Winnebago EKKO

[AJMike]

I just got some email from Lichtsinn's about the new Winnie Ekko and that sent me to the Winnebago website to take a look at the specs. They apparently have decided to keep at least one model on the Transit chassis, although as a gas rather than diesel, but the truly interesting thing is that it comes with 455 watts of solar as standard, a 2000 watt inverter and 315 AH Lithium battery (or batteries?). There is also an option for adding another 315 AH of battery power. All of this is on an AWD chassis and the adds show this thing in snow with some information about the water lines being inside the coach so as to prevent freezing.

I don't know how the batteries are configured - 3 105 AH batteries or 1 315 AH and I am a bit curious, but this makes me wonder if solar is going to be the new thrust of coming RV releases.

That much battery power seems to make it possible to actually run the AC on the batteries, although the floor plan places the AC right above the bed so I don't think anyone could actually sleep with them running.

[Winterbagoal]

Not a fan of the wet bath in the 22A model.
I heard a comment about deleting the 2800i gas generator, if you upgrade to lithium batteries?
I'd like the 24C floorplan better if the galley appliances weren't on the slide. I don't trust slides.
The removable propane tanks aren't much of a help, if the chassis and engine are too lightweight to pull a reasonable amount of towed. I'm not going to walk to the propane dealer carrying a tank.
I'm not sure 11K GVWR and 15K GCWR are going to work that much better than their prior iterations.
I don't mind the Euro-styled color scheme. It's a prototype, but I'd still buy it with that look.
AWD is nice, too.
Sheltered tanks and water lines would certainly be great for the winter camper.
The EcoBoost V6 is probably going to be screaming to produce the HP/Torque numbers, so effective cab sound insulation will be a must.
Overall, it might be doable. Need the 24C price all decked out.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

Not a fan of the wet bath in the 22A model.
I heard a comment about deleting the 2800i gas generator, if you upgrade to lithium batteries?
I'd like the 24C floorplan better if the galley appliances weren't on the slide. I don't trust slides.
The removable propane tanks aren't much of a help, if the chassis and engine are too lightweight to pull a reasonable amount of towed. I'm not going to walk to the propane dealer carrying a tank.
I'm not sure 11K GVWR and 15K GCWR are going to work that much better than their prior iterations.
I don't mind the Euro-styled color scheme. It's a prototype, but I'd still buy it with that look.
AWD is nice, too.
Sheltered tanks and water lines would certainly be great for the winter camper.
The EcoBoost V6 is probably going to be screaming to produce the HP/Torque numbers, so effective cab sound insulation will be a must.
Overall, it might be doable. Need the 24C price all decked out.

Lithium batteries appear to be standard. It is an option to double their size, presumably by adding 3 more batteries, and I assume they take up the space the generator would be using since opting for them requires loss of the generator.

I like the twin beds, and the separate bathroom but can not live with the AC unit being right over the beds as trying to sleep with an overhead AC unit in an RV is akin to trying to sleep under a running jet engine. I simply can't do it, and I have tried since our old RV had that setup.

4000 pounds of tow weight would be enough for us as it would allow us to flat-tow a Jeep, but the max tow weight of our Fuse is only about 3200 pounds, a bit more because we travel lighter than we might.

I am curious about the gas engine - its power and fuel economy - but would not expect it to be able to keep up with the diesel in our Fuse in terms of power, climbing ability and especially fuel economy. We get about 17-20 traveling without a toad and about 15-16 towing our Honda Fit on a dolly.

I like the floor plan (other than the overhead AC unit) and would not mind the slide although my wife would rather not have a slide. As for myself, while I don't mind a slide I don't much like having to extend it to be able to sleep as I have to do with the Fuse, and that is one thing I really like about the A and C floor plans - both are twin bed and it is easy to camp without extending the slide.

One difference I noticed between the floor plans is that the A is about 2 feet shorter than the C. The black water tank is a bit small. I have mixed feeling about AWD as I am not sure that I see the reason for it. I, for one, would not want to be traveling in snow or ice so I don't know that I really see the reason for it and my wife does not want to be camping if the temperatures are low enough for snow. Yes, it would be nice in rain as well, but it is just one more drain on fuel economy and would not seem to have any plus side where we live or travel.

On the other hand having 315AH of battery power (or 630 with the upgrade) would be very nice. We now have 400 watts of solar and I expect to upgrade that to 500 in the next year or so if we find that we need it so the 455 watts of solar in the Ekko does not seem like so much to me.

[Winterbagoal]

It's definitely designed as an all season camper.
My Wrangler would probably be too heavy to pull with the Transit/EcoBoost combo, and those weight numbers, so it wouldn't work for us in that respect.
I wasn't sure about the lithium base numbers. You think it comes with 315Ah, and doubling it deletes the generator? I could live with 315Ah easily. I like the 455 solar up top, and the 2KW inverter. I'd choose to keep the 2800i Onan. They are actually quiet.
Isn't the AWD "on demand"? If it is, it can't be that much worse on fuel than our Wrangler's 4X4 when not in use. You can see it, but it's easy to ignore, and if you need it, it's nice to have.
The EcoBoost numbers look good on paper, like the old V10 numbers in the bigger boxes, but you have to wear hearing protection to use it at the RPMs required.
I'm thinking add a towed, lose the fuel economy, too. You and I both currently have diesels that can do both, if necessary. (You could pull a Honda Fit or a Smart4Two if you wanted to). We pull a 4500lb Wrangler with ease. Costs us about 2mpg, 15mpg without, 13mpg with a towed.

It's probably going to appeal to the cold weather crowd (skiers/snowboarders/ice fishers/hunters/snowmobilers/etc.) and it has some nice features, but I'd like to see the finished product, and the pricing.

[creativepart]

Mike... the AC is Ducted. So, it's not a problem being above the beds.

Here's a great video - YouTuber's the Fit RV, James and Steph, have been Travato owners for a few years and were looking for a new RV and had a strict list of requirements. They've picked the EKKO - but it should be said that they are sponsored by WBGO, so it's not really a surprise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vl-x6dot-8

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Mike... the AC is Ducted. So, it's not a problem being above the beds.

Ah, yes. That would make a huge difference. I did not see that in any of the photos on the Winnebago website and it did not seem like the RV was tall enough (at 10' 6") to allow for ducting. Thanks for letting me know.

I had promised myself that the next time I bought an RV it would have ducted AC but DW was so interested in the Fuse (which does not have ducted AC) that I thought "Next time for sure!)

Originally Posted by creativepart

Here's a great video - YouTuber's the Fit RV, James and Steph, have been Travato owners for a few years and were looking for a new RV and had a strict list of requirements. They've picked the EKKO - but it should be said that they are sponsored by WBGO, so it's not really a surprise.

Thanks. I'll take a look.