Rookie 'Vista Cruiser' Owner / LP Generator Questions

I'm looking at buying an '07 Vista Cruiser Mini and have a couple of questions hopefully someone can help me out with:

-With an LP Generator (I've rented dozens of times and all had gas gennies), off of the 12 gallon tank that the RV has, how long would this typically last if the A/C was used for 3-4 hours during the day? I know, maybe a ridiculous questions to try and answer, but versus a gas generator that I recently used on a weekend trip where it was run for 30 hours and used maybe 1/8th of the tank, am I looking at running out of propane quickly with this? Are these not meant to be out off the grid for 10-12 days? I'll be in the Nevada desert very far from any services at least once a year for this 10-12 days... I'm trying to make sure that I'm buying something that is going to be able to handle that. Maybe the answer is to bring a supplemental propane tank that I can rent from Airgas for this one trip each year?

-Is the Sprinter Chassis (Mercedes Engine) known to be reliable or are there lots of complaints? I can't find many on the forums that I'm looking on and I don't know any RV owners that have this type of RV - all my friends have Ford/Chevy engines. Anybody out there with any advice as to whether you'd stay away from these? A conversation I just had with a friend was what if I had a problem while out in the middle of Nevada - how many shops would be able to work on this Mercedes Diesel engine...? I didn't have an answer for a good question.

-Any advice whatsoever about this particular model helps... I'm looking at an '07 with 40k miles. It's in great condition; I am also spending good money on it for what I see as a nice interior with nice finishes, but importantly, it's a ride that gets that 17-18mpg. For the same money I can buy a brand-new Class C 24' - 26'... I'm not looking for any particular answer on this, just if you can give me any advice that would help.

Hopefully these questions aren't too vague and generic to be answered...

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[Conquest102]

don't know much about the propane i would defenitly get the extra tank JUST IN CASE. propane is suppsose to be more effecent than gas. Not sure how that will translate when you are running gen for A/C which will be loading the gen pretty heavy. The milage is a LIE RV's suck down gas like a drunk sailor drinks beer. I wouldn't beleive anything over 10-12 and that even on the high side. My 96 conquest gets 7-8 mpg :mrgreen:

[israndy]

I have the Vista Cruiser MB, the van conversion that doesn't have a fiberglass body, but basically the same source as the one you are looking at. It's getting 20-24 MPG so the 17-19 sounds right despite what every other RV'r thinks. I do love the MPG, the difference between stashing it as I cannot afford the fuel or taking it as a daily driver. And the Mercedes engine is famous for getting half a million miles on it w/o much work, 10K between oil changes. The classic issue is the Turbo Resonator (that attenuates the sound of the diesel a little) fails, it's plastic. If this happens and you are in the wild it will suck. Often people take a spare or add an eliminator when going native.


My LP tank is only 7 gallons and yet I have only filled it 3 times in a year. But I don't run the A/C much, the dash A/C works great when traveling and the thermostatic fan keeps the interior the same temp as the exterior in most situations. The acrylic windows can be opened and LOCKED a crack, so air comes in but rain won't. When I want to start living in my RV I may just move to that exact one you are looking at, except at a show once getting out of the drivers seat I crashed my head into the over cab and bled dramatically. At the moment I appreciate the headroom of the van, and fitting in a normal parking space, even though I have a full-time bed, shower, and dinette.

-Randy