2022 Winnebago Revel 2 Week Ownership Update! The Good, Bad, & Ugly 

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="0">0:00</a> - Intro <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="74">1:14</a> - Why I Chose A Revel <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="305">5:05</a> - How I Bought This Revel <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="457">7:37</a> - Factory Delivery Experience <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="698">11:38</a> - Exterior Tour <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1317">21:57</a> - Interior Tour <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1620">27:00</a> - Revel Intricacies <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2065">34:25</a> - Electrical System Overview <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2530">42:10</a> - Problems So Far <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2758">45:58</a> - Upgrades / Modifications <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3145">52:25</a> - Driving The Revel <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="60">1:00</a>:25 - Final Thoughts

I think this guy holds the Guinness book of records for speaking coherently without ever saying “um”. He is the verbal one shot scene from True Detective Season 1. Well done brotha and thank you for the creating this video for those of us still on the fence.

The RV industry is so ready for Lexus style customer service. Whoever figures out the improved customer service will dominate the market.

We've had a 2020(2019 chassis) for over a year now. A LOT of little bugs to work out, which as you say you expect. We live in Austin, and wife picked it up in San Diego. First night driving it back, plugs in at an RV spot in Tucson, no rooftop AC. Blows, but not cold. It is 92 degrees, at 8 pm. Not a happy camper. Long story short, it was the wrong rooftop AC installed. The one on there had a heater also, which the Revel is not wired for. Also on the drive back, starts raining, the antenna seal is leaking and dripping water through the top console. This caused my wife to start leaking out of her eye holes. All that was fixed, but when you spend a lot of money, you should have perfection. At the price point these are at now, Winnebago needs to up their quality control game significantly. I recommend others to look at other van conversion companies such as Sportsmobile. Love the van, just not happy with Winnebagos QC. Currently looking for a replacement for that debacle folding galley faucet, which is designed to fail.

With a vehicle that’s that high of a ticket item, there are way too many damned design flaws, and necessary modifications to make this thing worth the “investment”. Thank you so very much for your honest review.

Great job Kyle! I continued to pick up several more pointers in addition to the personal electronic tutorial in the grocery store parking lot in Frisco, CO. Thank you very much!

This is exactly what I needed. A revel review from a car and ev guy. You da man

Love the Revel content! Excited to see how you mod it.

Thanks for adding a driving review. Most reviewers leave this out. I know turbos can have a lag, but you're the first to show (or even mention) that it is pretty severe.

Thank you for the thorough walk-through. The only reason I can think of for the extended running boards is for stone and debris kickup protection. Those large tires will kickup stones a lot further than most.

Very helpful, informative video Kyle. Thank you for making it. I’d love to see you review a 21 foot Solis w/ pop top.

Wow- You're a lucky guy. Have fun! I will keep supporting this channel so please upload more videos on EV and RV ownership haha. Keep up the good work Kyle.

Subscribed! Looking forward to more…

Awesome. Long term Revel and Revel related issues/upgrades specifically is hard to find.

Awesome as always!

Great insights, Kyle!

Outstanding RV & content. The Ford Ekko looks cool too

This is a great review!! Thank you so much for doing it. I do think that such an expensive vehicle should have a higher quality. Storyteller's seem to be better built. I was just at the Lake Tahoe Adventure Van Expo and I was able to see many vans and the quality does change dramatically even though the prices are all around the same 150k to 200k bracket.

You gave a good video and covered a large amount of info which most will want to hear. That turbo lag is a bother. I have the Sprinter van and it has no turbo lag. Talk to some mechanic who knows the MB Sprinter and he-she may be able to find a solution to either adjust the throttle or improve the intake-not just open up the air path but get the air to move quicker from the stop. You know some motors have a plenum in the air path that allow a quicker response and yet does not intrude on high end performance.

Happy to see RV Dealers are negotiating given the lack of inventory. Typically pre-covid you could expect a 30% discount easy. May I ask, what you ended up purchasing for? Final price vs. MSRP.

Cool! We just put a deposit on a 2022! Can’t wait to see what you post on here the good, the not so good, and the mix in between.

Kyle, had you decided on the Revel, or did you look at other options before deciding? Curious if you the Airstream Interstate 19 was on your list, and if yes, how you decided. Thanks.

$200K with those faults? I'd take it back...

what are your feeling about the size of it? Would you want a 170" instead or do you feel 100% settled with the 144"?

Awesome video! Do you mind sharing what type of financing you got? Whats the monthly payment one can expect from this and also how many mpg do you get and how often do you need to fill up? Im in the market for one but I have to calculate all expenses. Ohh before I forget, what the ball park for the insurance?

