What you don't like about your Class B

[Meeks]

Hey there,

I just posted the opposite question under the thread title, "What you like about your Class B". So now this question to help me in my Class B education.

What do you not like about your Class B? What doesn't work so well for you about this type of RV?

Thank you again for your musings!

Chris

[FlyFishinRVr]

- Bathroom is too small
- Coach is longer than I want or need. At 24' it won't fit in a standard parking spot and that's caused me some issues when visiting crowded Nat'l parks
- Supplied Atkinson solar charge controller is inadequate (that's being kind...)

[amirm]

Without modification:

1. Insufficient battery storage. Need enough power to dry camp at least two nights without worry. As it is, it won't last one night with fridge+freezer running. I upgraded my system to Lithium and problem is solved.

2. Due to narrow aisle, it takes coordination with two people to pass each other.

3. Wish it did not require winterization at all. Then it would be like a "car" where you just took it anywhere. They went half way with tank heaters and such. Wish it was a complete plan.

4. Radio sound sucks. I upgraded the door speakers. That improved some but it is still pretty low-end sound.

[LB_3]

My perfect RV would would have the interior size of a Class A and the exterior size of a Toyota Corolla. But if I had to pick a single complaint it would be the fact that I can’t stand up straight in the van and am constantly hitting my head on stuff.

[toskeysam]

The "B" is fantastic, BUT..... it really makes you think about your needs and desires for traveling and camping.
The small storage capacity eliminates taking along much other than what you really want to USE...I emphasize the word USE. I have been guilty, many times, of taking those "just-in-case" or "I might want" or "we might need" and "wouldn't it be cool to" items on trips.

My wife and I have gotten quite good at the aisle-dance when we are both up and active inside the van. It also gave me more incentive to lose a few more pounds (25 since last August).

We love the fact that we can go most anywhere we could drive a car! That's the biggest plus in my book.

The diesel fuel efficiency is fantastic. It stuns friends when I tell them I get 17-20 mpg depending on loads.

Other than some particular issues with subsystems (solar, batteries, appliances), which have nothing to do with the "B" class in general, I find the van is exactly the unit for me.

[Meeks]

Originally Posted by amirm

Without modification:

1. Insufficient battery storage. Need enough power to dry camp at least two nights without worry. As it is, it won't last one night with fridge+freezer running. I upgraded my system to Lithium and problem is solved.

2. Due to narrow aisle, it takes coordination with two people to pass each other.

3. Wish it did not require winterization at all. Then it would be like a "car" where you just took it anywhere. They went half way with tank heaters and such. Wish it was a complete plan.

4. Radio sound sucks. I upgraded the door speakers. That improved some but it is still pretty low-end sound.

Thanks for your thoughts!

How many amps of lithium batteries did you find you need for the Interstate? Did you also add solar or not bother?

Thanks!
Chris

[Meeks]

Originally Posted by toskeysam

The "B" is fantastic, BUT..... it really makes you think about your needs and desires for traveling and camping.
The small storage capacity eliminates taking along much other than what you really want to USE...I emphasize the word USE. I have been guilty, many times, of taking those "just-in-case" or "I might want" or "we might need" and "wouldn't it be cool to" items on trips.

My wife and I have gotten quite good at the aisle-dance when we are both up and active inside the van. It also gave me more incentive to lose a few more pounds (25 since last August).

We love the fact that we can go most anywhere we could drive a car! That's the biggest plus in my book.

The diesel fuel efficiency is fantastic. It stuns friends when I tell them I get 17-20 mpg depending on loads.

Other than some particular issues with subsystems (solar, batteries, appliances), which have nothing to do with the "B" class in general, I find the van is exactly the unit for me.

Along with others input more great thoughts!

We like to bring kayaks and bikes along. So will need to address that when the time comes. Kayaks would be folding or inflatable, I reckon, and bikes will travel on a rear bike rack or we would purchase folding bikes.

[SWH]

Only two things I really don’t like about our AI:

1. Lack of power sliding door. We transport a lot of people and everyone has a hard time getting it shut, and on an incline it slams so hard it could kill someone.

