Recreational Vehicles

While there are other types of RVs, in particular Class A motor homes and towable travel trailers, this page is primarily about Class B & Class C rigs, since that's what we're shopping for right now.

Class B RVs

Roadtrek

Roadtrek Zion

Built on a Dodge Ram chassis, gas engine, 20'9" length, no slides. Automatic 6-speed. GPS, SiriusXM, backup camera. Parking assist. King-size bed converts to 2 sofa banquettes (powered) w/table. Front wet bath. 200/300w solar panel. 2-burner propane stove or 1-burner inductive electric stovetop. Microwave oven. 5 cu ft refrigerator. Pantry. Instant hot water. Underbed storage. Swivel front seats w/table. MSRP $110K at Sunshine State RV.

Roadtrek Zion SRT

19'7" length, automatic 6-speed, Dodge Ram chassis, gas engine. Rear power sofa/queen-size bed. 1-burner inductive stovetop. 700w 0.7 cu ft microwave. Deep pot drawer, pantry. Front wet bath, outdoor shower. Awning. Generator, 300w solar panel. YouTube tour of the 2020 model from Advance Camping who list it for $98K.

Coachmen RV

Coachmen Nova RB

Dodge Ram chassis. 20' 11" length. Rear wet bath. 2 twin daybeds w/table, center aisle. Under-counter refrigerator & microwave, 1-burner induction stovetop. Swivel front seats. No place to put cat litter box.

Pleasure Way

OnTour 2.0

Built on the Ford Transit chassis, at 19'7" with a gas engine. Rear power sofa/bed & 2 jumpseats. Wetbath in center, but no sink. Telescoping & tilt steering wheel. Ford Sync3 GPS, etc. 1-burner induction stovetop, below-counter microwave,3.2 cu ft refrigerator. YouTube tour from Advance Camping in Milwaukee. Mfgr's site says 2,000W inverter for dual 100Amp LiIon batteries, with 200w solar panel. Auto-start Onan generator.

American Coach

Ford Patriot FD2

Built on Ford Transit chassis, 21' long. All electric, big solar (300W), no propane, no generator. 600 amp-hours LiIon batteries. Quietest a/c on the market. Convection/microwave oven. Rear power sofa. Will deliver free anywhere in the US! MSRP $120K.

Mercedes Patriot MD2 Lounge

Like the Ford Patriot, but on a Mercedes Turbo V6 diesel chassis, slightly longer at 24 ft 3 in., with a loft bed. Includes LPG generator, 100w solar panel.

Winnebago

Solis 59P

19'9", on Dodge V6 (gas) chassis. Pop-up camper sleeps 4. Murphy+twin bed in rear & loft bunk. No oven, but 2-burner glass-top range, under-counter refrigerator. Wet bath with cassette toilet, but no sink. Showerhead on handheld wand. Small cabinet to keep toilet paper dry, nice touch. Cassette is removed from outside to empty, and includes handle & wheels in case needs to be moved. Brackets built in to walls to convert to shelving. 220w solar panel & controller. Outside shower. Connection for additional solar panel. Inverter not included, but optional. No generator. 12v compressor refrigerator faces front next to patio door. Eco-hot tankless water heater. Considered a 4-season camper since all waterlines are inside. YouTube video tour from Beckly's Camping Center. No A/C??? That's a show-stopper in Texas. There's a/c on the dashboard, but not in the living area. Also, no LiIon batteries. Too much cost-cutting for me.

Erwin Hymer Group North America

• Builds Carado RVs
• Also parent company of RoadTrek, apparently

Carado RV

Carado Banff

Built on Dodge RAM chassis, 19'6". Convertible dual twins or king-sized bed. Rear wet-dry bath. A/C. Optional 200w solar panels & 400w LiIon batteries, etc. Optional generator. 2-burner propane stovetop, 3.1 cu ft refrigerator, 700w microwave. 6-gal. propane water heater. Used 2018 model $70K at Beckley's Camping Center in Thurmont, MD.

Carado Axion

17'9", on gas Dodge RAM V6 chassis. Convertible couch makes up into single or double bed (double takes up entire width of coach next to galley). Front pop-up table for swivel driver/passenger seats & couch. Rear wetbath w/ drop-down sink. Microwave, 2-burner LPG stovetop, 3.1 cu ft refrigerator. 200w solar panels, LiIon batteries, inverter. A/C & furnace.

Class C RVs

Coachmen RV

2019 Coachmen Crossfit 22C

Used, at VogtRV in Ft. Worth. 22' 2" length. Front wet bath, rear power sofa/bed. Ford Transit chassis, gas engine. 6 cu ft refrigerator, 1-burner induction stovetop. Generator, 100w solar panel.

Truck Campers

NuCamp Cirrus 620

Fits a short-bed, 1/2 ton pickup truck

Travel Trailers

My Nissan Frontier Crew Cab has maximum towing capacity of 6300 lbs, which is more than adequate for these small trailers.

KZ Sportsmen Classic 160QB

Small enough to tow with the Nissan Frontier, big enough for comfort, cheap enough for me to afford at $16,988

KZ Sportsmen Classic 170MB

The same size as the 160QB, but with a Murphy bed/couch instead of a queen bed, and slightly different configuration. The bathroom is slightly larger with the wardrobe inside it, and the door is closer to the front than in the other trailer. This is my preferred model. The salesman at San Antonio RVs is looking up the price & availability for me since they don't have this model in stock. The gross weight is 3500 lbs.

KZ Escape Hatch E17

A bit more expensive, not sure the hatch back is a good idea with cats, otherwise really nice. Fiberglass construction vs wood. It is also more expensive than the Sportsmen Classic.

Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup 16FQ

Same price as the Sportsmen Classic 160QB and almost the same configuration, but has a Murphy bed. I'm not thrilled with the black & tan decor, but could live with it.

The one the salesman showed me is actually the 16FQBL (Black Label), which has a few extras, and is a couple of $K more than the plain old 16FQ. Perhaps the most significant difference is the fiberglass exterior, vs aluminum. It does come with a 50W solar panel, which is hardly enough to sneeze at, but at least would mean that the rig is prewired for solar, so more panels might be added, along with more batteries, etc. I'd add at least 150W more to be practical for drydocking, and preferably up to 400W. It does not have a port for a portable solar panel, unfortunately (unless it's on the roof, which would be pretty useless for me), but it's possible that one could be added by the dealer. Portable panels are not all that expensive, but having the controller & batteries to match could be. With 400W, I could run the a/c and microwave as well as the 12V refrigerator. It does have a good-sized refrigerator with separate freezer, but instead of 110/12v/propane switchable power like many have, it is 12 volt only. I don't know how much of a limitation that would be, but does make me more interested in increasing the solar power system. As for the dark cabinets, they can be painted. They are solid wood, not laminate or anything like that, so doing that would not be too complicated. I also had the idea of hanging a curtain behind the sofa to hide the Murphy bed and add a bit of color that way. Also preinstalled is a backup camera that comes with a wireless monitor for the towing vehicle.

Here is a 360° view of the model I saw today.

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