We have the KO2 on our rig and we don’t notice unusually loud road noise. We just upgraded from the factory Nexans. The softness of the tread is great off road but gives a higher level of compliance on the road. I put the KO2 on factory steelies.

The key by the bed control is there so you can remove the key so the bed can't be raised or lowered if someone is on it or below it. Probably a safety thing. Great video!

Great review. Disappointing at the low build quality in this price range though.

Thanks! Learned a lot from your video! What color is your camper van?

If you can track regenerations, I'd love to know what your regen frequency is before and after a tune. I agree the van is underpowered, but I am not willing to sacrifice longevity of the DPF; I'd probably buy a 1-ton pickup based camper if it starts impacting emissions reliability.

Can you add rear air springs to smooth out the ride?

Good video. So you have discovered how a local dealer can help with the niggles that every RV has upon delivery. You can repair many of the small items yourself but I think like you, "why have to fix these items yourself on a new rig". We had 3 service visits year 1 on our Class A with 30+ items which were broken or not adjusted properly.

If you registered the Revel in Colorado, how much are the yearly license plate registration fees? Thanks.

Table: Nylon washers or 7-20 mil film or Tri-Flow to add Teflon. (Bike Shop or Hardware Store)

Superbly balanced review. Great to break it up into chapters, great to talk both sides, pluses and minuses, which spawns dialogue by the viewer on topics we'd otherwise not considered. If I would make one suggestion, spend a bit more time on describing your personal habits and routine; eg., how you prepare meals, what are your normal activities outdoors..biking etc ? This will give me a better idea of utility. I could see this as something that allows me to go to some mix of beautiful places, but still work effectively as a virtual person. So it's good to know how you use and set up your workspace (if you do).... and so on. But really great job. One last thing: I don't want to start my RV experience with a purchase. I don't know enough. Is it easy to rent a Revel for several weeks?

Any thoughts on why there isn't an outside hose hookup? If we want to hook up to water at a campsite, the back doors have to remain open.

Hi Kyle, how much maintenance cost do you get in a year or say 6months in that camper van? Thank you, sir.

If given a choice of sprinter or transit, which would you prefer.

We added a mattress topper for our Sprinter. Don't have the same model as yours, it's a 2012 RS Adventurous... but, I haven't noticed any problems with acceleration..... interestingly enough.. I noticed one thing in your video when you "slapped" your foot to the floor and the "delayed" response....I have found that pushing 1/2 way down on the accelerator gives me plenty of power off the line.....I normally don't drive it this way all the time, only when I need to accelerate quickly. Question, do you think that the acceleration issue is due to the fact that it's a 4WD... mine is a RWD.... and older 2011 Mercedes Benz 3 litre V6... same engine, 188 HP, 325 foot pounds of torque... and mine is the dual wheels and 22 feet 9 inches...I'm a lot heavier vehicle than yours.... Last thing is that my rear end ratio is 4.11.... perhaps MBZ changed this....a higher number means more performance on the low end..... My top speed is governed I think around 85....?

Great video - do the front seats swivel around to the back at all?

on that Table I had teh same with one of my RV's I wrapped Teflon Tape around the table clamp, stopped the squeaking and still was very usable!

Nice review ! Thx

Excellent! Are there on-line tech manuals from 1) Mercedes. 2) Winnebago 3) 3rd party accessories.

Do you have to keep the back door open if you want to stay connected to city water?

Thank you for this honest review. I was going to get a sprinter. I will get a Ram . Thanks

We've seen both the 2022 Tiffin build and the 2022 Revel and the inside quality of the build of the Tiffin is shockingly low quality for the price. The inside of the cupboards actually cracked open with a tiny test push to see if it was sturdy and the seal just broke so easily. Glue strips were peeling off that held storage space pockets and floor strips were peeling! It was brand new! The Revel seemed like a much more quality build in comparison with steel trim on the cupboards and doors, nothing was very worn or broken that we could see and it had 5k miles on it from previous owner. Good to know about the flaws/broken elements you shared because we haven't bought it yet so I want to give it another walk though. Also another drive to test out that power issue! Thanks again for the video!

Revel 2022 owner since April, 6000 miles so far. The Inverter does not need to be turned on and off in the gear garage. Keep it off back there and just turn it on/off at the One Panel. Never had an issue with it. Some may find that you cannot connect city water unless you leave the door open. We have found we are never in one place with hookups more than one night (we prefer boon docking) so that is not an issue. Plus if it runs out, just open the door and fill it up!