2. Obnoxiously loud generator. It’s so loud that I pretty much won’t use it. So embarrassing that’s the best they can do on a $165k van and no way to run A/C without it. Also wish it was fed by diesel tank rather than worrying about propane levels and refilling. If there was rear A/C powered by the van engine I would care about this quite a bit less.

I also echo complaint about very poor utility-van-grade speakers in front.

We use ours primarily for travel. We’ve never had an issue with battery capacity even leaving fridge on overnight.

[InterBlog]

Hi, Chris. My answer to your question is very short at this point, because my husband LB_3 and I spent three years modifying our Interstate (blog). So most of my "don't likes" have thoroughly gone bye-bye. Operationally, there's very little I'd wish for. We installed a lithium and solar system and thus developed the capability to stay off-grid for weeks at a time if necessary, with no shortage of power. I can run my office off-grid. We installed connectivity upgrades which allow me to work in most (not all) remote locations. I can also carefully apportion my cellular data plan to watch high-quality streams of Star Trek Voyager in areas where most people can't even get a phone signal. And in surround sound to boot, because my husband also installed Apple TV which connects to the van's speaker system. We also developed a custom hitch carrier that can accommodate various cargoes, so no need for a trailer or clumsy racks. I store our inflatable kayak on our roof and my collapsible bicycle in the closet that I modified. Our mod list is extensive.

Remaining:

(1) I wish it had been better-insulated by Airstream. Turning that issue into a do-over would require a complete DIY tear-down, which is impractical, so we live with it.

(2) We are still looking for some way to install a rear air suspension system. Long story.

(3) We've done some soundproofing to the cab with good results (post), but I wish it could be made more quiet (future continuation of that effort will probably improve it).

(4) I know there's one or two more changes we would make, but they are not coming to me right now.

[amirm]

Originally Posted by Meeks

Thanks for your thoughts!

How many amps of lithium batteries did you find you need for the Interstate? Did you also add solar or not bother?

Thanks!
Chris

I put in 300 amp-hour and fit it in the small enclosure were there was just the subwoofer! We use some 30% of it overnight so it has plenty of capacity.

We have a single solar panel and see no need to mess with it for simple reason that we park in the shade in summer when we use it. And that the engine charges in excess of 100 amps (20X a single solar panel). With the driving we do, batteries are always fully charged.

[Air99]

The diesel motor is extremely quiet and its 200Ah alternator is great for charging the batteries but I cannot use it while parked because long idling is bad for its complex emissions control system, I really hated that, like teasing, you know, and lithium is still very expensive!

[BurntAsphalt]

MB Sprinter Bluetec emissions system
Insufficient battery/solar/electrical system for boondocking
Handling in high winds (this may be better in newer models)
Harsh ride in rear without air suspension
Loud generator and AC
Lack of factory rear AC that runs off motor

[Meeks]

So many great replies! Thank you everyone!

It is really wonderful to hear the honest answers on both this thread and the accompanying "What I like..." thread. You all are helping me so much!

[VAtom]

I echo a lot of the complaints, Most are just annoyances that are part of the compromise of any RV choice. The poor insulation is kind of an unnecessary burden to customers who spent s-tons of money for their van

One thing that really concerns me though is the low low road clearance.

If Sumosprings will help that, I'd like to get them

[sthrngary]

1) Difficulty in checking the oil in the Onan Propane Generator.
2) The need to truly research the oil used and the frequency of that oil usage. Also, having to do this EARLY in the engines life cycle to keep the MB Sprinter Diesel Engine from having future issues. All this because of emission control regulations.
3) The fact that high-end tires are not used when buying new.
4) The use of a third party microwave with a browning feature vs. Microwave that is also a convection oven.
5) The low sense of accountability by dealers to have a real professional do the delivery. I blame Airstream for this and how their new program for dealers get this done.

[Titus]

It seems that most of the likes and dislikes are not a 'class B' issue per se, but rather related to a Sprinter-based Class B or an Airstream Interstate conversion of the MB chassis. Taking Class B to mean simply the size, and not the chassis it started life as nor the conversion it ended up as, my like is the compact size (relative to other Classes). Only one time in 4 years and 40,000 miles have we stayed at the same campsite for more than two nights, so transportability is important to us. If I see a sign that says 'no motorhomes', I can pretend that I am not a motorhome (and if I see an RV-only parking lot, I can be an RV).

