Interstate 24GT

[MT45]

Current owner of a Tiffin Phaeton 40’ Class A (will be keeping it) but now looking for something more nimble to take cross country - perhaps up to 2 weeks at a time. Just my wife and I, so we’re looking at the 24’ Grand Tour.

Wife wants biggest fridge, luxury feel (hates hotels)
I want something easier to drive (both physically and mentally!)

My question is what year to pick?
Budget will allow us to choose from 2020-2023
Out of the above choices, what would you choose and why?

It’s really challenging to find comparisons but I believe there was a dash screen upgrade around 2020, and a new chassis design around that same time

Any help or guidance at all would be appreciated!

[Nickel1]

We sold our 27’ Dynamax, I loved the pre-emissions diesel on the Freightliner M2 Chassis. But for my wife it was too much of a truck. So, we bought a 2021 Interstate GT 24 and in short, we love it. Before we decided on which van to buy (Sprinter or otherwise) I went to a shop that services the Sprinter van and asked about the different generations of Sprinter and the emissions stuff. I was a little gun-shy of the emissions because I had owned both a VW Touareg and a Ram EcoDiesel, and both were plagued with much more drama than I wanted to go through again. He said that he felt the 3rd generation Sprinter was a good van and the emissions issues had been worked out, if you followed Mercedes service recommendations. For us, we wanted to have the safety features. From my research, the 2nd generation Sprinters do have the safety features (lane departure, blind spot, etc) but they arenall passive, which means you get a warning. In the 3rd generation the safety features are active, so not only do you get a warning, but the van will react if the driver doesn’t do something. And it will react, if you drive too long on the shoulder the van will warn you then correct for you if you do not do anything. And the Mercedes brake assist/adaptive cruise control absolutely rocks! The 3rd generation, I think stated in 2020, our 2021 Airstream is built on a 2020 Van. You can tell the 3rd generation by the screen. It’s large and rectangular with round AC vents on either side.
The Airstream RV part of the van we like as well. It’s great to travel in. While we spend some of our nights in hotels, we have also camped in it. The only issue for us, is it’s my wife, me, and our 95lb dog. So, it’s a bit tight at times. But overall, if we were buying again, we’d do the same (Gen 3 Sprinter). It’s great to drive, comfortable, has nice safety features, and gets good mileage. It’s a bit pricey to get serviced but that comes with the territory.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

[MT45]

Originally Posted by Nickel1

We sold our 27’ Dynamax, I loved the pre-emissions diesel on the Freightliner M2 Chassis. But for my wife it was too much of a truck. So, we bought a 2021 Interstate GT 24 and in short, we love it. Before we decided on which van to buy (Sprinter or otherwise) I went to a shop that services the Sprinter van and asked about the different generations of Sprinter and the emissions stuff. I was a little gun-shy of the emissions because I had owned both a VW Touareg and a Ram EcoDiesel, and both were plagued with much more drama than I wanted to go through again. He said that he felt the 3rd generation Sprinter was a good van and the emissions issues had been worked out, if you followed Mercedes service recommendations. For us, we wanted to have the safety features. From my research, the 2nd generation Sprinters do have the safety features (lane departure, blind spot, etc) but they arenall passive, which means you get a warning. In the 3rd generation the safety features are active, so not only do you get a warning, but the van will react if the driver doesn’t do something. And it will react, if you drive too long on the shoulder the van will warn you then correct for you if you do not do anything. And the Mercedes brake assist/adaptive cruise control absolutely rocks! The 3rd generation, I think stated in 2020, our 2021 Airstream is built on a 2020 Van. You can tell the 3rd generation by the screen. It’s large and rectangular with round AC vents on either side.
The Airstream RV part of the van we like as well. It’s great to travel in. While we spend some of our nights in hotels, we have also camped in it. The only issue for us, is it’s my wife, me, and our 95lb dog. So, it’s a bit tight at times. But overall, if we were buying again, we’d do the same (Gen 3 Sprinter). It’s great to drive, comfortable, has nice safety features, and gets good mileage. It’s a bit pricey to get serviced but that comes with the territory.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks soooo much. This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
Follow up question … do you know the type of dash/electronics/nav unit you have and are you happy with it? I’ve heard that models during COVID years got Garmin vs MBUX head units. One works well with Apple car play and the other (Garmin) I’ve heard not so much.

[ylwjacket]

The Garmin doesn't work at all. I have '18, and I am not sure if newer have the same stupid Garmin I have or not.

The Garmins create a howling screeching noise that renders the whole thing unusable for calls or entertainment.

I will be replacing my Garmin unit in a few months, to include one that has carplay and android auto.

[Nickel1]

We’ve used the Nav system on all of our trips and have been happy with it. I’m not sure if it’s Garmin or not. I use Apple Car Play in my other vehicles but don’t remember using it in the AI. Then Van isn’t here at home but I should be able to check that out tomorrow and will let you know.

[Nickel1]

Just checked; CarPlay is there and works great.

[MT45]

Originally Posted by Nickel1

Just checked; CarPlay is there and works great.

Thanks for checking. Helpful!