Last year was all about development and listening to you, our customers. We were very fortunate to receive the advice and willingness to participate from so many customers that helped us move forward in so ways. We could not have imagined the results we have achieved without this help and we will continue to owe our appreciation to those involved.
For a manufacturer, there is nothing like being challenged in so many ways and being able to exchange a wide range of ideas to achieve something entirely different from what we were doing the year before. Because of this, we fully intend to continue this process and continue to explore new ideas, materials and features to provide the very best motor homes we possibly can. Being one of the smaller manufacturers gives us a distinct advantage in being able to make decisions quickly and at least try new ideas that come to us from all directions.
Starting at the Florida RV Super Show, we are offing 3 all-new Sprinter Legend motor homes with new materials and features. At the top of the line is the 2012 Sprinter Legend ex which has as standard, the Espar Diesel Hydronic heating and hot water system. This system requires less space, is very quiet and provides endless hot water. The diesel is provided directly from the Sprinter’s fuel tank and in 6 months of customer testing, has shown to have little to no impact on fuel economy because it is expected to use 0.90 gallons per hour at peak output but it will not need to run for an hour continuously even if the hot water is running all the time.
Functionality has been a huge factor in the development process. The Sprinter Legend and Legend e have 5.0 cu.ft. single door fridges which are 3 way, auto switching making it simple to use continuously. The Legend ex has a 6.0 cu.ft double door fridge which is also 3 way auto switching. You should always be able to carry a gallon of milk in the fridge. They are also off the floor so you don’t have to bend down to pull something out. This is a small point but important.
Last year we also received many calls from customers asking about the length of the bed. With the extra 16” in the length of the Sprinter Legend e and Legend ex, we can offer a bed length of 84 inches or an additional 55 cu.ft of cargo space. Under the powered Tri-Fold Sofa there is over 12” of clearance right through the cabin, great additional storage.
We will soon be starting to build the first 2012 “Activa”. This all-new model will be built on the shorter Mercedes-Benz 3500 Sprinter chassis and will contain some really neat features. Designed for people who have a length restriction where they live or have more of a travelling desire as opposed to planning to camp, this model will offer flexibility for a wide audience. Diesel Hydronic Heating will be standard and a new efficient way to utilize the available space. The counter will be where it belongs on the camping side of the model and the fridge and microwave will not be on the floor where it makes functionality not so functional. We will be using the 3500 chassis from Mercedes with dual rear wheels because we believe that single rear wheels on a Sprinter does not provide the stability in cross winds and poor road conditions that most RV’ers would expect. The ride is also better and the towing capacity will be 7500 lb’s.
The addition of the Activa will allow us to offer 4 all-new models using the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis. Great fuel economy, the cleanest diesel vehicles on the planet and the safest with the very best stability control systems available today. We try really hard to take forward the Mercedes-Benz customer service philosophy and provide the Mercedes experience. In regard to the pricing, because we know you will want to know, the answer is, less that you would expect. Take us for a test drive, you will see the difference.