The Sprinter itself is a good van, I have driven a lot of all generations. The Winnebago part is ok but doesn't look very high quality. And the price is astronomus. Way to expensive. You get much better made 4x4 Sprinter RV's for a lot less money out here in Germany. Identical cars a mostly cheaper in the US. But those Sprinter RV's are way cheaper out here in europe. But I wish you a lot of fun and allzeit gute Fahrt (always a good drive).

what about the 44e? whats the difference between this revel and 44e? are they new additions?

You mentioned that the 4x4’s are built in Germany, We ordered a 2021, 170”, 4x4 last December for a Storyteller style buildout (supposed to be in August 1st) and the dealer said it was being built in the SC factory. Nice video review, we have a few Tesla’s and always get a kick out of your vids.

Wow! A whole series on hash tag Van Life !!! With a Sprinter!! Sounds like it could be a real unique channel ;-)

I like the bathroom in the revel.. WGO really needs to do a volta system like in the STO for the revel... I have 2022 Travato GL on order - hopefully delivered next month.. I wish the Travato had a cassette toilet rather than its black tank -- I may well do a mod to put a cassette in the Travato

My oh my. We took a Winnebago Navion from NC to TX and back. The worst part was driving past semis or even being passed by other cars. The thing would get blown all over the road and due to its top heavy design it really would lean heavy when taking any kind of curves or low speed bumps. The 3.0L V6 turbodiesel is also extremely underpowered. MB needs to step up their game.

What was the final price from General RV?

Owl Vans has exhaust kit to convert. They actually have some of the highest quality accessories/ MODs for Revel on the market. A lot of RV/Van shops also sell or install for you.

Kyle very good video 👍 very informative, I am not a RV guy however it was good to see/hear about your experience thus far .. still can’t believe I watched this video in full, and for anyone that is thinking of skipping don’t it’s a real eye opener.. leaded allot .. the only major take away is for performance you need a BEV RV... life is good after that no tune needed..

Your experience reminds me when I bought a 1999 Eurovan Winnebago many years ago. Winnebago has not changed in twenty years. The VW chassis was great, the Winnebago portion not so much - constant rattles, leaks, etc. Whenever there was an issue Winnebago said it was a VW issue, VW said it was a Winnebago issue. Learned a lot so I could repair the issues rather than dealing with dealers. The camping was great!

Hey you mentioned taking the Winnebago branding off the Revel. I have heard that Winnebago makes you work harder for warranty claims if you remove their branding. True?

What’s the real world MPG? Great review.

How do you secure your 3 dogs while driving

Has anyone seen a mod with replacing the bench seat with 2 captain seats? Or is there not enough room?

So what did general RV sell it to you for?? I assume about $145k

What is under the bench seat?

Kyle. Tks for the video. Question. Did I understand correctly that you got the van in 8 weeks? How did you manage that? I ordered in October and am still waiting. Thank you. DaveH

We picked it up with the 1200 miles from a dealer with the same sort of experience. We didn’t exist after wiring the money and receiving the keys :D There was factory pickup available though and we’d still pay the delivery fee for us non-youuber’s

Good video! Why did you choose the revel over the storyteller? And did you finance it?

You got some friends huh, I love Steve Lehtos, great guy and lemon law attorney

I don't know if you fixed your no power issue or not yet, but I believe it is a body sensor issue. I recently got s decent amount of snow near me, and the 360 sensors were blocked, so when I hit the fuel pedal, it was like I wasn't hitting it at all, and then it went after about 5-10 seconds, I even felt like I died in the middle of the intersection, it was a bit scary. I turned off the proximity sensor stuff, and the problem was solved. "off the line, this van is a dog" it is not, there is a problem with your specific van or the sensors. I hope you already figured it out.

what was the price you paid?

Owl Vans in Calif is an aftermarket bonanza of accessories for your Revel. Exhaust system for starters, Kyle. The exhaust kit you can DIY! Pedal Control Kit for the turbo lag. DIY ease! Owl has You Tube how tos! Rear ladder system instead of the Winnebago cheezy ladder. A rear step. A rear door tire mount system. A rear windows replacement system. A front bumper system. Suspension upgrades that Owl Vans has identified, and remedied too. John, owner of Owl Vans is totally cool to work with.

Hi great van. What was the cost

Don’t you have insurance that will pay for the windshield? I have zero deductible comprehensive

Newbie : “ more storage than you know what to do with “. Haha, just wait buddy.

Kyle- Check out Don't waste your money on batteries by Morton's on the Move. That guy must be an electrical engineer and does a deep dive into lithium batteries. Your content contradicted him on some critical points: 1-Lithium performs great in cold weather doesn't need heat, just insulation, 2- You can run them down lower than you mention. PS: Love your delivery and demeanor and I'm sure you will do well as a Van Life you tuber as well.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1740">29:00</a> there are RVs with self-leveling hydraulic systems but I don’t think they’ve made their way into Class B yet.