There are hundreds of things that Airstream did wrong in their design/execution of the conversion (hence this forum), but in my opinion they still did more things right than most other convertors (Advanced RV being the exception that come$ to mind). And there are many things to dislike about the Sprinter (emissions system and sliding door come to mind), but when things are going right (as they usually are) it is one sweet head-turning ride.

[Pahaska]

I wish someone would come up with a (probably fiberglass) replacement for the sliding door that would fit into the existing opening. It would have an opening window to the rear and an outward-opening door with a sliding screen door forward. It could have the same suspension as the sliding door to fit into the sliding door tracks and provision to lock it in place at the B-pillar. A mold could be cast off the existing sliding door

To me, that would make my AI just about perfect.

[Protagonist]

Specific to Airstream Interstates (mine in particular) rather than the whole of the Class B market…

(1) Tanks are heated for winter camping, but the macerator pump is not heated. So you could end up with ice-free waste tanks with no way to dump them due to a frozen pump. I solve the problem by leaving the tanks full until I get somewhere that's warm enough for long enough for the macerator pump to thaw— meaning that full waste tanks are the signal to break camp and head south. Someday I may get around to adding heat tape wrapped around the macerator pump, and wired into the existing tank heater circuit, but since it's a winter-only problem and we don't have a whole lot of below-freezing days on the Gulf Coast anyway, I've just lived with the occasional annoyance. Like a roof leak that you can't fix in the rain and don't need to fix when it's not raining.

(1)(a) No graywater bypass for the macerator pump. Even in areas that allow direct discharge of graywater— and I camped in one drought-stricken area in 2012 that required direct discharge of graywater— you still have to pump out the gray tank.

(2) As others have pointed out, Airstream did a pi**-poor job of insulating their Interstates. Takes a lot of propane to keep them warm in the winter, takes a lot of electricity to keep them cool in the summer.

(3) Rooftop A/C is not a heat pump and has no heat strip. The only built-in heaters are the dashboard HVAC and the furnace. Sure would be nice to have additional built-in heating options like the trailers do.

(4) That stupid pop-out panel in the wet bath.

(5) Came with a freshwater tank drain plug instead of a drain valve. Sure would be nice to be able to attach a hose to the drain to direct the water away before emptying the tank, rather than taking an icy bath in discarded freshwater when draining the tank to winterize. I added my own valve, but it extends below the bottom of the van and I worry I'll knock it off going over a bump or hitting a pothole.

(6) Propane fill port behind the right rear mudflap, where you can snag it on a curb when backing into a parking space. Could have been mounted higher, even if it meant cutting an opening in the quarter panel.

(7) Generator should be optional rather than standard equipment. If you didn't have an on-board generator, you'd have oodles of space and weight capacity to carry more house batteries. And since they're AGMs, they could be accessible through a weatherstripped and insulated floor hatch. So extra house batteries for dedicated off-grid campers, and generator for mostly on-grid campers who only occasionally go off-grid for a weekend, as an either/or option.

(7)(a) Given the number of electricity-eating appliances and doodads mounted on newer Interstates, why do they still only provide two Group 24 house batteries like they did six years ago when I bought mine? Especially since 80 usable amp-hours wasn't even enough back then to power all the goodies installed at the time for 24 hours straight, either.

[Meeks]

Wow, your great replies just keep on coming. Thank you!

As we currently own an Airstream trailer many of the "what I don't like" items sound familiar as some pertain to trailers, as well. I appreciate the passion and frustration that you each have expressed.

[Lotus54]

What I don’t like is often tied directly to what I do like.

Lack of space. (But I like the small size)
A bit noisy (T1N- but I like the fuel mileage 24-26 and minimal emission systems of the early rigs. Plus the ‘workhorse’ 5 cylinder)
Minimal house battery
Refrigerator touchy on being level (absorbtion style on early rigs)

I guess ‘B’ rather than specifics really it is lack of room. But the small size is also what is so nice about them. Perhaps some sort of ‘tip out’ would be nice for space, but then all sorts of extra stuff to go wrong and no longer have the original Van body intact.