I’m wrapping up three weeks of Boldt travel in Florida, and I’m totally smitten with this vehicle.
First off, coming from non-Lithium to Lithium was a huge jump for me. I’m one of those people who thought, I don’t need Lithium. I can just live on 12 volt or use the generator. (I also told myself I did not need a bathroom when I bought the Travato.)
WHAT WAS I THINKING? Lithium is now as essential as Mount Hagen Instant coffee in the morning (and with induction, essential for heating the water too), and I would have been foolish to have bought a Travato with no bathroom back in 2017. Live and learn, right?
So what has three weeks in the Boldt taught me? Overall, the Boldt is one awesome vehicle. I’ve talked about all the things I love about the Boldt on our Facebook Owners & Wannabees page, but what about some of the things that I (and maybe you) would like to see changed. Feel free to chime in and let me know what you’d like changed in your KL or BL? This is our wishlist.
There are some things that Winnebago could not have anticipated, things that you find only after living in the Boldt for extended periods. There are other things that leave you scratching your head, as in, how could they not have thought of this?
Sliding Door & Open Window. On the latter list is the sliding door and the passenger-side awning-style window. I’ve said this before in our Facebook forum, but if the passenger-side window is open on the 70KL, and you open the sliding glass door, the Boldt is going to have one big gaping hole in it. Or so I thought. We activated the door one morning by accident last week (not really by accident but, hey, we’re new at this). What looked like a catastrophe ended up being an easy fix. Whew!
The door slid into the open awning window, pushed it toward the back of the van an inch or so, then stopped. It looked awful from the inside where I was standing, but all I had to do was get out of the van and slide the window an inch toward the front of the van. Voila! Tamera and I were pleasantly relieved. There was no damage whatsoever.
Still, I don’t recommend trying this at home, and home, as we know, is where the Boldt is. I do recommend being vigilant, especially in the morning when you may be groggy from sleep, about closing the passenger side window before you open the sliding door. Of course, if you have the sliding door AND the sliding windows, you don’t have to worry about this. (The downside is that you don’t have dual-pane windows.)
Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Why Winnebago? Why Mercedes-Benz? Surely, you are capable of incorporating a tire-monitoring system in the Boldt, especially for those of us (which means all of us) who paid enough to buy Lichtenstein. Why didn’t you do add this safety feature? The short answer, told to me by a Mercedes-Benz rep at the Tampa RV Show last week, was because of the dual wheels. He didn’t elaborate, and he didn’t need to. We just don’t have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System built it. Sigh.
To the rescue are many third party providers. Minder Research was among those providers at the Tampa RV show. I was about to pull the trigger on their A1A system when I discovered a not-yet-gone-public system, the A1As. I got a glimpse of it at the RV show. The A1As features a 5’5”-inch monitor (great for us aging boomers) AND the system works with Smartphones. I hope it lives up to its $499 price tag. I’ve pre-ordered: Pre-Orders will begin shipping January 31st A1AS for RVs, MotorHomes, 5th Wheels, Coaches and Trailers – Outdoor Adventure Products
Gosh, I can’t believe I have only two things on my list that I would change. Oh, a third would be price. I wish the Boldt were, say, 10 percent cheaper. But that ain’t gonna happen!
Now it’s your turn. As I read your comments, I’m sure I’ll soon be saying, Oh yeah, I would change that …
Before I leave, though, one word on AutoStart. Our Travato cousins, who we do love dearly, evangelize the merits of AutoStart. My understanding is that when the Lithium system hits a low point, the Travato, if set properly, starts the engine and idles at a high speed to charge the battery pack. Sprinter vans, being diesel, don’t like to idle (they prefer to go places), so we have no AutoStart. What I surmised at the Tampa RV show was that AutoStart is particularly beneficial for pet-owners who want to leave their pets in the van while going out for a hike or bike ride for a few hours. I also learned that even if you have a system like AutoStart and air-conditioning, leaving a pet alone in the van may be illegal under certain conditions in Florida and other states.