Why we chose the Winnebago Travato — Coasting Toward Blue

In my last post, I wrote about our decision to upgrade from our 2002 Eurovan Weekender to a Class B RV. This post picks up where that one left off. Be sure to head back and read that post if you haven’t already!

Okay, so we had ruled out trailers and narrowed our options down to a Class B. Easy enough from there, right? Nope. Should we buy a van and build it out ourselves? That was a hard no from G. Nope, no way, no how. I, on the other hand, thought it would have been a fun “project.” Should we buy a van and have an outside company do the conversion? That was an option we briefly entertained and discussed, but a lot of the conversion outfits are across the country, and we weren’t sure we wanted to wait months and potentially pay more than we were budgeting for. What if something happened down the road with the van? Would we have the same kind of warranty/protection/coverage if we bought from a conversion company? We weren’t sure we wanted to invest a lot of time and energy trying to figure out the answers to all of those questions, so we figured our best option—at least for right now—was to stick with stock models from well-established companies that would afford us a little more peace of mind when it came to support, concerns, warranties, and unexpected repairs. We opted to go with Winnebago—an iconic brand with a well-established reputation and fabulous support community of owners.

Ever since our trip to the RV show in January, we had been drawn to two of Winnebago’s models: the Revel and the Travato—so much so that we’ve been keeping our eyes out for them on road and in campgrounds and admiring from afar…When we spotted a Travato at Cobscook Bay State Park and another that pulled into the site next to ours at Peaks-Kenny State Park, we figured the universe was sending us signs (okay, I was thinking that. G doesn’t put much stock in “signs from the universe”).

The Revel is an all-season, 4WD campervan built on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis. Its MSRP also starts just below $200,000, at $185K and change. Ugh. The Revel is perfect for two and features a powerlift bed, great for storing away near the ceiling when not in use, freeing up valuable space for gear. There’s also a dinette space that converts into an additional sleeping space. As much as we love the Revel, however, we ruled it out pretty quickly based on a few different factors:

1. Cost—there was no way around this one; even with a solid manufacturer’s discount off the MSRP, a new Revel was definitely out of our budget. And while the base price starts at $185K, the options add up pretty quickly, pushing the Revel waay outside what we’d be able to afford. For the price of a used one in good condition, we could be getting other models new.
2. The Mercedes chassis—we feared that service and parts would be a bit more expensive because it was a Mercedes. So, again, there’s a cost factor. And unlike the chassis of some other models (Ford Transit, Ram Promaster), the Sprinter would require Mercedes-specific dealerships and service centers, which may not always be as convenient if we’re on the road. And it’s a still Mercedes = $$$.
3. The bed—now, granted, the bed is a huge draw. The fact that it can be in the “up” position and out of the way, making room for gear or another plug-in set-up for additional living space is awesome. However, the bed measures 49x79. The length would be perfect, but at 49”, the width would be nearly 30” narrower than our king bed at home. Yes, we have a king bed—and it probably saved our marriage (okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it certainly helped!!). G gets up at least half a dozen times during the night; as a result, I rarely sleep well if we’re in a smaller bed.

Between the two Winnebago models, the Revel and the Travato, our choice was suddenly becoming clearer and clearer: the Winnebago Travato would be our best fit. Built on a high-top Ram Promaster chassis (think Amazon delivery van), the Travato is 21 feet long, short enough to fit in a standard parking spot! Unlike the Revel, the Travato is front wheel drive. Starting at just shy of $130K, the Travato isn’t cheap—but well under the starting price of the Revel and actually a little bit cheaper than other brands’ comparable models.

I’ll stop here to address what was, for us at least, the elephant in the room: the cost. When we shelled out $15K for our van, we thought that was a big deal—only to then have to put in another $12K in necessary repairs. Luckily, we ended up getting almost all of our investment back, as we sold the van for $23K. Now we were looking at an RV with an MSRP greater than two of the condos we’ve lived in! We did not take the decision to make this investment lightly. Would the RV be worth it? Could we afford it? Should we wait? Is NOW really a good time? We had a few conversations with our financial advisor, crunched numbers, studied our current expenses and budget, and crunched the numbers again (and again). We decided to make the leap.

To help offset the cost of the van, we decided to sell our Disney Vacation Club points (like a timeshare, but with Disney), which we bought back in 2007. While we love Disney, we had, over the years, started to outgrow the parks, often choosing to stay at a Disney property on the Florida coast. But now, with the pandemic, who knows when (if?) we’ll ever feel truly comfortable flying and heading back to a crowded theme park or resort. That initial investment 13 years ago certainly paid for itself over the years; now, that money would go toward our new adventures. The sale of our Eurovan, too, was going to make up a large chunk of the down payment. Our cost from the dealership was about 26% off the MSRP, and with the demand for RVs partially caused by the pandemic, we knew we wouldn’t be able to negotiate down much, if at all. After we figured out our down payment from the sales of the van and the Disney points, we decided to finance the balance with a 20-year RV loan at 4.25%.

