In February 2022, we marked a significant milestone: three years of embracing the nomadic lifestyle in our 2019 Mercedes Winnebago Revel. Ironically, this anniversary coincided with a less glamorous reality – a stay in a Comfort Inn while a local RV repair shop investigated a persistent battery drain issue. This experience, like van life itself, is a blend of highs and lows, and it’s this honest perspective we want to share after years of calling our Revel home.
Is the Mercedes Winnebago Revel Truly Home After Three Years?
Absolutely! For my husband and I, “home” isn’t a fixed address; it’s where our Mercedes Winnebago Revel is parked. We don’t have a traditional house to return to, relying on the generosity of friends and family when we need a break from van life. Of course, we occasionally opt for paid accommodations for health reasons, to escape extreme weather, or when visiting loved ones. For longer stays in specific locations, we sometimes utilize coworking spaces. However, the vast majority of our time, comparable to our previous condo living, is spent within the cozy confines of our Revel. It’s not just a vehicle; it’s our dwelling, our adventure mobile, and undeniably, our home.
Mercedes Winnebago Revel Long-Term Review: 3 Years and 56,000 Miles Later
After three years and over 56,000 miles traversing diverse landscapes, from snow-laden mountains to sun-baked deserts, what insights can we offer about the 2019 Mercedes Winnebago Revel? Let’s delve into the realities of living full-time in this Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van conversion.
The Enduring Positives of the Mercedes Winnebago Revel
Surprisingly Robust Construction: RVs, generally, aren’t engineered for the rigors of full-time living, let alone the demanding conditions we’ve subjected our Mercedes Winnebago Revel to. We’ve pushed its limits through harsh environments, and it has consistently impressed us.
Winters find us deep in freezing temperatures and heavy snow. In early 2021, our diesel heater worked so tirelessly that it actually reached its time-out limit after approximately two months of continuous operation.
Navigating Wyoming’s winter landscape, our Mercedes Winnebago Revel faced icy wheel wells in -20 degree weather, making steering a challenge.
Summers are spent exploring remote dirt roads in pursuit of solitude and breathtaking views.
The journey’s end: our Mercedes Winnebago Revel parked at the culmination of a Wyoming dirt road, embodying off-grid adventure.
The Revel’s resilience to both outdoor elements and our demanding usage has been remarkable. Beyond routine tightening of a few screws, its durability is noteworthy. Crucially, the motors powering essential appliances like the refrigerator/freezer, air conditioner, water pump, galley drain, and ventilator fan, which we anticipated might falter by now, are all still functioning smoothly.
Exceptional Warmth in Cold Climates: Winnebago’s insulation and the choice of a diesel heater are standout features. Even in sub-zero temperatures, the Revel maintains a comfortable interior, allowing us to relax in shorts and a t-shirt. Our previous 2018 Winnebago Travato, while decent, couldn’t match this level of warmth; beanies, puffy jackets, and blankets were still necessary to combat the chill. The Revel truly excels in cold weather comfort.
Go-Anywhere Versatility: While there are moments when a larger RV seems appealing, the Mercedes Winnebago Revel’s compact size, just over nineteen feet, is a significant advantage. It effortlessly fits into most parking spaces, campsites, trailheads, and even residential driveways. Upsizing to a longer or wider RV would undoubtedly restrict our access to many desirable locations and make everyday errands more cumbersome.
Our Mercedes Winnebago Revel skillfully maneuvered through most tunnels on South Dakota’s Needles Highway, showcasing its nimble size.
Reliable Winnebago Customer Service: Winnebago’s technical support has consistently provided prompt and effective assistance whenever we’ve called. Their team has even guided mobile RV repair technicians through complex troubleshooting steps, proving invaluable support on the road. Furthermore, Winnebago honored our warranty claims without hesitation, quickly dispatching replacement parts at no cost to us.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Chassis Service Excellence: The Mercedes-Benz service experience has been equally impressive. Upon contacting them, they immediately recognize us and our vehicle history. Within our one-year chassis warranty, Mercedes-Benz twice arranged complimentary towing to the nearest service center with remarkable efficiency.
Routine maintenance stop: our Mercedes Winnebago Revel at a Mercedes-Benz service location for chassis care.
Mercedes-Benz service centers have consistently provided comfortable waiting areas, often offering private offices, and are welcoming to our canine companion.
Comfortable waits: enjoying the amenities at Mercedes-Benz of Boise while our Mercedes Winnebago Revel is serviced.
The staff at every Mercedes-Benz location we’ve visited are exceptionally hospitable, offering refreshments and complimentary vehicle washes at select locations.
The Less Ideal Aspects of Mercedes Winnebago Revel Living
Confined Living Space: Even for someone of smaller stature (I’m 5’4″ and 120 lbs), the living space is undeniably compact. I frequently bump my pinky toe on the particleboard backing of the bench seat and have accumulated a few head bumps from the upper shelving. Removing the shower walls would significantly enhance the sense of spaciousness and reduce the risk of bruises. Interestingly, we haven’t used the built-in shower even once in three years.
Overly Sensitive Chassis Warning System: The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis boasts advanced safety features, but the abundance of warning lights and audible alerts can be excessive. The lane departure warnings, for instance, sometimes trigger even when lane changes are clearly safe. Furthermore, sensor malfunctions can be costly to repair. It’s also worth noting that Mercedes-Benz certified repair shops are less common than those for Ford or Ram vehicles, potentially limiting repair options in certain areas.
