder what the difference in the chassis's are between the U.S. and Canada that make the availability longer.

Yesterday I got the ball rolling with a deposit on a 24J and will finalize the order tomorrow at which point the dealer will submit it to Winnebago. Based on a decent trade in allowance, I'm going to do a pre-trade and turn my Tiffin over to the dealer sometime next week. The dealer estimated an 8-10 week delivery after checking with the factory. I'll be rv-less for that time and that's okay. Might be time for an old fashioned road trip with the car and hotels.

While I'm at the dealer's tomorrow, I'm going to take a close look at the optional "Infotainment Center". It's not on the order now and tomorrow's pretty much that last time to change anything although it looks like you were able to get in a last minute change.

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information on what's different between the standard Radio/DVD/CD/Backup Camera and the the optional unit, other than the screen size and Rand McNally GPS software, of which I'm not really a fan. At the list price of the option, I would expect it to do some pretty special things ...

Wayne

Winterbagoal · 01-24-2018, 07:00 PM

We did order the full body paint. We mixed a Sandstone exterior (least amount of bands of that loud bright white) as a sort of soft earth tone, with a Zinc and Aosta Cherry/Canvas interior, a little harsher perhaps with a more metallic feel.

Speaking of being RV-less, we traded our Sunstar in back in October to maximize the trade-in value, and it did. The down side has been a little nagging winter cabin fever. We were planning on being somewhere warmer this winter but the sudden shift in motorhome requirements ended that plan. We'll probably do some short local trips across the river in Michigan between delivery date and next Fall, when we'll probably do a Utah NP run, via Texas/Gulf Coast, with maybe a Nevada/Arizona recon mission looking for winter hideouts for the Jan-Mar 2019 timeframe.
We're really looking forward to it.

I have no idea what the differences are between the US and Canadian chassi, but it might be metric dominant gauges, DRL (required up here), and God knows what else. It's $6,000 hit for it. Someone in an "importing a motorhome from the US" thread tried to explain the differences, but it was all dealer speak, and sounded almost shady.
I asked Winnebago CustServ this morning about an updated MB service center list, but the don't have one. Recommended the MB website locator.
So I asked the big question about what year chassis I would be getting this late in the build cycle and they said it would be a 2018 Sprinter chassis under a 2018 Navion. Good or bad, at least I know which Sprinter Owner's Manual to download if they ever get one up on the MB website. I think it might come with LED headlights, instead of the Zenon ones, but that's off some non-MB website that I stumbled upon a while back.

Good luck on your order and I hope you don't have to wait the 6 months we're doing. It is really hard considering we haven't been without a motorhome in the last decade.

Maybe we'll run into each other at some rally or something, although we're not rally people, typically. We would more likely shadow one of the WIT Club caravans to Alaska or somewhere else cool.

Take care.