Here’s the way we thought about financing: as long as we could afford the monthly payment (we had a hard budget of no more than $500/mo) without having to touch our retirement/savings, the decision was worth making. Since we were already paying for indoor storage for the van, we would save some money with the Travato, as we’d be paying less for outdoor storage (we live in a condo and can’t store it at home). Our cost to insure the Travato is more than the Eurovan but still reasonable at $750/year, but we’ll take a major hit with the cost to register the vehicle each year. However, just as the van showed us (and buying/selling homes has proven), the “true cost” of something is unknown—until it comes time to sell or do a trade-in. We know we’re making an investment, and we trust we’ll have a great return on this investment. But we also realize how incredibly lucky, fortunate, and privileged we are to be able to make this kind of decision. I know that if we had children, we probably wouldn’t be able to even be thinking about buying an RV, at least not this one. Obviously, everyone’s lives and financial circumstances are different; what’s true for us may not be true for others and vice versa. Talking money matters is awkward, if not taboo; however, when I was searching for info, I appreciated the posts that were honest and open about costs and financing.

So, to make a long story (post) short, here she is: the Winnebago Travato in granite (the color ours will be):

Image source: https://winnebago.com/models/product/motorhomes/travato

The Travato comes in two floorplans: the 59G and the 59K. The “59” refers to the 159” wheelbase. Both the G and K models feature driver and passenger seats that can swivel around and face the inside of the coach; otherwise, the layouts are pretty different. Before I get into describing each layout, click here to watch a fantastic video featuring two full-time RVers and YouTubers, each giving the other (and us) a tour of his Travato.

The G sleeps three (four max) and features a more compartmentalized floorplan. The bed area is separate from the living space, and there’s a separate dinette area, which also converts to an additional sleeping space. The kitchen features a pantry closet and a large fridge/freezer. The bathroom is across from the bed and is a wet bath (which means that the toilet/sink/shower are all enclosed in the same space—yup, everything gets wet when you shower). Take a look at the floorplan of the Travato 59G:

Compared to the separate areas offered in the G floorplan, the 59K model is pretty wide open. The wet bath is at the back of the coach, just inside the rear doors, instead of to the side. The wardrobe is also inside the wet bath area. The kitchen area is all on side of the coach, with a smaller refrigerator (with freezer compartment, not a separate freezer). The biggest differences however are the two separate twin beds (which can convert to a large bed) and the lack of a dinette area. Check out the floorplan of the K model:

K vs G? This choice was an easy one; due to our sleeping styles, we had to go with the K. While we could always add the extra middle cushion (which comes stored underneath one of the beds) to make a much larger bed, we like the idea of having separate twin-sized beds so that we can both sleep well. G can get up during the night to his heart’s desire, and I won’t ever know! We slept in separate areas in the Eurovan (I in the pop top, G down below), so we’re used to this arrangement. We’ll miss having a separate eating or “work” area that the dinette in the G model affords, but the twin beds were the deciding factor. Honestly, at this point in our lives, getting a good night’s sleep in one of our highest priorities. The K model also features windows running along both sides of the van, giving it a really open and bright feel. And with the bathroom at the back of the coach, we can access it from outside or inside or set it up as an easy outdoor shower.

The Travato has been out since 2014 (and launched the lithium models—see below—in 2018); to save a bit of money, we were hoping to buy a gently used one if possible rather than a new model. Unfortunately, trying to find a used Travato in this market was damn near impossible, and we weren’t so keen on private sales without the availability of warranties and such. If we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic, we might have been willing to travel far to buy a vehicle—especially if we had found a great deal on a used one. Now, no way. However, finding a local dealer with Travato in stock or available before late spring 2021 (at the earliest) was proving to be a challenge. I called around, devoted hours to searching on RVTrader, and finally found one within driving distance. Colonial RV in Millstone, New Jersey, had two K models available; one was the standard K with a generator, and the other, the KL, featuring a lithium set-up. The non-lithium would arrive at the dealership in March. The lithium model was scheduled to arrive in late October. Aargh, more choices.

The choice between the lithium/non-lithium model wasn’t as easy to figure out. The price difference between the two is about $20K. Is having lithium worth it? Depends on who you ask. Based on what I’ve been reading and watching, those who have it love it and would never go back to a non-lithium model. Here’s what it means: our rig doesn’t need a generator to supply power, nor does it need to be connected to shore power. We have power all the time through the Pure 3 Lithium Energy System powered by Volta. We can be as off the grid as we want to be—without having to worry about power. We originally decided on the non-lithium model. We figured while lithium would be awesome, we might not need it. And $20K is $20K. And then G had a call with his nephrologist, who estimates he may need dialysis within 6-9 months if he’s not able to get a kidney transplant first. If he ends up needing dialysis, he’ll have the ability to still travel and have access to power to set up dialysis machines if we got the KL version. Could we have just relied on the generator and/or campgrounds with shore power? Probably, but this way, we have options and a bit more freedom…and maybe a few more worries about such a complex system!

If you’re even remotely interested in Travato and want to learn more, we’d strongly encourage you to seek out and join the Travato Owners and Wannabees Facebook group (while the group itself is private, you can search for it on Facebook and request to join); with more than 12K members, the group addresses and answers just about every question/problem, and they’re incredibly supportive and informative. There are also a ton of YouTubers traveling around the country in their Ts, and their videos have been fantastic and super helpful as we were making our decisions. Here are a few of our favorite YouTube channels:

The Fit RV: YouTube; website
30 and a Wake Up: YouTube
VAN TREKKING Lifestyle: YouTube
Chad and Paul: YouTube
Go Small. Live Large!: YouTube

Whew, that was a lot of info…capping off months of research. As I write this, we’re days away from making the trip down to New Jersey to pick up our van. Stay tuned for next week’s posts for the start of our Travato adventures!