Episode Transcript
Welcome back to the Pass The Brockly Podcast. In our last episode we talked about how we embarked on this journey, and the carousel of RV's we evaluated, and finally settled in on the one that fit our current travel style, which was the class B RV. In this episode, we will talk more about our class B RV. So, Let's get into it! The class B RV we finally settled on was the Winnebago Travato KL. This van is a 2019 and is on a RAM Promaster thirty five hundred chassis. The KL is an open floor plan with beds on each side of the van, with a bathroom in the back, and the L is for the Lithium battery system, which allows us to be self contained by supplying power all the time from the lithium batteries, and not reliant on shore power, which provides greater flexibility. This van is front wheel drive, most class B vans are rear wheel drive, for you motorheads out there it has a V6 Pentastar and is the same engine as the Jeep Wranglers. The gas mileage on this van is around 17 miles per gallon, which is much better than any other RV out there. Now, let's talk about the exterior. The Travato is semi stealth looking, it does have and air conditioner box on top, and some solar panels to help with the charging of the lithium batteries. The solar can keep up with the system overhead and running the refrigerator, as well as provide a small charge surplus. It has a latter for roof access on the back, we added a spare tire holder and spare tire, as it does not come standard with either, and we replaced the stock accordian style cheap screens, with the ROLEF screens. We also added sumo springs which gave it a 2 inch lift which helps with ground clearence. Of course when we did all these after market upgrades, the next years model came with all these upgrades standard. There is also an awning on the passenger side to sit out and enjoy the venue and it has 110 outlets and LED lights outside for your accessories as well. The dump and power areas are on the rear driver side of the van. It does come with a 30 amp Power cord for those times you do need to plug into shore power, more on that later. The van has two rear doors that open up to the bathroom. You can choose to use the built in shower, or if you are like me, there is an external shower available when you open the rear doors, and Dorie will hose me off with that, as I find that more refreshing, and I don't have to worry about covering the interior shelves. Now, moving to the interior of the van, It has the Volta power system, a 3000 watt Inverter to power all your devices, such as Microwave, Refrigerator, Air Conditioner, TV, radio and other devices plugged into your 110 volt or USB ports. It also has a max air fan that will allow you to open your windows and create a cross flow breeze inside the van. If you are like me, I like to open the side and rear doors, put down the ROLEF screens, open the windows and create the constant breeze with that fan, of course it would depend on where you are parked. It has a toilet, sink and shower in the back of the van, and also has a truma hot water and heat system that runs on propane or electric. It also has a two propane burner stove to cook or heat things up, and the microwave is also a convection oven. It has a kitchen sink for the dishes or other needs, and has a twenty four inch TV with HDMI ports for entertainment or work options. The twin beds can be converted to a king by adding the table piece in the middle, and it creates a storage area under the bed, but it does make it more difficult to get to the bathroom. The front seats swivel around and there are tables that pull out to make small desks for each seat if needed. Now that I have covered the van, let's talk about it's pro's and con's. The pro's are that it is one of the easiest RV's to park, as it is similar to a full size truck, and is 21 feet long, and is one of the easiest RV's to back up. Getting gas versus a traditional gas motorhome, is a breeze, other than paying for it. As I mentioned above, the gas mile is good at about 17 MPG. There is no noisy generator, but you get all the power of a traditional generator with the Volta system. Also as stated above, lithium power means you are self contained most of the time and don't have to plug into shore power. If you take long trips, the flexibility of this van is great for overnight stops to break down the driving days without having to have campground reservations and planning them out. There is easy access for the passengers to get to the bathroom, refrigerator and even cook if needed while not having to stop. When exploring, you have your RV with you all the time, with your items, versus a traditional RV, that is at the campground, and you have to have a vehicle or other means of transportation to do your exploring with. When driving, due to the height of the van, you can be less concerned with travel routes that have bridges or overhangs. When you drive the van the batteries charge back up with the second alternator made just to charge them up. This van is the perfect RV for short stay trips in which you keep moving from place to place exploring and scouting out places. There are numerous service options for the Chassis at RAM dealers accross the country, and one of the big ones is that these RV's tend to get more flexibility from some HOAs, where traditional RV's are strictly prohibited. Now let's talk about some Con's. There is not as much interior room as traditional RV's. They cost more than Travel trailers, Fifth wheels and most Class C motorhomes. They tend to have lower ground clearance than traditional RV's, and when you have your RV serviced, you have no transportation or no where to stay until the service is completed, unless you make alternate arrangements. One of the most important con's I tell people is that these RV's are not great for long term stays. Because it is lithium, you consume your battery, and when it gets low you have to charge it back up by driving a couple of hours, or with your solar panels. The only other way to charge it up is to plug into shore power. If you are going somewhere to stay a week, you will probably want to plug into shore power once you return to your destination which meands you will need a campground reservation, and must plan that out. Also the gray and black tanks are much smaller than a traditional RV, Roughly ten to twelve gallons each with the fresh water tank being 18 gallons. Running the Air Conditioner consumes the batteries the quickest, which means for long stays you will need to be plugged in to use it a lot. Ok, I have covered quite a bit about our van, and let me give you my summary and advice about these types of RV's. These are perfect if you are constantly on the move staying somewhere no longer than a day or two, you will love it. If you are a destination only traveler and stay for extended days, weeks or more, you probably won't like this RV. I would advise you look for a Class C RV that has lithium. I think they are starting to roll those out now. You will get the space, and power you need from this type of RV, with ok gas mileage, with the comfort to adapt to longer stays if you find a place you want to visit longer. Well thats it for this episode, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please give us a thumbs up or like and consider subscribing to be notified of future episodes. And speaking of future episodes, in our next episode we begin to embark on our northeast state journey were we talk about our new england state travels. This will be a multi episode discussion, so i hope you listen in on our journey. Until next time!