Extended Winterization Periods: While marketed as a four-season RV, practical experience dictates otherwise for the Mercedes Winnebago Revel in truly cold climates. RV manuals, repair professionals, and our own experiences strongly advise winterizing the plumbing system when temperatures consistently drop below freezing.
Our initial hope was to maintain operational plumbing throughout winter while traveling between ski resorts. However, as detailed in our previous post here, our experiences led us to prioritize winterization.
In regions with milder winters, like the Sierras or Pacific Northwest, where lows remain in the high twenties or warmer, the Revel’s plumbing might function without issue. However, in colder states such as Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, where temperatures frequently plummet to single digits or below zero, plumbing failures are a significant risk. Our firm recommendation is to winterize to avoid costly repairs and the inconvenience of frozen pipes, especially when you’d rather be hitting the slopes.
Limited Gear Storage: While external racks and storage boxes can be added, and the “garage” space under the bed is reasonably sized, securely storing all our outdoor gear for four seasons remains a challenge. Despite modifications to our Mercedes Winnebago Revel, detailed here, we still rely on monthly paid storage to accommodate everything.
Mountain bikes are a particularly cumbersome item. Although we have an exterior bike rack, finding a suitable cover to protect them from winter road salt and grime has proven difficult.
Ready for adventure: our Mercedes Winnebago Revel equipped with a bike rack, though winter storage remains a challenge for our bikes.
Storing bikes under the bed isn’t feasible due to space constraints from other full-time living essentials. Even if garage space were available, the bed lift mechanism required for bike storage renders the bed unusable. Consequently, our bikes remain in storage during the winter ski season.
Revel Features We Seldom Utilize
The Indoor Shower: The wet bath, encompassing a shower and cassette toilet, also includes three bamboo shelves, offering the option to convert the shower area into storage. We utilize the cassette toilet and two shelves but have never used the shower itself.
Initially, a shower seemed essential in an RV. However, we quickly learned the practicalities of RV showers. Thorough drying after each use is crucial to prevent mold in the confined, poorly ventilated space. Water tends to spread everywhere in the limited square footage of a van, where the bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, office, mudroom, and garage essentially merge.
While a powered roof vent is present, complete drying of the wet bath can take hours, if it occurs at all. Towel drying is an option, but then damp towels need to air dry, potentially adding unwanted moisture inside if outdoor drying isn’t possible. The most effective drying method involves opening all van doors and windows, which is weather-dependent. And don’t forget the shower curtain needs drying too!
Shower water consumption is also significant. We prefer public showers to conserve water for drinking, cooking, and dishwashing. The Revel’s 21-gallon freshwater tank depletes quickly with regular showers and other water needs. With long hair, shampooing and rinsing alone consume a substantial amount of water – I’ve even considered shaving my head to minimize water usage!
The Awning: With our first RV, a Winnebago Travato, the awning seemed like a prime feature. Now, we consider it an expensive, fragile add-on.
The Revel’s Carefree awning is designed to retract automatically in strong winds. However, sudden wind gusts or rapid increases in wind speed can outpace the retraction mechanism, potentially causing damage.
Enjoying shade: the awning extended on our Mercedes Winnebago Revel, a feature we use cautiously due to wind sensitivity.
Mountainous regions, where we spend much of our time, are prone to unpredictable wind gusts. Once, in seemingly calm Olympic Valley, a sudden gust twisted our extended awning violently before it slowly retracted. Since then, we’ve been hesitant to use it, fearing it might not retract properly again.
Awnings are likely best suited for areas with gentle breezes or slowly increasing wind speeds. Given our frequent exposure to gusty winds, we rarely deploy it. Furthermore, the shade provided by the awning is limited by the van’s orientation to the sun. Repositioning the van for optimal shade is often impractical depending on campsite setup. We find a portable E-Z UP canopy to be a more versatile and cost-effective shade solution.
The Fold-Down Exterior Table: A table folds down from the galley’s sliding door side for outdoor use. However, the sliding door must remain open when the table is in use. Often, we prefer to use a table in a different location altogether. Like the awning, a standalone, portable table offers greater flexibility.
Revel Ownership: Still Happy After Three Years?
Unequivocally, yes! After six months in a 2018 Winnebago Travato, we traded it for the Mercedes Winnebago Revel in February 2019. The reasons behind that decision are detailed here. Three years later, we remain delighted with our Revel purchase and grateful for the lifestyle it enables. No regrets whatsoever!
Slopeside living at its finest: our Mercedes Winnebago Revel perfectly positioned for ski-in/ski-out van life.
Future RV Plans: Considering a Change from Our Mercedes Winnebago Revel?
Living in a van for three and a half years, and owning three different vans (Chevy Express AWD, Winnebago Travato, Winnebago Revel), has provided invaluable insights into our ideal tiny living setup. We’ve come to realize that the Revel, while excellent, is somewhat overly refined and less adaptable to our evolving needs.
We now prioritize a modular living space that can be easily reconfigured throughout the year. We also seek components that are straightforward to repair and replace with the limited tools we carry and our DIY skills. We are currently exploring the possibility of building a simpler, custom van conversion that better aligns with our specific requirements. The journey continues!
It’s hard to believe three years have passed in our Revel, and we’re excited for the adventures ahead. Choosing the Mercedes Winnebago Revel and making it our home remains one of the best decisions we’ve made!
Update: We sold our Winnebago Revel!
