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Originally Posted by Boale
We were in the same predicament but decide to go a different route if your not locked in to a View. The Minnie Winnie 22M on the e450 Frame. Much less expensive and handles like a HD truck. No highway wobble or exit ramp lean, etc. Massive weight capacity of #4500. Easy to have serviced and easy to find gas (87 Octane works great). 56gal. gas tank with gas generator. Much larger propane tank at 18g.
The RV sips propane while running heat, refrigerator and water heater. Really nice fold out queen with the small slide. We added 510 watts of solar and 220 amps of GC AGM batteries and will need to refill our water and empty out our holding tanks boondocking before I need to worry about recharging my batteries. Very happy campers we skipped the MB View.
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D'OH!
Now we must sell our View and buy a Minnie Winnie 22M on the e450 Frame.
It sounds like you are happy, that's the main thing. RVs are all about compromise. You make good points about GVWR and OCCC, as well as ease of service.
Actually, the LP tank in our View is 18 gallons also. That was standard until 2010 or 2011. I imagine almost all RVs use about the same amount of propane for heat/fridge/water heater, all else equal (same size coach, same amount of hot water, etc.) because they have similar appliances.
The V/N does not have 'highway wobble or exit ramp lean'. In fact, the lean on curves -- at or even slightly above the "advisory speed" (yellow/black signs) -- is modest, and I'm used to driving a modified and lowered Subaru WRX.
The V/N definitely DOES have severe rocking when turning out of parking lots, or going over a diagonal speed bump. It is ridiculous. Like many owners, we've modified the suspension to try and minimize it: Hellwig anti-sway bar; Firestone air bags (already installed when we bought it); "Sumo Springs" up front; and Koni FSD dampers on all 4 corners. All of that helps, but the rocking is still there (to a lesser extent).
The rocking is not nearly as big of an issue as some owners make it out to be though. 99.8% of the time RVers are just driving down the road, *not* turning out of parking lots. It's a "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" situation. It's not worth obsessing over.
Another disadvantage of the Sprinter chassis is that it is over-engineered. There are many things that can cause it to go into "limp home mode" (LHM). Some are serious and legit, others not. A problem we ran into (not related to LHM) was an intermittent "no click, no start" with no CEL. It turned out to be 3/6 glow plugs bad. I can understand it cranking but having a hard time starting (which it didn't) with only 3 good glow plugs, but not even turning over?! As far as I know, almost all diesel engines will at east *try* to start, even with no/0 working glow plugs. Sigh...
The Sprinter quirks aside, it is a good chassis and will run for hundreds of thousands of miles. The ride is very good, the handling is decent, the turning radius is reasonable, there is no "dog box" (engine cover) sticking into the cab area, the view out is great, the seats are very comfortable, it is quiet, -- even the stock speakers are very good. In all honesty, for long highway trips I would rather drive it than any of our cars (of course we don't have an S-Class or similar...).
Many people give too much weight to fuel economy, but it is a serious consideration (one of many). The newer V/N with the V6 diesel gets an honest 14-15 mpg. We've seen as high as 17.7 mpg, but we were intentionally driving slow on a flat Florida 4-lane highway with very light traffic. The lowest mileage we've ever seen was about 12 mpg, and that was driving into a strong headwind with the throttle floored most of the time.
I'm not familiar with the interior of the Minnie Winnie. Some things we like about our 2009 View (as opposed to the later models) are the:
* Full-sized (aka actually usable) round stainless sink
* The large 3 burner stove (common until recent years)
* The fridge with an actual top *freezer* (not the dorm type with the tiny "freezer" in the fridge)
* Dinette with a very solid, sturdy table with wood trim (matches the kitchen counter)
* Dinette benches upholstered in "Ultra Leather" (when it was still good quality and didn't disintegrate)
* Fantastic Fan
This is a non-functional detail, but the wooden grille below the wardrobe is very attractive and well-made. Winnebago could have easily gone with a cheap metal HVAC vent. I'm a 'function over form' guy, so stuff like that does not carry much weight with me, but it is definitely a nice touch.
There are many details like that. One, that is also functional/structural, are the floor to ceiling, thick, rounded, aluminum corner pieces. They are impressive. Maybe Winnebago uses them in other coaches, IDK. Another is the cabinetry. It is very well made, attractive, and has marine grade 'push to lock' latches. The newer V/Ns do not, and as a result the doors can fly open. Owners of these $120K+ rigs must use bungee cords to hold the doors closed (and/or buy and install stronger latches).
I was seriously considering selling our View (due to COVID restrictions, overcrowding, reservations req'd 6-12 months ahead, etc.) but after writing this I think I may keep it.