Alternate Coach

[Richard and Rhonda]

So here starts the true confession. I'll start with the bottom line first. I have bought an auxilliary coach. Rhonda and I are keeping the Newell, but truthfully it hasn't seen much action since we moved to West Virginia. The interstates are fine here, but the roads off the interstates leading to the areas that are interesting to me just are not big rig friendly. The roads are narrow, twisty, and the opposite of fun. We are going to be here for a while, and I wanted something more WV park friendly.

Every since we bought the Newell, I have joked with Rhonda that the ideal setup would be to pull a small class B as a toad. That way you have the best of both worlds. The mother ship and the dingy so to speak.

Well, we have added a class B to the fleet, cause I just didn't have enough to work on you know. After much searching and evaluation, I ended up with a 2006 Gulfstream MB cruiser. It's built on the sprinter chassis and with the floor plan I wanted. It's not as nicely finished as the Roadtreks and Airstreams but it offers a bed arrangement that allows full access of the rear doors to roll the bikes in or use as a cargo van.

So now starts the adventure of bringing it up to my mechanical standards and debugging what was wrong from the factory.

I haven't decided yet whether I am going to try to pull it with the Newell. Time will tell on that one.

[photoadjuster]

Richard, I always read this forum with plans to upgrade to a Newell.

I have been towing a Class B - Forest River MB Cruiser (Sprinter Chassis) behind a Beaver Patriot Thunder for many years.

The Beaver has a 425 hp C-12 Cat engine. The Sprinter weighs in at 7,100 lbs. I use a Roadmaster base plate, Roadmaster Blackhawk 2 - 10,000 lb tow bar (stays on the Beaver) and a Remco driveshaft disconnect. The trick with towing this much weight it to install the Air Force One brake system on the Sprinter. With the AFO you always have power brakes on the sprinter when the engine is off. Do not use a braking system that pushes on the brake petal when it is dead. (no vacuum in the booster)

Join us on this forum http://sprinter-source.com/forum/

Mike Stephenson
Lubbock, TX

[Richard and Rhonda]

Thanks Mike.

Ping me at richard.entrekinATalconlabs.com.

I have, and will have questions, about the sprinter. Forrest River actually made the MB Cruiser for Gulfstream

And oh yeah, already on that forum as Bikeboy57. The info I gleaned there helped me fix a LHM problem right from the git. Cracked turbo resonator.

[pairodice]

If only I could find a 4-wheel drive Sprinter van to convert to a weekender! That would be an awesome toad...
Maybe I'll keep my Sienna Minivan and convert it to a class super-B...

[dwatts]

see next post, accidently duplicated

[dwatts]

After doing a 6 week trip from SW Virgininia to San Diego, CA, then NE, E back - with only one driver, we decided we needed to downsize for the long trips. Bought a 2004 Forest River MB Cruiser with 50K miles on it up in MA - got 24.5 MPG (towing a civic wagon back home). Consistently getting over 24 and loving the mileage and ground you can cover with 2 drivers. We don't tow anymore as we can pretty much take the Cruiser anywhere we need to go for side trips. We've given up a lot of space and comforts, but it sure is nice to have 2 drivers, 3-4 times the fuel mileage, and the ability to park virtually anywhere - and we're learning what we need to add or leave behind to enhance the travel experience. We'll be keeping our Newell for the shorter trips where we stay put for a week or so.

[speedingsport]

24.5 MPG (towing a civic wagon back home). :thumbup: Don that's impressive! That fuel mileage is what I'm talkin about! I'm sure they would be quite nice for a couple but like you said it's something to learn on what you should take or leave behind. With the Newell you can take pretty much all you need and then some! ;) and with the whole gang I hall around to races, I don't think we could all fit in a crusier! It does sounds good for when just myself and another tag along. Thanks for sharing!

[Gone Busing]

It would be impressive to have a Newell or other luxury coach getting half that. I know we talking two different animals.:bandit: