24' Isata5

[AKsportsman]

I was encouraged to communicate my interest to Dynamax via these forums. (First post, My apologies if I muck it up)

I live in Alaska, and I spend a ton of time in my truck camper, because I pull my boat and trailer all over the state for hunting and fishing opportunities. The regular van type chassis are not significant enough to pull a large boat or trailer, so a large pickup or medium duty truck would be perfect. I currently use a truck camper, because I can park in the average boat launch, unhook the boat trailer in boat parking, or the car hauler in my hunting spot, and then drive the truck and park in town. If I'm hunting on the winding roads in the mountains... I have a manageable rig. I know somebody is going to suggest I can get used to a 30' or 40' RV; Appreciate it, but I can handle a Class 8 truck, but I wouldn't commute in a Kenworth, as it isn't the right tool for the job. The point (for me), is not being able to drive a bus pulling a Jeep from point A to point B, but to actually just live in a reasonable sized RV that can park at a local small town grocery store (not the back of Wal-mart's lot), and can be put on a marine ferry without costing a fortune. I suspect I'm not the only one, due to the huge number of Sprinter chassis and 24' van chassis rigs I see. I imagine somebody will always think bigger is better, and some will suggest you really learn to love the extra space. I respect people having those desires and a product that matches what those folks want. I'm just not one of them.

I want to be able to park like a regular truck and boat at the launch (which doesn't have RV length parking most places), and to back my RV and car hauler into a campground or gravel pit, and get groceries like I was just in my 1 ton.

I'm really asking for a Sprinter house on a Dodge Cummins 5500 so I have a real world portable powerful Alaska huntin, fishin, campin, sightseein unit for a working couple, who spends all weekend in the thing, but not living in it day in and out.

Thanks for your consideration.

AKSportsman

[BLT4SPD]

I know this doesn’t exactly answer the question you are asking of Dynamax here, BUT when we were cross-shopping everything on the market, we stumbled across a little know coach by ‘Host’. Host made a name for themselves in the slide-in truck camper market and tried to break into the Class C market circa 2007 by building a coach on the F-550 chassis. They are really nice coaches and seem to have stood up to father time pretty well (we went and looked at 2 of them last year). They made a 33’ coach called the 330, but they also made one that was 27’ called the 270. The 330 is relatively obscure, but the 270 is just flat-out _rare_.

Two things bothered us about it and ultimately stopped us from buying one:

#1, the 6.4 powerstroke doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation. Okay, just kidding, it’s pretty universally hated.

#2, they were all built on a crew cab chassis, so there is a LOT of cab which cuts into the floor plan…..A LOT. Now, they _DO_ utilize the over-the-cab bunk as the “Master Bedroom” and the larger crew cab allows for a Queen bed up there. However, we have 2 adults and 3 kids and that means that even with the crew cab, we didn’t have enough seats. So, they made good use of the space, but to us it just didn’t add up. If it’s just _you_, then the crew cab might make even less sense.

Here’s one I found on RV Trader (and it’s the first one I’ve seen for sale in a long time):

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...4X4-5003147255

I even called the Factory in Oregon to talk about a very unique, custom 1-off 330 they built and we were looking at buying. The owner’s wife answered the phone and then connected me to the owner who very clearly remembered the coach we were looking to buy. We chatted for a little while and he was very friendly and spent WAY more time on the phone with me than he should have.

[BLT4SPD]

Originally Posted by BLT4SPD

Now, they _DO_ utilize the over-the-cab bunk as the “Master Bedroom” and the larger crew cab allows for a Queen bed up there

Slight correction/clarification: The 330 DOES have a regular master bedroom in the back AND the big bed over the cab. The unit(s) we were looking at were the Toy Hauler version that had no master in the back and only had two slides instead of the usual four.

[AKsportsman]

Originally Posted by BLT4SPD

I know this doesn’t exactly answer the question you are asking of Dynamax here, BUT when we were cross-shopping everything on the market, we stumbled across a little know coach by ‘Host’. Host made a name for themselves in the slide-in truck camper market and tried to break into the Class C market circa 2007 by building a coach on the F-550 chassis. They are really nice coaches and seem to have stood up to father time pretty well (we went and looked at 2 of them last year). They made a 33’ coach called the 330, but they also made one that was 27’ called the 270. The 330 is relatively obscure, but the 270 is just flat-out _rare_.

Two things bothered us about it and ultimately stopped us from buying one:

#1, the 6.4 powerstroke doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation. Okay, just kidding, it’s pretty universally hated.

#2, they were all built on a crew cab chassis, so there is a LOT of cab which cuts into the floor plan…..A LOT. Now, they _DO_ utilize the over-the-cab bunk as the “Master Bedroom” and the larger crew cab allows for a Queen bed up there. However, we have 2 adults and 3 kids and that means that even with the crew cab, we didn’t have enough seats. So, they made good use of the space, but to us it just didn’t add up. If it’s just _you_, then the crew cab might make even less sense.

Here’s one I found on RV Trader (and it’s the first one I’ve seen for sale in a long time):

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...4X4-5003147255

I even called the Factory in Oregon to talk about a very unique, custom 1-off 330 they built and we were looking at buying. The owner’s wife answered the phone and then connected me to the owner who very clearly remembered the coach we were looking to buy. We chatted for a little while and he was very friendly and spent WAY more time on the phone with me than he should have.

I'd be thrilled to find a good option. Like you mentioned however, the crew cab cuts into the house too much. I also profess I'm biased towards Cummins power, but I guess I can't be so picky if I find a truck/RV combo that works. I think the newer F550 2011 and up 6.7 engine is supposed to be durable finally? Do you recall if they are open to still building to suit, or did they say?

[BLT4SPD]

Originally Posted by AKsportsman

I'd be thrilled to find a good option. Like you mentioned however, the crew cab cuts into the house too much. I also profess I'm biased towards Cummins power, but I guess I can't be so picky if I find a truck/RV combo that works. I think the newer F550 2011 and newer engine is supposed to be durable finally. Do you recall if they are open to still building to suit, or did they say?

Even the 6.7l from the 2011+ units is supposed to be hit or miss in the reliability dept.

Host stopped building coaches after 2-3 years. The owner explained to me that in that 2007-2009 timeframe, the recession hit hard and especially luxury purchases like motorhomes. So, they had a great product and people liked it, but people just weren't buying.

As a reference point: The MSRP on a Dynamax Isata 5 today is around $180k-$185k. The MSRP on the Host 330 we looked at was $210k and that was 10 years ago.

[Magnatudes]

Originally Posted by AKsportsman

I live in Alaska, and I spend a ton of time in my truck camper, because I pull my boat and trailer all over the state for hunting and fishing opportunities. The regular van type chassis are not significant enough to pull a large boat or trailer, so a large pickup or medium duty truck would be perfect. I currently use a truck camper, because I can park in the average boat launch, unhook the boat trailer in boat parking, or the car hauler in my hunting spot, and then drive the truck and park in town. If I'm hunting on the winding roads in the mountains... I have a manageable rig. I know somebody is going to suggest I can get used to a 30' or 40' RV; Appreciate it, but I can handle a Class 8 truck, but I wouldn't commute in a Kenworth, as it isn't the right tool for the job. The point (for me), is not being able to drive a bus pulling a Jeep from point A to point B, but to actually just live in a reasonable sized RV that can park at a local small town grocery store (not the back of Wal-mart's lot), and can be put on a marine ferry without costing a fortune. I suspect I'm not the only one, due to the huge number of Sprinter chassis and 24' van chassis rigs I see. I imagine somebody will always think bigger is better, and some will suggest you really learn to love the extra space. I respect people having those desires and a product that matches what those folks want. I'm just not one of them.

I want to be able to park like a regular truck and boat at the launch (which doesn't have RV length parking most places), and to back my RV and car hauler into a campground or gravel pit, and get groceries like I was just in my 1 ton.

I'm really asking for a Sprinter house on a Dodge Cummins 5500 so I have a real world portable powerful Alaska huntin, fishin, campin, sightseein unit for a working couple, who spends all weekend in the thing, but not living in it day in and out.

Thanks for your consideration.

AKSportsman

I agree, someone needs to offer a 24ft-26ft (actual length- not longer) diesel powered (preferably Cummins) preferably a 4x4, that is like a Sprinter house with a couple slideouts. I mentioned this to Brian a while ago but he seemed to think it was not possible. I also asked about resurrecting the DynaQuest ST 264. If there are so many Sprinter-based motorhomes out there and all of them are teetering on the edge of maximum weight, you would think that there would be a market to use a diesel heavier chassis.

[bclemens]

It's not possible, unless someone comes out with a new chassis.

Sprinter cab is about 8'. To get the floor plans we have on that, we end up at 24'-6". And that is with fairly limited holding tanks and storage. Acceptable for a small unit.

The Ram cab is about 11' or 3' longer. So before we even put pen to paper, we are at 27'-6". And that is not getting us any more storage...its not behind the cab, is is 3 feet longer to get the engine and leg room.

