I was heading down Route 46 in Denville a few years ago, when I spotted a Freightliner Van in front of a store.  I pulled the car over, jumped out and gave it a hard look over.  I announced that it was the best chassis I had ever seen for conversion to a motorhome.  I’m not sure what year it was, but no one at that time was producing a RV on that chassis.

Fast forward several years and Winnebago was now producing RV’s, but I couldn’t afford one.  As improvements were made on the Freightliner/Dodge/Chrysler/Mercedes they showed up in the Winnebago.  The Freightliner/Dodge/Chrysler/Mercedes association fell apart in 2007,but there was no change, as Mercedes made all the chassis from the start.

The View is a 2008, and built on the Sprinter 3500 chassis.  It’s the first year the unit was equipped with a 3.0L Turbo V6, and it has a five speed automatic transmission.  It’s reported to get 15 to 17 MPG, but we’ll see how accurate that information is.  Bill, next door, says that on a good day his very nice pickup gets 15 MPG, so I’m feeling good.

The coach is fitted with sleeping for six and has seat belts for seven.  It has a very nice dual propane gas/electric refrigerator that works great, a propane hot air heating system that blows air from vents in the floor.  The air conditioning system requires 110V AC power, so either you drag a long cord, or run the propane fired Onan generator to stay cool.  There is a propane/110V AC hot water heater, a dual microwave convection oven (also 110V AC), a three burner propane stove (they have since downsized the stove to two burners) and a surprisingly large stainless steel sink.

Water to the coach is either street water through a hose, or the 12v water system that has about 30 gallons of water. I added a house sized filter to filter all water going into the coach, so we’ll see if it was worth the effort.  I feel better about it already, so I guess it was.

The bathroom works well, the shower is tight but easy to use, (I’ve taken a shower already, and good news; will continue) and the toilet works, well, like a toilet.  Ridding oneself of the grey and black water tank contents seems to always be portrayed as *icky*, but it was no problem.  I suppose I’ve had too many *icky* things to do, in too many of the jobs I’ve had.  Good for me now I guess.

For me, this is the Goldilocks RV; not too big, not too small; it’s just right, and we’ll keep you posted on things we discover/research/need/find, as we use it more.

Addendum:
January 21, 2025

The information above was written in 2013, not too long after I purchased the RV. Much has happened since then.  The RV, as of January 2025, has 197,000 miles on it and is, unfortunately, on its fourth engine.  I’ve lost track of all the places I’ve visited and with an adjustment to life, I hope to write more here and update the site to make it less of an artifact and a better reflection of the fun I’m having at living life.  I’ve really missed writing and want to get back to it again. Time will tell. Enjoy!

• We live this life once. Make the best of it.
• There are no do-overs, pay attention and do it right the first time.
• Be kind.
• Be generous.
• Have fun.