We have the exact floor plan, same color and of course with the pop top. Excellent Van and features. Great overall for practicality. We absolutely love ours. You guys did great on choosing your van.
The Dodge platform has come a long way since since they've overhauled the previous. They added a couple of gears made the seats more comfortable and hopefully did something with the crappy sound systems while in driving mode that most of these have. I'm on my 4th Dodge ram pickup and the sound systems are kick butt.. I'd love to incorporate that into one of these the only downside is it's only front-wheel drive however it gives you a wide platform in the rear but you should still have the van lifted a couple of inches and put more aggressive wheels on it so many people have done that and it is made a big difference.. adding lithium will allow the rear AC to kick on or have a way to run it off of the second alternator if you have that because the generator will use up a lot of fuel as your traversing down the road for several hrs .. but it is the most affordable platform in the dual twin beds is great for someone like me to put my e-bike inside because it is $12000 and one of the most expensive on the planet. I'd be more comfortable with it inside than out unless I towed a trailer.. I hear so many people talk about quitting van life and I'm just getting started by selling everything at 62 and visiting this beautiful country of ours... At my age I have really nothing to lose..lol... Good luck with whatever you do, maybe you'll change your mind about van life ... But the AC has been a concern of mine to I am ready to purchase real soon
Great video by the way. Besides the layout of your Ridgeline and the Solis (assuming 59PX), were other factors such as price tipped the scale one or another in your decision to go with Ridgeline? I've got a family of 4-5 and we're in the market for a class B that sleeps 4-5 people. Thanks in advance
Yes, the big factors were price, layout, single fuel system and all the options we wanted. There's only seatbelts and beds for 4 in the rangeline. You could add an inflatable mattress across the driver seats for a 5th bed, but I don't see an easy way to get a 5th seat.
have you experienced any issues with the electrical or battery charging? not sure why you would have to rewire the get power from the power tower. should this obvious issue not have been solved by airstream?
No issues with battery charging. The way the solar panel was wired prioritized the car battery which was backwards from what the manual recommends and resulted in very inefficient usage until I rewired it (Airstream has issued a service bulletin to switch it). The galley outlet not being on the inverter is pretty baffling - not sure why they built it that way.
@@dunclawler I don't fully understand this yet, and am learning about the various ways you get power while driving or boondocking, but am comparing the Solis to this - the induction stove, and refrigerator are easily powered? Do you like it better than the two burner cooktop w/the Solis?
@@donnachimenti7 The induction cooktop works very well and you don't have to worry about cooking fume venting. The single burner can be limiting if you're doing a lot of cooking. The cooktop can easily be powered by the inverter, but the galley outlet for some reason isn't wired to the inverter (see one of my other videos). The only other thing that can't be powered by the battery alone is the AC - that requires running the generator or shore power. The refrigerator will draw down about 20% of the battery a day with no power input, with good solar it's less than 10%.
@@dunclawlerThanks, very helpful! I was concerned about the AC also, thank you so much. I'm traveling with a husky and that is an important factor for me. Much appreciated and enjoy your travels! Great videos.
@@dunclawler - that’s quite different from the norm. Almost all manufacturers have a MSRP that is about 30% above what the RV is actually worth. So the Rangeline must have the MSRP at the correct price to begin with. Interesting.
I haven't seen one in person, but layout looks similar. MSRP is quite a bit higher and it has a propane system rather than single fuel. It also lacks the pop-top so you can't sleep 4.
We are really disappointed with the climate control of our rangeline. If it is 86 degrees outside, it is 86 degrees inside. The air coming out of the AC is definitely cool but that cooling does not reach past the bathroom. Wife factor -100, will be selling our back. Expensive mistake.
We haven't used the AC much (we live in the Pacific Northwest), but it seemed to do fine in Colorado over the summer. I could see how it might struggle to cool the whole van if parked in direct sun in the southwest (especially if you get the black exterior). The reflective shades really help keep the front cool.
Yes they didn't think that went out correctly like most class beads unless you can get the rear AC to operate then you just blowing cold air into a large void behind you.. my recommendation is to block off or isolate the flight deck as we call it in the aviation world.. like put a curtain behind the back part of the front seats. They do that a lot with cargo vans and U-Hauls and you will notice a big difference but if you can get lithium power you'll get the rear AC to work and then it'll be like an icebox in there
I just posted a video about the entertainment system I put in. I view the van not coming with a stock system as a plus because none of the options I saw fit what I wanted. For a few hundred I was able to customize something much better than the default options I saw.
i have been looking at both vans. i would agree that the panoramic is a far superior product, but it is also much more $$. i am figuring that Airstream will fix all of these initial problems that are occurring for future models. or at least i hope so.
Great floor plan. Like the idea of no propane. Why the retarded electric system? A little more battery and a 3000 inverter, problem solved. It wont be on my list until they fix it.
You should do YOUR homework. They are the same company and up until a few years ago, Ram vehicles were labeled “Dodge Ram”. They merely rebranded for people like YOU to think they are different which ends up driving sales. It’s like going to Trader Joe’s and seeing a bunch of different “brands” even though everything is packaged by Trader Joe’s. It creates the illusion of choice. 🙄
@Getlosttt if it's Ram, call it Ram. If it's Dodge, call it Dodge. If it's Chrysler, call it what it is... Fiat... so on. Get the facts straight. Good day...
@@Slimsomerville good point, Dodge & Ram are separate and owned by Chrysler who is owned by Stallantis if I'm not mistaken? I was wondering myself in.an overall search about quality, reliability and price, thanks!
