Lower Profile

Compared to its popular Winnebago View, the height is lower by four inches and stands at 10 feet 7 inches. Check out the pictures below to see how the bubble above the cab is removed.

2010 Winnebago View Profile

2010 Winnebago View

The fold down bed over the cab is sacrificed to design a low profile RV, but that won’t matter much to the many who would rather not scramble up and down the ladder to go to slept. There’s still plenty of headroom, which makes it easy to access the front seats, and a large skylight above that brightens up the space.

Rear Slide Houses a Queen Size Bed

New in Winnebago’s Sprinter RV line is the use of a rear slide-out instead of a sidewall slide-out. This creates a space just large enough to walk-around a queen size bed. The bed is not only larger than the corner bed in the View’s “J” model, but is much easier to access as well. The trade off is the loss of the sidewall slide that provides a much roomier feel and function.

Traffic Flow

To offset the loss of the side slide-out, and the resulting narrow isle, Winnebago designed a creative floorplan with attention to traffic flow. The entrance is set back a bit from the front to provide a seating area to the right as you enter. From the entrance, you can also walk straight into the bathroom, or turn left for the kitchen or bedroom.

What makes this so smart is that most of the time you can get where you want to go without disturbing your partner. The traffic flows better overall by not funneling all activities down the same path. This reduces the hug and spin move required in many small RVs…you know the move when you need to get by the other person so you both ‘hug’, and then shuffle spin together to switch sides. See the floorplan below that specifies the various areas of the interior.

2010 View Profile 24DL Floorplan

Worth a Closer Look

The Sprinter RV is an ideal small diesel motorhome that’s worth a closer look. Check to see if your local dealer has one in stock, and then spend a little time in it. Get a feel for the front living area and whether it’s comfortable for dining or relaxing and watching TV. Pay attention to the window locations and how they set your views up while parked. Whether you’re stopped at a nice lunch spot, or stuck inside due to poor weather at the campground…an open view will make it a much better experience.

If you tend to carry passengers, like the kids, then the small sofa, which is really a bench seat, that faces forward appears to be a good option. Many small RV models don’t provide an adequate option for passengers, and Winnebago appears to try to address this here. Check this out carefully to see if this meets your needs. This is a good chance to try the sofa configurations into beds to decide how it would work in your lifestyle. For example, some with dogs might like to drop down the forward facing sofa into a small bed with safety belts, while still providing a walkway to the front cab. Now’s the time to test whether that would work for you while traveling.

When testing out the bedroom area, in addition to seeing how comfortable the bed is, make sure that there is enough space to walk around because its a tight fit. If you won’t always have the opportunity to slide out, like perhaps when dry camping, make sure that the bed is still usable even with the slide in. And finally, when deciding if storage is adequate, keep in mind that having a full time bed area means not having to store bedding elsewhere and therefore frees up valuable storage space.

Fleetwood had several 2010 Quest models at closeout prices at the Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa. The Quest is a “value” model class C built on the diesel Sprinter 3500 chassis. MSRP looks to be between $84,000 and $93,000, and you would normally expect to offer 25% off that, or $63,000 to $69,750. At the show the closeout price is shown at $60,000 on the window.

I doubt these models will last at that price, but if you’ve been in the market for this, then head over to the 2010 Florida RV SuperShow. The 2010 Quest is a limited run of only 150 vehicles, and there are reports that they’ve been selling fast. It’s an appealing entry into the 2010 small diesel chassis market and has a lot to offer.

I’m not Fleetwood’s biggest fan, but many people I’ve met have had several Fleetwood models over the years and wouldn’t buy anything else. The Quest comes in two floorplans, the 24L and the 24E. Both floorplans include the cabover bed, but one option instead is a low profile cab with a 26” TV.

The 24L features a front entry that opens into the kitchen/living area. The sofa overlooks the sink, stove and door with small windows. The rear has an interesting corner dinette/sofa/sleeper area that they call Gaucho Dinette. The bath is located in the other rear corner.

The 24E has the entry in the rear, which allows for separate zones a bit better. The rear is an ample sized bath with wardrobe closet. Middle is the kitchen. The front area is the living area with two sofas facing one another. Above each sofa is a nice sized window that provides great views and lighting from either one. In this model, the slideout is longer and so provides more space inside when parked.

Overall these models offer a great entry point into a Class C Mercedes Diesel. The tradeoff is that the “fit and finish” doesn’t feel as polished or substantial as some of the other more expensive models on the market. Take a look for yourself to see if it fits your needs.

2010 Quest 24L Floorplan

2010 Quest 24E Floorplan