If you read our post A Few More Improvements, you will know that being able to carry what we need is a major focus for us. We are traveling in an 80 square foot van with no outdoor storage. Short trips are easy to pack for. But on longer trips, we experience a lot of different weather conditions. This spring, we traveled for 79 days across 16 states. We experienced temperatures that ranged from 28-85 F. So we needed to pack clothing for a wide range of temperatures and also be prepared for severe weather, especially tornados in the mid-west.

So, we were very much looking forward to visiting the Hershey RV show at the Giant Center this September, especially since it coincides with the Pleasure-Way Club-East meet up at the nearby Hershey Park Resort. It’s a great opportunity to share experiences with other Class B RV owners – some traveling in same RV as ours – and to directly compare multiple RVs without a lot of travel. Pleasure-Way does a great job supporting this rally. They provide meals, technical presentations and even repairs. Thank you, Phil!

Our goal at the RV show was to address our two primary needs: more storage and a quieter air conditioner. We have already explored replacing our current air conditioner. It requires relocating one of our solar panels because quiet air conditioners are slightly larger than our Dometic Penguin II AC.

We focused our exploration on “B+” RVs- these are RVs built on a cut-a-way chassis – which are slightly wider and taller than an RV built within a van chassis, but the same length. The end result is an RV with more storage space-especially exterior storage-but just as easy to drive as a stock Ford Transit 350 or Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500. Below is an image of a B+ and B RV built on the same chassis. Same length just slightly wider and taller which provides for exterior storage and slightly more interior room.

Coming from an RV with no exterior storage, the storage in a B+ van is plentiful. Exterior storage typically consists of multiple smaller storage bays however some have managed to include significantly larger bays which intrude into the living space.

Build quality is another factor to consider when purchasing an RV. Many inexpensive RVs construct walls using particle board covered with a vinyl surfacing to keep costs down. More expensive RVs have walls made from plywood with a wood veneer layer. Also, the quality of appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners and furnaces also vary, with more expensive RVs having higher quality water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners. We looked at two similar sized vehicles, the Thor Gemini and the Leisure Travel Wonder. The Thor was “show-priced” at $110,000. The Leisure Travel was priced at $190,000. Build and appliance quality greatly affects the final price and hopefully the reliability and resale value of the RV. BTW we really liked the layout of the Thor Gemini but not the build.

We were very interested in the Leisure Travel Wonder. It’s built on the Ford Transit chassis which we prefer from an ease-of-service perspective. The finish of the Leisure Travel RVs is high-end and tasteful. The RV has plenty of storage and the technical improvements (quiet air conditioner and generator) that we desire. Sadly, Leisure Travel is taking orders with delivery times as long as 2 years out. We are not willing to not willing to wait that long for a new RV.

Pleasure-Way, the manufacturer of our current RV, reintroduced a new B+ that was last available in 2020. The Plateau XLTS is build on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter Chassis. This year, Pleasure-Way also upgraded many components in all of their RVs. They now feature 3 times the battery capacity, quiet air conditioners and quiet generators. We spent so much time inspecting the Plateau XLTS that we forgot to take photos. The photos below are courtesy of Pleasure-Way.

This RV addresses all of our needs (quiet AC and lots of storage). The Plateau also has lots of extras wants. The ability to run the quiet air conditioner off the 600 amp hours of battery. Right now, we can only run the AC if we are plugged in or running our generator. The Plateau also has a dry bath with a separate shower (our shower and bath are in the same space), 500 watts of solar panels on the roof (200 more than our current RV), two work areas, two swivel seats, a quiet generator and driver safety systems (active lane control, blind spot sensors), all of which our Ontour lacks.

So what will we do? It all comes down to our needs and wants and how that affects our budget. We are very happy with our 2020 Ontour 2.2. We are accustomed to the RV and very comfortable in it. We have made the best of the limited storage and have tolerated the noisy air conditioner and tried to travel to areas when it’s not too warm. Could we get by without more storage? Do we need a quiet AC which also runs off of the battery? Do we need a larger solar panel system, dry bath, extra work area? All these extras and inflation make the Plateau XLTS much more expensive that our Ontour 2.2 which affects budget.

Buy the time this is posted we will be on a quick two-week trip that will end in Branson MO, for an East and West Coast Pleasure-Way rally. We have also been on the phone with a dealer in Texas who has an early-production 2024 Plateau XLTS on the lot. The early-production Plateau XLTS RVs are build on a 2022 Sprinter chassis which makes their list price $20,000 less than the same van built on a 2023 Sprinter. Depending on how negotiations proceed during our trip, we may eliminate a planned visit with a nephew in Indiana and a stop in Saint Louis to visit the Gateway Arch in order to head directly to Texas to buy a new RV. Or, we may not depending on how it affects our budget. Either way, we definitely will end up in Branson in a Pleasure-Way rig ;).

Thanks, as always, for stopping by.