How does Winnie pack so much more stuff in a View than an Era on the same chassis?
I have been researching Winnebago Mercedes Sprinter based coaches: the Class B Era which uses the original Sprinter coachwork with no extra width, and the Class C View which is about a foot wider than the Era, has 1 or 2 slides and has a overhead bed.
Since both are built on exactly the same Mercedes Sprinter chassis with its 11,030 GVWR, how does the View pack so much more stuff on the same frame as the Era. Is the View likely to be overloaded or does the Era have lots of unused weight capacity? Or something else I am missing?
OK, yes I assumed that the Era was relatively under loaded but never thought of comparing the OCCC numbers. You are absolutely right, the Era has little outside storage so no place to put bulky, wet or sandy camping gear and use some of that OCCC.
For that and a few other reasons like lower fluid capacities of the Era- 10 gallon black water tank for example, I am leaning towards the View.
My 15 G is heavy, Traveler SAT Dish, HWH levelers. I have learned to run dry or little water in the tanks. WGO did a good job making it as light as possible, but 2 slides reduce OCCC. My View has upgraded Shocks by Agile Off-road, Hellwig swaybar, heavy Sumo springs. IMHO the View is a great coach and like all coaches it needs some changes to drive better with less rock and roll.
We have both a 2005 leisure van and a 2018 view. The leisure van is fast, easy to park, and 24 mpg. If you don't pack a lot, it is a great vehicle. The view we load with 2 inflatable sup's, inflatable kayaks, games, camp chairs, etc. and we are prepared for anything. I love the van but my wife loves the room and storage of the view. For comparable money, the view is the better buy if you use your rv a lot plus twice the water and septic storage.