Backcountry Tour Takes Winnebago Off Road in Colorado – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
BOULDER, Colo. – When most people think of Winnebago, they envision Class A motorhomes moving down the road on a family vacation.
In an effort to break down barriers for some of its newer models, Winnebago has embarked on a tour of the country showing off its rugged off-road Class B models the Revel, Ekko and Solis Pocket.
And what better setting to show off the vans than have proven so popular with younger audiences than Boulder Reservoir, just outside of Boulder, Colo., home to a college campus and a metro area full of outdoors enthusiasts?
The timing Wednesday wasn’t coincidental. The Winnebago contingent will continue over the weekend as they take the vans to the Mountain West Overland Expo set for Friday through Sunday in Loveland, Colo.
The Solis Pocket is new to the market as of March of this year in terms of the in-cab configuration. Ekko is new enough to be getting something of a lifestyle makeover. Chris Vogtman, vice president of product for Winnebago, said Ekko is now a “chassis agnostic” profile with numerous features designed to carry over to be built on either a Mercedes Sprinter or a Dodge ProMaster chassis. Both Solis Pocket and Ekko take advantage of the resurging popularity of the pop-top camper.
The veteran of the bunch, the Revel, has a host of new features including a magnetic latch screen door at the entry and a power-lift bed in the rear.
Solis Pocket
This van comes in two floorplans. The one on display Wednesday includes sleeping for up to four with the poptop and a dinette that configures six different ways to allow comfortable sleeping in any configuration.
Vogtman said Winnebago previously outsourced the poptop, but has taken over production internally to give the company better ability to test durability, fabric and weather resistance.
“Within there, there are snow rods, so if you risk facing some snow overnight, you can prevent that from sagging with the snow rods,” he said.
Solis’ rear toilet features a cassette for dumping waste, but the entire toilet can be removed as well.
A propane tank in a compartment next to the toilet can be pivoted to an easier position for removal to refill. A pole attached to the rear door can be extended to hold a shower curtain allowing for privacy for an outdoor shower.
Solis Pocket is available on the Ram ProMaster chassis.
Ekko
Vogtman said the idea behind the multi-chassis platform is to be able to keep costs down and pass that on to the customer.
“It has been phenomenal for us,” he said. “We initially launched it on the Transit chassis and it’s still available, but is now on the Sprinter chassis as well.”
Believe it or not, space is the key to Ekko. It has two large storage boxes at mid coach and a pass-through storage in the back of the coach that would do somc Class Cs proud. The pass-through compartment has climate control ability. There is a vent in the back that is integrated into the chassis allowing for heating and cooling.
Ekko has 50 gallons of fresh water, which is the biggest limitation to long-duration boondocking. It contains a 16-kilowatt Lithionics package, so power is no longer a concern for overland trips.
The kitchen features a portable single-burner induction cooktop that can be unplugged and moved outside for convenient cooking.
Ekko’s rear bedroom has split twin beds with an insert that can convert them into a single larger bed. A pop-top makes for sleeping up to four.
Revel
The “old man” of the bunch still features enough rugged extras to make one think it would be a shame to stay on the road.
The Sprinter-platform model has the magnetic latch screen door and removable induction cooktop seen in the other models, but its rear power-lift bed not only provides ample sleeping space, but it also makes room below for storage and – at the suggestion of customers – it leaves room for someone to sit to perhaps put on a pair of waders.
But Revel is truly about getting away more than just going camping.
“The entire thing is built to not rattle,” Vogtman said. “That’s built to go offroad in rutted conditions. It’s all-wheel drive. It’s built to get into the backcountry. If you get into the backcountry or a washboarded dirt road, you don’t want to hear things rattle. We changed to these Posi-latches that turn and cinch the door tight.”
Moreover, Winnebago has sought areas where it could make Revel lighter so it could increase freshwater capacity. The company developed a new hexagon pattern floor that is super rigid and built to be lightweight. It also changed to aluminum cabinetry.
The results were a 40% increase over previous models.
Vogtman said Winnebago had evaluated other chassis for Revel such as the Ford Transit Trail, but is still waiting to see whether Ford can meet the customers’ expectations. Because, Vogtman said, Winnebago considers how campers get to where they’re going more important that what they eventually do.
“It’s about the journey,” he said. “It’s not about what you do when you get there, it’s about the fun of actually getting to that location.”