So...27--6" before we do anything and the wheel base is longer and the fuel tank/DEF tank is twice the size as the Mercedes and the rear cap is deeper.

We have toyed with a 30' unit (lose the sofa or dinette), but it would be a waste of engineering as it is too close in size to the 30FW at 32'. 95% of the people would opt for the 30FW because they get the sofa and dinette for pennies more. And those people that want short...30' is still not short enough.

So in a nutshell....a sprinter body on a Dodge Cummins, is physically impossible. MIN 27'-6"

[Magnatudes]

27'-6" overall is a whole lot better than 32' to accomplish what was described by AKsportman. I will tell you this, my next coach will be a used DynaQuest 264ST, or something similar. 27'-5" overall will squeeze into my barn and any campsite out there. Cummins or Mercedes, large fuel tanks, lots of storage, heavy-duty chassis, air brakes, exhaust brake, ...

[AKsportsman]

Originally Posted by Magnatudes

27'-6" overall is a whole lot better than 32' to accomplish what was described by AKsportman. I will tell you this, my next coach will be a used DynaQuest 264ST, or something similar. 27'-5" overall will squeeze into my barn and any campsite out there. Cummins or Mercedes, large fuel tanks, lots of storage, heavy-duty chassis, air brakes, exhaust brake, ...

You've just solved my problem. Make that 2X. My wife and I just happened to look at a 30' DynaQuest at Camper Valley, and now the 264ST in pictures. That is going to be the ticket for us.

[AKsportsman]

Originally Posted by bclemens

It's not possible, unless someone comes out with a new chassis.

Sprinter cab is about 8'. To get the floor plans we have on that, we end up at 24'-6". And that is with fairly limited holding tanks and storage. Acceptable for a small unit.

The Ram cab is about 11' or 3' longer. So before we even put pen to paper, we are at 27'-6". And that is not getting us any more storage...its not behind the cab, is is 3 feet longer to get the engine and leg room.

So...27--6" before we do anything and the wheel base is longer and the fuel tank/DEF tank is twice the size as the Mercedes and the rear cap is deeper.

We have toyed with a 30' unit (lose the sofa or dinette), but it would be a waste of engineering as it is too close in size to the 30FW at 32'. 95% of the people would opt for the 30FW because they get the sofa and dinette for pennies more. And those people that want short...30' is still not short enough.

So in a nutshell....a sprinter body on a Dodge Cummins, is physically impossible. MIN 27'-6"

Those of us that need a truck chassis don't need a sofa. We need a bigger boat, ATV, etc... ;-)

[Adrenalista]

Originally Posted by BLT4SPD

I know this doesn’t exactly answer the question you are asking of Dynamax here, BUT when we were cross-shopping everything on the market, we stumbled across a little know coach by ‘Host’. Host made a name for themselves in the slide-in truck camper market and tried to break into the Class C market circa 2007 by building a coach on the F-550 chassis. They are really nice coaches and seem to have stood up to father time pretty well (we went and looked at 2 of them last year). They made a 33’ coach called the 330, but they also made one that was 27’ called the 270. The 330 is relatively obscure, but the 270 is just flat-out _rare_.

Two things bothered us about it and ultimately stopped us from buying one:

#1, the 6.4 powerstroke doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation. Okay, just kidding, it’s pretty universally hated.

#2, they were all built on a crew cab chassis, so there is a LOT of cab which cuts into the floor plan…..A LOT. Now, they _DO_ utilize the over-the-cab bunk as the “Master Bedroom” and the larger crew cab allows for a Queen bed up there. However, we have 2 adults and 3 kids and that means that even with the crew cab, we didn’t have enough seats. So, they made good use of the space, but to us it just didn’t add up. If it’s just _you_, then the crew cab might make even less sense.

Here’s one I found on RV Trader (and it’s the first one I’ve seen for sale in a long time):

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...4X4-5003147255

I even called the Factory in Oregon to talk about a very unique, custom 1-off 330 they built and we were looking at buying. The owner’s wife answered the phone and then connected me to the owner who very clearly remembered the coach we were looking to buy. We chatted for a little while and he was very friendly and spent WAY more time on the phone with me than he should have.

That’s a great layout on the Host... and 4x4 too. Given its age, it really isn’t that dated. Unfortunate timing that they jumped into luxury class C right before the recession.
Funny how trends start to come back around.

[AKsportsman]

Seems like these guys may be a possibility also. Luxury Motor Coaches by PowerHouse Coach Considering they make custom coaches, they may be willing to merge the two. I don't *love* the floor plan, but it certainly fits the bill.