Eco Boost has it’s own issues as well??

Best improvement for ride is a Van Compass stage 4 suspension kit! Makes is less bouncy, stable in high winds and cornering, well worth every penny. I own a 2019 Revel... LOVE IT! IT'S NOT A SPORTSCAR!

very cool. At 6'7" I'm always nervous about Camping. I just don't fit! When I saw the Thumbnails on my feed, I figured you got your hands on an EV Mercedes chassis converted to fully Winnebago... I guess that will happen in some years time!

Get some crc heavy marine corrosion inhibitor and spray every thing under the rv provides great rust protection. I DONT work for them but the product is great. Its like a liquid cosmoline that dries on.

The Xantrex batteries are probably LFP, which is fine leaving at 100%. The one thing that could hurt it is charging below freezing, but it may already have a low temp disconnect.

I was almost ready to buy one. Not any more... I do not want to be treated to inferior product and inferior service. For my wife an I, just car camping in our comfy, reliable SUV, plus a tent, plus occasional hotel stay -- that is the way to travel in our retirement. Thank you so much for doing this independent video. There are too many promotional dealership vids -- and they do not tell the truth.

I know that you've never touched on this but some of us would like to know if the van was built in a union shop.

$200K?? Wow. That’s three nice Tesla’s. I hope you get a lot of views to pay for it. Not my cup of tea but I’m glad you like it.

Try a tennis ball as a sliding side door stop, works on my Autocruise Tempo.

Agree on the quality statement…I would be happy with Honda quality which is pretty darn good…

Pretty through video description of the REVEL. Note your comment about panels in the cab, those are all Mercedes and not Winnebago. Winnebago buys the crew cab version and then changes the interior from the drivers backrest to the front. I have a 2019 Revel with the older engine and transmission (2018 Chassis), AGM batteries still but reliable. I added a solar suitcase 125 W panel for external use and also carry a Jackery 1500 solar generator with 4 100W solar panels. Works great and saves on chassis battery use.

Full disclosure, but you didn't disclose the price you paid. Thanks, very helpful.

Cool this can be a mobile studio for your channel 👍👍

I actually really dislike the running boards. They definitely get in the way when doing any minor to moderate style off-roading.

We picked up our Revel in Sacramento at the dealer. It only had 67 miles on the odometer. I have seen them on flat transports crossing the country on my drives. So they DO NOT show up with 1200 miles on them. Plus we found no flaws at delivery and during the weeks since. I guess IT DOES MATTER who you buy from.

Nice review.. wow, so expensive... you could buy a small cabin for that price... and next upgrade... how about a TV install wall-mount?

How do you level the bed without leveling the van on the Revel, or can you?

What I would have done is tried one out before I purchased it to make sure I liked it.

Wow the turbo lag on that thing is crazy

Did you get this through MATT’S RV Reviews?

It will be so nice when we get EV RVs with expandable solar. Right now RVs use gas/diesel from propulsion and front HVAC, propane for heat/hot water/cooking, small batteries for A/C and electrical outlets. A large RV traction battery for all power will be the dream of the future, with no more propane and gas/diesel fill-ups. And with enough solar you can boondock for maybe 2 weeks to gain enough range to get to your next destination.

Dec. 20th 2021 Thank you, for your accurate evaluation of your 2022 Winnebago Revel 4x4 I will agree with you, and that is It’s a good built… but a lot of up grades need to be added….. give & take Situation, I’ve looked at Lot of RU-vid videos & there are about TEN upgrades that are Essential, especially the current Suspension, system & power solar increase to (a) 2000 watt inverter lithium battery package increase amp. To; 600 amps also, water tank capacity by removing the little donut spare tire from underneath & mounting it to the rear back door & put in place EXTRA 21 gal. Tank of water That will add to the already 25 gal. Fresh water tank. Hammerhead front grill & witch pull system & seating bench inside the back… area, & add air compressor also, Compressor freezer, Now that should do it….. THX Again for your up close & Personal evaluation….Stay Safe & Healthy out There…..

2021 Revel owner here: The rear diff is actually lower than the side tail pipe (I added a guard to the diff.) Haven't had an issue with the side pipe in a year of ownership off road - did add a van compass suspension kit this winter. Owl does make an extension to move behind the back tire. Nice video - enjoy

I'm surprised for the price you feel ok with the imperfections....I would be woefully disappointed! I'm definately not sold on this vehicle!

i saw 3 of these at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. All in the same color