Regular readers of this blog are probably wondering how our downsizing experiment is going. In a nutshell: not so well. In fact, we’re now talking about doing the exact opposite: selling everything and going full time in a large diesel pusher. I know, I know, we just sold a perfectly good 41’ motorhome! To be fair, it’s not all bad, there are many things to like about a smaller RV. The obvious is the fuel economy, which is around 13.6 mpg flat towing a ~3200 pound car. Other owners claim 15-16 mpg is possible with no toad, and I completely believe it. Compare that with 7.3 mpg on our Dutch Star towing a 5000 pound Jeep. The trade off is more frequent fuel stops due to a range of 360 miles (26.4 gallon tank) vs. a range of 730 miles (100 gallon tank) in the class A.
Our prior 41′ Dutch Star motorhome
Our 25′ Navion
I’m pleasantly surprised by how well this Mercedes Sprinter based class C motorhome drives. No, it’s not as well planted and wind-immune as a 38,000 pound tag axle pusher, but it’s perfectly fine. The power deficit is noticeable, but not annoying. The caveat being we’ve yet to climb any really long and steep mountain grades, but going up Raton Pass, New Mexico on I-25 was acceptable. I’m also pleased with the lack of engine noise, a serious concern given our first RV, a front engine based, V10 gas class A. I was hoping the lower revs of a diesel would quell engine noise, and that seems to be the case. And of course maneuvering and parking a 25’ class C is a snap compared to a 41’ class A.
An external storage bay in the Navion easily holds 6 good size storage bins
Winnebago did an excellent of providing both numerous and large storage areas in such a small space. The interior cabinets and drawers hold a surprising amount of stuff, and stay shut while driving. Likewise, the exterior cargo bays offer good storage capacity, but having the hinge on the top vs. on the side means more bending to retrieve items. The powered awning runs the full length of the coach, not something you find on all class C’s.
Powered awning runs the length of the coach
Cabinets over the bed provide ample storage for clothing
Clothing and other storage above the bed
Another area the designers focused on is lighting. Full LED lights are standard, as is the ability is completely light almost any area of the motorhome. The exception is the cab area is noticeably absent of any lighting, save the dome lights over the driver and passenger seats, but those drain the chassis battery. Overall the lighting lends a premium feel to the coach.
The downsides? Some expected and some unexpected. The expected is the lack of room. In theory I was ok with this trade off, now I’m not so sure. Taking a shower in this thing is a challenge in spacial dynamics: two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, and I occupy the entire shower without moving. Here’s what happens when I drop the soap: I turn off the water, open the curtain, step out, retrieve the soap from the shower floor, and then reverse this process to continue my ablution. As my Dad pointed out, soap-on-a-rope could solve this.
What else? I’m always hitting things with my elbows. It’s been almost 3 weeks now and I guess adjusting to new surroundings is not in my nature, as the beatings to both flesh and Winnebago continue unabated. I don’t really fit lengthwise in the bed. I knew this when purchasing, but figured I could live with sleeping diagonally and dangling my feet off the corner. I was wrong.
The unexpected: no stabilizer jacks means this thing’s a rockin’. At times in strong winds I begin to feel seasick. Just walking around produces shaking sufficient to bang the curtain rods against the wall. Many users add stabilizer jacks, but that’s frankly not possible if you intend to stay within the listed GVWR, which you legally must.
Speaking of staying within the GVWR, we’re forced to put all extra weight over the paltry 1269 pound cargo carrying capacity into our tow car, requiring moving all that stuff back into the motorhome at each campground. It actually takes longer to set up (and tear down) this 25’ motorhome than our 41’ motorhome. That was unexpected. I guess these units are not aimed at people spending 1 month on the road with varying weather conditions (and therefore a variety of clothes and hiking gear). If you just went for a week in the summer you may make the weight work.
We use the area over the cab for storage while parked at a campground
The lack of insulation was also unexpected. As I sit here writing this it’s a pleasant 80 F outside, but in full sun the AC struggles to keep an inside temperature of 75 F. Once the target temp is reached and the unit shuts off, you can literally feel the inside heat up within a minute or two. Another minute or two later and the AC is back on. The other downside of little insulation is significant noise intrusion from the outside (including the ever running AC). It’s rarely quiet in here.
While Winnebago made so many great design decisions, there is one that baffles me: the chassis battery is only charged when the engine is running. So even though a solar panel is included on the roof and is easily capable of charging the battery, it doesn’t. Likewise when you’re plugged into shore power the battery doesn’t charge. If you’re staying at a campground for a few months, I guess every few weeks you unplug the coach and go drive around just to keep the battery charged. Doesn’t that seem odd for an RV with an MSRP of $127,000?
